Tuesday, January 3, 2012

What Will You DO in 2012?


Somebody’s got a case of the Mondays? Well, good news folks it’s Tuesday!! Although it may feel more like a Monday (especially if it’s your first day back to work). Holiday hangover anyone? Guess what though...there's more good news for you; 2012 is a leap year giving YOU a whole extra day to accomplish and fulfill the New Year’s resolution you just made. Yayyy…That’s right 366 days, 8784 hours, 527,040 minutes and 31,622,400 seconds (check the math—dare ya!) to do EXACTLY what you set out to do-- accomplish those goals and hopefully make this the best year yet! 
There’s just one problem…that the extra day may (and by may we mean probably will) be tallied as another day you DID NOT stick with the self-improvement mindset.  Unfortunately, research shows more than half of people do not even stick with their resolution for 6 months. Confession time! We too are more than guilty of not sticking to our past resolutions! Let’s face it; we as a society are creatures of habit. For both of us, our habit of choice includes over-indulging on sweet treats on the daily (sometimes hourly) and that is a tough habit to kick. Another crazy fact is that it takes 90 days to make a habit or break a habit. So that means to conquer our resolutions and make new positive habits (while kicking the negative ones) we have to at make it to the 90 day/13 week mark (March 30th)!
So for laughs, let’s take the classic resolution—LOSING WEIGHT.  Weight loss itself is a difficult task but includes a fairly simple formula: Total calories consumed – calories expended<(must be less than) your daily suggested calorie intake. Of course there is more to it but just roll with it people (or person—depending on how many people have read this far)!  Back to losing weight…so for example let’s say “our friend” wants to lose 20 lbs. For some people it’s super overwhelming to even think about lifting 20 lbs., let alone losing 20 lbs…but I assure you, you can do it…if you want to bad enough!  
First, let’s break that big ol’ number 20 into smaller increments…how about we divide the 20 pounds over the amount of time it takes for most people to give up on their resolution (only 6 months). In this case during the time span of January 1st to June 30th (182 days, 26 weeks) you would need to lose a little over ¾ of a lb. a week. Totally doable!  Also meaning, on average you will need to cut (through diet) or burn (with exercise) an extra 385 calories a day or about 2695 calories a week. Realistically, you are going to have days where you rock it (Richard Simmons style) and days where you want to crawl under a rock (red velvet cake anyone?), but that’s life! 
 So what else is important in the resolution process? Well you better hurry up for starters (363 days woohoo) and if you must hurry up that means we must zip it up! To ensure that you do NOT allow yourself to fall victim to the resolution downfall, get your mind right--quitting simply can not be an option. Along with the previous tips we have constructed a short list to what we feel is important (NOTE: We are definitely not experts, nor dieticians for that matter, so please share your ideas and thoughts):
  1.  You have to put yourself on YOUR priority list.  Mom’s unfortunately are the worst at this… between carting kids to/from events -grocery shopping -cleaning-laundry-dishes -lil Billy being sick -more laundry- lil Billy is recovered but now has poison ivy…okay you get the point-and THE POINT is you are going to have to carve out time for yourself. Trust me the precious boogers will actually appreciate you more if you’re not always accessible. Schedule it and stick to it!
  2. For gosh sakes write down your resolution/goals! Do it..Now! Really. Rumor has it (Adele anyone?) that if you write down your goals (essentially a resolution) you will be 80% more likely to achieve them in the future.  What’d you have for lunch 10 days ago? A little off subject but we bet you can’t remember (keep reading for the point to this question.)..hence, we believe it is just as important to frequently read your list over again-- put them in a place where you will be forced to look them over (ex, bathroom mirror, daily planner) to remind yourself what the heck you are doing.
  3. Track/picture your progress.  Tracking your progress can be an amazing motivational tool while allowing yourself to be inspired by your personal progress at the same time. Keep picturing the “new you” until your vision/goal turns into reality.  A wise lady once said “You become what you think about all the time”-Loren Ridinger.
  4. Have an “Accountability Partner” (A.P.). Fortunately, we can use each other as an A.P. (sista..sista!). You should also have someone that holds you to your goals and looks out for your best interest (even though YOU may think you need a 3rd piece of pie this is where the A.P. should flash their badge). We recommend warning your new A.P. that you may get upset at them from time to time for holding you accountable but stress to them that they shouldn’t take it personally.  Going hand in hand with this suggestion we’ve found that people you’re closest to are usually the best option... cuz let’s be honest they’ve seen your crazy and everyone’s crazy is a little different and should only be exposed to a limited number of people.
  5. Don’t expect perfection.  Lord knows (literally—if you're a Believer..or "Tebow" on occasion-google it!) that no one is perfect. Setting realistic expectations for yourself is crucial and if you break the realistic expectations you’ve set…big deal. Rome wasn’t built in a day and my Grandfather isn’t going to be a GQ model at age 86 either! As a matter of fact you should schedule mini-splurges or treats for yourself just don’t take it too far. Going cold turkey is never a healthy idea unless it’s on a delicious sandwich. Get back on the bandwagon and regroup because tomorrow is a new day!

That’s all we got… hope we didn’t delay your resolution success and we wish you much excitement in the coming year!

2 comments:

  1. This blog wants to make me hi-five y'all after every single paragraph. Very well said, motivational, and I feel like I lost weight just reading it. Keep encouraging people, everyone needs it!

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