Write a NEW YOU Resolution!
Do your resolution right this year, and write it down! We've created a fill-in-the-blank resolution form that will help you turn your wishes into dreams come true.
Every year, when "Auld Lang Syne" is old news again and the New Year's Eve party hors d'oeuvres are all gone, we make New Year's resolutions. For many of us, one of these resolutions is to lose weight.
The difference between weight-loss success and forgotten by February? A plan. To help you put your resolution in writing, we made the fill-in-the-blank resolution form you see below. Print it out and grab a pencil ...
Whatever you want to be NEW about your weight-loss journey this year, put it in this form. Maybe you're just starting and you have quite a bit of weight to lose, or you've been at it for a while but you want to learn to feel comfortable with food. Figuring out the whys and hows of your weight-loss journey can make all the difference in whether or not you actually do it.
So -- get started on the path top a new you!
The difference between weight-loss success and forgotten by February? A plan. To help you put your resolution in writing, we made the fill-in-the-blank resolution form you see below. Print it out and grab a pencil ...
Whatever you want to be NEW about your weight-loss journey this year, put it in this form. Maybe you're just starting and you have quite a bit of weight to lose, or you've been at it for a while but you want to learn to feel comfortable with food. Figuring out the whys and hows of your weight-loss journey can make all the difference in whether or not you actually do it.
So -- get started on the path top a new you!
Real Resolutions
How to choose a New Year's resolution that you can stick with
In fact, we can’t even agree that it was the Babylonians that actually started the tradition. So, with 2012 under way, we asked the experts why resolutions fail and how you can make a resolution this year that you can stick with.
Each year, millions resolve to lose weight, exercise more, make more money and quit or cut back on a vice (such as smoking or drinking). While these are reasonable and often necessary changes to make, we have a difficult time seeing the resolution through. Experts say this is because we bite off more than we can chew—expecting sweeping results in a short amount of time.
“I believe that resolutions fail the overwhelming majority of the time because people initially set their goals too high or do not take the time to plan how they will accomplish their resolutions,” says Simon A. Rego, Psy D Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “It is not about the person. I believe that anyone can be successful in keeping their resolutions. They just need to put a little time and effort into planning and structuring their resolutions.”
David Epstein, MD, Market Medical Executive for Cigna Health Care of Ohio, agrees that resolutions need to be tempered and given much more flexibility to allow for success. His company did a study on resolutions and how successful they are and found that expectations are too high when the average person makes a New Year’s resolution.
“Intellectually, they know that they should make these changes. Maybe it’s a collective guilt trip over our indulgence as a society. We’re very into instant gratification and a ‘super size me’ society,” says Epstein. “But it’s a long term proposition and not a quick fix.”
Given that people often expect too much in too little time, Epstein and Rego say there is a process to planning a successful resolution—or any other kind of behavioural change, and it’s called the SMART theory.
With your new SMART thinking, coming up with a reasonable resolution should be fairly easy. And if you follow these rules, you’ll have a much better chance for success.
Rego, a cognitive behavioural therapist, says staying positive is a critical aspect of keeping your resolution. “We see negative mood states as being influenced by thoughts and behaviours. So, if the resolution appears to be slowly going awry, the key is to examine your thoughts and behaviours,” he says. “We all have an inner critic that comments on the world around us, but we do not have to listen to it. Focus on the benefits of achieving your resolution versus the costs in working for it.”
More good advice: Don’t go it alone. Epstein says clue your friends and family into what you’re doing. Not only will those people encourage you along the way, but you’ll also be publicly accountable for your resolution, giving you added incentive to see your resolution to fruition. With a positive attitude, you can adopt your new behaviour for life.
“We tend to be fairly optimistic, and think that if we try this year, we can do better,” says Epstein. “With the new year, we get a clean slate and we can let go of last year’s baggage.”
Now get to it.
Each year, millions resolve to lose weight, exercise more, make more money and quit or cut back on a vice (such as smoking or drinking). While these are reasonable and often necessary changes to make, we have a difficult time seeing the resolution through. Experts say this is because we bite off more than we can chew—expecting sweeping results in a short amount of time.
“I believe that resolutions fail the overwhelming majority of the time because people initially set their goals too high or do not take the time to plan how they will accomplish their resolutions,” says Simon A. Rego, Psy D Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “It is not about the person. I believe that anyone can be successful in keeping their resolutions. They just need to put a little time and effort into planning and structuring their resolutions.”
David Epstein, MD, Market Medical Executive for Cigna Health Care of Ohio, agrees that resolutions need to be tempered and given much more flexibility to allow for success. His company did a study on resolutions and how successful they are and found that expectations are too high when the average person makes a New Year’s resolution.
“Intellectually, they know that they should make these changes. Maybe it’s a collective guilt trip over our indulgence as a society. We’re very into instant gratification and a ‘super size me’ society,” says Epstein. “But it’s a long term proposition and not a quick fix.”
Given that people often expect too much in too little time, Epstein and Rego say there is a process to planning a successful resolution—or any other kind of behavioural change, and it’s called the SMART theory.
| SMART Theory |
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|
Rego, a cognitive behavioural therapist, says staying positive is a critical aspect of keeping your resolution. “We see negative mood states as being influenced by thoughts and behaviours. So, if the resolution appears to be slowly going awry, the key is to examine your thoughts and behaviours,” he says. “We all have an inner critic that comments on the world around us, but we do not have to listen to it. Focus on the benefits of achieving your resolution versus the costs in working for it.”
More good advice: Don’t go it alone. Epstein says clue your friends and family into what you’re doing. Not only will those people encourage you along the way, but you’ll also be publicly accountable for your resolution, giving you added incentive to see your resolution to fruition. With a positive attitude, you can adopt your new behaviour for life.
“We tend to be fairly optimistic, and think that if we try this year, we can do better,” says Epstein. “With the new year, we get a clean slate and we can let go of last year’s baggage.”
Now get to it.
| (Location)______________ (Name)______________'s New Year's Resolution It's a new year for a new me! This year, I will ______________. I'm doing it for ______________, because I want to feel ______________. I want to look ______________. And I want to know that ______________. This is the year I'll make it happen. I know it won't be easy, but this is the year I'll overcome the things that have stopped me in the past, such as ______________, ______________, and ______________. This is the year I'll dedicate myself to my weight loss journey. I'll do whatever it takes to make it to my goal and stay there, including ______________, ______________, and ______________. I'm resolved, and I'm going to do it: This is the year I'm going to make my dream come true, my dream to ______________. This is the year! |
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