Alpha II Omega Explains How to Turn Your New Years Resolutions Into Results Part 3

We continue this 3 part series of discussing a successful strategy to assist you with turning your New Year's Resolution into results. The first two parts we looked at the why as well as the what and when with regards to this strategic plan.

Today we will be looking at how to put in place what I like to call fire drills. If can you remember when we went to school every so often we had fire drills that we had to participate in. Remember? What was the purpose of the fire drills? For me it was to get out of reading out loud in front of the class LOL.

But the main reason behind those fire drills were to properly prepare us for unforeseen circumstances i.e. a fire.



Step Three- Planning and Preparing for Roadblocks:What are the big obstacles that will prevent you from having the success you desire? What’s contributed most to past failures?

Now that we know what you want to accomplish, it’s time to plan and prepare for any obstacles that might get in your way of getting the job done based on your own personal schedule.

In general, the number one thing I hear is that people are too busy and tired and don’t have enough time to get their workouts in or make their meals. Well, I don’t care how busy you think you are, there is always hidden time throughout the day and week that can be freed up if your re-prioritize. Again, think back to why you wanted to do this in the first place and then examine what’s most important to you. Make your workouts and your meal times just like work appointments. Either you make the appointment or you don’t. And if you want to keep your job (or get your dream body) then you better make that appointment.


Another big obstacle is alcohol. People like to drink and unfortunately alcohol is about as detrimental to burning fat as it gets. Again, what’s more important to you, looking sexy or getting hammered. The choice is yours. Remember, once you achieve your goal(s), alcohol can be added back in with moderation. But know this, lean people just don’t get wasted unless they are genetic freaks. Low to zero alcohol consumption is needed if you want to look your best year round and that’s a fact.

Finally, many people deal with boredom eating or emotional eating. Boredom eating means just that, eating to fill up dead time when you have nothing better to do. The best way to deal with this is, you guessed it, to do something! Find an active hobby to keep your mind off of eating when boredom strikes and you can beat this trend. Emotional eating describes the use of food to cope with stress or to reward for accomplishment. Food is not unlike drugs or alcohol in this regard, it can be very addictive. There is no quick fix for emotional eating other than avoiding trigger situations (bars, parties, etc.) and trigger foods (starches, sugars, fast food, etc.) in the short term to break bad habits.

At the end of the day, whether your roadblocks are very individual or if they fall in line with the general roadblocks our clients encounter on a regular basis, the key is to be honest about them and to plan and prepare for them.

And that’s where social support and accountability come into play. The clients who have had the most success with us have undergone their transformation with the support of other friends or family members. This is so critical, especially since most of the poor food and drinking choices that sabotage one’s progress occur on the weekend, when most people hang out with their friend and family. If they are committed with you and your goal to get fit and look better, you can put yourself in a much better position to realize the success your desire and deserve. The last thing anybody needs is sabotage or peer pressure from those closest to you, so get them on board and get them on board early.

Now that you have the steps to following through for your New Year's Resolution I leave you with this final thought.

Ask yourself What If?

What If this is the year to lose the weight that you have been talking about for years?

What if this is the year to stay on track with your goals seeing them through to the end of 2010?

What if this is the time to be fully committed to your health?

And if this isn't the year (as I play devil's advocate) if now isn't the time, when?

Charlotte Personal Trainer