New Year's Resolution Booster Shot!

We all have at one time or another made the dreaded New Year's Resolution.  Even if you have managed to hold it together till now, Spring is coming, and those promises of loosing a few pounds are replaced milkshakes and ice cream cones!  We've decided to give you a morale booster shot to help propel you into the warmer weather with even more commitment than before!  Try these tips from the staff at CELEBRATE!

1. Go public: Start a blog, create a Facebook group or fan page, tweet daily, start an Tumblr or Instagram page!  Going public holds you accountable to your audience.  Remember to be honest!  Someone might see you on the street and know if you have been lax.  Also, your audience will act as an amazing support system offering encouragement and motivation! 
2. Get a partner and complete for money each week.  For example, Kathleen and I check in weekly and whomever loses the least amount of weight must pay a dollar into the other's "kitty" or weight loss "fund" envelope.  By the time you are finished, one of you will have enough for the new bathing suit or pair of running shoes.  Plus having a partner again helps to keep you motivated!
3. Reassess your weight loss goal and make sure that it is reasonable and that the time you have given yourself is realistic enough to achieve your target weight.
4. Start a food diary!  Keep track of all your meals, snacks, drinks, etc.  Record the food, calories, etc.  Be honest and share the information with a partner to stay honest.  You can even keep a photographic journal using your smartphone or camera phone.  Just remember it's a lot less embarrassing to record an apple or celery sticks than a double cheeseburger and a large french fry.  Consult the internet for ideal daily calorie intake for your gender.  
5. Make sure you have a healthy plan when an unhealthy craving strikes!  First start by drinking 8-16 oz of cold water.  Your body works harder to warm the water up as you digest it.  Frequently, when you think you are hungry you are actually thirsty!  If hydrating yourself doesn't seem to work, try distracting yourself.  Take a short walk around the neighborhood,  go fold laundry,  have an impromptu dance party!  If you still have cravings after about 15 minutes, have a healthy snack such as almonds, raisins, or dark chocolate (darker the better but also not a whole bar).  For some people, this is even too much of a temptation.   
6. Weight yourself daily!  This helps keep you cognizant of your weight.  It also helps you to make connections between what you eat and how it effects the fluctuation of your day-to-day weight.
7. Don't keep sugary, fatty, high calorie foods in the house.  It's not about the calorie count necessarily because many healthy snacks are high in calories and heart healthy fats but more about the make up of the snack.  Over processed foods are bad for the body.  We all know junk food when we see it.
8. Drink 16 oz of water shortly before halving a meal.  You also should drink 16 oz of water immediately when you walk up and right before you go yo bed.
9. Literally walk away! With discounted holiday candy everywhere, do your best  and avoid it.
10. Visualize something off-putting or "gross" to help avert you from eating something.  (Ex. That fudge sure does look like dog shit)
11. Eat healthy and eat real!  What good is a diet bar if you end up eating a dozen in one sitting?  Instead, eat a healthy well-balanced meal of 2/3rd vegetables and 1/3 lean protein.
12. If you are able to exercise, and by this we don’t necessarily mean hours at a gym, do it.  Walk to the corner and back.  Eventually, you might walk all the way around the block.  Anything is better than nothing.

We’d like to say listen to yourself because you know yourself better than anyone else, but if you only listen to your old undisciplined self, you’ll still be over weight and making up reasons why you can’t seem to lose.  So…try some of these things out for a month and see how it goes!