The #1 way to make your weight loss New Year’s Resolution a success.
So, you finally decided you want to lose some weight. Hey, maybe it’s a lot of weight. Either way, you decided it’s time for it to go. And this time, this time you’re serious. You mean business. And to show just how much you want to lose weight, you’ve gone and made weight loss your 2007 New Year’s Resolution.
Congratulations.
Now, I want to help you succeed with this goal as much as possible, but I’m not going to waste your time and mine by writing up the type of top 10 list of “tips” that is going to literally be in every magazine and newspaper and on every diet and fitness website over the next few weeks.
“10 ways to lose weight in 2007!” “The 10 easiest ways to slim down in the new year” “10 tips for saying goodbye to 2006… and 50lbs!!”
And you know what comes next… those super useful tips like “set goals,” “take the stairs instead of the elevator,” “eat more fruits and vegetables,” blah blah blah.
I’m not going to bore you with that nonsense.
If you want to know what you need to do to make weight loss happen, then just take 20 minutes and read through the 3 phases of The Lose Weight Diet. It will tell you every single thing you need to know, for free.
But, this isn’t about knowing. This is about doing. New Year’s Resolutions are about doing. Knowing how to lose weight is simple and easy. I pretty much explained it all in 3 easy to understand pages. It’s doing it, and then continuing to do it, that tends to be a bit harder. After all, weight loss is the #1 New Year’s Resolution. It’s what most people want to do in the new year.
So, with this in mind, I was sitting here thinking about what to make my big “weight loss resolution” blog post about. I know this is the biggest time of the year for people to seek out diet and fitness information. How can I help these people, I wondered. What could I leave at the top of this blog so that it’s the very first thing these people see when they end up here in their search for accurate weight loss information.
I thought, and I thought, and I thought some more. What is the one single piece of advice I could offer to the people looking to lose weight this new year aside from the things mentioned in The Lose Weight Diet itself. And then, finally, it came to me.
DON’T make weight loss your New Year’s Resolution.
Did this one take you by surprise? I figured it would. It wasn’t a typo. Go ahead and read it again. And I’m being completely serious too. Let me explain.
I have always felt that turning something like weight loss into a New Year’s Resolution is a really bad idea. It’s the wrong way to start things off. Why? Because it makes failure a possibility. If you fail, you can always try to lose weight again as part of next year’s New Year’s Resolution. There will always be another January 1st to “try again” on. You’re giving yourself a way out, almost like a failure backup plan.
This is the complete opposite of the type of mindset someone should have when they decide they want to lose weight, and weight loss is just as much a mental thing as it is a physical thing (if not more so). The thought that there is even the slightest possible chance that you won’t reach your goal should not even exist in your mind. And, making weight loss your New Year’s Resolution does just that.
What, don’t believe me? Just ask the millions of people who have made weight loss there New Year’s Resolution this year… and last year… and the year before that… and the year before that… and the year before that… and hell, they’ll make it next year just the same… and the year after that… and the year after that.
Still don’t believe me? Ask anyone who has been a member of a gym for longer than a year. I happen to fit into this category, so I might as well be the one to tell you. Every single year, everyone in every gym knows that the first few weeks of January is when everything becomes a little… different. There are less parking spots outside. There are less available lockers in the locker room. There is more equipment in use. The gym as a whole becomes a little more crowded. Why? Because these New Year’s resolution people start showing up.
But… we only have to put up with them for a short period of time. Ever see The Shawshank Redemption? Remember that part when all of the long time inmates take bets on which of the new inmates will be the first to break down and cry? Well, the same type of bets are taking place in gyms around the world… which New Year’s Resolution person will be the first to give up and quit, never to be seen again.
Until maybe next January, of course.
Slowly but surely, it happens every single time. Within 1 full month, maybe even two or three, the gyms are less crowded. There are a lot more parking spots and lockers. Everything is back to normal again. And just like that, 99% of the people who made weight loss their New Year’s Resolution have disappeared. Don’t worry guys, you can borrow my parking spot for the first 3 weeks of next January too.
The reason I’m telling you this is to show you that the odds are against you. If you make weight loss your New Years Resolution, I have see enough proof with my own two eyes to know that the odds are not in your favor. The majority of these people will fail. This is an unfortunate yet proven fact.
So then… if you follow my tip and DON’T make weight loss your New Year’s Resolution… what the hell are you supposed to do? Just forget the whole thing and never lose the weight? Of course not. What you need to do is simple.
Lose weight because that’s what you want to do. Lose weight because that’s what you’re going to do. Lose it because you want to be healthier. Lose it because you want to look better. Lose it because you want to feel better. Lose it for all of these reasons… and more.
Work your ass off to reach your weight loss goal because that is just what you’ve decided you’re going to do, and not because it’s the first week of January, or because it’s 2007, or because it’s written down on a piece of paper titled “New Year’s Resolutions.” Lose weight because that’s just what you are going to do, period.
Like I said before, it’s the mental aspect of weight loss that causes most people to fail. A mental change as small as this one may just be the difference maker.
So, my tip to you… eliminate the term “New Year’s Resolution” from your mind. Ignore any and all mention of it. Instead, just lose weight because you will not accept or allow anything else.
Oh, and Happy New Year.
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January 3rd, 2007 at 2:17 am
I WANT TO LOOSE WEIGHT!! Not only for the look but mainly for my health. I think I use the New Year’s Resolution for a title to make my self feel like im doing this during this new year, but I tend to fall off.. But this year I want it because I need it and for the look.. I want to be RIGHT when I come home to the States….
January 7th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
I have lost 23.5 pounds since the last time I made a comment. Just wanted to share.
January 8th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
This is such a fantastic blog and I like the name “The lose weight” diet. Will be back for more such insightful posts. Best wishes!
January 8th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Instead of making ‘losing weight’ my new years resolution, I decided to cut out drinking alcohol to once a week. This in turn will make me lose weight i know because my habits before were drinking 3 or 4 times a week. Those extra calories will hopefully lead to fat loss and in turn will help me lose weight. I’m sure come February time i will be more in shape than when i was consuming more alcohol and trying to gain muscle.
January 10th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
I am SO glad I found this website! You’re really onto something here, and I think the diet industry as a whole should sit up and take notice. Seriously!
Personally, I didn’t make any resolutions this year, but after reading your site, I’ve decided I AM going to lose weight. I’m currently 5’7″ and weigh ~185lbs. I’d like to get down to 150lbs and then start putting on muscle mass again.
Expect some emails from me along the way, or maybe I’ll just post a link to my FitDay journal every once in a while. Thanks again!
January 11th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
invah, that’s awesome. How much more to go?
Faffer, thanks. Glad you liked it. The name is genius, isn’t it?
JJ, that decrease in calories with definitely go towards losing weight. I posted something not too long ago about how removing liquid calories from your diet is probably the easiest way to make weight loss happen.
Dave, don’t wait till your down to 150lbs to start putting on muscle. Start right this second. People who have been working out for a while wouldn’t see that much progress if they were trying to both lose a significant amount of weight and gain a significant amount of muscle at the same time. But as a beginner (which I assume you are), you can do both quite well. Plus, besides the fact that weight training burns calories, the added muscle itself will also burn calories. Putting on muscle now will only help your fat loss.
January 11th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
I’m not exactly a beginner, but I haven’t worked out seriously in a long time. Back in the Navy (’87-’90) and for a couple years after that, I worked out like a mad-man – 4 days on, 1 off.
Since then, I’ve never had much luck trying to burn fat AND put on muscle at the same time. It’s like two metabolically different things, unless I’m just doing it wrong.
January 11th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Not working out for a long time will still qualify you as a beginner as far as your ability to gain muscle/lose fat at the same time… as long as it’s being done correctly.
At some point though, like you said, it becomes almost impossible to do both at the same time because they require the opposite things. Gaining muscle requires a calorie surplus, losing fat requires a calorie deficit.
The only people who can do both successfully are beginners (for a certain amount of time) and people who use certain special “supplements.”
January 13th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Haha, like another 80 pounds. I started at about 235; I bought a scale and I watch what I eat. I also go dancing 2-3 times a week because I am just one of those people who can not stand the gym.
Luckily, a lot of my body mass is muscular, so I am not Jabba-the-blob (more Queen Latifa-ish), but still I have a lot to lose. When I saw 209 on the scale, I literally got tears in my eyes, as I have not weighed that much since my sophomore year of college.
January 14th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
invah, so wait, you mean to tell me that eating better, doing some form of exercise, and keeping track of your weight has actually worked? Amazing!
Seriously though, that is very good progress. Keep up the good work.
February 23rd, 2007 at 2:34 pm
199.5!!
February 23rd, 2007 at 3:06 pm
invah, awesome! So, how nice is it to see a “1” as the first digit on the scale?
March 6th, 2007 at 8:19 am
If anyone thinks cardio is the only way to get results but hate cardio and find it hard to get motivated to do it think of weight training as a stepping stone. After a month of so of weight training I dare you to try to sit still. I also dare you to try to stay awake past your bed time or sleep in. And just try not to feel confident and happy… go ahead I dare ya.
Invah You go girl!!!! You and this site are my inspiration to get back to weight training. THANK YOU!
April 25th, 2007 at 8:54 am
Thank You
June 11th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
HI, your site has inspired me….my clothes aren’t fitting me anymore..time to do something, but as i read thru your site it seems like i’m eating/drinking everything i shouldn’t be. I’m 5’7″ at 145lbs. I would like to get to 130 or 135. Will start my journey tomorrow with a journal and weightloss progress. Thank you so much for your site. I will keep you posted!
June 21st, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Thanks for this amazing site, I am starting today on my weight loss diet. Right now i weigh 190 and im trying to get to 170 then 150 Just taking it each step by step. I hope later i can come and post
150 lbs!!!!
Also congradulations to everyone else on there sucesse
November 23rd, 2007 at 1:22 pm
I am glad I found this website. I wanted a simple but true diet and this is awsome. it’s things that I already knew but needed to be reminded of
I am starting today and the first thing that I did was getting rid of candy and crackers from my desk where I work.
I will keep you posted because I’m not even sure how much I weigh right now. I will buy a new scale so I can start a log. thanks!
December 31st, 2007 at 8:22 pm
I’ve been searching for a good weightloss plan website all day and came across yours. It is the most logical information I’ve read. Last year my New Year’s resolution was to loss 50 lbs. by my 50th birthday which never happened. This year I resolve paying more attention to what goes in my mouth. I will keep you posted. Thank you and congrats to those who have lost.
February 18th, 2008 at 6:22 am
I am desperate to loose about 100 lbs. I have printed all the info and will go through it tonight. I desperatley need motivation as this is what will get me to where i want to be
February 19th, 2008 at 11:51 am
I started the loseweightdiet January 7th, 2008 for the right reasons…I was at 170 and I’m down to 162.5 right now…37.5 more to go!
June 15th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
So I am going to give this a try, to flatten my tummy, and to finally be healthy again.
December 29th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I’m about 20 pounds overweight. I researched on the internet and found that I should be 101 pounds or something because I am 5’2″ and 13. This is the best weight loss website I found so far and I love it. Thanks for giving so many good tips, and yeah, I did make losing weight my new years resollution last year and i only lost 8 pounds. Now I am 121 and I started dieting today. I hope I succeed. Thanks for the information.