Ask Misty by Misty Green

  Well everyone 2008 is finally here!  Hopefully everyone had a wonderful holiday season.  And for those of you that were absolutely as sick as I was, I wish you much healthy and happiness for the rest of the year, along with everyone else of course!  It seemed as though the majority of emails I received were on New Year’s resolutions and how to stick with a healthy lifestyle. Such as the following:

I always seem to have trouble, like most everyone I know, with keeping my new year’s resolutions of leading a healthy lifestyle.  I seem to have the habit of setting myself up to fail and when I do, I just let it all go down the drain.  I’m tired of giving up, feeling guilty when I splurge and not living up to my own word.  I always start off great for the first month and then I don’t know what happens! Please give me some advice on how to live a healthy lifestyle!!!
Jamie (new year’s dropout)

Here are a few tips that we have gone over in the past. But I definitely feel it applies in this situation.  Whether you are competing or want to lead a healthy life or just want to drop a few pounds it is always important to set goals, have a way to measure your improvements, and re-evaluate your goals as you reach them.  I believe that when you are setting your goals it’s always good to look at where you have been, in order to help you know where you are going. We all make mistakes, we’re human, but what makes us stronger is to take those mistakes and use them as tools to learn from.

Tips on Goal Setting:

1. Set realistic goals.
2. Do a breakdown of daily, weekly, monthly and annual goals. This will
   give you a way to measure yourself as you go.

3.   Make sure the goal you are working for is something you truly want that is  
consistent with your values or the outcomes you are looking for.
4.  Always write your goals down and do it in the positive not the negative. In
other words, work for what you want not what you want to leave behind.       
Writing your goals down creates a list for your subconscious mind to follow.
Having a positive list helps you to reach more positive results.
5.  Write your goals in detail. The more detail you have, the easier it is to visualize
yourself reaching them.
6.  Keep track of your daily progress.  I truly believe in keeping a daily log in some
type of notebook to hold me accountable for the food I take in and for my workouts. And          
be truthful with yourself, lying on paper is only lying to yourself.

7. If you are starting a new nutrition plan and/or workout plan. Take it slow and

            don’t overdo it in the gym the first go around!  Don’t look at your nutrition as a
diet, be positive and look at it as living the healthy life you’ve always wanted. There are         
lots of healthy options for something you like to splurge on. (Try to limit it to once a   
week)
8.  Celebrate every victory! Even the smallest ones! This will create such a
positive cycle in your life and will truly make you feel great about your
accomplishments. For example, I give myself a pat on the back for making it
to the gym and through a workout when I have had a tough and exhausting day.

Now that your goals are on paper, share them, but only with people who are truly supportive of you achieving your goals. Negative people and their attitudes can drag you down quickly!!! It’s very important and crucial to your success that all of your self-talk/thoughts are positive.  Also, pick a time, whether daily or weekly, to review your goals and continue to visualize yourself reaching them. This process will help your conscious and subconscious mind work toward your goals and will also help replace any negative self talk you may have had, with positive self talk. Every time you make a decision during the day, ask yourself, “Does this get me closer to my goal”. If yes, then you’ve made the right decision and if no, then you know what needs to be done to fix it. By getting into the routine of doing these things, it can help you on your way to achieving the success you want, mentally and physically.

Good luck to all of you on this wonderful upcoming year ahead and all the opportunities that will come your way! Stay healthy and happy!

"This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good." 
Author Unknown

Back to Issues