It's now October and 9 months have gone by since you made your 2009 New Years Resolution(s) and by now you should have resolved them or be well on your way to overcoming them completely. Maybe your resolution was to lose weight or maybe it was just to join a gym and add exercise into your life. Whatever it was hopefully you were able to do what you set out to do. If so, congratulations! You are one of FEW who manage to keep to their resolutions. I remember being told at the gym in my old town that most sign ups in January will end up leaving by March – all in the name of the New Years dedication!

If you haven’t made any progress in your weight loss resolution or your gym resolution or any other resolution you may have made, why not? What stopped you from following through on your goal(s)? Was your heart not really in it? Or did the pressure of making a commitment in that way make you falter?

Whatever your reason, do you think that you are in the position of making the same mistake for 2010? Will you be telling yourself that 2010 is going to be the year to change your weight, to get fit and healthy and finally live the life you want? New Year’s resolutions for the most part fall into the same trap as when we tell ourselves “I will start tomorrow”. We put it off and off maybe because we aren’t ready or maybe because we put too much pressure on ourselves. In many cases it can be our food addictions that lead us to this conclusion.

Change can be daunting, but by putting it off we don’t get to where we want to be and remain in a position we really aren’t enjoying and haven’t enjoyed for years.

So why wait?

If you really are that unhappy with your weight or current health, why wait until 1st January 2010 to start making changes, why not start now? What will really change if you hold off until the New Year? Anything? Did it this year?

Year after year you may find yourself stuck in this loop of promising yourself that 2010 will be different, then 2011 and so forth. You won’t make progress and the relationship you have with yourself won’t get any better.

So why not make 2010 the best year ever by starting your Resolutions now?

  Instead of waiting for January to come around, why not set to work making the new you now. Why not go into 2010 the way you want to be – the new slimmer you (or well on the way to it). Is it that easy? Yes it can be. If you decide to start now you may also alleviate some of the pressure you put on yourself when starting out in the New Year as you will be well ahead of everyone else! Make the decision to change now and get started.

How Do I Get Started?

Weight Loss Mindset

The best starting place is to take a look at some of my articles on the Weight Loss Mindset & Goals. Getting your mind into the right mode to help you lose weight is great. This can also be applied to other resolutions you may have as well.

Observation

Once you feel mentally ready for the task you may then want to take a few days observing your eating and drinking habits. Write down everything that you eat and drink. Write down how you feel before and after. Make a note of your food triggers.

Below is an example of how you can set out your food journal (plus also make sure you add drinks):

Once you have done this for a few days you should be able to see where you can make some small changes that will give you great results. For an example let’s look at drinks. Many people consume a lot of calories in the drinks they should to drink. I believe that if you want to drink fruit juice, you should really only drink it if you have freshly squeezed it yourself. Most store bought beverages aren’t worth the health implications. So if you drink lots of store bought fruit juices or are a soda fan, cut these out. This may be a big task for you, so you might want to just keep to this goal for the month of October. Commit to only drinking water and herbal teas.

Observation is key to getting results when trying to lose weight. By really seeing exactly how you behave you can start working on your diet and the way you use food. It was only through observation that I was able to truly become aware to what extent I was an emotional eater. Before observation and allowing myself to be aware in the present moment, I really didn’t think I was an emotional eater. How wrong was I!

Before Photo & Journaling

You may also want to take a before picture. Taking a photo of you at the beginning of your journey will give you motivation in times of difficulty. You can also see exactly what making small changes will do the shape of your body too. Journaling will also help with you stay motivated and can be very helpful for anyone who has emotional eating issues but not a great support system.

See my article on this here:Weight Loss Tip: Taking Photos & Keeping A Journal

These 3 tips are great starting points for anyone wanting to take action now. Take your time and enjoy the process. Be happy you are starting now, because this means you really can have the best year ever in 2010.