Why New Years Resolutions Fail
The New Year is the number one time of year for making exercise and nutrition related resolutions and 80% of those will fail by February. In January you have good intentions about attacking your new gym routine and eating plan, but a disturbance in routine causes you to lose focus and you slide right back into your old routine. The resolution is lost until next year for you. The problem with a new years resolution that contains a change in health usually has a goal with good intention, but doesn’t include a plan or accountability. Without a plan, you go into the gym and do whatever you are comfortable with, eat something ‘healthy’ when you get home and move on. These are a step in the right direction, but the actions might not align with your goals. If your actions don’t align with your goals you will never achieve them. The lack of accountability means missing one day with no one noticing can turn into days missing and by then you’ve completely lost focus of your goals.
If people do continue their new routine through January they still are at risk for giving up because they might not get the results they wanted or reach them as fast as they think they should. There are no quick fixes when it comes to health. A positive lifestyle change takes time and commitment to be able to maintain. Many people expect changes to happen after only a few weeks when it may have taken them years to get to the point where they decided they needed to make changes.
Keys to a Successful New Years Resolution
So what makes a new years resolution stick for a whole year? There are many details that go into creating a successful new years resolution. They include:
- Choose realistic goals
- Detailed plan of action on how you are going to accomplish your goals
- Accountability
Picking a realistic goal doesn’t mean you have to choose an easy goal but it should be achievable with a realistic timeline. You don’t want to pick a weight loss goal of 15 pounds and expect to lose that in a month. Losing weight and maintaining your new weight should be done slowly through lifestyle changes rather than a quick diet change. This leads me to the next point, the detailed plan of action. If you have a goal, but no plan on how you are going to achieve it, you are less likely to succeed. Titanium Performance helps our clients choose realistic goals and together we come up with a customized plan for the client on how to achieve their goals. This looks different for everyone because everyone has different goals and lifestyles. We make small goals over time that lead to the big picture goal to reach success. And finally we hold our clients accountable. It’s easy to give up if no one is there asking if you made it to the gym or paid attention to your nutrition, but weekly reminders will keep you on task and help you achieve success. A trainer will make sure you are doing the right exercise and nutrition for you and your goals while keeping you on track!
If you found this article inspirational and would like to see how Titanium Performance can help you achieve your 2019 New Years Resolution please contact us for a FREE introductory session!