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Jan 22

New year, new you? How to stick to your New Year resolutions – Yes! Weekly

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The first month of the new year is almost over, but there is one question I keep sarcastically repeating to myself: How bout those New Years resolutions you havent followed through with yet? Surely, I cant be the only one who hasnt started pursuing my New Year resolution of getting healthier? I spoke with a local life coach, addiction recovery specialist, weight management specialist, and a personal trainer to ask for their professional opinions on how folks like me can stick to their goals and fully commit to bettering their health and wellness this year.

One of the first people I instantly thought to ask was Troy Harris, owner of Traction Body & Mind in High Point. I personally know Troy because he is a Greensboro Roller Derby sponsor and lets us attend his aptly-named Saturday morning Troyture session. This intense workout is only an hour, but it includes running, weight lifting, stretching, core work and a whole lot of sweatand maybe some tears.

Troy is a weight management specialist, which he said encompasses personal training, behavior change and meal-planning. He describes himself as a one-stop-shop for clients who want to build strong habits for the long run. Troys tip for sticking to your resolutions is not to start one-on-one.

Do a slight dress rehearsal the week before, he said. Theres a lot of social pressure with starting on New Years Day. Its OK to start on March 14. This is your new habitthe only way it will work is when you make it a habit.

Troy said those that cant afford a personal trainer could still reach their goals, but they have to be serious in planning and setting up a system of accountability.

Planning draws the map, he said. Accountability holds the maps importance. It helps to have support as well, so reach out to others about your goal if you can. Especially when your self-motivation running low, which is a part of the process.

Troy stressed that people who are serious about setting any goal need to recognize the reason why they want to achieve that goal, in order to be successful in sticking to it.

My biggest advice is find your why, he said. Have something thats going to keep you going when you absolutely dont feel like it. I had to find my why before I opened my gym, and its been important enough to get me up at 4 a.m. throughout each week. Ive experienced de-motivation myself, and thankfully, I had that habit established to keep going. Once you get used to it, thats all you know.

Alisha Wielfaert would strongly agree with Troy, as that was her biggest piece of advice as well. Wielfaert is a Greensboro-based leadership, life and creativity coach, who uses positive psychology to coach others. (Wielfaert owns her own firm called Yoke and Abundance, and she is the host of the podcast, Wise Woman Wednesday.)

If something is really important to you, it is really important to connect to the why behind what you are doing, Wielfaert said. By revealing the true intentions behind the goal that you want to achieve, Wielfaert said it makes it easier to stick to. We have this collective unconscious this time of year, Wielfaert said regarding New Years resolutions. Where it is like, new year, lets make all the changes, and since we are all talking about it, it is at the forefront of our minds. It might be the switch someone needs to start moving forward for what is important to them.

Chris Robinson, owner of Fit-4-Life

She said according to statistics she acquired from her positive psychology certification, of the 46% of Americans who usually make New Years resolutions, only 8% of people are successful in achieving their resolutions.

From a positive psychology perspective, they say that most people fail to make a positive change because the goals that are being set is shotty, she explained. So then, they make a people-problem out of a process-problem.

To set more attainable goals, Wielfaert said for people to carve out time in their schedule and make their resolutions a priority every day. She said for people to dial back and build up instead of jumping head-first into a commitment they may not be able to keep.

Most of the goals we are setting for ourselves means that we are committing to a process, she said. Having that accountability can be really helpful. The other thing is to have a way to celebrate your wins.

I set myself a goal in December of doing something called Marcothon, she continued, sharing one of her recent goal achievements. You run every single day in the month of December, for a minimum of 25 minutes, or a 5K at the very least. There is nothing that happens if you drop out, you just drop out. The only thing you get at the end of Marcothon, is you get to say that you ran every single day in the month of December.

Wielfaert said she had a very strong why to back this goal up.

I wanted to feel healthy in my body, she said. It had personally been a hard year for me, so I wanted to make sure I was getting outside and doing something to get my endorphins up every day in the month of December.

She said there is also a group of people in Greensboro that do Marcothon together every year, and they all stay in touch through a Facebook group. She said after each run, people from the group took a picture of themselves and posted it to the group.

Life coach Alisha Wielfaert, owner of Yoke and Abundance

For some reason, posting to that group to me was highly motivating, like knowing that if I didnt run one day, I would have to tell the group I was out was like social accountability, she said. The days that were really hard, and I didnt want to do it, knowing I would get to post a pic of myself felt really fun. Having a group to build community with, work toward the same goal and hold you accountable for what you are doing is candy for some people who are motivated by that community atmosphere.

She said those who want to achieve their goals this year should think about the pitfalls, not so they hinder success, but so you can build up a plan to deal with them.

That is going to help support the goal you have, Wielfaert said. If drinking more water is someones resolution, one pitfall that could be avoided, she said, is making sure there is a water bottle at home, in your car, at work, etc. She also advised to get a calendar/planner and refer to it weekly to keep organized and focused on goals.

If you skip a day or fall off the wagon, just remember that falling off the wagon can be part of the process, and the important thing is to get on sooner than later, so that shame spiral doesnt get you down.

Chris Robinson, owner of Winston-Salems Fit-4-Life Personal Training Studios and personal trainer for 10 years, would also agree with Wielfaert.

The number one thing to sticking to your resolution is to not be so hard on yourself, he said. The reason why I say this, a lot of people are excited at the beginning of the year to do things different.

For example, Robinson said they might start a diet but stop trying after they mess up once.

They have to understand that the journey to living a healthy lifestyle, the journey to getting into shape isnt easy and it is not something you are going to be perfect doing. If you mess up or have a bad meal or miss one day at the gym, it is OK. Stop being so hard on yourself.

Robinson said for those whose New Year resolution was to lose weight, it is important to note that exercising and a healthy diet are mutually dependent on each other.

You can go to the gym all day, every day and not eat right, and be a person that is a gym addict, but in order to get results, [eating right and exercising] goes hand-in-hand, Robinson said. If you are trying to live a healthy lifestyle, the gym is one aspect of it. Dieting is the other aspect of it.

The most important lesson, Robinson said, for setting attainable goals and following through with them is learning balance. For some people, going to the gym isnt a problem, but eating healthier is, he said. That is a matter of discipline, which is what they lack. Consistency is key. He said even if people arent going to the gym every single day, if they go 70 to 80% of the week, they are still being consistent.

Cristin Whiting, owner of Road 2 Bliss

I have a program that includes Hell Workouts, Robinson explained. They actually are very popular on social media, Ive had different people from different cities, states tune in to watch the Hell Workout. I weigh my clients on a weekly basis. What happens is, if I weigh you on a Wednesday, I give you a weight loss goal to be met by the following Wednesday. If you do not meet the weight loss goal, then you go through a Hell Workout. Hell Workouts are created by me depending on the individual.

One of his most popular Hell Workout is on a Stairmaster, where I have my clients put a 20-pound collar around their necks, and they have to walk on the Stairmaster at a certain speed for a certain amount of time. If they stop, their time starts over. It is a workout all my clients hate, but in order to make it entertaining, it is done on my Facebook live. It is just to irritate them through their workout.

My job to keep them accountable, Robinson added. Most of the time, it takes the client one Hell Workout before they actually realize, let me follow my goals before I am on social media looking like I am about to pass out. It is not to embarrass them; it is to hold them accountable.

For those who may not be able to afford a personal trainer or who may not have time in their schedule, Robinson shared one of his go-to beginner workout routines that he said can be done anywhere.

Jog up an aisle and back down and then do 10 jumping jacks, push-ups, crunches, squats, etc. and repeat. The next set of jumping jacks, push-ups, crunches, squats, etc., decreases by two and repeats.

It touches every area of the body, he said of the beginner workout. It touches cardio, upper body, lower body strength, core strength.

Another resource for those who have limited funds to spare, he said, is YouTube.

There is one thing that all of us can access for free, no matter who you are, and that is YouTube. I tell people all the time that YouTube is your friend. You can find whole workouts on YouTube; you can put it on your phone, tablet, smart T.V.s, etc.

Robinson also said for those on a tight budget, his favorite place to get weight training supplies is the store Five Below.

Five Below is one of my favorite stores. You can go there and get dumbbells for as low as $5; you can get a mat for $5, and you can get ab sliders for $5 just rack up on those things that you can get for very little.

One piece of parting advice Robinson likes to give those who are looking to change their eating habits is to track their calories and their macronutrients.

If people really want to be successful in dieting, they really have to learn how to count their macronutrients, Robinson said. You cannot be successful in dieting without counting your macros.

Some New Years resolutions dont revolve around weightloss, dieting or physical fitness. That is where Cristin Whiting, PsyD., and clinical psychologist specializing in addiction recovery, comes in. Whiting is the owner of the Winston-Salem-based addiction counseling center Road 2 Bliss, and she is trained in three different forms of healing: medical, shamanic and yogic.

We all have maladaptive ways to deal with life and being in the world, Whiting said. We have patterns that dont work with us well. Most generally speaking, I think that is what addiction is a pattern not working well that is harming us. That could be drugs or alcohol, or it could be something else.

Whiting said addiction takes many forms and does not discriminate.

It looks like your minister, your doctor, your kids teacher, the stay-at-home mom you see next door, she said. Addiction is an equal opportunity experience; in that, it doesnt discriminate within class or cultural group or gender; it affects everybody. There are a lot of stereotypes about who addiction affects and what it looks like, but addiction looks like anyone.

She said the stereotypical perception of drug addicts are those who live under a bridge with a needle in their arm, but that is not how all addiction looks like. There are a lot of people who have really nice jobs, nice houses, that should be happy. But they are living a life of desperate anguish inside addiction that isnt obvious to other people. There are a lot of people living a double life.

Luckily, she said, there are just as many paths to recovery, such as those through behavioral health, physical disciplines, medications, 12-step programs and religious counseling.

Overcoming addiction is one of the most challenging things we can do, Whiting said. Addiction overrides all of our higher instincts; it becomes the strongest instinct we have. To really overcome it, people cant do it alone.

Whitings biggest advice for those seeking to overcome an addiction this year is not to do it alone and do not make a lot of changes at once.

I think people get ultra motivated at the start of the year, and they create lists that are impossible to achieve, she said. Take it a day at a time, just one day at a time. When you are new in recovery a day can feel really, really long. If you are used to filling your day with drinking or getting high or whatever the behavior is, and you are not doing that, all of the sudden, there is a lot of free time. Night can feel really, really long, so I would say you could break the day down.

She explained by making smaller goals throughout the day, like I am not going to do this behavior in the morning, it would be easier to meet goals and stick with them.

Go to bed early because if you are up late, that is just like more time for havoc to happen, she said. And besides, your brain needs to heal from addiction; you need sleep. Nutrition is an important part of addiction recovery, and hydrating yourself.

Dont let slips deter you from starting again, she added. On the other hand, remember, it is easier to stay stopped than to start and stop again.

Whiting said if someone isnt having success, they should look within and think about the acronym HOWHonesty, Openness, Willingness. She said for them to ask themselves, Am I being honest with myself?

Am I open to trying something new?

Am I willing to do [this] to get my life together?

She said to those that have cravings to use, look at the acronym HALTHungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired.

She said for them to ask themselves, Do I want to use because I am hungry, angry, lonely, or tired?

One common thread that tied all of these interviews together was be kind to yourself. If you are bummed that you arent following through with your New Years resolution, remember there is still time 2020 isnt over yet!

Katie Murawski is the editor-in-chief of YES! Weekly. Her alter egos include The Grimberlyn Reaper, skater/public relations board chair for Greensboro Roller Derby, and Roy Fahrenheit, drag entertainer and self-proclaimed King of Glamp.

Wanna go?

For more information on Alisha Wielfaert, visit http://www.yokeandabundance.com/. Check out Traction Body & Mind on Facebook. Fit-4-Life is located at 111 N. Chestnut St., Suite 105 in Winston-Salem, http://www.fit4lifews.com. On Feb. 16, Whiting will be teaching a special restorative yoga class with live music by Colin Allured at 18 Springs on Reynolda Road in Winston-Salem. The class is from 1-2:30 p.m. and costs $25. To pre-register by email road2blissws@gmail.com.

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New year, new you? How to stick to your New Year resolutions - Yes! Weekly

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