Many people keep their New Year’s resolutions to themselves, but sharing some of the resolutions can be important to achieving them.
If you’ve decided to make a big commitment to losing weight or stopping smoking, family and friends can be a source of support. Perhaps more importantly, your smoking friends won’t tempt you if they know you’re trying to quit, and your family hopefully won’t offer you tempting foods if you’re trying to lose weight. Resisting isn’t a piece of cake! That’s especially true when you’re offered a favorite naughty food.
In addition to gaining support and acknowledgment (not tempting), sharing your resolutions may also hold you accountable. If you have someone else to answer to, then that may be a source of motivation.
My main health-related goal for the New Year is to get my cholesterol levels back down to normal. Obviously only being accountable to my doctor hasn’t really worked for me.
I tried diet and exercise, but would cheat and eat things I knew I shouldn’t. I’d also make excuses not to exercise. While I’m not overweight, there are still many reasons I should be exercising: improving the strength of my bones, helping to ward off diseases like diabetes, and of course, to get my cholesterol back down to protect against heart disease. Read 15 Reasons to Exercise for more.
Even though getting my cholesterol down is just one goal, it affects many areas of my life. It affects how I buy groceries, plan meals and dining out. I have to show strong willpower to stay away from sweets and fatty foods, and I have to make exercise a top priority in my schedule. And I’m accountable to everyone reading this post!
Since I didn’t like the side effects I experienced on statins, I’m going to give myself another three months of trying diet and exercise before going on another statin. I’ll post again on my progress in a few weeks.
(Image via flickr/idovermani)
Post from: Blisstree