Scrap Your New Year's Resolution
In case you didn't know, it's the holiday season!
And, in a few short weeks, it will be the "New Year, New ME!" season!
Think about it: January 1st rolls around and you start making resolutions to lose weight, feel better, have more energy, fit in your clothes, and be healthier:
.....“NO more late-night snacking!"
.....“I am going to start exercising every day, even if that means getting up early!”
.....“I really need to lose weight: NO more carbs! Wine only on weekends!”
Tell the truth, you’ve done this before, right?!
You are NOT alone - we've all been there!
January 1 triggers an "all or nothing" mindset and sends you in a tizzy to get fit, find a gym, drop all your "bad habits", and make this your best year ever!!!!!
And, you convince yourself that going to extremes and changing everything you've [regularly] been doing the past 12 months will absolutely work!
Here's the catch and why as a coach, I think resolutions are *highly* overrated:
IF you aren't currently exercising and vow to work out 5x/week or, never cook and vow to eat home prepared meals only, you are setting yourself up for failure.
Or, if you are exercising but aren't consistent and vow to start exercising every day, you are setting yourself up for failure.
You cannot change everything all at once and expect to succeed.
The moment you feel overwhelmed and stressed from trying to make all these changes at once is the moment you revert right back to old habits.
And that doesn't lead you to results.
It leads you right back where ya started and nothing has changed.
In preparation for the pending New Year, today’s blog is about setting you up for success in 2024 so you get the results you want without dieting, extreme fitness programs and overhauling your entire life.
Change is Ongoing!
Change is a PROCESS and it does NOT happen instantaneously, overnight or via a 14-day detox.
The hardest part about change is accepting this because we love instant gratification, our patience is limited and we are easily distracted. And that my friend is perfectly normal and OK!
Regardless of where you’re starting from, the changing process will always be the hardest part. It’s going to feel uncomfortable, especially if it’s new, there are going to be unexpected obstacles that trip you up, and you’re not always going to want to stick with it.
When it comes to health and fitness, think about the process and how hard this can feel. You want to start exercising but feel out of shape and don’t know where to start. You want to start eating better but that means spending more time in the kitchen preparing multiple meals since your kids don’t eat vegetables.
Heck, it can feel SO overwhelming you may even feel like it’s not even worth doing!
That is why we are here as coaches: to help you navigate this exercising, eating better, being healthier stuff so you learn HOW to make it work for you and how GOOD you are going to feel:
If you strive to live healthy, happy and strong, you must walk the walk.!
This means it’s not about what you say you want to achieve or say what you’re doing to do.
It’s about CONSISTENT actions - what you do repeatedly over and over again versus only when it’s convenient. This is the hardest part - this is the process. But it’s the process that leads you to where you want to be and the results you want.
It’s getting up early every day to exercise when you’re tired, kids were up all night and you got little to no sleep…but after your workout you feel accomplished, have more energy and are grateful for having time to focus on yourself!
It’s choosing to stop at the grocery store to grab healthier food options instead of hitting the drive through when you aren’t in the mood to cook…but once you cook, you feel better for fueling your body with all those nutrients! You aren’t bloated and feel way more satisfied!
It’s showing up and committing to the process every day, even when it feels hard, even when you feel like you aren’t seeing results and even when you just don’t want to…when excuses enter your headspace, you remind yourself why this is so important and push through! You shift your mindset and talk yourself back in to doing the thing you said you would. That’s a MAJOR feat!
Hell yeah it's hard, involves planning and takes sacrifice but the investment in yourself and your health is invaluable! Allocating the time, finances and effort to be healthy should be a no brainer if you want to live and enjoy a quality life both now and as you grow older.
How to Set Realistic Goals
Resolutions are the perfect way to set yourself up for failure - thanks, but no thanks!
Did you know between 81% - 92% of all New Year’s resolutions fail? Why does this happen?
Resolutions are short lived, honeymoon phases where your excitement to change and hit your goals tapers because there wasn’t a set plan and you weren’t being held accountable (by yourself or someone else). It wasn’t tied to anything keeping you focused and on track. That my good friend, is where GOALS come into play!
Let’s say it together: Goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Based.
When you are thinking ahead to 2024 and how you want to look, how you want to feel and the kind of life you want to live, you need to create a goal.
Once you have said goal, work backwards by plugging in what you need to do every day to achieve that goal. This provides you with a specific strategy for understanding exactly what you are working to achieve, specifically how you are going to achieve it (we call these action steps) and lastly, the deadline for hitting the goal (needs to be challenging and realistic).
Let’s work through an example together so you know what to do and what to avoid:
#1. DEFINE YOUR GOAL:
If your goal is weight loss or eating healthy, you need to be specific!
Avoid vague goals like “I am going to lose weight in 2022”. “I am going to eat better.”
Instead, create a specific goal to track and measure: “My goal is to lose 12 pounds.” “My goal is to eat veggies at lunch and dinner every day.”
#2. DEFINE ACTION STEPS: What are you personally going to do to achieve this goal? Pick three things you can realistically commit to and execute every day/week.
Again, avoid vague generalities like “I am going to exercise more”, “I am going to eat healthy”, “I will get more sleep so I have energy to get through my day.”
Get super specific so you know what you have to do every day / week to hit your goal:
“I am going to exercise 4 times / week: Monday + Wednesday mornings at 6:30am; Tuesday + Thursday afternoons at 4:30pm.”
“I am going to plan and prepare my breakfast and lunches for the week on Sundays and cook dinners on my day off.”
“I will go to bed on time to get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep Sunday - Thursday.”
#3. SET A DEADLINE: You’ve defined your goal, have your action steps and now, you need a deadline.
This timeline is necessary for keeping you accountable and should be both realistic (understand how long it will take) and challenging (do not draw out the process).
Remember, goals must be attainable, realistic and challenging! Be honest with yourself of what you can realistically commit to and achieve during that timeline. For example, if your goals are weight loss or fat loss, here are markers to gauge a healthy, appropriate timeline:
Healthy + realistic weight loss goals: 1-2 lbs. per week
Healthy + realistic body fat goals: 1-2% per month
Put it all together, and your goal may look something like this:
My goal is to lose 8 pounds by January 30. To achieve this goal, I am going to:
Exercise 4 times / week: Monday + Wednesday mornings at 6:30am; Tuesday + Thursday afternoons at 4:30pm.
Plan and prepare my breakfast and lunches for the week on Sundays and cook my dinners day of.
Commit to getting 7 hours of sleep Sunday - Thursday.
Let’s take this one step further if you really want to knock this out of the park! The underlying theme here is planning ahead and being prepared! Along with creating these goals, anticipate any potential setbacks and plan accordingly.
Example #1: One of your action steps is exercising 4x/week. If you know your mornings are complete chaos with getting the kids ready for school, plan ahead and be prepared by packing your gym bag and gathering what you need the night before. Otherwise, if / when your morning turns sour and you don’t have time to get yourself ready, getting to the gym is never going to happen.
Example #2: If you are addicted to your phone and are the late night scroller, set a designated time every day where you commit to putting your phone down and winding down for the night. Establish a consistent bedtime and schedule your phone alarm as a reminder so you don’t forget or become distracted in the social media black hole. This ensures you will hit your 7 hours of sleep!
Remember this is all about progress not perfection.
If setting a goal is NEW, take this one step at a time, one day at time. And, be realistic! Don’t over promise or commit if you know it’s never going to work. Take the time to understand what is going to work for YOU and accept this will come with some sacrifice.
Don’t forget- 2024 is the year of achieving your SMART GOAL(S)!
No more resolutions.
As coaches, we here to help YOU make sustainable changes so you get the results you want! And, if you need help with your health and fitness goals, that’s our specialty! Helping people just like you live healthy, happy and strong is WHY we do what we do! Regardless of your starting point, age or fitness level, this is health and fitness made for YOU!
PS.... If you are ready to FINALLY make 2024 your healthiest, strongest and fittest year yet without dieting or searching for the best workout to get results, GET EXCITED! Our highly anticipated, 6-week coaching program, Rise Up, starts January 15!
This isn't a diet - it's a hands on coaching lifestyle program that's successfully helped over 600 people just like YOU transform how they look, feel and live while experiencing *life-changing* results!
Click HERE to learn more about Rise Up (registration opens Dec. 28 with an early bird discount!).
Keep Moving