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Those who succeed at keeping their healthy habits don???t have more willpower. They just know how to stack the odds in their favor. Here???s how.

The 6 strategies

Tip 1 Find powerful reasons for your new habits.
To successfully create new habits, you need to connect them to your deepest values and beliefs. Susan Kleiner, Ph.D., sports nutritionist and owner of High Performance Nutrition in Mecer Island, Wash., has seen clients improve their eating habits when they tapped into something of vital importance to them, such as wanting to improve their energy levels for professional success. Ask yourself why you want to be fit – beyond just getting into a bikini. Do you want more confidence, joy and energy in your family, professional or love life – or simply in general? Mine your feelings about what is important to you, who you are and what you stand for, and you???ll find fuel for new habits.

Try this Write down who or what matters most to you on the worksheet. Note how being fit will make a difference.

Tip 2 Put your health on top of your ???to-do??? list.
Loehr notes that it takes a month or two to lock in a habit. So, for the next 30-60 days, stop and look at what you???re focusing on in your life, outside of fitness, and say ???not now??? to as many things as you can. Were you going out of town to visit friends? Postpone it. Do you regularly meet the girls after work for drinks? Bow out for a while. You must nurture your new habits. Think of the healthy changes you???re making to reach your fitness goals as minor surgery you suddenly need, with 30-60 days for recovery.

Try this On the worksheet, list at least three ways – and the hours involved – that you can make room for fitness in your schedule.

Tip 3 Take small, deliberate steps.
Those who are successful in creating a healthy habit map out the exact details of their diet or exercise, right down to the days and times, even the sets and reps. Then they log what they did, what they ate and how they felt. ???Repeatedly, studies show that people who keep a log get results, ???Kleiner says.

Try this Create a specific training schedule and/or eat-right plan, including a logbook in which to track your progress.

Tip 4 Put your emotion into motion.
???If you visualize and feel your purpose, you are forming new pathways in the brain,??? Loehr says. When you mentally note the fact that you???re eating right and exercising regularly, or even picture yourself doing so, your resolve can strengthen, inspiring you to continue with your new healthy habits.

Try this Review your exercise and diet program when you need inspiration, and/or visualize yourself implementing the details.

Tip 5 Keep it fresh.
???Remember when we used to have fun as kids – playing ball, swimming, just using our bodies???? asks Susan Butterworth, Ph.D., director of corporate wellness at Oregon Health Sciences University School of Nursing in Portland. ???We weren???t thinking about how many calories we burned running through the sprinkler; we were just having fun.??? You can get that feeling back by mixing things up, not to mention reframing the way you view your workouts. The same goes for eating well – having the same salad every day, or viewing it as something you must eat, can draw the passion out of the experience.

Try this on your worksheet, write out your weekly diet and exercise details, making sure there???s lots of variety. Or make a game of it and write down how many healthful new foods you???ll try this week (including new ways to prepare them), as well as new activities you???ll try. Attempt to hit a set number each week, and reward yourself when you reach your goal.

Tip 6 Give yourself a break.
To enjoy a healthy lifestyle, guilt must be stricken from your psychological catalog. If emotional baggage or guilt creeps in (???I???m not exercising as hard as I should be; I???m a failure because I ate three cookies???), it will undermine your ability to enjoy the efforts you are making and cause you to be discouraged. You also need to make sure you???re taking time off from your regimens; giving more focus to fewer quality workouts allows your body and mind to recharge, and that produces better, more enjoyable results. Furthermore, allowing a few treats into your diet keeps you from feeling deprived. So don???t beat yourself up; let yourself slide now and then.

Try this write down on your worksheet which day you???ll take off from exercise, and also make a note of a favorite food you???ll allow into your meal plan. If you get in only one workout this week or eat too many treats, shift your focus to the positives: how you added one day of exercise to your life and are eating more healthful foods, too.