Resolving to Get it Right: Making the Right Type of Resolutions is the Secret

Being involved in the weight loss community for the last few years, I've had opportunity to see lots of New Year's resolutions from folks who want to drop extra pounds. Some resolutions help, and others clearly don't. Follow these tips to make uplifting, helpful resolutions that you can feel good about keeping.

Think behavioral resolutions, not lose-by resolutions. That's because you have full control of your behavior, but no control over what you may lose on what date. Our bodies are very complex organisms, and there is just an infinite number of variables that can impact what poundage it lets go of and when. Behavioral resolutions allow you to feel successful, which is vital to you staying on course, and ultimately have the same payout on reaching your loss goals if you choose them wisely.

Ramp your way up, for goodness sakes! I cringe when I see someone who's been very inactive for ages resolve to exercise two and a half hours a day, every day. This doesn't last because it's too much of a change, and the demands of making it are usually just not sustainable. I know the intentions are good, but that's setting yourself up to fail while you're making the process much more painful. Give yourself breathing room. Give yourself a transitional period. Don't make it punitive. Make your changes as pleasant as possible. You're happier and your much more likely to follow through long term.

Focus on the positive. Saying "I will not eat cookies anymore" doesn't feel nearly as good as saying, "I'll make myself LC treats I feel good about eating." Both statements have the same net worth. But the second statement isn't about restriction; it's about benefit! That takes you much further.

Resolve to replace what you want to leave behind. Use this same technique for any behavior you would like to eliminate. Find something that fulfills the need you're addressing. If you frequently eat to relax, for example, resolve to give yourself regular time read, listen to music, play a game or do something else you find enjoyable instead. Address that need in more adaptive ways and you won't be swimming against the tide to stay on course.

Be playful. Resolutions don't have to be cranky, serious edicts based on "our own good." You can get the same benefits in more fun ways with some creativity. How about resolving to take a walk at sunset a few nights a week? Or resolve to remind yourself  before bedtime of something you feel good about from the day. Or resolve to spend more time playing with your puppy. Resolve to trick a carb-lover into enjoying low carb recipes! 

Resolve to forgive yourself. Both for slips on your resolutions, and especially past behavior. If you're refocusing, great! Stop griping about where you are now, and start congratulating yourself for taking better care of yourself right now! You don't enjoy whining anyway, right? Self-recrimination is nothing but depressing. That's fattening! People who feel good about themselves make better choices and feel better doing it.

Resolve to pay attention. This is a very individual journey. What works for your friend will not always work for you. Consider this journey a learning experience in how your body works, where the dividends will be paid in spades.

Resolve to make it easy on yourself. Planning ahead, using the resources at your disposal, and doing everything you can to make your life easier in any way whatsoever will actually make your path to your weight loss goals smoother as well. A happy, relaxed low-carber is most likely a successful low-carber. Use your energy wisely.

Resolve to acknowledge and celebrate your successes, large and small. Nothing motivates like success, and yet so many people focus only on where they fall short in an effort to drive success. Success attracts more of the same.

Resolve to encourage others. One of the reasons this community and others like it survive year after year is because they work. Actively encouraging others isn't only the nice thing to do: it helps you do better following your own plan because you're focusing on healthy, adaptive behaviors.  As a perk, you're also in good shape karmically with this method and you're making the world a better place. (Gosh, I just love win-win!)

A Simple Test for Resolutions

In fact, it's quite easy to tell if you've got yourself a good resolution: does it further your goals somehow AND feel good to practice it? That's it. If you can answer "yes" to both these questions, you're on your way to achieving your goals because there is nothing that can keep you from soaring...Not even you.