New Year Resolutions

Have you made your New Year Resolutions? Did you make some last year? To what extent did you achieve them?

So, since you are reading my blog, perhaps you have made some resolutions regarding managing your weight?

Setting yourself achievable targets will help you be successful. I recommend making a few changes each week. So let's say you are overweight and want to lose some weight during 2010.Making modest changes means you will enjoy the benefits of success, and little by little you will move towards your goals. You may not achieve 100%. But 70% might be pretty good, and certainly better than throwing in the towel.

What little changes could you make in the next week to your eating behaviour? A few little changes feel possible, whereas a resolution to lose 2 stone can seem overwhelming. So, if you are overweight because of some bad habits, let's look at removing them one by one.

For example, are you in the habit of going out for a takeaway a couple of times a week? Aim to have a takeaway as a treat, and treats are very occasional things, else they wouldn't be treats, would they? So maybe you can cut this down (to once a month?) and really look forward to it. Try to change your thinking pattern from "but I always get a takeaway on a Monday" to something like "I can be flexible. I don't need to do things that I know are bad for me just out of habit".

Or maybe you always eat chocolates on the sofa while you watch the telly. You might be able to give this up completely all in one go, or you might decide to buy smaller packages, and so eat less.

One of the things I hear my clients say is "Oh, I couldn't live without chocolate (or Coke or biscuits)!" Really? Do you mean if you gave these up you would die? It can be surprisingly helpful to say to yourself something like "I quite like eating chocolate, but I don't need it. I don't need to have everything I want."

Softly softly catchee monkey. Little sticks kindle a fire.

www.carolinebrowntherapy.com