What action plan will you implement this year to safely achieve your weight loss goal? And how will you successfully sustain the positive lifestyle change effort to see those results last long term?

The most common and desired fitness goal without a doubt is weight loss. Everyone I’ve ever talked to has a desire to keep excess weight off – feel better and be of good health. But to do it right requires more than applying a common fitness or weight loss program strategy to achieve sustainable results.

Before setting a fit healthy lifestyle change program in motion… One must be mindful of one very important ingredient that increases will power to stay the course. I.e., what activities of personal interest will motivate you to change your current lifestyle.

All too often people have good intentions prior to setting a New Year’s Weight Loss Resolution… and repeatedly fail. Why? Mostly because the plan they put in place is not right for them. Following someone else’s weight loss or fitness plan, or lifestyle change course may motivate them. However it won’t likely provide the will power you need to continue the course independently long term.

To determine a plan that’s right for you requires being honest with yourself. First of all confront your current lifestyle. Once you do you can target unhealthy, or sedentary habits that prevent losing weight and getting more fit. To develop a sustainable fitness plan and program requires targeting bad habits and behavior keeping you over weight and unfit.

I know many of you are conflicted with the daily grind that chips away at your will power to change course. But what I find most interesting… even after work and daily chores and taking care of the kids, etc., there’s always a way to begin squeezing in a window of fit healthy “me” time activity you’d take interest in.

There is always time to squeeze in a 15-30 min walk, or other exercise activity of interest to begin the healthy lifestyle change habit.

Let me help you identify a window of time. For example, how much time do you spend watching TV, searching the Internet, eating out after work, over sleep, go out for evening cocktails, or watch sports… You get the picture. Anyone can find time to squeeze in daily exercise activity… And if you can’t – you may need help targeting the obsessive behaviors keeping you overweight and unfit.

Repeated failure in setting positive lifestyle change habits impacts how you see yourself and feel about life in general. And at some point not only will you gain more weight, you’ll feel more internal stress and anxiety – which could eventually lead to more unhealthy habits and behavior with connected ill-health symptoms and disease.

The following recommendations will help you achieve and sustain a positive fit healthy lifestyle course for life.

1) If you have repeated failures at losing weight or your health is at risk, you must seek help targeting and changing unhealthy habit(s) and behavior(s) [compulsive, obsessive, addiction, co-dependence on others, etc.]. If you are grossly obese, or have unhealthy habits or behavior keeping you sick – seek medical attention immediately. Behavior modification or nutritional expertise or pain management or other specialized medical referrals from your primary care physician will be of great service to you in changing your lifestyle course.

2) It is my belief the mind, body and spirit is dependent on sustainable fit healthy activities of interest – like balanced nutrition. Without some form of constant movement activity throughout the day, it becomes easy for sedentary habits to form. Our bodies are designed to move… NOT mostly sit.

Walking is our natural form of exercise and keeps the metabolism and all tissue cells and brain function in check. At a minimum everyone needs to work towards 30 -60 minutes of continuous daily walking or other exercise of interest activity. If you start out walking, or riding a bike, etc., 10-15 minutes per day – you can only advance upwards from there.

3) Exercise activities of interest come in many forms. E.g., yoga, hiking, biking, skating,, treadmill, ballroom dance, stair stepping, rowing, Zumba dance, walking, pickleball, tennis, golf, yard work, jogging, etc. Basically anything that moves the body for a continuous period of time provides a fitness and health benefit. However, if you are just starting a walking program for example, do not start out walking at a brisk pace.

Work your way into greater duration, frequency and intensity within any activity of interest you begin participating in to become conditioned. Like any type of physical exertion activity – unless you’ve trained for the task or event, it’s best to ease your way into an exercise activity change habit until the encompassing being [mind, body and spirit] becomes conditioned to a new lifestyle change.

4) Our bodies regardless of age require whole food high-quality nutrients to boost metabolism, increase energy, mood, maintain weight and overall health, etc. Healthy diet occurs by consuming a balance of wholefood macronutrients (Carbs, Proteins and Dietary Fats). I also recommend dietary supplementation of high-quality vitamin-minerals as a health insurance policy. Why, because I know most don’t consume 3-4 servings of vegetables and fruits per day. The daily balance of macro and micro nutrients will help you achieve both weight loss and fitness and health goals.

5) It is also true, exercise may add weight. That’s right, depending on body type and genetics and exercise program – strength training causes muscle mass to increase [muscle fiber is more dense and heavier than fat tissue].

When you exercise muscle in general – its mass and weight will increase relative to the effort you exert during exercise activity. Fitness programming adjustments to achieve a set fitness goal may require changing an exercise activity of interest to be more favorable toward fat burning activities that offset muscle weight gain.

6) It is important to measure your success weekly. If your losing weight safely and naturally, you’ll loss ~2lbs/week until you eventually achieve your ideal body weight. If you don’t measure fitness success periodically you may lose interest and motivation to sustain and achieve the set fitness goal.

A simple and convenient way to measure fitness goal success requires only a scale and tape measure and how your clothes fit. That’s it!

7) Analyzing the weight loss results… If your weight increases and waist band feels loose, this likely means body fat weight has decreased and muscle mass weight has increased. If your weight decreases and waist band feels tight, this likely means muscle mass has decreased and body fat weight has increased. If body weight has not increased and waist line feels the same but your getting stronger have more energy for exercise activity, your body is going through fat and muscle tissue weight change conversion. At this point it’s only a matter of time before positive weight loss and/or strength gain and/or endurance achieve the fit healthy lifestyle goal you set.

So what is the perfect weight loss exercise activity of interest strategy for you?

That depends, everyone works, lives and plays within different environments and is of varying age. We also have unique health histories, fitness goals and daily habits and activities of interests, etc.

Initially, the answer lies within targeting time available to begin implementing healthy exercise activities of interest that motivate and increase will power to stay a course to achieve a set fitness goal.

If your looking for information to help you achieve your weight loss and other fit healthy lifestyle and habit change goals once and for all… Ageless MirrorAthlete “Overweight and Unfit No More” is the coaching and lifestyle change guidance and recommended program information you need and want now.

Learn how to program a successful New Year’s Resolution that’s safe, natural, right for you and can be sustained long-term. Now Get’er done!

Author: Marc T. Woodard, MBA, BS Exercise Science, ARNG, CPT, RET. 2014-19 Copyright. All rights reserved, Mirror Athlete Inc., www.mirrorathlete.org, Sign up for your Free eNewsletter.