Welcome to Tip of the Month. As this is the first one of the year, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and successful 2008.

My tip for January is: Be Patient and Stay Committed. New Years resolutions often fail because people’s expectations are too high. If you’ve made a resolution to lose weight, why would you expect it to take 6 weeks to lose what you’ve spent 6 months or a year putting on? A realistic time frame for any goal concerning weight loss is a minimum of 3 months. Weight loss is about making permanent changes to your eating habits, not just about changing what you eat; making these changes slowly will give you time to adapt and therefore succeed. 

Commitment comes from staying focused on your goal. We all have the odd relapse but the key message here is remember what you are trying to achieve; keep your goal in sight, forgive yourself the relapse and get back on track. Remember, the best things in life are worth waiting for – the taste of success will be even sweeter as a result of your determination and commitment. 

Good luck, be strong and be a success!