It will come as no surprise that the top two New Years’ resolutions are 1) Start Exercising & 2) Lose Weight. Are you in the majority of people who aspire to achieve one or both of these goals? We've all heard Albert Einstein's famous line: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." More than 50% of people say that they fail at the resolutions they’ve set for themselves. Why does this happen? If we can sort out the ‘why?’, we are then able to attack the real problem, which is not the inability to lose weight or start exercising, it’s achieving the goal we’ve set in the first place!
First, let’s analyze what happens. Many goals are vague, do not have a plan, or we have an unreasonable timeline. Things such as: I want to lose 20 pounds by the wedding. I want to start exercising. I want to start cooking healthier for my family. All of these are wonderful aspirations but have no plan behind them. If you decided “I want to get the promotion at work”, are you going to put it out there, then not tell your boss of your goal? Not do anything to achieve it? Not solicit feedback for improvement? Not talk to mentors at a higher level for their advice? NO! You will do all of these things because this goal is important to you and it won’t happen without a little work on your part. Ok then…
I’d like to share some ideas to help you achieve your goals related to exercise and weight loss (or general healthier eating):
- Be specific in our goals:
- “I want to exercise 5 days per week.” Where will you do this? Do you need a membership? Do you have equipment? How will you measure your success in achieving your goal?
- “I want to cook healthier.” What recipes will you make? What foods do you want to add/reduce from your diet? How many nights do you aspire to cook at home? How will this help you get to your weight loss goal? How long is reasonable to get to that weight?
- Schedule time:
- Making time for a workout (be sure include getting dressed, driving to the location, showering). Put it on your calendar! I love when reminders pop up on my phone to remind me of things when I may be distracted. This is a priority, right? Then it should be scheduled just like all the other important items in your day.
- Making time for healthier eating (this is much easier when your significant other is on board!). When will you do prep? What can you do on the weekend to make weeknights easier? Can you use pre-cut vegetables? Can you plan a menu and shopping list in advance?
- Get an accountability partner:
- Have a friend check in with you regularly on progress; better yet, have your friend join you for the goal
- Socially announce your intentions, it’s harder to stop when your network of followers wants you to be successful
- Join a group or hire a coach to help you stay on track
- Reward yourself for small victories:
- We celebrate others for their achievements, why not give yourself approval for a job well done? Each week, reflect on what you’ve accomplished. Maybe you did 3 of your 5 day workout goal. Or you cooked dinner at home 2 nights more than normal. Those are steps to your goal! If you were going to run a half marathon, you would not walk outside and run 13.1 miles. You’d start with a few miles and build up your endurance. It’s the same idea here, each step is getting you to your goal
- Also, keep in mind this is a 2022 goal, not a January goal. Give yourself space to take steps to get there.
- Let go of failure:
- Do not let it stop you from achieving your goal - going back to our original example, if you didn’t get the promotion, you will not likely go back to what you were doing with no plan. You will look for another opportunity. Why? Because you have started a fire for something you want and you will not give up. Do not let a small set back be your excuse to stop. Keep going, the prize is worth it. Anyone who has become successful will tell you they had many failures along the way. Perseverance is what got them to their goal!
I hope these ideas will help you on your journey to achieving your 2022 goals! If you want more ideas, a customized plan or someone to help you with accountability, reach out to me.
Let’s resolve to succeed; after all, no one resolves to fail! Hmm, perhaps the resolution should be to keep our resolution!
In good health,
Jackie