Gain resolve, lose pounds
Resolutions aren’t just for the new year. Just ask Michaelangelo Rosario of Lake Mary, Fla., who several times made – and broke – New Year’s resolutions to lose weight. He tried to keep his promise, “but I just couldn’t do it,” the attorney says.
Rosario weighed 380 pounds in September 2005 when he was told he had sleep apnea and should consider a gastric bypass. That was the catalyst he needed to shed 190 pounds. He did it with five workouts a week, a diet of 1,400 calories a day … and a heaping helping of resolve.
In the spirit of starting off the New Year right, we asked nutrition and exercise experts for tips on keeping such resolutions. Here is their advice.
1. Make a plan. Think of your shape-up/slim-down plan as a wedding – “it needs a little planning. It’s sitting down with a pad and pen for an hour or more and plotting out and planning how you’re making these changes in your life,” says Charles Stuart Platkin, author of “The Diet Detective’s Count Down.” “Look at exercise, new food choices, and how you’re going to live with the changes.” Ask yourself questions: What exercises do I enjoy? What foods can I cut down or give up? Would joining a gym fit my lifestyle and work schedule? Focus on your answers to develop an approach that’s feasible for you.
2. Set reasonable goals. Most of those making fitness and nutrition resolutions don’t keep them because their goals are unrealistic, says Kelly Greeno, membership director at the J. Douglas Williams YMCA Family Center in Lake Mary, Fla.
Changing everything about what you eat is “too big, too intimidating,” says Karen Beerbower of Nutritional Guidance Inc., Maitland, Fla. “Find out where the calories come from and work from there.” Evaluating your diet or keeping a food diary for a few days can help to identify food or drink that can be eliminated. Can you cut out, say, one sugary latte a day? During a year, cutting those daily 250 calories might add up to a loss of more than 20 pounds.
3. Allow yourself time. It takes 18 months to truly modify behavior, so it behooves you to allow yourself time to adjust to a new program, Beerbower says. That time span “assures you’ve taken the “diet” changes through all of life’s interruptions.”
4. Don’t be a “diet hero.” “People think they should be able to resist tempting foods,” Beerbower says. In reality, that’s tough to do. So strategize. “Try to talk to your family and tell them that you can’t share space with some things in the house.” Do you give in to temptation when you drive by Krispy Kreme Doughnuts or McDonald’s on your way to work? “Well, maybe you shouldn’t pass them on the way in. What’s the big deal about taking a different route?”
5. Avoid saving the date. It’s important not to peg weight loss to events such as a high-school reunion or wedding, Beerbower says. Instead, focus on building a diet and exercise plan that is likely to last a lifetime instead of one that might fall apart after a social event.
6. Incorporate exercise wisely. Pick an activity that already is in your life and make it physical. “Set it up so it’s a fail-safe,” Platkin says. “It has to be a behavior you’re repeating constantly.” For instance, if you’re responsible for getting the kids to school in the morning, stow the car and walk or bike there with them.
7. Make it fun. “Don’t feel like fitness means you have to be on a treadmill or lift weights,” Greeno says. It’s about doing things that are fun, that you enjoy, and it doesn’t have to be for an hour and a half. It can be for 30 minutes or less.”
8. Stay motivated. If you’re just beginning or getting back into a sport, such as running, choose a goal – say, an upcoming 5K – then build a training program around achieving that goal, suggests Betsy Hughes of Track Shack in Orlando, Fla. Keep yourself focused by posting the race entry form on the fridge.
Think of fitness-related ways to reward yourself along the way, Greeno suggests. For instance, when you reach a goal, start a subscription to a magazine you can read while walking on the treadmill, or buy a new workout top.
9. Partner up. “Find a partner for fitness, a friend or a family member, someone who’s going to say, ‘We’re going,’ ” Greeno suggests. If you don’t know anyone to work out with, joining a training group or exercise class is a good way to meet people with similar goals.
You might also consider working with a professional, such as a registered dietitian, personal trainer or psychologist, all of whom can play a role in keeping a lifestyle change on the right path.
10. Consistency counts. “One of the keys to weight control is consistency,” Platkin says. “If we break behaviors, they’re harder to get back into. If you have to break from an activity, then you didn’t plan the whole thing well (and) it’s probably not going to be success.
If your resolve slackens, “don’t quit because you miss a week or two. Don’t feel like you’ve failed. That’s normal,” Greeno says. Just get back to it. Put your workout in your planner. “Schedule it as part of your day. It’s just as important as going to the doctor or going to that play group. It makes a serious impact on your life.”