January — the month when even the biggest couch potatoes might start to think about cleaning up their diet and getting to the gym. People have good intentions about making a New Year’s resolution but the majority of them fail.

For the past six years I have worked at a gym and the first four to six weeks of the new year are the busiest; after that, it’s back to normal with only a handful of new people who actually continue to exercise.

Once midnight hits and the new year starts, people expect a sudden burst of motivation to get them into the gym and make all their radical goals come true. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Here are some tips on how to keep your resolutions, or any health and fitness goals you want to achieve.

Be Specific

One of the keys to being successful is making your goals specific. Instead of saying, “I want to lose weight” or “I want to eat better,” try changing it to, “I want to lose five pounds in one month” or “I want to add a serving of vegetables to my lunch and dinner.”

If you don’t make your goals specific, they can seem overwhelming and you’ll fail quickly. Pick something small to change and once you feel accomplished in that area, pick something else to change for the better.

Have a Plan

What’s the point of working towards something without having a plan to get there? Get out a calendar and mark down days and times of certain goals you want to reach.

For example, if you want to be ready to show off your body for spring break in Florida, count down the days and have a new goal each week.

Also, mark your accomplishments so you can physically see how good or bad you are doing. By having something you see or look at every day, it reminds you more and can help keep you on track.

Make it Realistic

So many people have unrealistic expectations when it comes to exercise and dieting — there are no safe quick fixes for health. You can’t lose pounds and pounds of fat overnight, let alone in a week (or even two or three). It takes time to make changes; your body is a very complex system.

I can’t tell you how many times I hear people say they want to lose 30 pounds by the end of the month; that’s 105,000 calories of fat that they need to burn (on average, one mile jogging burns 100 calories … that’s a lot of running).

The point here is to not make a resolution that’s a let-down from the beginning. Why settle for a disappointment when you can feel successful by reaching a smaller goal?

Take Your Time

Just like you didn’t wake up with a beer belly, you won’t wake up with a six-pack.

This can be very frustrating to people since we live in a world where instant gratification is expected. Since any bodily change takes time, choose to make goals not centered around physical appearance.

Some examples to make goals about include time spent working out per day, times you eat throughout the day, days a week you spend lifting weights, time spent on relaxation and so on. If you focus on goals you don’t see immediately in a mirror, the physical changes will eventually come and you most likely won’t give up after three weeks.

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