New Year's Resolution

did you make a new year's resolution?

i'm not really big on resolutions. it just seems like you are setting yourself up for disappointment (even though i did actually make one last year and this year). i have heard some really good advice though, if you do set a goal for a new year, start on januray 5th instead of the 1st. it kind of makes sense especially if you make the ever popular "eat better and exercise" resolution. it's hard to start the 1st mainly because you usually feel poorly from staying up too late and perhaps drinking too much the night before. by the 5th, you have really decided on a good goal and most if not all of your holiday goodies are gone. if not, throw them out! don't attempt to avoid temptations that are as close as your kitchen! stock your fridge with good, fresh food like plenty of fruits, veggies, and lean meat and fish. it will be easier to eat better if you have what you want to eat in your fridge.

my resolution last year was to keep an exercise journal. it was perfect for me because i didn't set a goal of "workout 6 days a week" just to end up inevitably blowing it. i figured i can at least write down every time i exercise and what i did. it ended up keeping me pretty accountable. for every day that i didn't do anything, i had to write down "off day".

excerpts from my 2009 exercise journal

 

at the end of each month i tallied up the days i exercised and figured out the percentage of days i did some sort of physical activity that month. as you can see, my best month was july and my worst was october. it's to be expected, right? but i am pretty happy with my overall 66% of the days of the whole year. i was really surprised how much this little step motivated me. i figure why stop as good thing?

so, for 2010, i think i'll do the same. keep track in a exercise journal and my goal this year is to beat my 66%.

good luck to all of your with your resolutions!