A New Year: Aim for Consistency

Once again, the New Year is here. To me it's a time to think about a change in mind set. Everything we accomplish must first occur in the mind before we realize it's become a lifelong habit.
If I was to generalize about why people stall in their attempts to improve their weight and exercise goals, two things come to mind. First, situations that occur in our lives seem to overwhelm us and take away from continuing on the journey. Second, we lack consistency: we may exercise for three days, then stop; we may eat very well for a week or two, then lose interest and become careless with portions.
For the first issue (dealing with life situations), it's important to adapt the attitude: "In spite of.” By this I mean we should have a mantra that sounds something like this: "In spite of this situation, I will exercise;” or, "In spite of the frustration I'm having at work, I will watch my portions tonight.”
For the second issue, we all must learn consistency of purpose. Exercise, in ANY capacity, should be done regularly no matter what. It's THAT important to your health, mindset, overall well-being, and the long-term success at weight maintenance. It's important to try and avoid excuses. I remember reading an article by a personal trainer who suggested only 8 minutes a day. However, this involved using resistance (dumbbells) and he wanted people to work out with intensity for that 8 minutes. I realize we hear articles on 30 to 60 minutes per day of exercise, but we must find the ‘consistency' first. We can all find 8 or 10 minutes to move, and we must become consistent with it: better 8-10 minutes daily than 30 minutes occasionally.
With these two suggestions, one must have patience. We don't change overnight; it takes time. However, if you commit yourself to working on consistency of healthy choices, and consistency of doing regular activity, you will succeed.
Remember that you will do these things "in spite of” any situation that arises. You'll do it because, for the rest of your life, these situations will ALWAYS be there; we must learn to continue on our own personal success transformation.
I wish everyone a positive, successful start to the New Year! You CAN do this – don't ever lose sight of your ultimate goal to become healthier!

Dr. Doug