Top 5 Reasons Why New Year New You Resolutions Fail & Proven Solutions To Win
1. Going it alone
Unless you’re really thick-skinned and stubborn, it’s extremely hard to stick to a weight loss resolution by yourself. This is the #1 reason for failure. What’s more, if other people aren’t aware that you want to change, chances are they’ll keep offering you cakes, cookies, and other weight loss resolution saboteurs. By going it alone you also don’t feel compelled to keep up your efforts and typically end up collapsing half way to your goal.
Solution: PUBLICLY DECLARE YOUR WAR AGAINST THE POUNDS!
a) Create a support group on Facebook. Get in touch with a couple of friends who share the same goal so that you feel supported at all times.
b) Share your weight loss achievements along the way! If you don’t feel comfortable publishing your personal weight, just note how many pounds you’ve lost or the % of goal you’ve reached etc.
c) Put sticky notes with your healthy resolutions on your fridge, in your car, at your work desk – wherever you and your family and friends are likely to see them!
d) Most importantly, join a program like LeBootCamp.com where you can get all the professional support you need but also the daily messages and knowledge to feel empowered.
e) Keep a blog. By sharing your successes and your struggles, you’re more likely to stay on track as well as motivate others to follow in your footsteps!
2. Depriving yourself
You’ve gorged yourself for a few weeks, or worse, you haven’t looked at the scale since Thanksgiving. The pounds have crept back and found themselves a comfy spot on your figure. But now that you’re back to work and in your NYNY spirit, it’s time to tackle the extra weight!
The easiest path is to deprive yourself; indeed, not eating or eating only one category of food (think high protein diets or mono diets), will bring very short-term results. That said, if you’ve asked any follower of those quick-fix dangerous regimes, you’ll always hear the same terrible tale: the dieter lost 20 lbs in no time only to regain all the lost weight as soon as they jumped off the bandwagon and reverted to “real life”!
Solution: REMIND YOURSELF THAT YOU ARE A FOOD LOVER!
I know it is hard to face the fact that you won’t lose 20 lbs in 2 weeks - but rather in about 8 or 12 weeks - but think about the long-term results: would you rather lose your weight quickly and see it come back quickly? Or would you rather lose it forever?
Getting your dream body to stay takes a generous dollop of food-loving. Explore new foods and flavors and learn to eat what’s truly good for you. Take the time try one new recipe per week and start cooking and preparing your food with mindfulness. Get your family and friends onboard in your quest to diet with pleasure! Try some LeBootCamp favorites, like our Eggplant Tarte Tatin or Raw Lemon Cheesecake, and you’ll be amazed to discover just how delicious diet food can be!
3. Diving in too fast
You did not gain those extra pounds overnight. You won’t lose them overnight either. I know it isn’t the greatest wakeup call but it’s the truth! Don’t go on the fast lane of dieting - it's the fast track to failure.
Solution: TAKE IT SLOW.
Take one step at a time. Lose your extra pounds one day at a time. To do it right, make one major change per week and one baby change per day. For example:
Week 1: add freshly squeezed lemon juice in room temperature water every morning on an empty stomach
Week 2: add a 30-min walk on an empty stomach (before breakfast, lunch or dinner, you decide)
Week 3: have one 100% raw meal per day (eg. a raw breakfast: 10 sprouted almonds, 1 banana, 1 pink grapefruit and unlimited seasonal berries)
Week 4: Add 2x1hr cardio sessions per week
As for daily baby steps, add one new 25th hour move (my version of integrative gymnastics) every day: squeeze your glutes while folding laundry or cooking, suck in your stomach each time you go through a door, stand up and sit down 5 times in a row each time you’re about to sit on a chair, etc.
4. Lack of confidence
“I can’t do it.” “I’ve tried a thousand times.” Or how about what others tell you? “You tried losing weight last time and it didn’t work…” “Maybe it’s just your genes – to be fat forever.” Sounds familiar?
Solution: KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PRIZE!
a) Get rid of your diet saboteurs! Don’t let them make you feel that you can’t reach your goals. Let’s face it: magazines and websites are covered with stories of former obese people who made it. If they did it, so can you! Do respond to the saboteurs’ comments with, “I’m sorry if you don’t believe I can make it, but I know that I WILL and nobody will prevent me from reaching the goal I HAVE DECIDED I WILL REACH”. Chances are those people suffer from lack of confidence themselves and feel they need to put out your candle so that theirs can burn a little brighter. Rise above!
b) Granted it is hard to stay motivated after years of trying, but I reckon losing weight is like living in Hollywood: only the highly motivated ones who never lose hope really make it. You need to toughen up and not let others deprive you of your willpower to achieve your dream. Post empowering messages for yourself like, “I can do it!” or “by February 14th I will have lost xxx pounds” and remember that you’re in it to win it.
c) Buy an outfit one size smaller than you are now and keep it visibly present. Seeing it constantly will raise your motivation as well as your self confidence that you can reach your goal. Try on this outfit every week; you’ll see that your hard work is paying off!
5. Using the wrong motivation techniques
Using the wrong tools to reach your goals simply exhausts your energy. Efforts that yield no results can be very frustrating, which is why it’s critical to ensure we’re employing proven techniques.
Solution: OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW!
a) Replace the picture of your overweight self (or other person) you’ve put on the fridge with a picture of your ideal self! This will send a positive message to your brain and enable you to understand what is acceptable and healthy, as opposed to a picture of your former overweight self which sends a message to your brain that this is simply reality.
b) Repeating the wrong mantra such as “I don’t want to be fat” is not positive enough. Instead, repeat “I want to be fit and healthy”!
c) Confiding in and counting on a naturally very thin person who constantly eats rich food in front of you (but hey, you don’t know how she burns it off when she is not in sight!) will not help. Steer clear of skinny overeaters!
d) Hanging out with overweight people who don’t care and eat too much for their health is also detrimental, because you’ll simply be tempted to eat as much as they do. Countless studies have shown how obesity is socially contagious. The solution? Stick with friends who want to get healthy, and once your results start showing you can safely socialize with your hardcore overweight friends. Even better, you’ll serve as a motivation to these people, which is bound to empower you even more and get you to your personal goals faster!
