Diet and Exercise Tips for the New Year

New Year's Day is the day that many people begin new diet and exercise programs. Most are usually a part of a New Year's resolution. People buy new work out clothes, join the gym and pay for new diet foods, all in an attempt to get healthy and lose weight.

Sadly, if you check in with many of these same people a month after New Years, you will find that they have already given up on their resolution.

New Year's Day was the day I would always begin my diet. I would gorge myself with junk food up until midnight on New Year's Eve...and at the stroke of midnight, I would put myself in carrot stick hell...vowing never to eat another potato chip or piece of candy again. Of course, I was only setting myself up for failure. I rarely got through the week without breaking my New Year's resolution.

If you are planning on embarking on a diet and weight loss program as your New Year's resolution, here are some tips to help you be successful:

-Let go of your "all or nothing" mentality. Let's say you start your diet and are successful for the first 6 hours. On the seventh hour, you fall off your diet by eating a bowl of ice cream. For some, this is all the reason they need to throw in the towel and give up completely. The fact is that one bowl of ice cream is not going to completely destroy your diet. Simply forgive yourself and start over. It's okay. Nobody is perfect. We all fail at something everyday. The key to success is to learn from your failures and move forward. Don't give up!

-Set yourself up for success. If you have a kitchen filled with junk food, chances are you are going to be tempted to eat it. If, on the other hand, you have a kitchen filled with healthy and nutritious food, chances are you will eat that.

-Give yourself permission to eat the foods you love. Denying yourself of your favorite foods is sure to result in a binge. Whenever you feel deprived, you start to crave the very foods that you are missing. In order to successfully eat your favorite foods without ruining your diet, make a point to eat them outside of the house. Go out for a dish of ice cream rather than bringing a gallon home. Have an order of fries from your favorite fast food restaurant rather than frying them yourself. You can satisfy your craving without falling into a binge.

-When it comes to exercise, take baby steps. Exercise is important to health and weight loss, but if your body is not used to exercising, the worst thing you can do is to overdo it. Start off slowly. Go for a 15 minute walk a day. Gradually pick up the pace and increase the time. Each week add 5 minutes. This will give your body and your mind plenty of time to adjust to the change. Most importantly, you will not burn out and stop exercising completely. The likelihood of injury is also lessened if you take it slow.

You can be successful in your diet and exercise program for the New Year if you follow the above tips. Be forgiving of yourself, and never give up!