by Lori Newell

Created on: August 25, 2007

Starting and Staying with and exercise program

Has this been another year where you made a promise to exercise more but find that you have abandoned your program again?

Every year in January many of us make New Year's Resolutions to be healthier, loose weight, eat better etc. We make these commitments because we know that a healthier lifestyle will help us:
Have more energy.

Decrease our risk for a variety of medical conditions including: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis etc.
Remain active, mobile, and independent.
Sleep better.
Fit better in our clothes.
Increase our self-esteem.

Yet many of these efforts are abandoned within weeks. Why do people abandon their resolutions?

Problem 1:
The most common reason is that people try to make too many changes at once. I often have students come in January who say they want to lose weight, stop smoking, reduce stress, eat healthier, spend more time with family, etc. all at the same time. The problem is that we are creatures of habit and change is hard. When we set too many goals for ourselves we are setting ourselves up for failure. We create a laundry list so long that it becomes unmanageable and unattainable.

Solution:
Write down all of the changes you wish to make in your life. Then list them in order of priority. When doing this be honest with yourself. Pick the goals that are important to you, not the goals that others think are important for you. Trying to please others is not a motivating enough reason to change. The change must be something you believe is worthwhile. Also, when making your list you may find that some behaviors affect others. For example you may want to lose weight, and you know that you tend to overeat when you feel stressed. Therefore make your number one priority to learn better ways to manage stress. As you begin to learn better ways of coping you will tend to turn to food less and therefore lose the weight.
After making your list, pick just one; yes just one, habit you wish to change. Then when you have accomplished that, move on to the next. This allows you to focus your attention on one goal alone. This is more manageable then trying to make too many changes at once. When you accomplish your goal and realize you can make changes, this can help you to find the motivation and know-how to move on to other changes.

Problem 2:
People frequently become discouraged when results don't come quickly enough, and there is too much discomfort because changes where made too drastically.

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