Every year thousands of people make New Year’s Resolutions to lose weight/get fit/be more healthy or all of the above. Plenty of these New Year’s Resolutions fail and are forgotten until the next year begins and all the same resolutions are made yet again. However – if this year you want it to be different and you want to make a difference to your long-term health, then read below our Top Tips for sticking with your healthy plans:
Set yourself goals
Small steps are the best way to a big success. Breaking down your ultimate goal into small, achievable targets can help you keep on track in the long run. Additionally, try not to be too focused on simply ‘losing weight’ – instead try more general, health oriented goals such as reducing sugar in tea, including more vegetables in the evening meal or reducing your crisps to just once a week. Setting smaller goals each week or month or even each day will help you to move at a steady pace towards your ultimate goal and allow you to become accustomed to a new healthy lifestyle.
Always accept failure
Failure is part of human nature, so always be aware that it is expected and OK to slip up and make mistakes. The important part is how you deal with those mistakes – throwing the towel in and giving up is not the way. If you have had a bad day or a bad week and eaten too much cake or chocolate, don’t focus on these negative aspects; instead think about why you slipped up and how to avoid repeating it. Use each mistake as part of a learning curve to ensure that you know how to continue with your positive eating behaviours and towards your ultimate goal. There are always setbacks on the way to success – don’t beat yourself up about it. Never give up!
Use small reminders
We all have our own reason for wanting to be healthy, so try to keep something which helps you to remember why you want to make these positive changes. This may be a photo of you when you were younger, a letter from your doctor, a picture of your children or any other aide-memoir that is specific to you. When you feel like giving up, just reflect back on this reminder and remember that you are doing it for all the right reasons.
Getting support
Support from family and friends is vital to helping you continue with your long-term healthy resolutions. Talk to your loved ones about the reasons why you want to make changes and discuss in detail the ways in which you are going to do this. Involve them in your new goals by seeing how they can help you to achieve them. It may be that they want to make the changes with you. Just remember that communication between family and friends is key to ensure that positive changes can be maintained!
Ask yourself questions
On a scale of 1 to 10 how much do you want to change? Write down the answer. Ask yourself how you would feel in a year’s time if you had achieved your ultimate goal? Write down your answer. Now ask yourself how you would feel in a year’s time if you hadn’t met your goal and you were in exactly the same position as you are now. Write down the answer and refer back to these whenever you feel you can’t reach your goal.
Get some advice
Don’t be afraid to ask for honest advice from a health professional and, at all costs, steer clear of crash/faddy diets which promise unrealistic results!
Contact us for further help and support this New Year 🙂