New Year's Resolutions that work

Every year people decide to make New Year resolutions but there will be some significant differences between the goals made, the people that made them and the optimism that they will be achieved. It is these differences that can make the difference in the outcome.

You will notice that at the beginning of every year gyms across the nation put out their best offers. The most common offer is a month's free membership and no joining fee. Gyms love this time of year because some many New Year resolutions include getting fitter and loosing weight. Statistically gyms can only profit. This is because of all the people that sign up only a small percentage will still be using the gym after 3 months but most will still be paying their monthly fees promising themselves that they will go 'when they have time'. They don't prioritise going to the gym so consequently don't make the time for it.

New Year resolutions have a very big factor in their favour: they begin on a significant date that allows the past to stay in the past and all offer opportunity and hope for the future. It can be any significant date that draws a line in the sand of time.

How you perceive your ability to keep your resolutions plays a big part in your success. If you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. Research has shown that some people believe that their determination will only last for so long and then they will 'have' to go back to their old ways. Guess what? If this is what you believe and focus on, this is what will happen. But when you believe that you do have the determination to follow through then guess what? You follow through. Just because you didn't follow through last year does not mean that the same thing will happen in 2015. It is YOUR choice.

Finally for what purpose are you choosing specific New Year resolutions? What will you gain if you achieve them? What will you loose if you don't? If it is a big goal your reason (purpose) has to be so big and hairy that you can only continue because the alternative is too unpalatable. It is also a really good idea to make some smaller resolutions that are fun, enjoyable and give you great satisfaction. For example you might like to choose a creative project for the year, each month or even weekly. Being creative is extremely important.

To give you some tips and examples here is a great piece by Wendy Squires. I hope that you find it as inspirational as I did:
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/best-wishes-for-the-new-year--here-are-mine-20141228-12b0e0.html


Wishing you a very happy and successful 2015

Sarah

12 Days of Christmas

12 Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

A piece of my favourite chocolate

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Six minutes giggling

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Seven minutes deep breathing

Six minutes giggling

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Eight hours nightly sleeping

Seven minutes deep breathing

Six minutes giggling

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Nine minutes dancing

Eight hours nightly sleeping

Seven minutes deep breathing

Six minutes giggling

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Ten minutes walking

Nine minutes dancing

Eight hours nightly sleeping

Seven minutes deep breathing

Six minutes giggling

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Eleven pampering sessions

Ten minutes walking

Nine minutes dancing

Eight hours nightly sleeping

Seven minutes deep breathing

Six minutes giggling

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

 On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Twelve healthy smoothies

Eleven pampering sessions

Ten minutes walking

Nine minutes dancing

Eight hours nightly sleeping

Seven minutes deep breathing

Six minutes giggling

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

Wishing everyone a very calm, healthy and happy Christmas

Sarah

Accountability gets results

Last week my washing machine broke down in spectacular fashion. It marched across the floor, smelt of burning and made terrible noises. It is still under extended warranty and so the next morning the washing machine manufactures sent round an engineer who pronounced it totally dead. He would send in a report and we would hear back later that afternoon.

That was nearly a week ago. Daily telephone calls the past three days have finally resulted in a report being filed from the engineer to the insurers so that they can decide what action to take. The report is being posted because they only email if someone else in the company requests it.

Each time I have called the person on the other end has initially been helpful but immediately they realise that my washing machine is still waiting for a report they become defensive. The manufacturers and insurance company blame each other, and today the manufacturers blamed their engineer.

The real issue is this: no one is accountable or wants to be accountable. Their systems are inadequate but rather than own this so that they can take action, they blame others. This is reactive and it always leads to poor outcomes.

I meet many women who talk to me about their desire to become and/or remain slender but few of them are accountable. They blame their current lack of results on anything and anyone but rarely take ownership of it.

"I ate this because..." which means that they use excuses to continue to eat and behave in ways that get results, but not the results that they desire.

The first rule of staying slender is to learn how to balance your food intake and activity. The only way to do this is to become accountable so that you can take the action that gets you the results that you want.

This Christmas I will be enjoying myself which will include eating more sweet foods that I normally do the rest of the year. I own and acknowledge this and will enjoy every mouthwatering crumb. I will also balance this out over the weeks either side of Christmas because I enjoy staying slender.

Enjoy this festive season even more by being accountable for your actions and your outcomes.

Sarah

Staying slender with inspiration

Occasionally I get asked to give a talk on motivation. This is usually to women in weight loss groups who are struggling to remain motivated. Have you ever experienced a lack of motivation? I know that I have.

We tend to procrastinate when we lack motivation, or even put things off indefinitely. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed which leads to inaction and is really another form of procrastination. Why is it so hard to remain motivated?

Motivation is external. We need to see or hear something to remain motivated. A photograph on the fridge to stop us snacking or a personal trainer encouraging us to do just one more rep. And this is the problem with motivation. The very fact that it is external means that you need the stimuli all the time.

The alternative way is to become inspired because inspiration is internal. It comes from within you which means that it is with you all the time. Take a minute to think about something that you are passionate about. For example you could be passionate about dogs. You not only own a rescue dog but you volunteer at a dog rescue centre or donate to a dog rescue centre. You might even become a dog trainer so that people have more positive experiences with their dog and fewer dogs will end up being surrendered to rescue centres. You don't need to have a photograph on the fridge or a personal trainer to keep you motivated. You are inspired and probably inspire others with your enthusiasm and passion.

When you are inspired you want to take action.

What would cause you to become inspired about staying slender? You may not have the answers immediately so let this question sit with you for a few days or even weeks because it is worth the effort to find the answers. When you become inspired you won't need to look to external sources to stay slender.

Sarah

3 tips to stay slender during the Christmas party season

There will be several Christmas parties this year that will probably attend. It may a work party, school mums party, the neighbour's Christmas bash or any number of other groups to which you belong. They will have alcohol, soft drinks and food that is full of fat and sugar.

It can be tempting to fill your plate with all the delicious seasonal goodies and enjoy several drinks because it only happens once a year, everyone else is doing it and you feel that if you don't you won't enjoy yourself.

The great news is that you can drink, eat and enjoy yourself without going overboard, especially if you have several parties to attend this season.

So here are 3 tips to guide you through the Christmas party season:

• Make sure you are well hydrated before you go so that you don't drink lots of soft drink because you are thirsty. Once there alternate an alcoholic/soft drink with a glass of water.
• Have a healthy high fibre snack to eat before you go so that you aren't hungry when you arrive, which would make you crave sugary and fatty food.
• Fill your plate with three foods that have a high water and fibre content, such as fresh fruit and vegetables and salads. This means that you won't crave the sweeter foods as much and will be able to enjoy smaller portions of those you do want to enjoy.

 These 3 simple rules offer you the power to enjoy the treats without upsetting the balance of your overall healthy eating plan.

let the celebrations begin
Sarah