It’s the beginning of January. The streamers and fireworks have long since finished, and the prospect of returning to work after the extended Christmas break has become a reality for many. But knowing how to stick to New Year’s Resolutions will make your good intentions into good habits long after the January blues have passed.
The alarm clock going off before dawn is enough to make anybody turn to their favourite vice by the end of the day, and those well-meaning resolutions to be healthier, eat less meat, drink less, give up smoking, take on a new exercise regime, (or a combination of all of the above), made as the clock struck midnight just a few days ago seem like a distant memory of determination and will power; fuelled by the euphoria of the party season and that one glass of bubbly too many that makes us believe anything is possible.
It is.
But it’s never as easy as we think it’s going to be and there are going to be moments when you feel like your resolve is weakening.
The one thing to remember is do not give up! You can do this, and we are going to give you some top tips on how to stick to New Year’s Resolutions.
Want to find out more? Read on…
Failure to Plan – Plan to Fail
Making decisions in the heat of the moment is all very good and may seem spontaneous, but it’s a great way to set yourself up to a spectacular fail. If you really want to stick to New Year’s Resolutions you need to prepare!
If you have decided you are going to eat healthier for example, but you are still living off left overs from all the indulgent Christmas and New Year goodies, you are immediately going to feel like you have busted your resolution on day 1!
The easiest way to deal with this is to either
- Start your healthy regime after you have got around to doing your first shop of the New Year
or
2. Get rid of all the pork pies, the dips, the chocolate ganache and the mince pies before the 1st January.
If you don’t like throwing away food and you are planning to start your healthier eating after the New Year, that’s fine, but be warned, it’s easy to not start at all. To counteract this, why not spend the first few days doing a bit of research? Check out the healthiest foods that you enjoy and make a list for when you next do your grocery shopping.
Look up easy and delicious healthy recipes and plan your meals, and your shopping lists, accordingly; and never fall in to the trap of shopping when you are hungry!
Plan for treats. Nobody is expecting you to live off a diet devoid of any of your favourite indulgences, but make them something to look forward to at the end of the week, and remember they are a treat, something to make you feel better, NOT an excuse to beat yourself with the guilty stick!
Set Realistic Expectations
Okay so you have decided to take up a new exercise regime and to get fit. You have bought the expensive trainers, you’ve squeezed in to last summer’s lycra and you are warming up whilst reading this and simultaneously making the family dinner, taking the middle one to swimming club and feeding the cat.
Be realistic here.
Firstly, this is not the time to think you will be taking on Jessica Ennis Hill any time soon!
Secondly, it goes back to the planning. Trying to take on too much too soon will only make you very demotivated if you don’t see instant results. And you hate running.
That’s okay though, there are literally loads of different exercises to participate in that you can do at a time to suit you, and without the added pressure of feeling like you have to compete against the local athletics club!
Pick something you enjoy, join a walking group, do some lengths in the pool when it’s the adults only session, or try something completely new and encourage a supportive friend or work colleague to join in with you.
That way if one of you is flagging the other can give a gentle nudge of encouragement and you feel like you don’t want to let each other down.
And remember, ANY exercise is better than NO exercise! Walking is a fantastic way of getting your blood pumping and muscles working. Start with some short walks and build up to jogging or even hiking. And if you have an app that can record your steps and calories burnt, such as the Wellspace Wellbeing app, you will be able to see your activity increase, which will keep you motivated.
Set Short Term Goals to Stick To New Years Resolutions
Breaking your goals down in to short term achievable targets is crucial to your success of maintaining your new lifestyle choices.
Thinking you are giving up wine forever is a long time, and all that will happen is you eventually cave in and feel like a failure, returning to old habits quickly. In fact, this is the same for anything you want to give up or for that matter get started on.
They are habits.
It’s what we are comfortable with at the end of the day. And that glass of wine every night when you get in from work, or that crafty cigarette in your lunch break are done more or less without thinking about. So, if we can form habits that are essentially bad for us, we can create a habit that is beneficial to our wellbeing!
The trick is to start off slowly, and before you know it, you will form some great habits that will have a genuine long-term positive impact on your health and wellness.
Why not start by saying you will have two nights off during the week from having a drink? They don’t have to be together even. It could be say, Monday and Wednesday. Then increase it by one more day, so add in Thursday, because realistically Friday could be an evening for socialising, and remember we don’t want you to set yourself up to fail!
Reward yourself
We touched on this by planning for the odd diet treat, but when we say reward yourself, this is much more significant. Work out for example, how much you will save over a six-month period if you quit smoking or ditch the gin. Buy yourself a savings pot that you can’t raid particularly easily and put any cash you haven’t spent inside so that it will mount up for something you really want.
Think of the designer shoes you have been coveting or a romantic weekend away.
If you have something you want to reward yourself with you are more likely to have a motivation for sticking to your resolutions.
A good example of how rewards are used to motivate are Wellspace Rewards. We have taken the concept of rewarding effort, not outcomes and use that to help employees form healthier habits.
A habit is formed when a particular behaviour is consistently rewarded in the brain, usually with a hit of dopamine. Wellspace Rewards work to encourage that dopamine release with a healthy reward, such as receiving a gift voucher for a nice meal out for regularly meeting targets. This, in time, replaces the neurological reward released when engaging in an unhealthy or harmful behaviour, such as smoking.
Sticking to New Year’s Resolutions Through Technology
Here at Your Wellspace we are particularly keen on technology supporting us with our daily routines. This is why we have designed the revolutionary Wellness Appto transform the way we monitor our own wellbeing. This clever application is easily downloaded and helps us work towards our goals and achievements by recording data, offering advice and ideas on health and wellness and is particularly motivational as there are team rewards for those who participate!
Contact us
So if you are feeling motivated to stick to those New Year Resolutions but you need a bit of friendly encouragement, then why not contact us here for more information, or call us on 0808 178 0748 where one of our expert team will be delighted to chat to you.
We can offer specialist advice on a wide variety of health topics have years of experience you can draw from to make the most of your new wellness resolution programme becoming a long-term lifestyle choice.
And if you feel like giving in, just remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and Usain Bolt didn’t win gold from the beginning. It takes time and effort, but you’ve got this!
