Strategies for effective New Year’s resolutions....

Today's Post:  Monday, 12-30-2013

What do you care about that you’d like to be better in 2014?

There are two ways to do that.

You have to divide those into doing things better that you are already doing and trying totally new things:

1.  What actions can you take to make the things you are already doing to achieve that better or more reliable?

Which of those will I do right away?   When exactly will I begin the first one?

Are there any I will do later and if so when exactly should I put it in my calendar?

2.  What actions that you are not yet doing to make those things better that you could begin doing to see how well they work? 

Note that listing what you will do and when – DO work if you follow through.

Some things will work better than others and some will be more doable than others.

But if you set it up that way, you do have a good shot at making things better in 2014.

A.  In my case, fat loss is a priority to help lower my blood pressure, look better, protect my health better, and help me turn off acid reflux.  My measure is how much my waist measures and how covered up with fat the muscles are on my belly.

1.  Upgrades to things I’m already doing:

a).  I already have stopped eating refined grain wheat products and corn and soy oils and hydrogenated oils and long ago stopped drinking soft drinks and high sugar fruit juices.

But I was drinking lower sugar 100% cranberry juice every morning and eating no sugar added apple sauce daily.   So I’ve just cut out half the cranberry juice and might go to all of it.  And, I’ve cut out 90% of my no sugar added apple sauce.

So, my 2014 resolution is to keep doing it or upgrading what I’m doing instead.  (I’ll also check to see if my waist gets smaller.)

b)  I’ve done a bit better at improving my at home super slow strength training.  But my ability to do a bit more each week has been more sporadic than I’d like.  Though it has worked well at times, I’ve not had a way to add small increases to dumbbell weights since they jump 5 pounds each time.  So I’ve bought what I think to be adjustable wrist weights so I can add about a pound at time.

My hope is that this will enable me to add weights I can do well enough more often and that I’ll add strength and muscle in 2014 that I would not have otherwise.  (That one is easy to check!  If by the end of 2014, I’ve added 10 to 30 pounds on each hand to the dumbbells that are already a bit, about 5 to 10 pounds heavier than they were a year ago, it will show the method works.  (I’ll also check to see if this also helps my waist get smaller from the added muscle.)

2.  Things I’ll try out adding that I’ve not done before:

a)  I now can work up a 5 to 8 minute yoga progression where each of the parts is doable without excessive stress or stretching that I can do to relieve physical stress.  Then I’ll see if I can manage to add it two or three times each week.  The evidence is that I have a shot at 5 or 10 points lower blood pressure and lower cortisol enough to reduce my waist size.

(It works by focusing your mind for those few minutes on doing the moves well and doing the very deep and controlled and slow breathing while doing the moves.)

b)  I’ll see if I can get a supply of fresh Wakame seaweed to add to my nonstarchy vegetables by finding out how a local restaurant gets their supply or buying it from them.  Eating more such vegetables will cut my calorie intake without making me hungrier.  And, Wakame is thought to have a compound in a large enough intake of it that it helps the fat you lose belly fat. 

Getting the new things started will be some work.  But by doing them all successfully, and doing other things that aim to cut my belly fat too, my hoped for result is to have a smaller less fat waist by the end of the year.

B.  This same system can make other kinds of resolutions successful and they can make YOUR resolutions successful.

What do you care about changing and improving for 2014?

What are you already doing that you can upgrade?

What things likely to work and be doable can you add?

Exactly how will you do each one?

How will you measure the results of these actions on your desired result?

C.  For some of you, these improvements can be life changing for the better.  They have been for many others.

I wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year -- no matter what the causes.

And, I wish you great success in the new actions you take to improve your life!