These are the cold hard facts on how to achieve your New Year resolution.
It starts with a question: what is your plan?
It needs to include these five things, and then you can attack it month by month.
- Nutrition: This is where all weight loss and body changes begin. Plan, prepare, and supplement properly for success.
- Science: A full year workout plan with building and varying intensities. Success is based in science. There are things that work, no matter what when it comes to fitness. Use those principals. Don't know them? Hire a trainer.
- Goals: Look at what you are going to do daily, weekly, monthly and over the full year. Break it down, make goals, and those goals need to get you to your dream.
- Mental: Know what you are getting into. There are not always ups when it comes to health. You are can't give in to cravings all the time. There needs to be the creation of treats, and some days where you don't have them. You need focus, and commitment to your goal of health.
- Support: Friends, family, hired help and yes, social media will get you to where you want to go. Don't go it alone, there is no need to and it's a lot easier when you include help. Make sure you make this as easy on yourself as you can.
Make sure your workouts, and diet make sense to you. Don't do it just because it's January and you read something in a book or magazine.
I have watched a lot of people fail at New Year's resolutions for the past decade. I even made some great money off of the January first commitments. I feel bad -- not really bad, but a little bad -- when I take someone's money as part of their resolution. My hope is to get them to make a plan, but it is usually not the case.
Here is what I want everyone to prepare for month by month. This is generally how it goes for those I have seen lose 50-150lbs.
January: Be crazy, jump in with both feet, do too much and mirror your life after an unattainable celebrity goal, or some fitness model you've never met. Take 30 days and find out what doesn't work for you as a regular person. The great part is, you'll lose the most weight in this month. The bad part is, it's not sustainable. However, it will make February a solid learning month. But feel free to go crazy and live like a fitness person. Every moment of every day, be on a diet and exercise as much as you can fit in. Once you realize that this isn't what health is, attack the rest of the year with a real plan.
February: Find out what makes you happy, and start going after that. February is the month of love. I have a very special someone in my life, she's a fitness competitor. The kind you see on covers. My respect for her and her attention to detail when eating, training, and living to make her body look the way she wants is amazing. I can't follow her regime, her drive is beyond impressive. She has a goal, and that goal keeps her on track. Point of this story? Unless you want to win fitness competitions, it's time to take what you were doing in January, and rethink it so you can stay on path to be healthy and continue to lose weight.
Fitness models are what most women strive to look like, it's a shame because fitness magazines don't do a good job of showing what goes into their look. It is really awe-inspiring, it's a commitment few can make. It is a decision based in health, but driven by aesthetics. Let February be the month that you figure out who you are, and stop chasing someone else's dream.
*** Side Note *** If you have weight to lose, expect to lose 25 per cent easy in January. Every month after that will get more difficult to lose the weight. Be prepared. Lose 10-20lbs in 30 days, and then every month be excited with 3-5lbs of weight loss.
March: Welcome to the first boring month, and the first month that is going to need you to start figuring out what you are going to do to spice up food and your workouts. At this point, if you haven't used a trainer or a nutritionist, it may be time to invest in an expert. Find classes, and engage new friends. You have two months of training under your belt, so you should be happy to take on new challenges.
Make it your goal to get out of your comfort zone. Cook new foods, and share those recipes with friends. This is the month where you make health your lifestyle. It's the first gut check. At this point most people are off their "health kick." They went to hard at the start, got down on themselves when they hadn't lost 50lbs by the end of of February and don't have a six pack. March is when reality sets in. Getting the body of your dreams is difficult and takes commitment. The beauty of it is that the hard work will pay off. It feels better to have to work for it. If you stay smart and focused you will get your results.
April: The re-energizing month. Many people start thinking about the beach half way through April. Now that you have built a committed to health lifestyle, you can be sure to stay on track. Your body will have begun to adapt, and you will be seeing actual muscles start to form. It will allow you to get moving to a new fitness level. That means you can push your body athletically. That new push will get you some new results and a new body shape. If you stay committed to April, this can be the beginning of some major changes, and prep for a totally new beach body. Your eating, and commitment to your workout has to be there. Without either, you won't see your body change. You also have to realize that a solid April, starts right now. Get motivated, and start your Resolution Revolution.
May: If you started January with a bang, and changed up to maintain in February, then took March to recommit even thought it was boring, and picked it back up in April, May is going to be great. Some of the best weather to be active outside is in May. That means you can start taking your new body for test drives. You are done 120 days of being fit, so your body is now fully adapted to the activity. Your energy will be through the roof, and your weight will be the lowest it's been in years. That means, when you aren't "working out" you can be out and about being active. This is when you can start a life of activity without noticing it or dreading it. Someone says lets go for a hike, and you show up like it's your job. This is the month where you start looking forward to a life and summer of activity. You have to put the effort in now, and stay smart. Build into your active lifestyle and your will be a brand new person for the summer.
June: Bathing suits will be looking fantastic. At this point, you should be in a groove. The problem, summer throws everyone for a loop. This is where we need to revisit how to eat health, and leave room for bad days. Honestly, the 80/20 rule is imperative. I get my clients to be perfect 80 per cent of the time, making sure they stay true to their healthy eating and 20 per cent to get a little wild and crazy. The summer is not a free pass to eat whatever, whenever. You always need restraint in your life. It's also the perfect time to get even more activity in your day and life. My ask for all my clients is to not gain weight during the summer.
*** Side Note *** If you wanted to lose 20-100lbs in this year, 15-40lbs should be gone by June. If you have 100lbs to lose, your summer months should still be 2-5lbs a month. Your new metabolism and workouts should keep you moving towards a healthy weight. Don't allow bad habits back in your life, enjoy everything responsibly.
July and August: These months get lumped together. This is a time to really enjoy being active and get your mind back to the fact that September brings reality back. Enjoy activity, and start planning what your life is going to look like once summer is over. Have a goal in mind for your return to fitness.
September: Time to tighten back up, and get into routine again. Perfect time to sit down with an expert and take your fitness to a whole new level. At this point, you should feel like a healthy fit person. Your body is going to be fully adapted. At six months, your muscles and tendons will be loving you for all the changes. At this point, your body will be fully ready for any big challenges you may want to under take. What do you want to try? This is the month to start doing the fitness tasks, and enjoying some of the last nice weather.
October and November: Two more months I like to put together. You should be at a holding pattern, and no matter who you are, the last week of November should have you very close to hitting your goal and maintaining it. This is where you can start to celebrate a almost a full year of health.
December: Well, you did it. In my career, it's funny, because I see people to this point regularly. I have seen dozens of 50-100lb weight losses, and countless lives changed. The funny thing is reminding people of how hard January was 12 months ago. Then having them do workouts that are twice as hard as the one that had them almost puking at the start. It is all about the build, and smart science to make sure you achieve your goals. There is no better way to say it then simply "Be Smart."
Everyone can do this. It means getting help, and looking at this long term. It's not going to happen over night, but it's going to happen. When December 31, 2014 comes around, you will have done the unthinkable, and finished what most people won't.
ALSO ON HUFFPOST:
