A new year and a time for New Year's Resolutions. A chance to start over and finally become that wonderful, productive, healthy, happy, fit person we've always wanted to be. The challenge is that the enthusiasm to make these changes, especially with diet and exercise, tends to fade once we realize we can't change everything overnight. In order to make lasting changes, there are three things we must do to make our resolutions work all year: Adjust our attitude, change our lifestyle and create a plan for success.

Attitude: if you have the wrong attitude about fitness you are setting yourself up for failure from the start. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle does not have to be painful or boring. Think of it as a way to boost your energy and mood and a way to improve the quality of your life immediately.

Lifestyle: you can't be "unfit" unless your lifestyle encourages it. Identify your bad habits and replace them, one at a time, with different, positive habits. Experts have proven that you can't break bad habits without forming new ones. If you take away your daily Egg McMuffin and don't replace it with something else you will drift right back into the the McDonald's habit.

Create a Plan: write down specific goals, set up a good routine to meet these goals and ensure your success by enlisting your family and friends to get involved. Whether your goal is to start exercising this year, lose weight, gain weight or get healthy, having a solid plan can make the difference between failure and success.

The important thing to remember is that improving your overall health requires that you change your lifestyle. You have to change the way you think about exercise and eating, change the way your schedule your day and change the way you prioritize your tasks. Preparing yourself for what is ahead is the first step in the right direction.

So let me be the first to wish a happier, healthier 2011 to all!

Mary L. Starr
Vice-President
The Starr Group