5 Reasons You Won’t Stick to Your Resolution This Year (or any year) and How to Fix This

It’s that time of year. The cold weather settles in, the holiday joy molds into mild depression, and…oh yeah, you renew your gym membership.

Like millions of others, you’ve decided that THIS is the year to get in shape. THIS is the year you’ll shed that weight for good. THIS is the year, my friend, that you will say “NO” to pizza and beer with the boys at the Bowl-O-Rama. Deep down, you really know…THIS is bullshit. You, like everyone else, will gradually succumb to temptation and inevitably fail your mission to get fit. Your gym membership will collect more dust than your Little League MVP trophy, still planted on your mantle for anyone who questions your athletic ability. You throw like a girl – let it go.

We can change that, though. Not the fact that you throw like a girl, but we can help you keep your fitness resolution. Before you become another statistic, let’s look at five reasons you might fail (again) and how to fix them (for real this time).

1. Too Much Too Soon

Slow down, Speed Racer! Trying to do too much too soon spells disaster. People tend to think that downloading the Rocky soundtrack prepares them to climb mountains and eat iron, but after a couple of weeks, mental and physical burnout set in.

The Cure:

Start slow! Ease your way into a consistent regime. Tone down the intensity or use lighter weights. To prevent burnout, good health must be part of your lifestyle, which means it needs to be enjoyable. If you’re following a nutrition plan, you don’t have to limit yourself to pounds of leafy greens and grilled chicken. Start by cutting out the crap. It can be as simple as switching from whole to skim milk.

2. You Don’t Make Short Term Goals

So, by next year you want to look like John Basedow (minus the onion loaf haircut). Without short term goals, it will feel like running a marathon in work boots. So many people get overly anxious and fail to set small goals along the way, leading to frustration because there isn’t instant gratification.

The Cure:

Put your main goal in perspective, while making smaller, achievable goals to get there. Short term goals are meant to be more attainable in order to keep you motivated. Just like a successful business plan, you need to take small steps in order to make large strides. Humans are competitive by nature, mainly with ourselves. When you accomplish that first short-term goal, you won’t want to call it quits so easily.

3. You Don’t Know How

So maybe you have mini goals in place and you’re mentally prepared for the task ahead…but you don’t know what the hell you’re doing. Many people let pride blur their path to enlightenment – and they’re one pulled-hamstring away from sitting on the sidelines next to the waterboy.

The Cure:

Get a personal trainer, ask an expert…read a friggin’ book! Otherwise, it can be like climbing out of quicksand. You will bust your ass for hours on end with minimal results. Finding the right training regime will not only prevent injuries, but also will yield quicker results. Ultimately, the more informed you are, the more efficient your time will be in the gym.

4. Life Gets in the Way

Chauffeuring the kids, evening classes, the season finale of Bridezillas (I won’t tell anyone you watch that): everyone has priorities. Often, these become excuses that “justify” missing workouts and lead to another failed attempt at sculpted abs.

The Cure:

Make the gym part of your life. If you can’t go to the gym everyday, be prepared to improvise. You have to meet the in-laws for dinner? No problem. Run outside, bang out some push-ups, or rake those leaves that you’ve been meaning to tackle. Just get your heart rate elevated and break a sweat. Staying fit is a lifestyle.

5. Doritos Taste like Heaven

Besides orange fingers and cheese breath, Doritos serve another purpose: ruining your healthy lifestyle. Temptation to indulge in sweet and savory snacks is another cause of failed attempts to finally lose the gut.

The Cure:

Eat them! Everything “in moderation,” right? Wrong. One man’s “moderation” is a 14 pound bag of Doritos while another’s is 2 ounces. That said, indulge in your favorite snack, but do so strategically and with acute awareness of the portion size. Denying yourself these treats can actually make things worse in the end.

So, there you have it, people! The five reasons your resolution has failed before and how you can fix it. With these strategic “cures,” the rest of 2010 will be all about kickin’ ass!