If you’ve ever made New Year’s resolutions and failed to stick with them, you’re in good company. Many people start out with positive intentions, only to find that they’ve fallen off track soon after ringing in the new year. This happens for many reasons.
Sometimes, resolutions are too broad. Other times, you may lack a specific plan or the support that you needed to actually achieve it. But we are here to help turn this year’s intentions around.
These ideas can help you start small and build on your achievements slow and steady to reach your health goals.
Make Them
The key to keeping resolutions is to make them realistic and attainable. These tips can help:
- Begin by assessing your lifestyle. Focus on areas you’d really like to change. For example, if you want to improve your diet, keep a food diary for a week to see exactly what you need to cut or add.
- Focus on small changes you can realistically make. Don’t resolve to exercise seven days a week, for example. Go for three or four times a week, which may be more pragmatic given your time constraints.
- Break major resolutions into small, specific steps. For instance, if you want to improve your diet (and your family’s), begin by:
- Adding an additional serving of fruit or vegetables to every meal
- Eating a healthy breakfast every day
- Drinking water or sparkling water, not regular, high-calorie soda
- Choosing 100 percent whole-grain bread and pasta rather than white
Keep Your Whole-Health Commitments
Once you’ve settled on a few attainable resolutions, these strategies can help bolster your self-motivation:
- Work on one resolution at a time. Trying to stick to more than that at once could overwhelm you.
- Let friends and family know your goals, and ask for their support (or even include them in your plan). Even better, team up with someone with similar resolutions so you can work together.
- Consider joining a support group or working with a professional. You could join a workout group at your gym or a group of people trying to quit smoking. Or you can seek help from a professional, such as a nutritionist, personal trainer or therapist.
- Mark your calendar to evaluate your progress. Every few weeks or so, see how you’re doing at meeting your goals. Tweak your plan based on how things are going.
- Be gentle with yourself. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, quit smoking, or exercise more, recognize when you get off track and reset your outlook to feel more empowered. Don’t give up; get back to your plan.
Reaching your health goals is easier when you have the support from whole-health experts that are by your side every step of the way. Talk to one of our physicians to create a plan that will support your health goals this year and beyond by calling
Call844-362-2329.
