Lots of people will have made New Year’s resolutions which encompass health and fitness – cutting down the drink, swapping red meat for more fish and getting more exercise. It happens every year, though very few people actually manage to stick to their hastily-made, turkey-filled-stomach goals, which is a shame.
However, there are steps you can take to make it easier and more incentivising to see out your resolutions. Here are a few helpful tips:
Have fun
Think about the things you like doing. Why do you like them? Probably because they are fun. Now think about the things you don’t like doing and may have given up. Why didn’t you like them? All together now: because they weren’t fun. Therefore it stands to reason that if you choose an activity that you enjoy, you are more likely to keep at it.
Another way to encourage staying power is to persuade some mates to take up an activity with you, be it bench-pressing at the gym, joining the company’s five-aside football team or mountain-biking. Friends can motivate each other to keep going and a little friendly competition never hurt, either.
Eat well
Being healthy doesn’t mean that you necessarily have to adopt a strict diet; it might mean that you simply need to replace certain foodstuffs with other, healthier variants. We all know about exchanging full-fat milk for skimmed or eating a good bowl or porridge instead of a fry up for breakfast. There is no requirement for you to go hungry and the changes you make needn’t be life-changing. The effects they have, however, could be. Eating excessive amounts of sugar, salt and fat can lead, as we all know, to heart diseases, diabetes and stroke. Cutting your consumption can reduce this risk.
Anyone who is undertaking a lot of exercise should do some research into sports nutrition. You’ll discover that it’s key to keep your body sufficiently topped up with enough fuel in order for it to function properly. Sporting performance will also be enhanced with the right diet. There’s much, much more to healthy eating than denying yourself a Big Mac. That might help you stick with it.
Set goals and rewards
Perhaps you need some sort of strategy to keep you on track and raring to go. Setting goals is a great way to measure your progress and prompt you to stick at that resolution. Seeing results, no matter how gradually they occur, can make a huge difference to your mental well-being. After all, it’s your mental well-being that controls whether or not you continue doing something.
Rewarding yourself is just as important for your motivation. Perhaps when you’ve dropped some weight, you will treat yourself to some fancy new clothes. Maybe you’re able to run a certain distance now without keeling over, so why not get a sports massage? Acknowledge how well you’ve done and keep up the momentum.
Admittedly, sticking to a resolution is difficult, especially in the cold and dark days of winter; there are too many ‘good reasons’ not to go out, etc at this time of year. Hopefully, though, the tips above might provide some inspiration and help you succeed. Good luck!
About the Author: Blogger and brand journalist Samantha Towey won’t reveal just how many New Year’s Resolutions she’s broken, but still keeps making them year-on-year regardless… Sam writes on behalf of sports nutrition experts Sci-MX.