At the beginning of every year millions of people around the world begin their New Year’s resolution—but as we all know, it’s easy to lose resolve. Here are some of the excuses we always hear:

• “It just wasn’t working for me…”
• “I’d rather continue in my old ways…”
• “I didn’t see any results…”
• (and our personal favorite) “I didn’t have time.”

At TrueBod, we’ve developed some key concepts to help you stay on track with your rest, diet, and exercise goals.

Rest—before midnight

When your body is at rest, growth and recuperation take place. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t know how to get adequate rest. Work, school, or stress can keep anyone up at night, but rest is essential to a healthy and productive life, and also provides the energy you need to handle those day-to-day pressures.

Whether you want to lose weight, gain muscle mass, or simply be healthier, start your year off right by going to bed earlier. The trick is simply getting in bed before midnight—it’s a proven fact that it is harder to fall asleep after midnight. Every hour of sleep you get before midnight counts as two hours quality wise. So, if you must cut into your sleep time to get something done, don’t stay up late—get up early and tackle it with the energy you’ve gained from quality rest.

Diet—hold yourself responsible

Good nutrition is vital because it is the fuel that propels us. Each person’s body is magnificently made, and our bodies are made to run on specific fuel. Alcohol, fats, candy, cakes and processed foods will not make the cut for a better you in 2010.

Try following the USDA guidelines for nutritional intake. Keeping these guidelines doesn’t have to be hard: develop a nutritional conscience. When you put in all the time and hard work at the gym, don’t cancel it out with your eating habits—support it with your eating habits! Let yourself feel a little guilty if you cheat nutritionally too many times in a week. Hold yourself responsible for your intake. Remember good habits always follow good habits.

Exercise—do it today

When you are going to bed early and eating healthy, you might not feel the improvement, but when you are at the gym lifting weights, running on the treadmill, swimming laps in the pool, or doing drills, you can feel the hard work paying off. Another way you can feel the effects from your workouts is when you do the same workout again later…and it is just a little bit easier!

The trick to sticking to your exercise plan is to make it a habit. If you can make time to read that book, watch that TV show or take that afternoon nap, you can definitely make time for the gym—no excuses! Once you have successfully established exercise as a habit, 2010 will be yours.

Making a New Year’s resolution and keeping it are two different things. If you want to keep those promises to yourself, start by actually giving yourself a break and going to bed before midnight. Work on developing a food conscience—then when you eat something you’re not supposed to, you’ll feel just a little guilty. Lastly, make all your other efforts count even more by keeping consistent with your exercise routine.

We at TrueBod wish you the best for 2010!

Edited by Melissa Lechler