Get a head start on the New Year by incorporating healthy choices into your life now. Then, by the time January first rolls around, regular exercise and eating right will be habits.
Creating such habits (which experts say takes about three weeks) will help you be successful in reaching your goals.
Here are some tips to get you started:
Start small. If you try to do too much, you’ll end up frustrated and less likely to meet your goal. Start by swapping sugared sodas for diet ones three days a week — or swapping diet sodas for water.
Be realistic. If you want to lose weight, decide first to lose five pounds. When you have reached that goal, set another. It’s more likely to work than saying, "I want to lose 50 pounds by February."
Walk it off.
If exercise overwhelms you, decide you’re going to walk around the block one day. Skip a day, then walk around it twice the next day. Or say, "I’m going to walk for 10 minutes today." Odds are that you’ll feel so good, you’ll keep on going.
Make healthy swaps. Baked chips for fried; grilled chicken for breaded; etc.
Find a buddy. If someone is waiting for you at the gym, you’re more likely to show up.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Everyone falls short of goals sometimes. Instead of letting it get you down, resolve to do better tomorrow.
Get help. Be fitted for the right pair of workout shoes. Then join a gym that offers a free session with a trainer, so you can learn to use the machines correctly.
