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Make Your New Year's Resolution Stick

by: Lynn Bode

The New Year is quickly creeping up on us. Do you have a New Year�s Resolution? Well, if you�re like most Americans (88 percent in 2001 according to a GNC poll), you have at least one resolution. And, if you are like the majority of these promise-makers, your resolution is probably related to health and fitness. In 2001 (according to GNC), 55 percent promised to eat healthier, 50 percent resolved to exercise more, and 38 percent wanted to lose weight.

While resolutions are well-intentioned, unfortunately most people fail at keeping them. With all the hype surrounding these promises, it�s easy to get caught up in it without really taking them seriously.

We live in a throw-away society and even our resolutions, I�m afraid, are not immune. However, especially for promises that include improving our health, it�s in our best interest not to take them lightly.

So, what�s the secret to successful resolutions? While you can�t wave a magic wand and make your resolution come true, there are some easy steps to take that will make it easier to fulfill your promise to yourself.

� Choose an obtainable goal. Resolving to look like a super model is not realistic for the majority of us, but promising to include daily physical activity in our lives is very possible.
� Avoid choosing a resolution that you�ve been unsuccessful at achieving year after year. This will only set you up for failure, frustration and disappointment. If you are still tempted to make a promise that you�ve made before, then try altering it. For example, instead of stating that you are going to lose 30 pounds, try promising to eat healthier and increase your weekly exercise.
� Create a game plan. At the beginning of January, write a comprehensive plan. All successful businesses start with a business plan that describes their mission and specifics on how they will achieve it. Write your own personal plan and you�ll be more likely to succeed as well.
� Break it down and make it less intimidating. Rather than one BIG end goal, dissect it into smaller pieces. Set several smaller goals to achieve throughout the year that will help you to reach the ultimate goal. Then, even if you aren�t able to reach your final goal, you will have many smaller, but still significant, achievements along the way. For example, if your goal is to complete a 10K race, your smaller goals could be running a 5K in less than 30 minutes, adding upper and lower body strength training to increase your muscular endurance, and running 2 miles with a personal best completion time.
� Make Contingency Options: Don�t assume sticking to your plan will be smooth sailing. Plan on hitting bumps along the resolution road and be prepared with specific ways to overcome them. What will keep you from skipping your workout or stop you from having a cigarette? This may mean seeking help from family or a professional, writing in a journal, etc.
� Give It Time: Most experts agree that it takes about 21 days to create a habit and six months for it to actually become a part of your daily life.
� Reward yourself with each milestone. If you�ve stuck with your resolution for 2 months, treat yourself to something special. But, be careful of your reward type. If you�ve lost 5 pounds, don�t give yourself a piece of cake as an award. Instead, treat yourself to something non-food related, like a professional massage.
� Ask friends and family members to help you so you have someone to be accountable to. Just be sure to set limits so that this doesn�t backfire and become more irritating than helpful. For example, if you resolve to be more positive ask them to gently remind you when you start talking negatively.
� Don�t go it alone! Get professional assistance. Everyone needs help and sometimes a friend just isn�t enough. Sometimes you need the help of a trained professional. Don�t feel that seeking help is a way of copping out. Especially when it comes to fitness, research studies have shown that assistance from a fitness professional greatly improves people�s success rate.
� Limit your number of promises. You�ll spread yourself too thin trying to make multiple changes in your life. This will just lead to failure of all of the resolutions.
� Test Your Flexibility: Realize that things change frequently. Your goals and needs may be very different in April then they were when you made your resolution in January. Embrace change, even if that means that your resolution is altered.
� Keep A Journal: A journal helps you recognize your positive steps and makes it harder to go back to the same old habits.

On average only about 20% of us keep our New Year�s resolutions. Unfortunately, some of the biggest failures are found in fitness resolutions. But don�t let the statistics get you down. By following the tips above you�ll be better equipped to fall into the successful 20% category.

About the author:
About the author: Lynn Bode is a certified personal trainer specializing in Internet-based fitness programs. She founded Workouts For You, which provides affordable online exercise programs that are custom designed for each individual. Visit: for a free sample workout. Fitness professionals take your business online, visit:

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Do you want to be thinner, healthy and fit?
by: Lucy E. Riddell

While we offer an effective and natural fat loss product � the Jen Fe Next Fat Loss Patch and the Power Patch, we also know that without a commitment from you to bring about some lifestyle changes, you won�t reach optimal fat loss. There is no product in the world that can produce fat loss while we are eating and drinking excessively, and moving only slowly from couch to car to office chair. We need a program of sensible diet and exercise that will support the products we utilize to help our weight loss.

Here�s what to eat:

1. Lots of vegetables and fruits

2. Increase healthy protein intake. This is how you build lean muscle tissue, which in turn speeds up your metabolism. Examples are fish, lean meats, low-fat dairy products, beans, and soy products.

3. Fiber-Rich foods. They will fill up and they make they are satisfying. In this category are: peas, beans, bran cereals, potato skins, nuts and seeds, oatmeal, bulger wheat, 100% whole wheat baked goods, fruits and vegetables.

4. Minerals. Calcium and other minerals are you �secret weapons� against body fat. They are found in low-fat dairy products, small or canned fish, soy tofu, green vegetables, nuts, seeds, bran cereals, and calcium fortified orange juice, and avoid processed, salt-loaded foods.

5. Eat fish and beneficial fats. Omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid in some fish, oils and nuts is a good fat. Eat moderate amounts of salmon, herring, mackerel, sardines and other oily fish. Soybeans, nuts, pumpkin seed are also excellent sources for Omega-3.

6. Reduce harmful fats � saturated and trans fats. These are not only high in calories; they are also loaded with harmful fatty acids that cause disease.

7. Always eat an adequate breakfast for several reasons: it will speed up your metabolism earlier in the day and when you skip breakfast, it makes it harder to control your appetite later in the day.

8. Cut back or eliminate alcohol. It is high in non-filling calories. Ideal consumption is one glass of beer or wine a day.

9. Stay away from junk carbohydrates � sugar and white flour are diet killers in all but the smallest amounts.

10. Gradually reduce your calorie intake because extreme and sudden dieting causes your body to conserve, not burn calories, and it slows fat loss.

11. Snack instead of eating large meals � larger, higher calorie meals tend to be stored as fat, instead of burned for energy. Ideally, you should eat five or six smaller, nutritious snacks each day instead of large meals.

12. Move! You must exercise to build lean tissue that burns fat. As little as two to three hours per week of brisk walking at minimum, and you will notice a major impact on your weight loss.

13. Reduce stress. It produces adverse fat-producing chemistry in your body. Try warm baths, meditation, deep breathing, stretching, massage, prayer and rest.

14. Get outside into the sunshine at lest 20 minutes per day � the vitamin D you get from sunshine works with calcium for health and body fat control.

For more information on the Fat Loss Patch, go to www.FatBeGoneWithLucy.com or call 888-407-0570.

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