With the New Year around the corner, “How to Lose Weight” will be covering magazines at the grocery stores, leading the broadcast on the Today Show and hitting you in between eight-minute segments of your favorite reruns. Fortunately, there is a way around the media telling us all that we are fat and giving us the answers through four-minute ab routines, flavorless no-butter mashed potato recipes and tips on which $1,800 elliptical machine will hold the most amount of laundry when we stop using it on January 13. This year, utilize realism in goal making and motivate yourself.

Most goals will include a weight loss number, such as 10, 20, 30 pounds or more. That number is given the entire job of motivating a human being who faces emotional stress, chocolate cravings, the need for a cocktail at the end of the night and the horrible responsibility of enjoying one’s self at a party. This is quite a bit of responsibility for a little number.

Individuals oftentimes give the job of motivating to someone or something else. But weight control programs, personal trainers or weight loss medications can get quite expensive, and only seem to motivate for as long they are getting paid to motivate you. So what is the answer? Be your own motivation.

If you truly want to change your life and your outward appearance, do it for you and do not trust anyone else to do it for you. Utilize professional assistance such as weight loss programs, nutritionists and fitness professionals to help you with your goals, but do not rely on them to motivate you. These individuals have the knowledge to teach you the appropriate actions required to help you reach your goals, and a little knowledge can go a long way. Just realize that they are being paid to help you, not to motivate you long-term.

Now, back to goals. Goal setting is one of the best ways to keep yourself motivated. However, the goal you set can make or break your success. If you want to lose weight, set a concrete goal that will help you to lose weight, rather than having weight loss as your goal. If weight loss is your primary goal, your actions will simply be pieces in the puzzle towards reaching your goal. Instead set a goal to change your actions, which will result in weight loss, making weight loss a secondary goal.

The best motivation I have found is to pick a date and make a lifestyle change that you will maintain until you reach that date. Then reassess. For instance, set a goal this January to exercise three times per week until May. Utilize professionals to help you if necessary. Find a fitness professional or a club like the YMCA to help you reach your goal of exercising. As a side benefit you may lose some weight, but I guarantee you will feel better about yourself and be healthier come May 1.

Another option is to set a goal to change your eating habits until May 1. With this option you can utilize a weight loss program or, better yet, a nutritionist to help you change your eating habits. You will likely reach your secondary goal of weight loss by May 1.

This year, don’t make a resolution—make a change and reap the benefits.