The start of a new year is the perfect time to turn a new page, which is probably why so many people create New Year's Resolutions. A new year often feels like a fresh start, a great opportunity to eliminate bad habits and establish new routines that will help you grow psychologically, emotionally, socially, physically or intellectually. Of course, resolutions are much easier to make than to keep and by the end of January many of us have abandoned our resolve and settled back into our old patterns.

Every year millions of people make a decision to "lose weight" or "get fit" on New Year's Eve.

However, just a decision of losing weight or getting fit, is too ambiguous and not concrete enough. You really have to set clear goals to be able to assess them on a regular basis, and see how you're doing towards achieving them. Having clear goals will also allow you to adapt and make changes needed in case you see you're not on track to achieve your goals.

So set very clear goals such as:

1. I want to lose xx pounds every month, to a total of xxx over the year. And do take into account the weeks you might go away on holidays, some special occasions you have lined up during the coming year, etc. Remember that a healthy weight loss is about 1-2lbs (0.5-1kg) a week. So stay realistic.

2. I want to run a 5k run in 35 minutes in May.

3. I want to be able to do 100 pushups by the end of the year without stopping.

Those are all examples of very specific and clear goals that you can work towards achieving. Once you have your goals, you have to write a plan, as without a plan, you will most probably never reach the goal, no matter how specific it is.

Once you have a plan, be it a way of eating, some weekly goals on what items to swap or take out of your diet, to how many miles you are going to run a few times a week, to how many pushups you're going to do every other day, etc, it's only a matter of sticking to the plan.

Remember, the plan needs to be realistic and not over ambitious. There is no way you will start running every day, if you never ran before! If you currently eat 3 bars of chocolate a day, it's going to be very hard to go cold turkey, so cut down to 1 or maximum 2 bars a day in week one, and see how it goes. Put a plan in place to maybe swap the bar with a fruit, to still have that sweet taste without the same amount of calories.

So start slowly, and build up towards achieving your goal.

Once you work your plan, just make sure to re-evaluate it from time to time. See how things are evolving and if you're still on track to reach your goals in time. If you need to make some changes, now is the time to do so to make sure you reach your goal once and for all. Remember, there might be difficult and unpredicted times ahead of you. So evaluating your progress will only help you along the way. And a few slips here and there is normal on the way. So don't give up!

Please do note: if you have tried to reach the same goals in the past and haven't succeeded, spend some time evaluating what has prevented you from keeping your resolution last time. What worked, and what didn't work. What barriers you encountered. And what barriers you might encounter this time.

Doing a bit of work on planning your goals, and your approach to reach them, will put you in a much better plance to reach your goals this year.

However, asking for professional help to plan, and monitor progress is also a good option. If you've tried before to keep your fitness and weight loss New Year's Resolutions and failed, I'll be more than happy to help you keep them and reach your goals this year.

Call me, Anne Iarchy, Personal Trainer Barnet, on 07880627944 or email me at anne@barnetpersonaltrainer.co.uk and book your FREE CONSULTATION.