Getting started: Choosing to make a change

It’s a New Year and it’s time for a change. One of the most common New Year’s Resolutions made every year revolves around improving physical fitness. Perhaps it’s losing some weight or perhaps your goal is motivated more by the simple wish to look and feel healthier. Whether you’ve been active for some time now or you’re looking to start exercising for the first time (ever or after years!), it’s time for a change; it’s time for a different approach.

It’s time to look at things differently.

What it really comes down to is that choosing to start exercising means making a lifestyle change. You’ve probably heard this before.

Choosing to begin exercising has the potential to represent far more than just going to the gym for an hour, several times a week. If you want to see any sort of progress, you will need to exercise regularly. You’ll need to develop the habit of exercising.

But there’s more: if you really want to make some progress, you’ll need to change your diet. Changing your diet in the best way, may well mean changing not only what you eat, but when you eat and how.

So it’s got to be exercise and diet. Got it.

Now let’s go deeper. What about your mind? Your mindset going into the New Year is going to make a huge difference in terms of whether you follow through with your Resolutions or not. Recognizing that your mindset is not a one-time decision and that it is a moment-to-moment choosing makes all the difference in the world.

It’s makes intuitive sense: how you think and feel about choosing to be more active are going to be a determining factor when it comes to follow-through. If we look a bit closer at that, I said how you think—which is done with your mind—and how you feel—which is done through your body—that makes the difference. It’s one thing to have a thought that says exercising would be a good idea. It’s quite another to actually get up and do it. Mind and body must work together in order for you to succeed.

I would imagine that many of us are familiar with the highly motivated state of mind that you often find yourself in when you make your New Year’s Resolutions. Go there now: take a moment to think about your fitness goals for this year. Stand up as you do this.

Are your goals realistic? That is, will you be able to achieve your goals if you actually take action?

What are your goals, specifically? For example, if you want to lose weight, how much do you want to lohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifse? (Recognize that 1-2 lbs/week is generally considered healthy weight loss). Get as specific as possible. Put some thought into exactly what this end result will look like to you. Imagine yourself actually achieving your goal. How does that feel?

Now, let’s use that feeling and translate it into action. Getting yourself to the gym or exercise class or DVD the first few times is easy enough. In order to develop the habit of feeling motivated to take action towards your goal on a regular basis, you will initially need regular monitoring. Regular reminders will help you to create this new habit. Remember, a habit of regular exercise is just as much mental as it is physical.

Now is the time to create those reminders. Write down your specific goal—along with your realistic timeline—and post it on the mirror in the bathroom. Write notes to yourself in your daily planner. Put exercise on your to-do list. Put your workout plan on the wall next to your bed or your calendar. Create little reminders wherever you feel you need to in order to nurture your commitment to your goals.

Next week, we’ll look at goal-setting more in-depth and outline more specifically how to set yourself up for success and lasting change.