Resolving to get in shape or lose weight is a common way for People to start the New Year, it's important to be realistic about what you can and will do, most of the time resolutions fail because we set targets that are too high.   If you want to make lasting changes, there are three things you can do to make your resolutions work all year long: Adjust your attitude, change your lifestyle and come up with a plan for success.

“If you resolve to never eat sweets or to run every day of the year, that’s very unrealistic. Getting off track is part of the process. If it happens, wake up the next morning and reinforce your goal.”

Studies show that if there is a support system you will be more likely to stick with a fitness plan, so make a promise with a friend.  Reward yourself with healthy treats, once you have completed your first three weeks reward yourself with a manicure or massage, or buy a new pair of trainers.

If you have the wrong attitude about fitness, you're already setting yourself up for failure. Most people look at exercise as:

• Punishment for bad eating
• An obligation
• Painful
• Time consuming
• Impossible to sustain over a long period of time
• Boring

If any of these sound familiar, how long do you think you'll stick with your program? Nobody wants to do something painful, boring or obligatory. Before you throw yourself into weight loss, suss out your attitudes about exercise and figure out whether these attitudes are true or just lies you've been telling yourself for years. Then, try a different perspective and look at exercise as:

• A break from a stressful workday
• A way to boost energy and mood
• The only time you'll have to yourself all day
• A chance to get totally physical and let your mind rest
• A chance to reward your body for working so hard

I recommend these three tips to get you started:

Long-term success requires planning, discipline and finding ways to motivate yourself every day.  Motivation will not magically happen.  

What motivates you will change from day to day. You have to recommit to your goals each day, tweak them to fit changes in your lifestyle and attitude and find new ways to motivate yourself over the course of your life.  

You will not always want to exercise, know that you will have to work on it every day!

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