Your New Year in Fitness

This is that time of the year when we all look back and reflect on the year that has passed. It is when we look at where we were and how far we've come. Some of you are going to feel pretty amazing about the changes you made in your life and some of you might just be ready to put the whole year behind you. Whatever you are feeling, just know that in a few short days we have a brand new horizon dawning...ah the New Year! I'm such a fan of New Year! It is that one wonderful day we all wake up eager to turn the page to a new chapter in our lives...filled with hope, goals and glorious "resolutions."

Wikipedia defines a New Year's Resolution as, "a commitment that an individual makes to a project or the reforming of a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous." I think that is a pretty fair assessment of what a lot of us will be thinking of when we set out to define our own resolutions for the coming year. So have you given much thought to what you would like the next 365 days to look like?

I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing it is a pretty safe bet a lot of you will probably lead off your list with losing weight or getting into better shape. Holidays usually bring on lots of wonderful gatherings of friends, family and FOOD. Hard as we try, the majority of us are going to be tempted and will probably overindulge. We will feel incredibly guilty for the lapse in our fitness schedules and wish we were better keepers of our time. One excuse will lead to yet a little more procrastination and then BAM! You wake up on New Year's Eve and think, "what are we going to do about this?" Sound familiar?

The good news, you are not alone. It happens to many of us - even those of us that pride ourselves all year long at being the most meticulous planners of our day. Seems like you hit the holiday season and instead of having a 24 hour day to manage, you are faced with trying to fit another 8 hours of activities into that already crammed day planner. So we make choices...some good, some bad and try to balance it all.

For those of you that have mastered the art of the ever so popular "to-do list" Chalene Johnson so fondly reminds us of with her twitter tweets, I admire you and try very hard to emulate your success. They do undoubtedly make your day more productive. However, this time of the year I find my "to-do list" looking a little more like Santa's "naughty and nice" list. You know, kind of like "it would be NICE to do this," and in pops NAUGHTY and my hour workout turns into a Christmas shopping excursion instead. Or my carefully packed lunch is ditched for a not so nutritious cheat meal for the opportunity to catch up with an old friend at a nearby restaurant. Hey, I'm just being real here...I know I'm not alone on this one. The majority of my year, I would make Chalene proud - but this is just a crazy time for me!

To my rescue, comes New Year! Yes, I definitely like "do-overs"! My opportunity to put my world back in kilter and restore hope for my redemption. I plan to be kicking it off, of course, working on my own set of lifestyle changes. The difference this coming year will be my overall expectancy isn't going to be so much focused on weight loss as it will be on just being healthy. Of course, this will include the steps necessary to continue my weight loss journey - just it will be more the byproduct of working on a series of small steps to get me there. Um, and we will be making list! LOL!

Don't worry, I plan very much to share this with you and hopefully a few of you will join me in this journey. Starting January 1st I will be kicking off what I am calling a "12 Steps to Fitness" program. This will include a series of 12 weeks of small lifestyle changes that will hopefully make our New Year more successful as we work on our health and fitness. I will be posting more details in the upcoming days leading up to our kickoff.

So if you are interested in joining me, I definitely welcome your company. There will be fun, accountability  and hopefully a little sharing of motivation and inspiration. There are going to be no special requirements other than you simply show up each day and journal your progress. You will be totally in charge of your fitness and nutrition regimen, whether it be one of the many outstanding Team Beachbody programs offered or something else your heart desires. I will just be here to make suggestions and hopefully become your success partner. All I care is that you make the effort to make the changes necessary to help you live a healthier more productive life! Because that my friends, will ultimately help me achieve my number one resolution and commitment to Team Beachbody as an Independent Team Beachbody Coach: to help others achieve their fitness and nutritional goals so that they might lead healthier more productive lives.

Everybody wins when we work as a team!