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Bootcamp Geelong sincerely hopes you had a wonderful 2011 and that you are as excited as us about the year ahead.

Every year about this time there are literally millions of people across our country who are doing their best to stick to a ‘New Years Resolution’. These range from weight loss, quitting smoking, quitting alcohol, quitting chocolate or worse…fad/crash dieting. Everyone who starts out the year with a new years resolution does so with the best intentions and in a lot of cases they start out with the right tools and information too yet 80% of those people will give up and/or not stick to their plan.
This has a lot to do with building habits rather than knowledge.

For instance, did you know that a pack of chocolate biscuits is packed full of calories? Did you know that eating 1 liter of ice cream with chocolate topping is probably going to make you fat and/or sick? Of course you do! Everyone does. In most of us it’s not our lack of knowledge that prevents us from hitting those goals we set. It’s the failure to set up proper habits in and around our lifestyle which will prevent us from getting there.

It’s no surprise given that 24% of adult Australians are obese and 37% are overweight that what we are currently doing is not working. Did you know that the statistics in Geelong are even worse? We have 51% of our population overweight or obese! Yet there are more weight loss pills, diets, hypnotherapists, fat free foods, sugar free drinks and medical knowledge now than there has ever been and what’s worse is that there are even more Personal Trainers in Geelong now than ever before… I hate to repeat myself but what we have been doing clearly is not working!

The thing missing from our region isn’t fitness coaching, gyms, personal training or lack of healthy food. It’s a failure to realize the advantage we have over everyone else. There is help at every turn in Geelong. We have some amazing and gifted trainers, some great world class gyms and mentors. We have awesome fun runs, adventure races, family fitness events and what’s most, a beautiful, free backdrop in which to experience it all. We can change all things for the better in a few small steps.

But the news isn’t all bad, there is something we can do and it’s not too late! Starting today, actually right now, we need to look at our lives and select one thing (this is important, only “one”) that we would like to change in the near future. Write it down. Say it aloud. Close your eyes and say it again.

Now, what is 1 thing you can do right now to be 1 step closer to achieving it. Starting right now, change that one thing. Do it every day/week/month. Whatever is necessary. Forever. If you can’t maintain it forever it was the wrong choice… it should become part of your lifestyle. Keep a record of it (on a calendar so you can look at it again next year). Write it down and tick it off every day for the next 3 weeks (21 days to change a habit remember?)In 3 weeks, I want you to repeat the process but replace that one thing with another thing. Continue this for as long as it takes. But don’t do too much too soon. One at a time…

Within a year you will have changed 17 things in your life and made them habit. 1 year and you’ll have created 17 new habits in helping you realize your goals, every day.
Now let’s fast forward… Think about that goal again. If you were to change 17 things in your life would that goal become realized? I’d say so, I’d almost guarantee it. Remember  “change your thoughts and you’ll change your world”. No one is going to do it for you.