Patch Blog: Start Now for Fitness Success in 2012

As a personal trainer in the La Crescenta and La Canada Flintridge area, my friends and neighbors always ask me if I get busy come the first of the year. What may surprise you is that people who start to make changes in November and December have the greatest chances of permanent weight loss success.

The "turn over a new leaf" mentality come New Years often gets people going after the excesses of the holidays. This unfortunately is too often short lived. If you want to get in shape because of what you see on TV, you're not doing it for the right reason anyway.

If you want to lose weight you can start now by avoiding the "free for all" that others go through this time of year. With all the parties that come up, here is a good strategy. Eat before you go to the party. If its a 7 p.m. party eat a small dinner about 6 p.m. You can eat again but will usually do less damage if you don't wait until you're starved.

Another pitfall is all the sweets at the office or your place of work. If you've been there awhile you probably know who the offenders are. You may want to be proactive and tell them ahead of time that you want to start losing weight. You tell enough people and you will probably get a partner who wants to do the same thing. One client started a Biggest Loser contest at her work.

Finally, if you start an exercise program now it is proven statistically that you increase your chances of sticking with it - versus waiting until January. You don't need to do a Boot Camp. Start with 15-minute walks and build from there. A few walks a week and a few 15-minute dumb bell sessions and you're off. If you need a few sessions to get started give us a call or visit our website at body-mastery.net.