It’s New Year’s resolution time again! “Wait, what? It’s September 29th, you’re drunk.”  Well one of those things is true.  I for one have harped on the fact that NY’s resolutions are bullshit.  We make them we forget about them.  This NY’s we will take some time to reflect and recharge, but our resolving will hopefully be long gone, and a plan will be in place.  

You don’t know it, but as of today you are starting at roughly 30 days from an 8 week stretch of poor choices.  “How can that be?”  you ask?  Easy, with the week of Halloween starts parties stacked on top of football season, an already easy time to indulge.  The lug nuts are loosened a little and we start rolling straight towards Thanksgiving.  From here, eveything you are involved with struggles to smash in a party in the 3 weeks leading up to Christmas, followed by New Year’s eve.  Wheels off, your ass is fat, and you’re ready to “resolve to be a new you” after 8 weeks of escalating poor life choices.  You’re only mad right now because I’m right.

The surest way to combat this slow unravelling is to plan.  To put into place a habit or two that will combat the freewheeling fall that many of us make during the holidays.  Here’s a short list of things I think you should do.  Pick what fits and commit to 10/1.  You won’t be sorry.

Enlist a friend-Find a partner in crime to keep you accountable.  Whether in food, fitness or both.  

Find a physical activity you enjoy.  Everyone thinks that since I do triathlon that I’m always going to push people towards that.  The reality is I don’t care what people do.  Just do something you enjoy so that it will be something you want to do.

Choose a number of days a week you are going to workout and plan your week around it on Sunday.  Especially if you tend to get overwhelmed and try and just fit it in.

Eliminate one trouble food you know you shouldn’t eat.  Make sure it’s not around. Replace it with something better.  Start with one week of eliminating it.  Build from there

Pick a race or similar measuring goal.  8-10 weeks away.  There’s a reason why I’ll always skew towards running/triathlon goals.  They work.  Whether it’s your first race or 100th, keeping a goal on the calendar allows you to apply a training plan (read:rigidity) to your life.  Taking one thing off your plate that you have to overthink about.  A daily training plan helps put at least one part of your life on cruise control.

So it’s September 29th.  Take some time to reflect and pick something from the above to jump start your New Year, New You.  

#hugsandhi5s