Lose Weight and Get Fit: Top 10 New Years Resolutions

Image: How To Get Fit Guide

The second in our ten-part series on the top ten New Years resolutions and how your house can help (or hurt!) your success.

"Lose Weight and Get Fit"

A top priority for most people, and unfortunately one of the first to be broken.

Will-power is only as strong as the environment you create.  That's one of the reasons the folks on the Biggest Loser have such amazing success - not only are they motivated, they have entered an environment that will support their goals 100%.  Learn from that, and create your own environment of success.  

Here are just three of the many ways your home can change so that it is your ally, not your enemy, in reaching your health goals:

1. Cut the clutter.  If you spend each morning digging through a stuffed closet to find something to wear, hunting for your keys and purse and trying to locate the kids' permission slip, how can you cook a healthy breakfast or make time for the gym?  If you're serious about getting fit, you have to help your house lose some weight, too.

2. Cull the closet.  Another important place trim the fat.  One of the most important things I learned when I decided to lose 35 pounds was that I had to feel good in my clothes now.  I had to be able to put an outfit together that made me feel comfortable, professional and put together so that I felt successful enough to walk away from that Snickers bar.  Your closet should be free of clothes that are out of style, are too large or too small, or don't make you look and feel great.  The clothes you have should have room to breathe and come out of the closet ready to wear.  Not only will you feel better, but you will also have more time in the mornings for those other healthy choices, like preparing a healthy lunch.

3. Get out of the kitchen.  This is especially key for those who work at home or stay home to care for the kids.  If you tend to read, study, or work in the kitchen or at the dining table, create a new place for those activities.  It's too easy to nibble when everything is right at hand.  If you must work near the kitchen, consider painting the walls in that space a minty green or sky blue, as these are the color least likely to encourage your appetite.  And get the food out of sight - leave nothing but some fruit out on the counters.

These are only a few of the ways that your home can support your goals to get healthy.  Don't waste this coming year.  If losing weight and getting fit is a priority for you, figure out what you need to do to make it happen, then do it!

Is your house overweight? Clear out the clutter!

Before you rush out to buy color-coded bins to organize your stuff and attack your New Year's Resolutions, ask yourself honestly - do you just have too much stuff?  

Think about it, you can't stuff 10 pounds of flour into a 5 pound bag.  You can't pour 2 cups of milk into a 1 cup bowl.  Yet we stuff as much stuff (hmmm, is there a reason it's called 'stuff'?) into our homes as we can, never taking anything out, and think that the right bins, baskets and labels will solve the problem.

It won't.

Bedroom BEFORE Rivalee Design

Bedroom AFTER Rivalee Design - no new furniture was purchased!

If your garage is overflowing, your office creeping into the dining room, and the kids' toys everywhere, you could move to a bigger house, but I suggest the cheaper, easier, and more ecological idea of getting rid of some of that stuff. Here's how:

Make time. Set a timer for two to four hours. Turn off the phone and tv, turn on some great music. Limit distraction so you get more done.
Define the goal. Keep focussed: choose one closet, one room, one bookshelf at a time. Otherwise you just end up with a bigger mess. Make a pile for things to keep, things to toss, and things that need a little more thought (maybe you have to ask another family member about it).
Question everything. As you pick up each item ask:
  -  Have we used this in the last 3 months (or, if seasonal, in the last 2 years)?
  -  Could someone else use this better or enjoy this more than I am?
  -  Does owning this make my happy, or do I not really care about having it? 

  -  Am I only keeping this out of guilt?
  -  Does this fit (my body AND my age)?
Reconsider. Go back to the "keep" pile and take out at least three more things to give away.
Take action.  Take the "get rid of" pile to Goodwill immediately. If you could immediately shed 10 lbs the moment you decided to go on a diet, wouldn't you do so? With your house, you can, so take that extra weight and get rid of it!!  Put the "to think about" pile in a box and seal it up. Mark a date on the calendar 1-2 months away. If you haven't needed anything from the box, take it to Goodwill on that date without opening it up!

Once you get rid of all the stuff you are not using you'll be amazed at how much room you have and how everything can find a home so easily. 

 Good luck, and happy organizing!