New Year’s Resolutions—you make them, you break them. Whether you are currently on a health and fitness plan, or you want to start one in 2020, there are definitely ways to approach making attainable New Year’s Resolutions that help you live your best life.
Plan your resolutions in advance: Making a declaration on the spur of the moment, at midnight on New Year’s Eve, is not likely to generate a realistic set of goals. Prepare your list at least a week in advance. Really think about your goals for the coming year. Does it involve regular exercise? Look into gym memberships now, so you’re ready to go on January 1 (well, okay, January 2). If you’re not ready to go, you can procrastinate this right out of existence. Do you have the proper fitness clothing and equipment to support working out at home? Knowing what you need means you can take advantage of post-Christmas sales to gear up. Also, starting an exercise regimen isn’t just about either going to the gym or pushing through on your own anymore. We offer an Online Training program—8-week Body Transformation—which provides the convenience of working out at home with the benefit of having a Certified Personal Trainer guiding your efforts and offering support throughout the program. If some of your goals are diet-related, spend the lead up to New Year’s purging your cupboards of unhealthy choices and stocking up and preparing healthy meal and snack choices to help get you through that first week. If you’re not normally a cook, consider asking for a slow-cooker, an Instant Pot, or even a meal subscription service as Christmas presents so you avoid the fast food trap when you’re tired and hungry after work.
Clearly define your goals: Knowing exactly what you want to achieve and when you want to achieve it by helps keep you on track, but you also have to ensure your goals are realistic. If weight loss is a goal, set several, achievable objectives for the course of the year. Losing two pounds a week for 10 weeks sounds more manageable than losing 20 pounds, especially if you have been trying to lose 20 pounds for the last 5 years. Don’t set too many goals at once. When you have a list of 20 resolutions, if you slip on a few it makes it really easy to dismiss the entire list. Really think about what’s most important for you to change, and keep your list to 5 items maximum. Once you have achieved those goals, you may feel confident enough to set others.
Track your progress: A fitness tracker with an app is a great way to keep track of your progress. There are also apps available that don’t require an expensive device which provide daily exercises, tips, and tracking. Bullet journaling can also be used to keep track of your goals. Create a paper grid listing each goal and the steps you need to take every day to reach you goal, with a check column for every day of the month, and use it daily. For the more tech savvy, this can also be done on the computer using a spreadsheet.
Make your goals public and ask for support: The support of your friends and family is often critical when making a health and wellness journey. You may feel like they are trying to sabotage you, but if they don’t actually know what you are doing, they won’t know how to help you. Publish your goals on your social media; email it to people; tell your coworkers. Make sure you clearly identify what they can do, or should not do, to help you. For instance, ask them not to offer you dessert if you are trying to cut out sweets, or ask your friends to meet up to go for walks instead of meeting for drinks. Also, by making your goals public, you are creating more accountability for yourself. It is easy to let go of secret goals. And remember, your friends and family will celebrate your successes with you.
If you slip, get right back up: Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has bad days. Don’t hold yourself to a rigid standard you would never expect from someone else. Use your support network—friends, family, coworkers, workout partners—when you need to for encouragement and motivation. Making mistakes doesn’t mean failing. The trick to succeeding in the end is to keep going.
New Year’s Resolutions—you make them, you break them. Whether you are currently on a health and fitness plan, or you want to start one in 2020, there are definitely ways to approach making attainable New Year’s Resolutions that help you live your best life.
Plan your resolutions in advance: Making a declaration on the spur of the moment, at midnight on New Year’s Eve, is not likely to generate a realistic set of goals. Prepare your list at least a week in advance. Really think about your goals for the coming year. Does it involve regular exercise?
Look into gym memberships now, so you’re ready to go on January 1 (well, okay, January 2). If you’re not ready to go, you can procrastinate this right out of existence. Do you have the proper fitness clothing and equipment to support working out at home? Knowing what you need means you can take advantage of post-Christmas sales to gear up. Also, starting an exercise regimen isn’t just about either going to the gym or pushing through on your own anymore.
We offer an Online Training program—8-12 week Body Transformation—which provides the convenience of working out at home with the benefit of having a Certified Personal Trainer guiding your efforts and offering support throughout the program. If some of your goals are diet-related, spend the lead up to New Year’s purging your cupboards of unhealthy choices and stocking up and preparing healthy meal and snack choices to help get you through that first week. If you’re not normally a cook, consider asking for a slow-cooker, an Instant Pot, or even a meal subscription service as Christmas presents so you avoid the fast food trap when you’re tired and hungry after work.
Clearly define your goals: Knowing exactly what you want to achieve and when you want to achieve it by helps keep you on track, but you also have to ensure your goals are realistic. If weight loss is a goal, set several, achievable objectives for the course of the year. Losing two pounds a week for 10 weeks sounds more manageable than losing 20 pounds, especially if you have been trying to lose 20 pounds for the last 5 years. Don’t set too many goals at once. When you have a list of 20 resolutions, if you slip on a few it makes it really easy to dismiss the entire list. Really think about what’s most important for you to change, and keep your list to 5 items maximum. Once you have achieved those goals, you may feel confident enough to set others.
Track your progress: A fitness tracker with an app is a great way to keep track of your progress. There are also apps available that don’t require an expensive device which provide daily exercises, tips, and tracking. Bullet journaling can also be used to keep track of your goals. Create a paper grid listing each goal and the steps you need to take every day to reach you goal, with a check column for every day of the month, and use it daily. For the more tech savvy, this can also be done on the computer using a spreadsheet.
Make your goals public and ask for support: The support of your friends and family is often critical when making a health and wellness journey. You may feel like they are trying to sabotage you, but if they don’t actually know what you are doing, they won’t know how to help you. Publish your goals on your social media; email it to people; tell your coworkers. Make sure you clearly identify what they can do, or should not do, to help you. For instance, ask them not to offer you dessert if you are trying to cut out sweets, or ask your friends to meet up to go for walks instead of meeting for drinks. Also, by making your goals public, you are creating more accountability for yourself. It is easy to let go of secret goals. And remember, your friends and family will celebrate your successes with you.
If you slip, get right back up: Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has bad days. Don’t hold yourself to a rigid standard you would never expect from someone else. Use your support network—friends, family, coworkers, workout partners—when you need to for encouragement and motivation. Making mistakes doesn’t mean failing. The trick to succeeding in the
end is to keep going.