A Letter to the Resolutionite

A letter to the Resolutionite:

January 1st – synonymous with change. And that’s not a bad thing... it gives us a chance to take stock of where we are, where we want to be and what we can do to get there. And that’s why I’m writing this letter; not just to you but to all of us who use this calendar flip to envision a ‘new year’ that’s different from last year.

The thing is, January 1st resolutions come with mixed emotions – hope and excitement that we can finally make a change, but a nagging pessimism when we think about those promises we made before that we didn’t stick with. What was it about last year’s resolutions that didn’t work out like we wanted? We had good intentions and really wanted the results. We were even prepared to put in the work for the results. So what was it? The problem was in planning.

Jane wanted to lose some weight. Her colleague of 20 years started having health problems and so Jane resolved to make changes in her own life. So, on January 1st, she resolved to start exercising.  It takes her a few days to find the gym that’s right for her and get some exercise clothes. Ready and hopeful, she jumps in with enthusiasm, and for the first week goes to the gym after work as often as she can, foregoing her normal after-work activities. She finds that it’s hard, though; she’s disappointed at her lack of stamina and is intimidated by the unfamilar machines. After a week without a visible change in her body, she starts skipping the gym in favor of relaxation time for herself. She says she’s tired and promises to pick it up again tomorrow. Time quickly passes and she’s shocked when it’s a week since her last gym visit! She forces herself to the gym the next day, clearly losing some enthusiasm. Back on the treadmill, she’s not only thinking about her lack of results but also feeling annoyed at herself for missing that week. Frustrated and not getting what she was expecting, she eventually stops going completely.

At the end of the year, while at her office holiday party, that same colleague takes her aside and tells her she’s leaving her job for health reasons. Moved, she resolves to take up her weight-loss resolution again: “January 1st I’ll try again, and I’ll stick with it this time...”

Her motivation was clear and her goal was reasonable, so why didn’t it work out? The story sounds like so many of us when it comes to fitness resolutions. But what could she have done differently?

Set a concrete goal: Write down exactly what your goal is and the steps to get there. Try this handy resolution chart. Vague resolutions like “exercise more” or “eat better” are not as helpful as specific changes like “walk 20 minutes every week day” or “replace my morning bagel with an omelette.”

Set manageable time expectations: While our intentions are good, we are busy people with routines we enjoy. Compromising some things to fit in exercise is fine, but only if the compromise is sustainable. Try to budget time for both exercise and other things you enjoy. You won’t feel like you’re sacrificing one for the other. Also, try setting goals that require a smaller amount of time, so it feels less intrusive.

Set realistic outcome expectations: There’s a good reason that results we see on TV and in magazines come with an asterisk, saying: *results not typical. Don’t expect a killer body after the first 5 days. In fact, you might not notice a difference in how you look after the first week. Hang in there! If you stick with it, you’ll start seeing results soon, and the results will re-energize your motivation.

Ask for help: Find a friend to join you in your resolution. It’s a lot easier when you have moral support. Or consider hiring a personal trainer. A fitness professional can motivate you, vary the exercise program to keep you interested and give you the knowledge you need to make progress faster.

Smaller goals work out better: While big changes are what we really want, they only have value if we achieve them. Smaller, more manageable goals are a better choice because we’re more likely to succeed at them. Success breeds confidence and continues to motivate us to take on other goals. Pick small goals and make them stick. When you master the first one, take on another. Before long, you’ll be left with the big change you were looking for. If you insist on a big goal, break it down into smaller goals and work on implementing them.

Know your weaknesses: Giving up something we can’t live without or taking on something that we absolutely hate is not a recipe for long-term success. Instead, try sacrificing something that isn’t as important to you so you’re less likely to renege on your promise. Or, if what you’re giving up is unhealthy, try limiting it in moderation, starting slow to increase success (so you stick with it). As for a positive undertaking, it’s more important that it sticks, so pick something you can realistically handle.

Life is full of choices and those choices all have consequences – some good, some bad.  Keep one thing in mind, though: a year from now, you’ll wish you had started today. Good luck.

7 Ways You're Sabotaging Your Fitness

1)     Not eating enough protein

When you work out, either doing cardio or training with resistance, your muscles need to recover. Protein plays a vital role in regenerating muscle tissue. If you don’t give your muscles the building blocks they need to rebuild, you’ll hinder your muscle growth and slow down your cardio progress. Try to eat lean protein with every meal (e.g. egg whites, white-meat chicken, fish, yogurt).

2)     Not sleeping enough.

Sleep is another recovery aid that we tend to overlook. Vital to the recoperation of our body (and our mind), the quantity and quality of our sleep can affect our ability to lose weight and repair muscle. Lack of adequate sleep increases physiological stress and can cause weight gain as it builds up in our system from night after night of poor sleep. Sleep should be a restful and restorative process, so if you want to make your gym sessions most effective, get at least 7 hours of sleep a night.

3)     Just ‘going through the motions’

I get it. It’s easier to do the same thing every time you work out. Maybe you didn’t feel like exercising in the first place, so you promised yourself you’d just do your ‘regular routine’ and that would be it. Or your phone keeps you distracted so you stick to the exercises you’re used to. Here’s the thing, though – you’re cheating yourself! You’re undermining your results and missing out on a higher level of fitness. (You might actually be wasting your time completely.) How? Our body is built for efficiency – give it the same task over and over again and it’ll get really good at it. The task will become easier and so your body won’t work as hard while doing it. What’s worse is that since it doesn’t feel challenged by the task, your body won’t feel the need to get stronger to do it. Challenge yourself. Be mindful during your workout. Try something different, even something as simple as adding reps and sets to the same exercises. You can even do your favorite exercises with a weight 30-40% heavier or lighter to apply a high-weight or high-rep approach to the same workout. (Click here for more ways to amp up your workout.)

4)     Using a single mode of exercise, like just doing cardio or just lifting weights

Lots of people gravitate to one kind of training, like ‘just weights’ or ‘just running.’ I mentioned before how our body gets efficient at the same task. For the same reason, it’s important to expose our body to a variety of exercise modes so it can be stimulated in different ways. Being more physically ‘well rounded’ is a cornerstone of fitness and health. If you’re into weights, try doing some cardio with your friends or even signing up for an exercise class. You might actually enjoy yourself. If cardio is your bag, maybe hire a personal trainer to show you a few moves. A fitness professional can create a customized program that is both effective and time efficient.  He or she can get you the best bang for your buck so you can see results right away (and stick with it!)

5)     Being inconsistent with your workouts

When you first committed to working out, you felt great. “Finally! I’m getting back in shape.” Feeling great and excited for the results, you were hard-working and consistent. After a few weeks though, you found yourself on the couch watching a TV show that you used to watch at the gym. How’d that happen? I thought you were back! Like many, the motivation starts to fade. Instead of being sore (in a good way) and tired (from working out), we find ourselves lazy and filled with excuses. Was your program sustainable? Was it something you could keep up month after month, not just day after day? Life is full of obstacles, and we have to factor that into our workout plan. One hour in the gym every day is a great goal but is it realistic? The best program in the world won’t work for you if you don’t do it. Pick a brief training program to start with and, if you’re still sticking with it after a month, take on more. It’ll feel great to know you’ve survived and are adding to your program, rather than quitting or giving up some of it.

6)     Not enough recovery time

On the other side of undertraining and inconsistancy is overtraining. While the intentions are good, too much training can be really tough on your body. Proper recovery has been mentioned in 3 of the 7 points here, so it’s an important part of any training program. In addition to limiting your progress, overtraining could develop into an overuse injury (like tendonitis) or even cause muscle loss. Mistakes like training the same muscles daily or training intensely day after day without adequate recovery time are examples of overtraining. If you like to lift weights every day, split your routine into parts and train those parts less often but more intensely. One popular split is upper body/lower body/abs, where each of those three is trained on different days. Another option is a push/pull split where pushing exercises are on one day and pulling exercises are on another. When it comes to cardio, if you feel like your progress is plataeuing or if you’re developing discomfort, try mixing it up. Run for two weeks and then bike for two. Or, enjoy your typical cardio class during the week but walk hills outside on weekends. Change is good for us and our bodies!

7)     Eating junk / drinking alcohol

Would you save up to buy an expensive home only to trash it with parties? Would you use your hard-earned fancy car to bring home compost for gardening? Kind of undermines the hard work to get what you got, right? Same goes for over-indulging. Extra calories mean impaired weight loss (or weight gain). Unhealthy food means systemic consequences. Alcohol means BOTH! Recognize your choices: while there is some short-term happiness in drinking alcohol and eating junk food, is it worth sacrificing your hard work in the gym? Is the long-term happiness of weight loss, better health or a more muscular physique important to you? Maybe moderation is best... Skip the booze and only have one serving of junk (instead of 3) or enjoy one drink with your healthy meal. 

It’s all up to you – think about it! And good luck.