It’s a new year and a new you. You’ve made the decision: you’re going to lose weight now.
It’s harder than you think – only about 8% of people keep their New Year’s resolutions.
But it is possible – if you’re smarter about your resolutions. Here are 8 smarter weight loss resolutions to help you get started.
Lose Weight Now By Listing the Habits You Want to Change
You can’t conquer what you don’t see right in front of you.
This is part of setting a concrete resolution – one of the keys to actually accomplishing your New Year’s resolutions.
Making a list involves taking the time to sit down with yourself and point out what you want to change. When you make a list, you should be breaking down your goals into smaller, easier goals.
Because here’s the thing: when you write down a massive, vague goal (like, “Start running!”) it seems doable at the time but starts feeling insurmountable after a few weeks.
Instead, break your goals down into manageable chunks, so you aren’t feeling hopeless by week two.
Make Peace with Trigger Foods
Fighting with yourself is not your one-way ticket to lose weight now.
It actually makes it worse. Because going cold turkey leads you to miss old favorites, binge on them, get discouraged, throw in the towel and give up.
So instead of setting goals that read along the lines of “No more chocolate ever again,” ease yourself away from it by letting yourself have some chocolate once or twice a week. It keeps cravings at bay, and you’re slowly teaching your body to be happy without having the food so often.
You’re giving yourself permission to be human, instead of punishing yourself when you fail an impossible goal.
Sneak in Vegetables – Every Bit Counts
Sensing a trend yet? “Eat more vegetables!” is not the making of a successful resolution.
Instead, resolve to do something that feels more doable – sneak a vegetable into every meal.
You don’t have to turn into a rabbit. Just begin sneaking vegetables into your diet gradually.
It’s the same idea as making peace with your trigger foods. You have to teach yourself a new way of living and forgive yourself for slipping along the way.
It happens. Pick yourself up and carry on.
Set Reasonable Exercise Goals
No, lose weight now does not qualify as a reasonable exercise goal.
Instead, make a resolution that you’re going to start doing 20 minutes of something a day, or 20 minutes of something for three days a week.
This way, you keep yourself free of the risk of overtraining – which, despite the myth that says you need to work out constantly to lose weight, is actually hurting your weight loss goals.
This is also the process of teaching yourself a new way of going about your day-to-day life. You aren’t going to want to work out every single day at 6 a.m. if you’ve been rocking that sedentary lifestyle, so build in ways to get used to it.
Walk for 10 Minutes a Day
This is along the same lines as setting reasonable exercise goals.
Walking is among the most underrated exercises – and it’s actually wonderful for your health, especially in this day and age where most people spend all day sitting in front of a computer.
Don’t tell yourself you’re going to walk an hour. It sounds dreadful, especially if you’re not already a dedicated walker, and you’re going to fight yourself every step of the way, chanting, “I need to lose weight now!” in a fit of misery.
Instead, use 10 minutes as a starting point to form a habit. As you get used to it, you’ll be surprised to find that an extra five or ten minutes here and there really isn’t so bad.
Drink 8 to 12 Glasses of Water a Day
Easy, trackable, and wildly underrated.
Everyone needs to drink more water. And you don’t need fancy equipment or a pretty water bottle or time set aside in the day to do it.
You can even do it at work.
It nourishes your skin, gives you an energy boost – and, sometimes when you think you’re hungry, it turns out that you might be dehydrated.
So make a point of drinking water at your desk as you work, and getting up to refill every hour or so.
Take the Stairs
Again, easy and underrated.
Everyone has stairs (okay, most people have stairs) and swapping the elevator for the stairs is an easy way every day to build tone in the legs and belly.
This can be in your own home, walking to work, in the office, even the escalator from the subway if you take public transportation. There are a lot of ways to incorporate this one into your daily routine.
A fair word of advice – if you have bad knees, be careful with this one.
Swap in Fruit
When you’re feeling sugar cravings, you reach for…fruit.
Instead of cutting out snacks altogether, keep your metabolism running all day with healthier snacks.
Here’s the thing — despite myths otherwise, healthy snacks are good for your weight loss plan. If you get hungry before mealtime and have a tendency to grit your teeth through it, you’re setting yourself up to overeat, or reach for food that isn’t good for you.
Fruits are one of those perfect snack foods to swap in. Who wants an apple or banana with nut butter?
Or maybe some berries and mixed nuts. Or your favorite fruit mixed in with Greek yogurt. Or an apple with some sliced cheddar.
The possibilities are endless – and tasty. Looks like mealtime isn’t so far away after all.
Lose Weight Now with ChiroThin
Of course, rocking your weight loss resolution is made easier with a quality weight loss program on your side, like ChiroThin.
ChiroThin is a natural supplement with a host of nutritional good stuff which, when combined with anti-inflammatory foods and a low glycemic index, helps you rock your New Year weight loss goals.
When you join the ChiroThin Weight Loss Program, you’re supervised by a ChiroThin doctor to make sure you stay healthy, happy and on track for success. Find a ChiroThin doctor near you.