By Blake and Gwen Beckcom | Fitness Together
Why wait until Jan. 1 to become focused on your health and wellness goals? Believe it or not, now is as good of a time as any to dust off your resolutions that you made at the beginning of 2018 and make sure you complete them before the year comes to a close.
If you’ve found the chaos of work, family, and life obligations has gotten in the way of your healthy objectives for the year, stop — right now — and take the steps to change course.
Here’s how to do it, today.
- Toss the junk.
Rid your pantry and work snack drawer of junk. While you can’t control what other people are eating, you can control what you’re eating. If there are unhealthy chips, candy and sugar-laden treats in your own home, car, bag or desk, then today is the day to get rid of it all.
Put it all in the break room for others to eat, donate it to a food bank, or just accept it all needs to go and toss everything in the trash. Once it’s gone, don’t buy it again.
- Write down your SMART goals.
Did you say “I want to lose weight” this year as a goal? How about switching up that statement to be a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely) goal that you can strive for through the end of the year, with a measurable result.
Try this: “I want to work out for 45 minutes, four days a week, every week, through the end of December 2018.” Even though this goal doesn’t talk about weight loss, it is tangible, and you can attack it head on. Try writing down just two or three SMART goals for the rest of the year and pin that paper up on your fridge, mirror and computer screen.
- Tell others and find a healthy buddy.
While a trainer might be there to help you stay motivated during your workouts, it’s also great to find another friend who wants to recommit to being healthy throughout the remainder of the year (and beyond, of course). Let those around you know you’re focused on exercising and eating mostly healthy food, so they can support you and try not to steer you off course. Maybe even find someone who wants to try out healthy restaurants with you!
While you don’t need to be perfect in your effort, it’s important to make small changes in the right direction. And won’t it feel good going into the new year on track to make 2019 your healthiest year yet? With these steps, you can set yourself up for success right now to be a healthier and happier you this year and next.
- Book your workouts.
Call your personal trainer (or sign up for one!) and recommit to your regular weekly sessions. Get those training sessions scheduled on the calendar a month in advance, so that you can work on building strength, mobility and cardiovascular health to help you feel great entering 2019.
If you’re already working with a trainer regularly, then add an extra session each week to up your game for the rest of the year. If you do not have a trainer, and think you can do it solo, book your own training sessions on your day timer and show up for them. Hold yourself accountable and get after it! The hardest part of any fitness program is starting and once started, showing up.
Though things around us of late may seem out of control — and actually are at times — we need to choose to focus on what we can control.
We can control our nutritional choices, which by and large control our moods. We know that being mindful of nutrition can lead to better outlooks, because we have more fuel in the tank to deal with life. Our thought life, if left unchecked, can control us — and since foods have an impact on our mood, it seems practical to focus there.
And we can also control how we move. Movement has a cascading effect on our entire well-being. It is often said that “A body in motion, stays in motion.”
You can do it.
—Blake and Gwen Beckcom run Fitness Together Mission Hills. Contact them at fitnesstogether.com/missionhills or call 619-794-0014.
