Ahhh January.  This is a time of new beginnings, when we all take a look at the crap we’ve been eating (and drinking!) over the Holidays and decide to make a change.  While I think that New Year’s resolutions can be positive, the all-too-typical scenario is that we end up sticking to our new, reinvented, healthier selves for a couple weeks, and then slowly slip back into old habits.  So how do you keep up your motivation when it seems that unhealthy choices lurk at every corner?  My answer: the buddy system.

Everyone falls off the bandwagon occasionally, and I admit that the past two months I haven’t been my healthiest self.  After a heart to heart with my sister, R, who had been visiting the city, we agreed to support each other and help each other make better choices over our upcoming family vacay and beyond.  And of course, because she’s a rockstar, we both went to a spinning class at Soul Cycle together the next morning.  Not only did we have a blast doing something active, I know that we both are totally supportive of each other in our efforts to be fit and fabulous.

The moral of the story?  Chances are if you’re looking to get healthier this year…you won’t stick with it if you don’t have support.  Don’t be shy to tell family and friends your goals, whether it be to eat more organic food, get to the gym more, or lose a couple of those pesky holiday pounds.

Second, find a BUDDY. Having a pal to go to the gym with, go to yoga with, cook nutritious meals with, etc… is an amazing way to advance your fitness efforts while maintaining and building valuable friendships.  Plus, when you know that someone is waiting to meet up for you to go for a run, you’ll find it pretty hard to cancel, right?  That sense of accountability can make a huge difference.  Also, finding a friend at a similar fitness level to you is an added bonus — that healthy competition and comraderie can help you push your limits and achieve your goals.

And it doesn’t have to be just one friend — I often find that a great way to hang out with friends on the weekends isn’t just the typical bloody mary brunchs, but attending a yoga class or even just walking the city together and getting some fresh air.  Not every friend-date has to be created around a meal or a drink.

So this year, I hope you’ll join me in recommitting to your health.  Here’s to 2011!!