Have you ever made health and weight loss New Year’s Resolutions only to find that come January 15th, you’ve failed to even begin them? Or maybe you’ve managed to stick to them for a few months and then your focus and motivation start to decrease. You’re not alone! Although there are a good number of people who achieve and stick to their New Years Resolutions, many of us find it difficult to do so. Does this mean that New Year’s Resolutions are pointless? Quite the opposite – New Years Resolutions can be highly effective if you take the time and effort to plan for your success!
Data from the past few years show that the most commonly made New Years Resolutions are ones related to living a healthier lifestyle – either through diet and/or exercise and losing weight. In 2021, the most popular resolutions were exercising more and improving fitness, losing weight, saving money, and improving diet. About a quarter of these survey participants indicated that making these specific resolutions helped them to improve their lives. Being healthier in general, including losing weight is a goal that many people pursue, and New Year’s seems a good time to set resolutions to achieve this.
We all have experience with setting resolutions and then realizing that sticking to these New Year’s Resolutions can be difficult. There are many factors and reasons why we may give up on our resolutions or lose motivation. According to Yougov.com, in 2020, almost half of people who made resolutions reported that they kept some but not all of their resolutions. Only 16% said they did not keep any resolutions that they had made for 2020. This shows that while it may be difficult to keep all our resolutions, many people are able to keep at least some of them. With proper planning, it is worth the effort.
It is interesting to note that the top three most failed New year’s Resolutions are diet, exercising more, and losing weight. These failures do not mean that it is pointless to try and achieve these resolutions. Finding out why people fail at these is vital to understanding how to succeed in your resolutions. The reason why people fail at these resolutions is not well researched and can be complex due to a variety of factors. Failing to stick to health and diet resolutions is often touted as being related purely to motivation, and while motivation is needed to achieve your goals, it is also important to note that the way in which we go about implementing our resolutions is equally as important. Having effective methods, plans, and strategies for how to achieve these resolutions can keep your motivation up when the going gets tough, and greatly improve the likelihood of long-term success.
Here are some strategies that you can consider when drafting your health and weight loss New Year’s Resolutions:
- Create a plan with specific trackable goals
- Laying out a plan of how you will achieve your goals is key to your success.
- Set out goals that are measurable and easy to track. This could be losing 1lb per week or losing 5lbs over 2 months.
- Meeting small goals along the way increases your motivation to continue. In one study on resolutions, it was noted that men were more likely to achieve their resolutions if they implemented measurable goal setting.
- Pick the best time for you to start implementing your resolutions
- Make these new eating and diet habit changes at the right time for you. It doesn’t have to be in the New Year. If the New Year brings many stressors to your life, it may be more beneficial for you to wait a few weeks to begin your resolutions.
- Ask yourself questions!
- The ‘question-behavior effect’ is a phenomenon where “asking people about performing a certain behavior influences whether they do it in the future”.1 This effect has been known to last longer than six months after the person was questioned.
- Ask questions instead of drawing up statements; “Who will be my accountability partner?” can be more helpful than “Find an accountability partner”.
- These questions can act as a great motivator to reaching your resolutions – ask yourself questions such as “When will I exercise?” or get your spouse to ask you questions relating to your resolutions. Answering those questions requires action which gets you moving towards your goal.
- Choose strategies and methods carefully
- Be realistic about your schedule and what you can cope with.
- Choose the method to achieve your resolutions that you know are sustainable for you.
- Create a list of actions that would help you keep your New Year’s Resolutions. Some helpful ideas are:
- Keeping resolutions with a partner (doing them together)
- Having an accountability partner (spouse, friend, or weight loss coach or consultant)
- Laying out all resolutions and the trackable goals needed to achieve them where you can see them daily
- Choose methods that DO work, not something that is the latest fad
- When it comes to losing weight specifically this is very important.
- One of the reasons it is so difficult for people to lose weight is that there is so much contradictory information available. People end up trying multiple methods which are not designed for their specific bodies and fail.
- Choosing the weight loss or eating plan that is right for you can be difficult. At Natural Bio Health, we have found that the most successful approach to weight loss is one that is customized and personalized for YOU. We consult with you to take all your factors into account – your body, your lifestyle, and medical history, as well as your goals and needs. Our customized plan is then implemented with supplements and any other medical or hormonal support necessary to ensure your success.
- By being accountable to our team, it is easier to maintain the motivation to stick to your goals and plans. When using an approach that works for you, you will begin seeing results, and that in itself will give you the motivation to continue with your weight loss. And while making sure you meet your New Year’s Resolutions may have been the primary reason you began your weight loss journey, the added benefits of losing weight will soon become your driving force too!
In summary – don’t allow your worries of potential failure to stop you from setting those health and weight loss New year’s Resolutions! Implement a plan by contacting us today. Our team is motivated to help you meet your goals. Contact our team for a consultation to discover how we can best set you up for success. You can also check out our store for some excellent weight loss products to assist you in meeting your goals. (These are currently 40% off for the holidays, while supplies last!)
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1: https://discoverhappyhabits.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/#2020-statistics