New Year's Resolutions

It's January, the time of year when resolutions are made and, unfortunately, often broken. Perhaps the most common resolutions have to do with leading a healthier lifestyle: losing weight or simply eating healthier, exercising more regularly, quitting smoking, cutting back on alcohol intake, etc. These may also be the most easily broken. One of our goals at Renaissance Health is to help you keep those resolutions and make them a reality. One of the ways in which we plan to do that is by checking in on you throughout the year to ensure that you are making progress with your goals. For now, here are some tips and tricks on successful lifestyle changes:

• Set realistic goals. For example, if your goal is weight loss, keep in mind that it is unrealistic to expect to lose more than 1-2 pounds per week. Or if you've been a couch potato, don't resolve to run the Boston Marathon. Start slowly and gradually build up.
• Track your progress. If your goal is centered around diet, keep a food diary as well as a weight log. This will allow you to assess where you might be falling short of your goals and enable you to make subtle changes which can lead to success. If your goal is exercise, log how many times a week you did a certain activity, how long you did it for and the intensity at which you were exercising. You should find that with time you can increase the intensity, duration and sometimes even the frequency with which you exercise.
• Reward yourself. Set interim goals and when you reach them reward yourself with something you'll enjoy and that will reinforce your progress. For example, a new article of clothing when you reach a certain weight goal, or a massage when you've achieved an exercise goal.
• Don't give up. Remember that lifestyle change is difficult. Don't beat yourself up too much for one little slip. Try to get back on track.