Ouch! There Goes My Wagon.

Life can really get in the way when you're trying to make positive changes to your exercise and eating habits. The holidays can especially put a kink in the plan. In addition to holidays, most people have careers, families, homes and other obligations that require a large chunk of hours in the day, making it difficult to plan healthy meals and squeeze in a daily sweat session. There really is no quick fix for this dilemma, or magic trick that can be done to make it easier - if something existed out there, I would tell you! But there are some things that can help you if you've fallen off the wagon, or if you've just been staring at the wagon trying to get the motivation to jump on.

1. Identify your goals
Do you want to increase strength and/or flexibility? Improve your cardiovascular endurance? Lose weight? Increase core strength? Run a 5k or even a marathon? Be able to walk up the stairs with the laundry basket and not feel like your heart is going to burst out of your chest? Identify some short and long-term goals before you get started. This can help you focus your workouts to meet your needs and help you be successful.

2. Be flexible and open to trying new things
It can be intimidating to try a new machine at the gym or walk into a group fitness class where everyone already knows everyone else. That said, your body eventually adapts to exercise so you will have to try something new at some point if you want to continue seeing results. Ask a desk attendant at the gym to show you how to use a new machine that intimidates you. Show up early to a new group fitness class, let the instructor know you're new and that you're a little nervous. S/he should be welcoming and answer any of your questions/concerns. If you can talk a friend into coming with you, do it!
 
3. Set realistic expectations
This is key to making yourself successful. If you set unrealistic expectations, like losing 50 lbs. in a month (WAY too aggressive!), you are setting yourself up for failure. When you don't meet that expectation, you might get discouraged and quit altogether. Identify those goals and set an expectation that you can actually meet, such as "I'm going to try taking a walk most nights after dinner instead of watching TV" and go from there.

4. Find a good trainer
I don't say this because I am a trainer and I want your business. You don't have to hire someone to work with you every time you exercise. I would suggest just a few sessions to get you started. Come to your first meeting/fitness assessment prepared to share your goals, and rely on their expertise. If you've fallen off the wagon, hire someone to help give you a boost back on. That said, do your research. There are a lot of useless personal trainers out there. Find someone who has gotten results with a fabulous trainer, get that trainer's number and start there.

5. Don't beat yourself up
Getting off track is normal. The beauty is that you can always get back ON! Try to identify what happened to throw you off (holidays, work, travel, illness, etc.) and use this time "off" to assess the progress you've made so far, and maybe even reassess your goals and expectations if you feel that you might have been overly aggressive with those goals. Most importantly, don't let this lapse discourage you to the point that you give up.