Five Tips to Help You Stick to Your New Year's Weight Loss Goals

A new year is a new chance to write your story. It's a blank slate, and you can fill it with whatever you want!

Now are you one of those people that have made a resolution to lose weight and improve your health? Unfortunately, most people make this type of resolution and then let it dwindle out by the end of the first month or so. How can you overcome this, and keep your motivation throughout the year so that you can finally achieve your weight loss and health goals?

I’m going to offer some tips that may help you stick with your weight loss resolutions. Try a few and do your best move yourself into consistent action.

1. Develop weekly weight loss goals. The problem with a year-long weight loss resolution is almost no one can really stay focused for an entire year. But if you break your resolution into weekly goals, then you are much more likely to succeed. For example, do a January challenge to go for a walk every day or drink water for the month.

2. Join a weight loss group challenge. There are tremendous benefits in joining up with a group of people on the same journey. Together you can all challenge each other to complete your goals and keep the motivation going.

3. Do a mindfulness training. Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. (source: mindful.org) Mindfulness training teaches you that your urges and rationalizations don't control you, that you can choose better and therefore will be able to create those healthy habits that will help you lose weight.

4. Find your accountability person. Yes, It’s you can try to conquer your changes on your own, but having someone with you along the way can be incredibly effective. This person can keep you on the right path and even guide to a better one. Find that one influential person that will hold you accountable to your weight loss goals.

5. Don't try to change everything at once. Small changes are eaier to manage and stick to completion, which will ultimately end up totaling to a significant change. For example, instead of trying to work out for an hour a day, exercise for a few minutes each day. If you want to eat healthier, add one vegetable to your meal each week, instead of trying to eat 100% healthier.

Bonus tip, your journey towards losing weight and becoming healthier is a learning process. It takes consistent practice, passion, and perseverance. Each failure is just another lesson, another chance to find out what works better. And no matter what you do, rest assure that no matter what, doing something to help yourself improve is so much better than doing nothing.