On tuesday January 1st millions of Americans will promise themselves "This is the year I lose weight" and yet most won't make it past the first week. According to the Journal of Clinical Psychology, 30 percent will drop out within two weeks and less than half will make it past six months. Here are a few ways to stick with your commitment or resolution to lose weight this coming new year. By using most if not all of these strategies you increase your odds of losing weight and keeping it off in the New Year.

Most everyone know's they should exercise. Most even know how to exercise yet most don't do it. How do you bridge the gap between knowing how to exercise to actually doing it. Knowledge alone does not inspire change. Find your own personal, strong, emotionally charged reason to lose weight this year and stick to it. If that is missing then you probably won't succeed or stick with a life long plan. If your waiting for the perfect time to start exercising it won't happen. There will always be more important things to do than to exercise and eat better: kids, jobs, family commitments, social gatherings and the list goes on and on. But remember this, you'll either spend time and money on preventin and making yourself healthy and fit or you'll spend time and money on health care fixing the sick or broke you. I guarantee it.

Make a SMART goal. A Specific goal. Don't say I want to lose some weight. Say "I want to lose twenty pounds". Then break that up in to smaller more Measurable goal like "I'll lose five pounds the month of January". Set an Attainable goal. If you haven't exercised in weeks, months or maybe even years don't say to yourself "I'm going to start exercising every day rain or shine". Set yourself up for success. Be Realistic with your Attainable goal. A better way would be "I'm going to start to exercise or at least walk two times a week". That is two more times than you did last week and probably the week before. That is Realistic for most people. Dont' worry about how long or how far it is you walked just start. If you make it through a month of walking or exercising two times a week then kick it up to three times a week. Very quickly you'll gain momentum and you'll start to feel better about yourself. Finally, make sure your SMART goal is Timeable. Set a long term goal with a TIME. "I'm going to lose twenty pounds by May 1st". If you don't place a time limit on when you would like to reach your goal then your goal is just a dream.

Along with making your SMART goals make sure your flexible. There will be distractions, obstacles, injuries and illnesses with you reaching your goals. Don't be to hard on yourself. Sometimes you have to take one step back to take two steps forward.

Write down your goals. Writing down your goals will help you stay focused and committed. A study at Yale University found that only 3% of the students had written goals and twenty years later, the same 3% were wealthier than the other 97% combined. The number one reason people fail is they lack clearly defined, written goals and taking action without planning. You losing weight isn't just going to happen its going to require some time planning.

Don't do it alone. Get your husband, wife or best friend to do it with you. Hold each other accountable and then reward yourself or each other when you're reached your subgoals.

Good luck and if you have any questions regarding this post you can send an email to jesse@fresnofitnessbootcamps.com

I am the director of Fresno Fitness BootCamps and meet regularly outside, at a local park, to help and encourage those wanting to lose weight and make healthy lifestyle changes. I'm also now part of a select group of personal trainers that operate out of Synergy Personal Training at First St./Nee's Ave.