CREDIT: JESSICA THOMPSON
The best way to succeed in your new year's resolution is to start now and plan a strict schedule.

Start your new year’s resolutions now. The number one reason new year’s resolutions fail is because people make the plan to start in January, but they don’t make a plan for what comes next.

It’s also an over whelming time of year: money may be tight from over-spending during the holidays, the weather is not favourable and the gym is packed with the other people starting their new year’s resolution.

Make a plan that you can stick to over the holidays; a.k.a. when you really need it most. Your daily routine is likely different and many of us are faced with unsavory temptations that add some unwelcome inches to your waistline and a few extra places.

Look at your calendar for the next six weeks and start there. Write down and commit to your workout times. Do a little extra when you can and rest when you really need it. Also, look at when you will be at social gatherings, doing some baking, etc. and make an eating plan that will have you eating as healthy as possible for every meal and allowing those few indulgences.

If you have more than a few, tell yourself beforehand what you can have and what you will avoid (i.e. today I’m going to eat mom’s cheesecake for dessert so I’ll fill up on veggies and lean meat at dinner and put in an extra 30 minutes at the gym).

Now that you have your plan for the holiday season, you need a winter goal. What is going to get you through the winter semester that is not overwhelming and is easy to fit into your daily schedule? This is probably not the time to sign up for a half-marathon but maybe a five or 10-kilometre race or two will help focus your cardio training.

For weight training, you can pick small goals like: be able to do 20 pull ups or be able to squat the equivalent of your body weight on the bar. You may have a long-term body change goal and maybe you enlist the help of a trainer to focus on the small goals to get there. If you can’t work with a trainer, you can try apps like My Fitness Pal to get you on the right track.

Your goals need to be S.M.A.R.T.: specific, measurable, realistic, attainable and timely.

Where possible, try recording what you can do on a weekly basis to help you achieve your long-term goal. You can set up reminders in your phone or tablet. You can also record where you were when you started and then check your progress halfway and once again at the end of the semester when it’s time to set spring and summer goals.