Most people find difficulty in maintaining their weight loss resolutions and motivation seems in short supply.  If you are one of thousands of people struggling through the first few days of attempting to keep your new years weight loss resolutions, there are a few small steps that might help you reach your goals. 

If you fid yourself sitting down on the couch debating whether or not you really want to venture out into the cold to walk, run, or simply get in the car and go to the heated gym, you are not alone.  Millions of people procrastinate, especially when forcing themselves into a routine that, by itself, seems rather unattractive.  The end result – that future slimmer, healthier you – can seem so far away that you visualize the journey as an endless stretch of painful endurance. 

So, here’s a few tips to help you achieve those noble goals

• Get up.  Yes, just get up, stand up, and put your feet on the floor.  Nothing is going to happen until you actually move off of the couch.  Stop making excuses that’s it’s too cold or your cat has finally decided to fall asleep on your lap.  They are excuses you make up to prevent you from actually achieving your goal, however painful you might think it is.  So, get up. 
• Get dressed.  Put on something different, some sort of exercise outfit or uniform in which you will perform your designated exercise of choice.  Your mind will automatically change gears as soon as you change outfits.  And now you have a reason to exercise!  After all, you didn’t change clothes for nothing.
• Choose an activity you like.  Don’t run just because you read that you can maximize your calorie burn by running around the block one hundred times.  Yes, this is convenient if you live in a safe suburban neighborhood with even sidewalks and little traffic, but running doesn’t fit into everyone’s life.  You can walk, too, if it suits your needs, and you can even combine this with walking a dog if you have one.  Otherwise there are endless activities that involve physical exercise.  Biking, hiking, tennis, racquetball, horseback riding, soccer, kickboxing, aerobics, swimming, skiing, and kung fu are just a few.  Some activities require you to join a club or team which, besides giving you the benefit of motivational workout buddies, can offer you the side benefit of making friends.  You can also join a gym and workout with your ipod without talking to anyone.
• Make small goals.  This can be as simple as getting up and getting to the gym.  If you make it to the treadmill or elliptical machine, great, but you have to make it to the gym first.  Small goals are just that, small, and they should be easy enough to break down every day.  Walk the mile before you try and run it.  Make small steps, just make sure they are in the right direction. 
• Make it a life change and not just weight loss.  Long-term weight loss can only be achieved through life changes.  By choosing an exercise activity you enjoy, you’ll be more likely to constantly repeat the activity and thereby continue to lose weight.  But, because long-term weight loss is a maintenance issue, you need to realize that exercise should be incorporated into your everyday life over the long run and not just the coming months. 
• Write it down.  Every day make a list of what you need to do.  You can write down “Go to gym” or you can break it down into tiny steps that will eventually get you to the gym.  Whatever you do, make it part of your everyday to-do list. 

Take small steps to create long-term changes.  Huge weight loss goals can be intimidating.  Make small exercise goals and focus more on changing your life and health.  Weight loss will inevitably follow.