Christmas and the holiday season is coming to a close, and entering into New Year brings New Year’s resolutions. Motivation and inspiration for a fresh start to the New Year often form New Year’s resolutions. Here are a few tips to help follow through with your New Year’s resolutions, as it can be very disappointing to be giving up on these resolutions only weeks after starting. These are also tips for sticking to any of your goals throughout the year.
Many of us will have overindulged during Christmas and the holiday time, and may consider healthy eating as a New Year’s resolution. So here are some tips on how to follow through with healthy eating this year.
Create and log your goals
Make one resolution, as chances of success are greater when focusing on one aspect of behaviour. Take some time, or a few days to think about what you want to achieve. Perhaps, avoid former resolutions to prevent feelings of frustration and disappointment. When deciding on your goals, think about what you really personally want, and make your goal specific.
Once you have your resolution or goal in mind, write them down and keep a record, maybe a journal, as this will help you to frequently recall and visualize them. You can get creative with a mood board, of pictures, quotes, tips and motivation.
If you are working towards healthy eating and living, stick up pictures of healthy meals and snack ideas. Healthy eating is not about dieting or cutting out foods but keeping a balanced diet and getting good nutrition for your lifestyle. Telling friends and family about your goals can help as well, as voicing them will make them more real.
Set short-term and long-term goals
Break your goal into a series of steps, focusing on creating sub-goals that are specific, measurable and time-based. And to stay motivated with these, make a checklist of achieving your goals. Short term goals will motivate you to achieve and complete steps through the year, helping to feel and realise accomplishments. The shorter goals, should enable you to achieve the long term goals. Also the short term goals should keep you on a time frame to keep you on track, to stay organized, and to perceive your long term goals constantly as achievable.
Some steps towards healthy eating and a balanced diet may be to find healthy food swaps, and incorporate one or a few each week or month. Another may be to eat more fruit and veg, and to work towards five a day, to give your body more vital vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.
Frequently re-evaluate your goals
People may quit or give up on their resolutions if they feel they aren’t working. When working towards a healthier lifestyle to better yourself and your life, you may not succeed in choosing the healthier food swap options or struggling to manage to eat five a day of fruit or vegetables. If something such as this isn’t working, think of re-evaluating and making changes to your resolution. An example is to see where and when you are choosing the unhealthy options such as biscuits, crisps, or chocolates and to plan healthier snack options to be available to you when you are craving at these times.
You can expect to revert to old ways some times, but view this only as a temporary setback. Another example, is if you are trying to eat healthier but often binge because you are depriving yourself, then try to re evaluate, by not giving up on all your favourite foods all together but change one food at a time, or each week. Think of what works for you as an individual. Balance is the key.
I hope these tips have helped and that 2017 can be healthy and happy for you. Happy New Year!