New Years. A time for fresh beginnings and strengthened resolve. My New Year’s resolution for 2015 is the same as last year—to lose some weight and get more fit, but this year I have a specific goal in mind—to lose 20 lbs before I go to Ireland in July with my girlfriends.

I was thinking the other day about what I need to do different ths time to actually succeed for a change and I had a bit of an epiphany. I realized that instead of stopping bad habits, I need to focus on creating new habits. I’m not sure if these new habits are going to make me happy, but I know I will be happy if I achieve my goal.

Here are five new habits I am going to adopt to lose weight:

1. Fill up my water glass and drink more water every afternoon at work.
2. Make homemade soups on Sunday for yummy leftover lunches all week.
3. Have a mid-afternoon snack at work, focusing on mufas. Mufas are monounsaturated fats like avocado, nuts and seeds, oils, olives and dark chocolate and are great for fighting belly fat. I read a book last year on mufas from the editors of Prevention magazine, and it was one of the better nutrition and lifestyle books I’ve read. You can read more about mufas and the flat belly diet here. There are some great recipes on this site too.
4. Take the stairs when I don’t have a hot coffee or laptop in my hand. If you’ve never read Mireille Guiliano’s book French women don’t get fat, read it. I saw in Indigo the other day she has a new book, French women don’t get facelifts which looks great. Check out her website.
5. Hop on the exercise bike while I’m watching my weekly reality TV fix every Monday night, The Bachelor (new season starts tomorrow!)

Finally, I’m going to join the weight loss challenge at work that starts January 12.

This week’s #HappyAct is to become a creature of new habits. What new habits will you adopt this year to help you achieve your goals? Good luck everyone!