6 Keys To Success With Your Health And Fitness Resolutions In 2009

1) Keep a food diary- record what you eat, how much you eat, when you eat, where you eat and what your mood is before you begin to eat. Before you can plan where you want to go you have to know a little about where you have been.

2) Keep an exercise journal- log what exercise you do, when you do it, what your intensity level was, and what your energy levels were before and after. Like the food journal, lack of a plan is a plan to fail.

3) Move more sit less. Find ways, besides formal exercise to get more active. None of this should be new: take the stairs, park your car further away from your destination, take breaks and get up from your desk to walk around the office or outside if possible. Every bit counts.

4) Eat more fruits and vegetables. Seems basic right; yet most of us eat hardly any. The nutritional value speaks for itself. Growing up that is all we heard, "eat your fruits and veggies." For those seeking to lose weight, fruits and vegetables as a snack or in larger quantities to replace fatty, processed foods are an excellent choice. Here's a tip regarding what your dinner plate should look like. Take the plate and cut it in half. Make half of it green. Take the other side of the plate and split that half in half. One quarter is for your lean protein (fish, chicken lean beef i.e., London broil, filet mignon), and the other quarter is a whole grain or complex carbohydrate such as brown rice or a half of baked potato (minus the butter and sour cream).

5) Set performance based goals. Set goals for yourself, like taking 10,000 steps per day (use a pedometer), 12 strength workouts per month, or 60 minutes of aerobic exercise per week. These types of goals are easily measurable, adjustable, and the satisfaction you receive from achieving them because they are easily attainable will motivate you to do more as you progress.

6) Eat when you're hungry, don't when you're not. This one ties in with keeping a food diary. Being in touch with your emotions will help you differentiate when you are eating out of hunger versus eating because you are bored, tired, anxious, depressed, excited etc. Overeating is the main culprit for most people battling excess weight gain. Don't skip meals so you don't get to the next meal starving. Don't eat on the run or too quickly so you can monitor your intake, but also so you can get an accurate gauge on your level of hunger. Before you dive into that box of cookies ask yourself, am I really hungry or is it something else? If you're not hungry find another behavior as a substitute, like taking a walk. If in fact you are truly hungry, ask yourself if you can make a better choice. I know you can.

-Jason Mittelman
TrainwithJ