How to Keep Your New Year's Fitness Resolutions

The holidays are now over, Christmas and Hanukkah have come and gone, and most of us have gained a pound or two (or five) eating all the delicious foods that surrounded us since Thanksgiving (or let's face it-since the kids came home with their Trick-or-treating spoils). And most us also rang in the New Year with the resolution to lose that pound or five, and maybe even took that large step of joining a health club or gym. But realistically, come next winter, how many of us will be using that health club card to scrape the ice off our windshields when we can't find the ice scraper?

We wouldn't be alone. On a national average, health club memberships increase between 30 and 200 percent each year between January and March. But only a small percentage of the people with memberships build and maintain a long-term fitness regime.

So how do you insure that you actually lose those few pounds, get in better shape, and ring in the next New Year healthier and more fit?

1. Set exercise as a top priority and budget time into your daily routine to workout and plan healthier meals.

2. Be realistic about the type of workout you plan and the results you expect to see. Find a workout routine that's appropriate to your fitness level, the time you have to spend, and the results you'd like to achieve.

3. Incorporate physical exercise into your workday and your life. Finding time before or after work or on your lunch break will help make exercise a part of your lifestyle. Living or working near a health club will also help you maintain consistency.

4. Be consistent. It's better to workout 15-20 minutes per day than one hour every two weeks.

5. Educate yourself about fitness to keep motivated. Learn from the internet, books, conversations with personal trainers, lectures at health centers, or even friends. The more you learn, the more you'll adopt new habits and understand what motivates you.

6. Consider hiring a personal trainer. Having someone to be accountable to will help you stay disciplined. Personal trainers will design a fitness plan for you and know when you are ready to take the next step in your fitness goals.

And a final aspect to keep in mind when setting and keeping resolutions, especially those pertaining to fitness, is "the snowball effect." Getting even a little bit involved and seeing results will help motivate you to do more, and before you know it, you'll have made a lifestyle and behavioral change that you can count on.