1. Banish stress

If there was one way to rocket your life into a multitude of new directions, this would be it. Stress causes your body to produce hormones, such as cortisol, which can lower your immune system and also facilitate weight gain. There’s also the fact that stress can be downright depressing. Fortunately, giving stress the boot is as simple as exercising.

“It’s one of the best ways to destress,” says Exercise TV fitness personality Zen Gray. “But you can’t stress about exercise!”

Gray suggests forgetting about planning the perfect diet-and-exercise regimen. “Instead, look at the next workout as a way to move more, build some strength, stretch and breathe deeply,” Gray says. “It doesn't have to be the best workout of your life. Your goal is to just get started.”

Here’s how: You’ve heard it before, but move! Take the stairs instead of the elevator, and walk or bike to work when the weather is pleasant. Even 30 minutes of walking each day sets you on the road to a physically fit body. What’s more, a 2008 study at Temple University, in Philadelphia, showed that walking briskly five times per week significantly reduced stress and anxiety.

Crummy weather? Trek indoors by following one of Leslie Sansone’s one-, two- or three-mile walking videos on Exercise TV.

2. Lose weight

If you’ve been toting an extra 10 pounds for longer than you’d like, shedding them can literally turn your life around. You will feel so much better inside and out, and there’s nothing like a jolt of confidence to jump-start a new year. “Weight loss isn’t about starving yourself,” warns Gray. “Your body must have food at regular intervals to keep blood sugar levels even and not slow down your metabolism because it's in starvation mode.”

In other words, committing to a weight-loss program means treating your body better. You have to nourish your body with wholesome food and adequate rest (which is usually eight solid hours).

Here’s how: First, clean up your diet. Cut out simple sugars and saturated fats. Eat lean proteins, fruit, vegetables and whole grains. An easy rule to remember: Simply don't eat anything with a bar code. If it’s unwrapped, chances are it’s fresh and will do your body good.

Next, of course, is exercise. You need to burn more calories than you’re consuming, so you can lose weight. Remember, your body naturally burns calories at rest, so don’t figure you need to torch 2,000 calories in one workout. In fact, if you lose two pounds in one month, that’s 7,000 extra calories burned, which is about 225 calories per day. Try the Target Tone: Body Workout by Lia Montelongo to fire up your metabolic engine.

3. Build strength

“Strength training is by far the best way to change your body composition,” Gray says. And research can prove it. Not only will pumping a little iron boost bone density and help prevent osteoporosis, it can help you lose weight and gain more energy. “Studies show that strength training keeps your metabolism elevated,” Gray says. How? Muscle is metabolic, so the more you have, the more calories you’ll burn at rest.

Here’s how: You don’t need a gym membership or even weights to pump up. Use your body weight as resistance for moves like lunges, squats and push-ups. Aim to strength train two to three times a week. Try Plank Lunge with Push-up by Amy Dixon for a new at-home idea.

4. Get some sleep already

Sleep deprivation can cause your body to release stress hormones, which (do you sense a pattern?) can tamper with your immunity, cause weight gain, and let’s face it, make you cranky. If you’re rested, your body and mind will perform better throughout the day. Gray suggests the following tips to ensure relaxing Zs:

• Do not consume any stimulants after noon, including caffeinated beverages (whether from coffee, soft drinks or tea). “You need to allow your body time to clear it from your system,” Gray says.
• Create a nightly ritual to teach your body to wind down. “Lower the lights, take a bath, read, listen to relaxing music and/or drink hot herbal tea,” Gray says.
• Don’t exercise within two hours of your bedtime, as you will raise your metabolism and actually boost your energy. That’s great, but as with everything, there’s a time and a place.

5. Get into yoga

You don’t have to become a hippie to enjoy the benefits of this life-changing practice. Yoga has unwound the backs of businessmen and quieted the minds of physicists. One groundbreaking German study in 2005 showed that women who practiced yoga twice a week for three months exhibited fewer signs of stress, depression and anxiety than those who didn’t, and their overall well-being, as measured by the researchers, improved by 65 percent.
Another study published in a 2006 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that yoga was more effective than conventional exercise for reducing low-back pain. Researchers at the University of Texas are currently looking to see if yoga can help prevent cardiovascular disease.

Here’s how: Most local studios offer free classes to first-time students, but if you don’t want to leave your house, try Yoga Burn with celebrity yogi Mandy Ingber.

6. Get happy

It sounds simple enough, but boosting your energy and changing your outlook can change your life. You’ll be more positive about your tasks and have more oomph to tackle them.

Here’s how: Exercise! “It forces you to breathe more, and deep breathing is one of the best ways to increase your energy levels,” Gray says. “Your body needs oxygen more than anything else. Exercise also increases your circulation, and helps you get rid of waste and deliver nutrients to your cells.”

Of course, exercise has also been shown to increase feel-good chemicals in the body like endorphins, so if you’re feeling down, 20 minutes of brisk movement can deliver a lift.

7. Put you first

Sticking to a fitness plan, or any of the above goals, is about committing to yourself. If giving yourself time isn’t easy, find little holes in your day that you can devote to you. “When it comes to working out, I roll out of bed and into my fitness gear,” Gray says. “I begin my workout before I have the chance to talk myself out of it.”

Another trick? Write yourself into your schedule. “I refuse to check my e-mail until I've taken care of myself. Everyone else's agenda can wait,” Gray says. “I'm much more able to help others if I've taken care of myself first.”

So consider doing yourself a favor—one that will help change everyone else’s world.

Check out www.exercisetv.tv for more free workouts and advice from celebrity trainers.