Greetings!  Happy 2011! 

Wow - 2010 flew by, didn't it?

Did you keep all of your resolutions last year?  Don't worry if you didn't - you're in the majority.  78% of people (according to some studies) don't keep their resolutions.  This year, instead of setting the same goals that didn't work last year, try something new.  Make this the year that you set yourself up for success instead of failure!  Here are some tips to help you:

Map out a plan, and keep it flexible.   Lay it all out, step by step and then begin with the first step.  If you get sidetracked, simply go back to your plan and re-vamp it.  Go on to your plan B, if necessary - but don't give up.  Hang your plan up where you'll see it every day, to help keep you on track and check off your successes, or start a success journal where you write down two or three successes each day before you go to bed.

For instance, if your resolution is to make some healthy changes to your eating habits this year (notice the positive phrasing), then your plan could start with keeping a food log for the month of January.  Writing down everything you consume on a daily basis helps you understand where you can make additions or what to remove from your pantry.  I find that most people are horrified when they look at their food log and realize what they are actually consuming each day, and that step alone causes positive changes! 

Then in February, look at your food diary and make one small change like eating cheese no more than once a day, or instead of snacking on cheese and crackers while preparing dinner, eat an apple... 

Did you know that eating an apple ½ - 1 hour before your dinner will help you eat less?  The fiber in the apple fills you up and the pectin aids digestion so that your dinner will metabolize better.  How easy is that?!

The next month you add another habit like drinking more water, and maybe the next month you begin a pattern of walking up and down a set of stairs once a day simply for the aerobic benefit.  Studies have shown that doing something for 30 days makes it a habit, so if you add one small change every month, by the end of the year you will have incorporated lifestyle changes that put you well on your way to permanent weight loss and better health.

You could also resolve to work with a coach this year.  There are health coaches like myself who design a personalized plan to help you meet all of your health and wellness goals, whether that's losing weight, lowering your blood pressure, starting a fitness routine, sleeping better, reducing hot flashes or even improving your golf game with better flexibility!  Also, business coaches who help you get that new business off the ground using modern technologies like Twitter, Facebook, You Tube videos and internet marketing strategies.  There are even coaches to help you get that book written and published at last!

The best coaches combine tried and true methods with the newest technologies, to help you achieve the results you want in the shortest time possible, saving you months or even years of trial and error.  This makes them the best bargain out there... (more below!)

Best of Health,

Kathi