By: Brittany Gossin (@fit_britt_go), contributing blogger.
The holidays are over, the decorations are down, the cookies have been eaten, and now it’s time to celebrate a new year! With the countdown of the ball drop also comes something we are all familiar with- resolutions. The phrase “new year, new me” is thrown around so frequently that the meaning has been lost and more often than not, you create a list of things you want to achieve in the coming year and as the months go on, you lose sight of your goals and they fizzle out.
Below I share some tips on how to turn your weight loss or health goals from a resolution into a lifestyle.
Food Choices:
When you make lifestyle changes, they look something like this: switching out the white bread for a healthier option like wheat, whole grain, or Ezekiel bread. Choosing wheat pasta over regular pasta. Opting to drink more water than sugary drinks like soda or Gatorade. Trading prepackaged snacks like chips for fresh fruits and veggies. When you incorporate these items into your everyday cooking rotation, it’s easier to stick to your goals because it isn’t just about eating them for a month or however long your goal was set for, but eating them normally, every day, all year long. Allowing those to become the norm sets you up for increased success. If you move over to the “Health” section of this blog here, you’ll find a snack cheat sheet to help you make these changes.
Diet Fads:
Something that our society has moved closer to are all types of diets where you commit yourself for however many days it says and you’ll lose weight, get fit, and be healthier. This may be fine for the short term, but who wants short term results? These “fad” diets just set you up for failure and you’ve worked so hard to achieve these fitness and health goals, just to do something that isn’t sustainable. It’s fine to not eat certain foods for a short amount of time, but then when you’re finished your program, you’ll begin eating them again and gain everything back. Making resolutions instead of changing your lifestyle is doing your body a disservice. Calling something a resolution implies you’re doing something you’ve never achieved before. Calling it a lifestyle implies it’s something you’re doing daily to maintain and achieve your goals, but you can’t just call it a lifestyle change. You have to commit to making those changes and sticking to them every day.
How To Keep From Failing?
In one word: planning. If you are changing your lifestyle, not just resolving to do something this year, it’s true what they say- “failure to plan, is planning to fail”. I find that I stay on track if I sit down at the beginning of the week and plan my meals, workouts, water intake, and my family’s needs. With three children and a husband, preparation is key to my success, just as it will be to yours!
If your goal is to lose weight, tone up, build muscle, run a marathon or do more complex yoga pose's, sitting down and making an attainable plan will help you achieve that goal. The key word there is attainable. If you’ve never run, you can’t expect to run a marathon without training. If you’ve never lifted, don’t walk into a gym and try to pick up the heaviest dumbbell. Losing twenty-five pounds won’t happen overnight or even in a week. Creating attainable goals not only makes you feel like a winner when you crush them, but it pushes you to keep working at them which then becomes a way of life.
Resolutions aren’t always bad as long as they become a lifestyle change. When you make it your lifestyle you tend to stick to it rather than fall off the wagon once your program is completed. So, make this year the year for you by creating those changes and sticking to it. There are tons of resources out there to help, just ask!
