Why Wait for the New Year?

Every New Year it's the same thing: I make resolutions to finally lose that weight, finally get in shape, finally do whatever.

This year I decided to start now. Before the holiday season. Radical, right?

The thing with me is that I hate to do things alone. I love to team up with people to do things. 

The internet, thankfully,  is a great place to get support. 

A couple years ago I joined Spark People. This is a FREE website that offers everything from meal plans to online food journaling to exercise videos and demos. They have a wealth of health information that you can read.

 

One of the greatest things (in my opinion) about this site is that you earn points for each thing you do. Every minute of cardio exercise is a POINT. Log your food--More points. Drink your 8 cups of water--5 points! As you get points you earn medals. Mine is there on the right. 

You can join up with teams of people and set specific goals for that team. I've joined different teams since joining in 2008 and this year I've signed up for a Boot Camp. I look forward to the challenges and having an exercise plan.

Another source of inspiration for me are those women out in blog land who are working on the same goals as I am. People like Carmen who lost 80 pounds and knows the importance of remaining vigilant.  She inspires me.

  I found 2 groups of women who formed websites with each of them contributing blogs each day. 

 The Skinny Chics have a delightfully, irreverent way of looking at the mountain of weight loss we all face and transforming it into little bitty molehills that we just know we can climb--one at a time.

The ladies at Five Full Plates have well researched and honest articles that make me want to do and eat better.

Chubby Chick has a big goal in front of her and she cheerfully documents it so we can learn and journey with her. I love the comics she has sprinkled throughout. Right now she's having a nice giveaway on her blog.

Keeping your goal in front of you all the time is a really helpful way to stay on target. It sounds simplistic but really when you only have the deprivation keeping you company or the exhaustion that is a guarantee when you start up a new exercise regime then you can lose motivation.

  

  Always reminding yourself of the end goal keeps you looking forward and not just at the moment. When I log on first thing in the morning to my Spark account or read blogs of other women in the same boat as I, I stay on track the whole day. Try it out--it might work for you too.