How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

It’s the beginning of a new year, which means it’s time to tackle your new year’s resolutions. The most common resolutions, of course, have to do with losing weight and getting into shape. From mastering a new workout schedule, to changing your eating habits for ideal weight loss, we are going to break down some of the things that can put a damper on your plans for the new year, and teach you how to re-think these common blunders.

Planning Too Far in Advance

When it comes to issues like weight loss, most of us plan for the long-term. In a month, I want to drop 30 pounds; next year, I want to be half my size. Although long-term goals are important when it comes to weight loss, short-term thinking can give you greater benefits.

According to recent research from the University of Sheffield, 91 percent of people who start an exercise plan usually bail within the first four weeks. Mainly, this is because people look to the long term and think they have to push themselves harder and harder until they reach these goals.

Instead of thinking a year in advance, tell yourself you will make every effort to go to the gym on a weekly basis. Once you start out in a “slower-paced” mindset, you will more than likely have more success in the short-term with your weight loss goals, and this will lead to a weekly habit that will help you maintain your routine for the long haul.

Don’t set a ridiculous workout goal, like 7 days of the week. If you are just starting out in your exercise, you are more than likely to abandon your goals of working out if they are set too high. Instead, shoot for something a little more realistic: like, 3 days a week.

Quit Thinking “Perfection”

If you skip a workout one week, you are more than likely to skip a workout the following week. If you go to the drive thru for dinner instead of cooking healthy for dinner, you are more than likely to do the same thing the following week.

This is a domino effect that has an impact on thousands of new year’s resolutions every year. Once people mess up, they fear the worst and think their entire weight loss purpose is doomed for the rest of the year. This is because people think that diet and exercise has to follow a “perfection” schedule.

One way to overcome this perfection policy? Quit thinking of weight loss in this way.

Life is unexpected, and some of us may run out of time to go to the gym, or may not have enough time to do some “healthy” grocery shopping.

If you don’t have time to work out, do a portion of your routine, and pick up the rest at a later time during the day. If your family wants an evening out at dinner, rather than staying at home, educate yourself to make the best choices when you are presented with things like this. Eating one meal of your choice during the week will not affect your weight loss. In fact, often times it helps because it assists in re-training your metabolism.

Not Having a Support System

Many people think they can go it alone when it comes to keeping their new year’s resolutions, but often times this is not the case.

Many people think that their spouses or families don’t share the same weight loss goals, so often times they think they don’t want to be included in their new year’s resolutions. With as many people out there wanting to lose weight in the new year, our bet is that at least one of your family members would want to get healthy with you.

Once you have your family friend or spouse on board, develop a strategy together that will help you both succeed. Share your goals with each other, and develop a plan with these things in mind. Study after study has shown that higher success rates for weight loss are due to the fact that subjects had a steady support system. After all, what better way to lose weight than by doing it with a friend at your side?

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