Strategies for Conquering Your Healthy New Year’s Resolutions
You know you’ve done it. I’ve done it. Who hasn’t done it? This is finally the year. The year you’re going to get into shape. No, really. You mean it this time. You’ve already got the gym membership. You’re really going to turn your life around and make it a habit.
February comes, and you’re proud you’ve made it this far. Sure, you’ve missed a few days here and there, but nobody’s perfect, right? March is here, and you’ve still worked out more often than not. Your responsibilities got in the way at times, but you’ll make up for it next week. Okay, it’s April, time to dust off the gym membership and get into shape for the summer. Oh shit, it’s already May? You haven’t been to the gym in six weeks!
Neglecting your health is such an easy thing to do, but as we become more and more sedentary, the toll it takes on our bodies can add up. Here are a few helpful strategies for keeping up with your healthy New Year’s resolution.
Enjoy What You’re Doing
The easiest reason to quit is because every workout is a chore. Me? I dislike running with a passion. Trust me, I’ve tried to like it. Really, I have. To me, it’s just so damn boring. And that’s okay.
But hey, maybe it’s your cup of tea? Maybe you want to one day run a 5k, or even a marathon? Maybe you enjoy sprinting and getting faster? Or weightlifting? That’s my personal drug of choice. You have to look forward to whatever it is that you’re doing for fitness, or you’re going to dread every day. It’s natural to want to skip things you don’t like. So go run, if that’s what you want to do. Or lift weights. Or play tennis. They’re all viable options, but most importantly: pick an activity that you’re going to want to come back to day after day and week after week.
Aim for a Consistent Schedule
This isn’t always easy for everyone, but it does make a pretty big difference. Humans are routine by nature, and that extends to our fitness regimens as well. “Finding time to work out” is better than nothing, but it’s also an easy way to fall behind.
Setting a consistent schedule is a better way to stay on track. If you know that you’re going to work out every day at 6:00AM, you can plan for it and adjust everything else accordingly. You know what to expect, and you can mentally prepare to face your workout. Even if it’s something you love, it can still be physically exhausting, and that feeling is certainly not for everyone. Having a proper mindset is not just some hippy bullshit — it actually makes a difference.
A Proper Diet Is Vital to Success
First of all, it’s simply a matter of thermodynamics. If you’re consuming more calories than you burn, then you’re not going to lose weight (if that’s your goal). But diet goes well beyond that. There’s a balance that needs to be achieved.
In addition to ensuring that your calories are coming from the right sources, you’re going to want to make sure you’re not in too much of a deficit. Crash diets are not sustainable and can cause your workouts to suffer, or even cause you to begin to hate them. Nutrition is a wildly inexact science, but a good barometer is operating under the 2,000-calorie intake limit that we’re all familiar with and adjusting from there. Feeling too drained after a few weeks of this routine? Eat a little more. Gaining weight but seeing no physical improvement? Work harder and eat less. Only you know what your body needs.
Goals Matter
Goals mean different things to different people, depending on a number of things. Maybe your goal is increased performance. Maybe your goal is the number on the scale. Maybe your goal is something less concrete, like aesthetics. These are all valid things to shoot for, and they give purpose to what you’re doing. Don’t just go into this lifestyle change with a goal of “being more active”. Humans like improvement. We want to see that what we’re doing is worth the time we’ve invested. Otherwise, why would we be doing it?
Only you can determine what you want to achieve, but it’s imperative that you track your progress. This is one of the biggest mistakes I made when I first started working out, and to be honest, it’s one I still make. It may sound tedious, but it does make a difference — trust me. Keep a log of your runs, or your lifts, or your weight. It’s too easy to fall into the autopilot trap and not push yourself for improvement. Take pictures of your body at regular intervals and compare them. We look at ourselves in the mirrors multiple times a day, so it’s easy to miss small changes over time. You might think you’re wasting your time as nothing is changing, but comparing a Day 1 photo to one taken on Day 60 could tell another story entirely.
Start Small
You’re probably not going to reach your goals the first time out. Maybe not even in the first year, depending on what your goals are. And that’s okay. This is supposed to be a lifestyle change, not something you’re just going to do for 2020 and then fall back into the trap of being lazy and unhealthy.
There’s nothing wrong with starting at a mile if your ultimate goal is a marathon. If you want to hit 225 on the bench press, aim for 135 first. Trying to lose 50 pounds? Let’s get the first 20 off and reevaluate. Set goals that will challenge you but are attainable with a bit of effort. Again, you’re mostly looking for continued progress here. You’re not going to reach your stated milestone — the reason you’re doing all this — without hitting some smaller ones along the way.
Support Systems Are Great, but Don’t Overdo It
When you’re pushing through that last rep or that last mile, it’s only natural to want to have people cheering you on or going through the journey with you. At the same time, this is a YOU change, and you cannot rely on other people to stick to your resolutions. They’re not always going to be there when things get tough.
There is also some psychology involved in broadcasting your goals before you achieve them. In short, announcing your goals to the world prior to their completion elicits a dopamine response that could actually prevent you from getting where you want to be. You’re already receiving the appropriate response (likely praise for the attempt) before your journey, making you less likely to actually follow through with it. Accountability from others is nice, but at the end of the day, it’s going to be you that needs to be the one to motivate your own self.
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Lifestyle changes are difficult. I’m not here to tell you otherwise. It’s going to take a lot of effort, and potentially some pain, in order to achieve what you’re striving to achieve. But if you stick with it, and follow the strategies outlined above, you’re going to have a much better shot at becoming healthier and living a longer, fuller life.
Stick with it. You’ve got this. I believe in you. Cheers to a healthier 2020 and beyond.