New Year's Resolutions that Actually Work!

Dec 22, 2005 03:58 PM EST

This article was brought to you by Truestar Health: The World's Most Comprehensive Nutrition, Fitness & Healthy Lifestyle Resource

With every new year, a majority of people have the best of intentions to improve their lives on many levels. From financial and personal health to professional and personal relationships – we all hope for prosperity in almost every area of life.

I truly believe that a new year is the best opportunity for self-examination and change. However, I have witnessed many people set health and weight loss goals in January only to have them fail and fall by the wayside weeks or a few months later. Setting realistic goals and reaching them is not as hard as it seems. Follow these steps in order to make 2006 your healthiest year ever!

Write it Down

While it is beneficial to think about the goals you would like to achieve, it is far more powerful to write them down and to commit them to paper. Research clearly shows that written goals are much more likely to be achieved. Written goals help you to set a time frame and to pinpoint the progress you would like to make. Be very specific about the goal you would like to achieve in 2006. For example, instead of writing, “I would like to lose weight,” be more specific and write, “I would like to drop 15 pounds in 8 weeks.”

Be Realistic

If you set extremely lofty and unrealistic goals in a short amount of time, you are setting yourself up for failure. I am a big advocate of going after all of your dreams and watching them appear in your life, but keep in mind that change on all levels does take some time. For example, if you would like to double your income in 2006, do not become distraught if this is not achieved in the first few months. Just keep on revising and revisiting your goals and success in every area of your life will happen soon enough.

Listen to your Heart

The beautiful thing about goals is that they are personal. Do not listen to people who are critical of your goals. This will likely happen, but don’t get discouraged. Simply listen to your heart and do what feels right for you. To quote William Shakespeare, “This above all else – to thy own self be true.”

Jump Start your Health

Although health is not the only thing that matters in life, if you do not have it, other areas of life will ultimately suffer. In order to “jump start” your health in the new year, follow these helpful tips:

Complete your own personal nutrition profile – Visit the Truestar Nutrition or Weight Loss sections and complete a personal profile. By doing so, you will be offered hundreds of recipes that are perfectly balanced and designed just for you.

Use the Truestar Food Trakker – The Truestar Food Trakker provides information on thousands of food items at your finger tips! Enter your own personal meals and recipes into the Food Trakker to become more informed about what you are eating.

Stop eating by 7 PM – Allowing your body to have a mini cleanse daily from 7 PM to 7 AM will optimize digestion and energy. If weight loss is your goal, doing a daily cleanse will help you lose 2 to 5 pounds in the first week.

Take supplements wisely – Supplements are not a substitute for a healthy diet, but they do act as a “nutritional safety net”. Due to stress levels, lack of sunshine, poor mineral and vitamin intake and lack of essential fats in the diet, daily supplements make up for losses in the diet and are beneficial to achieving optimal health. For more information on supplements, visit the Truestar Vitamin section.

Remember, it takes approximately 30 days to form a lasting habit. Changing poor food habits to a diet is a difficult task, but it can be done. Simply follow the recommendations I discussed, be patient with yourself and in good time, your healthiest you will shine through in 2006!

Wishing you and yours a healthy and happy New Year!

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