John Birnhak, president of WW Philadelphia, which has an Oxford Valley location, understands the struggle of keeping a certain New Year’s resolution.
“While thousands of area residents will make resolutions to lose weight following the holiday season, they often find it extremely difficult to make their resolutions stick.”
According to Simon A. Rego, PsyD, a cognitive behavioral therapist and assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, “The reason so many resolutions fail is that people set their initial goals too high and do not take time to plan how they will accomplish their resolutions.”
Rego suggested trying the SMART theory for planning a successful resolution or any other kind of behavioral change.
– S-Specific: Decide exactly what you are going to do and when you will do it. Make it clearly defined and simple.
– M-Measurable: Set up a plan for how you will measure your progress. What steps will you take that will demonstrate you are moving forward and what are the milestones you’ll reach along the way?
– A-Attainable: Make it reasonable. Setting a goal to lose 50 pounds in two months can actually backfire because it’s unlikely to happen in any sustainable way. How about aiming to lose five to eight pounds a month for X amount of months? Or set a resolution focused on behaviors such as attending your WW Virtual Workshop every week.
– R-Rewarding: When you get enjoyment out of taking steps toward your goal and celebrate your accomplishments no matter how small, you’ll be more likely to keep doing them.
– T-Time: Set an end date. Keeping goals open ended can lead to kicking the can down the road. Instead, aim to accomplish your goal in a certain period of time, keeping a high priority on being attainable.
With a SMART approach, coming up with a reasonable resolution is doable, and if you follow these guidelines, you’ll have a much better chance for success. For additional information about the WW Philadelphia Virtual Workshops on Zoom, in-studio weigh-ins with personal coach time, the new My WW Program and end of the year specials, call 215-648-1000 or visit wwphl.com
