How is your new year’s resolution going? What promises did you make to yourself at the beginning of the year and are you keeping them?
According to fitness app, Strava, after analysing data from 98.3 million fitness activities loaded into their app, today, 17 January, is ‘Quitter’s Day’ – the day in which most people give up their new year’s resolutions.
This year, we can be forgiven a little for putting our resolutions to one side, what with the exhausting mixture of poor weather, lockdown 3, stress, worry and anxiety getting in the way of our healthy new year intentions.
However, if you’re feeling like giving up on the things you’d promised to try this new year, maybe this blog post could be the nudge you need to keep going remind you that there has never been a more important time to look after yourself and your health.
Motivation
A key part of keeping any resolution is motivation. Think about why you decided to make your resolution and how motivated you were when you first started it. Even if it’s a quick 15 minute workout, making a shopping list or prepping your meal ideas for the week, try doing something small that can help unearth your motivation again.
Set realistic goals
Did you set yourself a goal when you started your resolution? And were you realistic with those goals? Giving yourself unrealistic goals can be sometimes be detrimental to your journey, especially if your progress isn’t as quick as you expected it to be.
Ever heard of the saying ‘nothing worth having comes easy’? Well, in the case of improving your health and fitness, this can so often be true. Celebrate the little victories you have along the way.
However, that is not to say that having an ‘ultimate’ goal is a bad thing! Setting in mind what you would like to achieve in the long term, and then putting short term goals in place to help get you there, creates focus and motivation.
It’s the little stepping stones you take to your ultimate goal that eventually add up and before you know it, you’ll be well on your way to what you want to achieve.
Make a list
If you’re struggling to stick to eating well and moving more, make a pros and cons list for why you should and shouldn’t carry on with it.
For instance, the pro of exercising could be that it’s great for you and helps release your happy endorphins, but a con might be that you have an old injury you need to be wary of.
More often than not, you’ll find that the pros will outweigh the cons and give you reason to keep going!
Reward yourself
Rewards are a great way to incentivise yourself into keeping your resolution.
That doesn’t necessarily mean tucking into a box of chocolates when you’ve eaten well for a little while, but you can find a reward that won’t derail your resolution!
Of course, the occasional slip up won’t completely undo all your hard work. If you do find your hands slipping into the cookie jar, don’t beat yourself up about it!
Take each day as it comes and remember that every meal is a new opportunity.
Keep trying!
But we think the most important part of keeping any resolution is to keep trying. If you feel yourself giving up – just keep going. There is nothing to say you can’t take a little break and come back to it a few days later!