by Serena H.
Did you decide on a New Year’s resolution and are already struggling to keep up with it? You can’t be the only one. There’s an ongoing joke that resolutions are often abandoned by February or March. There are a few tips that can help you keep up with your resolution.
Set a Realistic Goal
People often make the mistake of choosing a goal that is out of reach or just not feasible for them to keep up with over the year. When choosing your goal, it is important to pick something that suits your abilities and is something you feel passionate about. Setting a goal to lose weight is common, but is usually approached in a more aggressive way and results in an abandonment of the resolution all together. Get a grasp on your abilities and work from there to choose a goal.
Just stating you’ll lose weight or eat healthier doesn’t set a true goal and you risks of a goal outside your means, like losing 90 lbs, may discourage you throughout the year. The goal should be concise and realistic. For example setting a goal to cut out added sugars in your diet and eat a vegetable at each meal is specific goals to eating healthier. Realistic goals like losing 15 lbs, may be more feasible that 90 lbs if losing weight is you goal. After setting more realistic goals, making a plan to reach them throughout the year will help keep you on track.
Make a Plan
When you set your goal, making a plan, a real written out plan, can help you manage expectations and reach smaller milestones. It can also help with managing the goal and your own abilities. When it comes to losing weight, going to the gym and eating healthy are small steps, but how do you reach them?
Jumping from not working out at all to working out 6 days a week to lose the weight you gained during the holidays isn’t realistic and it’s unlikely you will stick to it. Choose or make a progressive exercise plan that gradually increases intensities in exercises and frequency of gym visits. Having a plan that starts out slow and progresses will start you in a comfortable place and continue to challenge you throughout the year without getting too boring either. Adapting the plan as you go to add or subtract can be beneficial but don’t make it too much of a habit, so that reaching your goal is still within sight.
As for eating healthier, meal planning can be very beneficial. This doesn’t necessarily mean dieting. Meal planning gives you a chance to really think about the foods you are eating and making a conscious effort to eat healthier foods. It also gives you some guidelines for each meal and holding you accountable, so that you already know what your eating and don’t default to the easy, less healthy meals. Each person dietary needs are different and working your meal plan around your lifestyle is important to being successful. Choosing small milestones, like finding healthier alternatives for snacks or carbs can further encourage you with your resolution.
Stick to it!
So you've set a goal, made a plan and now it comes down to sticking to all of it! The best advice to sticking to your resolution is creating opportunities to meet your expectations and forgiving and forgetting. Having small milestones to complete or just being happy in the better feelings after the changes you’ve made are important. Managing your expectation and not being discouraged by minor setbacks is critical to the real change that can take place with a New Year’s resolution. Everyone slips up with resolutions, whether it be skipping a day at the gym or having a greasy cheeseburger when you’re out with friends, but jumping back on that wagon and getting back on track with your plan is far more important than dwelling on falling off in the first place.
This brings up the advice around self-discipline. You’ve set a goal and made a plan and you have to make a conscious effort to stick to that. Sometimes that means getting up and going to the gym when you don’t want to or passing up the chance at some free cookies, but making the conscious choices to follow you plan will be far more rewarding. Even if you do fall off the wagon, having the self-discipline to not give up and to hop back on the ride to your goal is equally as challenging and rewarding.
Having a friend to keep you accountable on your journey can also be helpful. Whether they are joining you with the same goals or just checking in with you about following your plan can be very encouraging. Asking a friend for help is never a bad idea. Even if you're halfway through your resolution, when times are getting tough, having someone to support your goals and cheer you on when you fall off the wagon or waver in your self-discipline can be a game changer.
New Year’s resolutions can be very challenging to keep up with but the satisfaction from achieving your goal it worth the challenge. When you stick to a resolution, you learn about your abilities and could make some life-long changes. Staying proactive with your resolution is key to achieving it. Set a realistic goal, make a solid plan and take those extra steps to keep you on track and accountable. Good luck with any goals you’ve set and make your year as positive as you can!