Make Your Weight Loss Resolution Stick In 2012

by Jeff W

My wife and I have a joke whenever we start a new diet… “This time’s for real!” we say, teasing ourselves about the many times we failed in the past.

When New Years comes around every year we all make a promise to ourselves that we will lose weight once and for all. We pack in to the gym and make drastic changes to our daily diet but all to often that determination that got us fired up to lose the weight just falls by the wayside when our willpower gives out. Sometimes we lose a few pounds but many of us just gain it all back and then some.

So how can you get your New Years weight loss resolution to stick in 2012?

We asked some of the best weight loss bloggers you’ll find anywhere…

Ted from Diet-Blog.com

Diet-Blog.com is one of the top weight blogs on the web having been voted best diet blog in Forbes and Fitness Magazine They have been featured in Shape Magazine, Fox News and the Arizona Republic. You can read more from Ted and the rest of their writers at Diet Blog, Eat Right, Get Healthy or follow Diet Blog on Twitter @dietblog.

I think there are two main reasons dieting New Year’s resolutions fail. First, people set unrealistic goals, so when they haven’t lost “20 pounds in two weeks”, they get discouraged and give up.

Secondly, people fail to plan out effective strategies to reach their goals. They have the desire, but lack the how to. We would advise people to set realistic expectations and to find a good diet program that will assist them with the strategies and support needed to be successful.

Diane from Fit To The Finish

Diane has a truly remarkable story. Weighing over 300 pounds she decided that enough was enough and created her own custom diet with which she lost over 150 pounds and went from a size 28 to a size 6! (Her amazing transformation pictures are here) Diane now teaches her diet techniques at her own website called Fit To The Finish, 150 Pounds Gone Forever. Follow Diane on Twitter at @fittothefinish.

Although I continually and unsuccessfully tried to lose weight when I weighed 300 pounds, I always started a new, special diet every New Year’s Day. My new year’s diet never worked for long, and the majority of people I have worked with and spoken to seem to fail at their new year’s diets for one simple reason. Instead of looking at their weight loss efforts as a permanent lifestyle change, they look at that New Year’s diet as a temporary way of eating. Then, if they do lose weight, they often go right back to the old eating habits that contributed to their weight problems in the first place. The bottom line is this: New Year’s is a great time to begin a new lifestyle that will help you achieve a healthy weight that you can maintain for life. 

My suggestion to make those resolutions stick and your new lifestyle work is a simple one. Break apart your weight goals and fitness goals into manageable chunks. When I needed to lose 150 pounds I was overwhelmed with the thought of losing half my size. But when I approached weight loss in simple 5 pound increments, and fitness goals into 10 minute sessions of walking, I had success. Success breeds success, and as I lost 5 pounds after 5 pounds, I began to believe that I could finally get to a healthy weight. After 14 months of 5 pound incremental losses, I lost 158 pounds, and those short 10 minutes of exercise morphed into me being able to run a 5K.

Beth from Beth’s Journey

Beth is the DC-based blogger behind Beth’s Journey, a weight loss and healthy living blog documenting her life after losing 88 pounds through Weight Watchers. Beth has done a complete 180 with her life and has transformed into a passionate healthy living advocate who focuses on weight loss with a whole foods approach. You can check out her Facebook page or follow her on Twitter @bethsjourneytt.

Everyone starts out the new year with the best of intentions and high hopes for changing their lives for the better. But, when focusing on making major life changes like losing weight and becoming healthier, many people make the fatal error of trying to make too drastic of changes all at once. They don’t give themselves time to adjust to the changes slowly and expect perfection from themselves. This sets them up for failure because as soon as they “fall off the wagon,” which will inevitably happen at some point especially when trying to overhaul so many things at once, they give up and return to their old habits.

The best way to combat this is to focus on making small, attainable changes, based on where you are right now. In order to truly change your life and lose weight for good, no quick-fix is going to work. Instead, focus on increasing fruits and veggies, drinking more water, moving more, and eating smaller portions. Pick just one or two things to focus on at a time, and work on those until you have them down before moving onto other small changes. These small things will add up to huge changes over time!

Also, take it one day at a time. Just because you have a bad meal, day, or week, it’s ok! Don’t give up and just get yourself back on track as soon as you can. The last major tip I have is to look at healthy living as a positive thing and look at what you can add to your life rather than what you can’t have or must take away. Adding in a short walk, an extra glass of water, or an extra serving of fruits and veggies each way will go a long way in helping you stick with the changes you are making and feeling good about them.

Roni from Roni’s Weigh

Roni has a very inspiring story about how she went from 230 pounds to running 5K’s. She writes daily on her weight loss blog Roni’s Weigh and weekly on her food blog GreenLiteBites. She’s also started a weight loss community for those that want to BlogToLose. You can also follow Roni on Twitter @RoniNoone

In my experience most New Year’s diets fail because we set up our selves for failure. Think about it. You aren’t going to wake up on New Year’s Day a new person. You aren’t going to all of a sudden like to go to the gym, crave vegetables and love to cook. Healthy habits take time!

10 years ago I thought everything would just click if I just found the right moment to start. Now, 50lbs lighter (and with 2 kids!) I know it takes a conscious effort every single day. There are no magical start points.

This year commit to changing your attitude. Find a small way, every day, to live just a little more consciously. It will serve you much better then an unrealistic weight loss goal.

Jenn from Fit Bottomed Girls

Jenn is an ACE-certified personal trainer and an AFAA-certified group exercise instructor. She has been featured in Shape Magazine, Yahoo and AOL and is a co-founder of Fit Bottomed Girls and Fit Bottomed Mamas Keeping A Lid On The Junk In The Trunk. You can follow her on Twitter at @fitbottomedgirl.

Most New Year’s diets fail not because people aren’t motivated to eat better, but rather they try to change too much too soon. It can be tempting to want to eat perfectly and work out everyday, but that’s just not realistically something you can stick with. By trying to change too much too soon, you almost set yourself up to fail before you even begin! 

Instead of doing a major diet overhaul on January 1, get really specific about one thing you can change to be healthier for every month of 2012. January might be cutting your soda intake down by half. February could be making sure you eat 5+ fruits and veggies a day. March could be replacing most of your refined grains with whole-grains. April could be eating a healthy, protein-rich breakfast each morning. May could be setting aside 20 minutes a day to go for a walk. The possibilities are endless! By setting these smaller, more achievable goals, you build on your success over the course of the year, so that by the time 2013 rolls around you’ve actually done a lot to improve your diet without even realizing it! And because your goal is always changing, you don’t get bored or feel overly deprived.

Christy from Sisterhood Of The Shrinking Pants

Christy is the founder of The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans, a weight loss community started by a group of women to chronicle their weight loss goals and keep each other accountable. They provide great advice on weight loss as well as recipes and exercise tips. You can follow the Sisterhood on Twitter at @shrinkingjeans.

New Year’s dieters tend to be too gung ho! With an all or nothing attitude, they burn out quickly and fall back into old habits. I’ve learned that if you take it slow, and make small changes, your resolutions are more likely to last through the year.

Barbara from Refuse to Regain

Barbara is a board certified internist who since 1988 has specialized in the care of overweight patients. She is the author of the book “Refuse to Regain: Twelve Tough Rules to Maintain the Body You’ve Earned” available here on Amazon.com. You can read More From Barbara at her website Refuse To Regain or follow her on Twitter at @BBerkeleyMD.

I believe that one of the main reasons people fail on New Year’s resolution diets is that they go into dieting without planning. Rather than just making a resolution and starting to diet, it’s better to plan out what kind of approach you will take, get things ready (like cleaning out your house), and then set a “quit date” like smokers do when they are going to stop. It’s important to start a diet when there is at least one month coming up with very few major food challenges. This allows the diet to get established. Don’t just jump into it. Plan for a serious effort.

And there it is. I’d like to thank all the interviewees (please visit their websites and and subscribe to their Twitter feeds) for being so generous with their time and advice and turning this into a great guide for taking off those holiday pounds and giving you that body you’ve always been dreaming of. Please feel free to tweet, +1 and ”Like” this post on the sidebar!

What advice do you have for keeping your New Years weight loss resolutions? Let us know!

Cheers to a great 2012!

Photo Credit: husin.sani

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Diane Fit to the Finish January 1, 2012 at 8:21 pm

Thanks for the opportunity to share! Best of luck to everyone who is trying to get fit and healthy in 2012.

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Jody - Fit at 54 January 2, 2012 at 9:07 am

Diane, thx for the link & I see I have new blogs to check out! Thx to all for sharing!

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