Local Experts Weigh In on Keeping New Year Fitness Goals

When the ball drops in Times Square, and the last bits of confetti have been swept off the streets, the curtain officially closes on the six-week eating marathon between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day lovingly referred to as the holiday season.

After weeks of over-indulging on sweet potato pie, honey-glazed ham, and all the fat- and sugar-laden treats we can get our hands on, most of us start the year determined to undo some of the holiday damage to our waistlines and get into shape. It's no mystery then that one of the most common new year's resolutions out there is to lose weight and get healthy.

"You can count on it like the sun rising. Around the first of the year, you start seeing a lot of new faces, and a lot of faces you haven't seen in a while," says Phil Strohmeyer, fitness director at Platinum Fitness in Verona.

Despite the best intentions of the new and returning members, who start the year eagerly hitting the elliptical, the will to keep their new year's resolution is fleeting for most. Strohmeyer estimates that out of 1,000 new members who join each January, only 10 percent will stick to the routine.

"The issue is education. I don't think people realize what it takes to get in shape. A lot of people think a gym membership will be a magic way to lose weight. All it is is a piece of paper," he said.

"With the right education and goals, it's possible to stick to it," he added.

Jim LaFratte, owner of Body & Soul CORE Fitness in Cedar Grove, and a personal trainer with more than 27 years of experience, says the key to achieving fitness goals is to have a plan.

"Invest in the money to hire a trainer. Get a notebook and write down how many reps you do of how much weight, what kind of cardio you do, and everything you ate that day. Get yourself moving, and little by little make nutritional changes," he said.

LaFratte says keeping a food and exercise diary forces people to be accountable, which can provide a major psychological boost to those seeking to change their lifestyles. He also recommends finding a workout partner, which increases accountability and creates an instant support network for your common goals.

"It keeps people on track knowing they have an appointment and that someone is waiting for them," he said.

Having an experienced trainer to offer guidance and advice, LaFratte says, can make the difference between a fitness goal reached and one abandoned.

"I want them to come in, work hard, and meet with a trainer who can give you a different workout every week depending on your fitness goals. The only people who get in shape in a gym are the fanatics who throw everything to the wind in favor of working out. If having a trainer didn't work, I wouldn't have been in business so long," he said.

Both LaFratte and Strohmeyer recommend starting small, and setting achievable goals depending on the kind of results they're looking to achieve.

Strohmeyer recommends working out three days a week for 30-45 minutes at a moderate intensity to start an exercise regimen, and stressed the importance of doing exercise not only regularly, but correctly.

"95 percent of people don't exercise correctly. People don't know how to do it. Some people haven't worked out in 15 years and overdo it, the next day they're sore and it fizzles out," he said.

LaFratte says nutrition is just as important in keeping to a weight loss routine as exercise, but like an exercise routine, it should also be done intelligently.

"Rome wasn't built in a day. Get yourself moving, then make nutritional changes. You work out maybe three days a week for an hour or so a day, nutrition is a 24-hour thing. You want to find a balance...maybe not change your total caloric intake but maybe just change what you're eating, which will most likely mean a reduction of carbohydrates, and an increase of protein and good fats," he said.

"If you start off by exercising, you'll start making other changes going forward. You can't be lazy--you have to move first, then you see how it goes from there."