With 2016 right around the corner, 'tis the season to set resolutions. Among the many resolutions that people typically set to accomplish, the most common one is to stay fit or lose weight.

Gyms in January usually see a sudden increase in the number of people. However, once the busy quarter sets in, the number tends to decrease.

This happens as most people give exercise the least priority in their list of things to do. We often don't realize the importance of this action until we are forced to go to the doctors to get ourselves checked.

During my last visit home, I was forced to face this reality, which resulted in my resolving to undergo a major lifestyle change.

After repeated failed attempts, bad starts, and quitting half way, here are few things that I learned along the way. Staying fit is a goal you can most definitely keep, if you approach it in the right way and keep at it!

Starving yourself: A big NO- NO

Practically speaking, if you stop your food intake, you would expect your weight to decrease after a while. However, contrary to popular belief, there are studies which show that in order to lose weight, one must continue to eat small amounts at equal intervals. For instance moving to a six meal plan, instead of 3 large meals. Starvation causes people to lose the wrong kind of weight, like water weight , in addition to muscle mass! Lower muscle mass would mean lower metabolism rates. Yikes!

Going on an extreme diet: Wouldn't wanna go there

A common misconception among people is that going on extreme diets helps them get into a proper physical shape. What we fail to realize is that these extreme diets (often low calorie diets) help us lose weight, but at what cost? A low calorie diet causes fatigue and makes us more irritable then normal. Since the amount of food going in less, our body doesn’t have the sufficient resources to produce energy. The consequence of eating less makes us crave for more food. So much for controlling our cravings and hunger!

Expecting immediate results after starting: A big expectation mismatch

We all join gyms once we resolve to get into shape, but it is necessary for us to correspond our food intake with the right amount of exercise. The results/effects of exercise, like everything else in life, will take a while to show. Many of us stop coming to the gym after a week or two, for the very reason that we don’t see immediate proof of our efforts. Grit is the differentiator between a winner and a quitter.

Imitating somebody else's fitness regime: WATCH OUT!

Not all body types are similar. Physical strength varies from person to person. If certain exercises work on your friend, it need not necessarily work for you. By imitating other people’s workouts, we are doing much more harm to ourselves than good. Although it is harder to come up with something of our own, we cant get better without a personalized regime

Overexercise: An extremely unhealthy affair

While some of us don’t want to go to the gym, there are few people who spend every waking moment in there, working out. Although we are in extreme awe of such people, we shouldn’t aim to become like them. Over - exercising leads to various injuries and not to mention leads to heart failure! Everything needs to be done in moderation. Exercise becomes like a drug for such people, without with they can’t survive. Furthermore, it causes insomnia.

Not sleeping enough increases weight gain, which defeats the whole purpose of physical fitness altogether.

So, this 2016 pay careful attention to what you're eating and how you are exercising. While it will be easy to load up on leftovers, let's all run that extra mile and stick to out resolutions!

Happy New Year to y'all!