Notorious RD

New Year resolutions to lose weight are about as stable as a teenage girl’s crush.  One minute, you’re excitedly making your salad for lunch and skipping through your morning walk.  The next, you’re sobbing uncontrollably into a bowl of ice cream (no- make that a carton) and chanting why me? because you feel like you screwed up by eating that second helping at dinner.

Great Ways to Fail

Hey, people fail at resolutions every year.  I’ve had a few people in my weight loss groups this month tell me they weren’t going to make a resolution this year because they were tired of feeling crummy when they didn’t succeed.  And they’re not alone.  One study showed that 78% of the 700 participants didn’t follow through with their New Year resolutions.   If you want to fail, try:

1) Telling yourself self-limiting stories: Thinking things like I always eat when I’m upset, what’s the use? or  I already ate that___, I’ll start eating healthy tomorrow are self-defeating.  If you think it, it may just become a self-fulfilling prophecy.  And by the way, tomorrow never comes because it’s always today.

2) Trying to lose weight alone: Where would Batman be without Robin, or Jack Donaghy without Liz Lemon?  Don’t go for the lone wolf or hermit status when setting weight loss goals.

Ian's a surfer, not a hiker. But we hiked it together once he set the goal.

3) Setting vague goals: A goal “to lose weight” isn’t going to result in magical fat cell shrinkage.  Get a grip and get a plan.

Great Ways to Stick to Your Resolutions

You can beat the odds.  There are ways to make it into that top 22% and avoid the (seemingly) disastrous fate of the midnight “ugly cry” into your ice cream.

Break it up: Keep working on those smaller goals mentioned in my last blog: 2012 January Challenge.  So you want to lose 20# in 10 weeks, great!  But how?  You wouldn’t set a goal to run a marathon in 3 months and just show up on race day, would you?

Tell the world: Be loud and proud and say your goal out loud.  Tell everyone that will listen to you.  Get your type A personality friend to help you chart your progress and stay organized.  Set a plan to walk with your outdoorsy friend.  People are sure to ask you regularly how its going if they know you’re trying to lose weight, which will keep you on track.

I set a goal in September of 2011 to get on to a local t.v. station and I told a lot of my family, friends, and colleagues.  By December of 2011, I was asked to do a short segment on our local NBC news- all because I set the specific goal and told the world.  Here’s a link to the 3 minute clip where I talk about the classes I teach: Steph on NBC news  Hey- it’s a start!

Know why: If you don’t know why, it’s pretty hard to stay motivated over time.

Keep track: In my professional experience, journals=weight loss.  If you really don’t want to journal, at least track your weight on a weekly basis.

Think thin: Is this something the person I want to be would do?  Think of yourself as already being that thinner, healthier, more fit version of you.  Make most of your decisions based on the way that future version of yourself would think.  It may seem creepy, but it works.

Tempted to try linoleic acid to lose weight?  Read my LIVESTRONG article to find out if it’s a good idea.

How are you going to stick to your weight loss goals in 2012?