It’s almost the new year, which means we’re all thinking about our new year’s resolutions. And if we’re like most people, we’ll stick to these goals (#NewYearNewMe!) for roughly three weeks, and by the time February rolls around, we’ll have completely forgotten what it was we set out to accomplish this year.
In the fitness industry, it’s well known that most folks who started the new year off with a new gym membership are gone by February. Some numbers put it at close to an 80% “fail” rate, and anecdotally, I’d say that’s pretty accurate.
So, how do you make your resolution stick?
Let’s start by writing a better resolution. A plan is just a dream until it’s written down and you have steps laid out to achieve it. (And, for the sake of this blog, I’m writing about weight loss since it’s such a common new year resolution, though the principles can be applied to any goal).
Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom on Pexels.com
- Write your goal down: Make it specific and something you can measure, so that you can see the progress.
- Instead of “I want to lose weight” or “I want to look better naked” try “I want to lose 15 pounds” or “I want to get down to 20% body fat.” (I don’t usually like going by the scale because it fluctuates based on hormones, water retention, if you pooped or not that day, but these may be your goals, not mine).
- How will you measure this? I like using progress photos because it allows you to see your progress even when you don’t necessarily see it in your day to day life. Or, use measurements with a tape measure. Or, use a machine that measures body fat if you have access to one.
- Ask yourself: How will you achieve this goal? What steps will you take to get there? Are they ACTIONABLE steps, meaning you can physically control whether you do them or not? Can you be consistent in tackling each step? Is each step something you can easily see yourself achieving?
- Break your steps down into things you can DO to achieve a goal. We all know the “eat less, move more” part of losing weight. HOW will you do that? Will you write out a meal plan and prep meals each week? Will you sign up for a meal prep delivery service? Will you track calories? Protein? Will you go to the gym? Sign up for a fitness class? Go for a walk every day? How often will you do these things? Can you GUARANTEE you can accomplish those goals CONSISTENTLY, knowing you can always increase your days or time if those two guaranteed days a week becomes second nature?
- I also highly recommend having a step by step program if you are going to go to the gym, so that you know exactly what you’re going to do be doing before you get into the gym. Make it easy on yourself–having a program to follow means you don’t have to think about what you’re doing when you get into the gym. You can just go and crush it.
- Set yourself up for success by breaking each step down into something you can 100% do before you make it harder. Success breeds more success and feelings of confidence that you can in fact accomplish your goal. Know that you can make it to the gym at least twice a week? Set that as your goal. If you get a third or even fourth workout in that week–that’s a bonus! Don’t go ham with 5 or 6 day a week programs if you’ve never worked out before or if your schedule doesn’t allow it.
- Know your why: Yes, it can be as simple as “I want to look better naked” or “I want to fit into my jeans better.” Just do yourself a favor and ask yourself why that matters to you—REALLY understand why it matters to you (and understand that being smaller or more jacked won’t bring happiness—that comes with more emotional work). I do recommend tossing some performance goals in along the way like achieving your first chin up or deadlifting your bodyweight for the first time if your goal is aesthetic…they’re easier goals to target and bring an enormous sense of pride and confidence as you hit them.
- Plan to fail: How are you going to keep yourself accountable and going when the motivation (a very fleeting mood) passes? How are you going to get back on track when life derails you with late meetings and sick kids and crazy travel schedules and finals?
- Some of my favorite ways to stay accountable: hire a coach for a few months that you have to report back to (brownie points, you’ll learn a lot if you hire a good coach); ask a friend to be your workout buddy; sign up for a race or something that gives you a hard deadline to achieve your goals by; publicly state what your goal is and post about the journey along the way.
Give it a try. Write your stuff down, give it some GENUINE thought, and put it somewhere you’ll find it again (a post it on the bathroom mirror or in your planner, a note in your phone, a page in your journal) so you can refer back to it.
The Fit Witt 