Let’s be frank. You’ve been here before. At 11:59 on New Year’s eve, you are ready and motivated to take on the world in the coming year. By January 15th you have lost motivation and feel completely hopeless.
New gym memberships are always highest in January. Whether it is because people want to battle their Christmas eating shame, prepare for summer, or just vow to be a better version of themselves, there is no denying that interest and motivation are highest at the start of a new year.
That’s because there is something about a clean slate that makes us feel excited about our prospects of rebranding ourselves. Sadly, that feeling doesn’t last long.
What goes wrong?
The truth is that most people lose sight of what is necessary to achieve their desired outcomes. More than this, they erroneously believe that motivation is their key to success when actually, it is discipline and planning.
Creating new year's resolutions and sticking to them doesn't have to be a daunting task. With the right mindset, planning, and execution, you can ensure that you reach your goals and make meaningful progress in 2023
Let’s map this out.
Step 1: Get organised and prepare
Before the New Year, take an inventory of your current lifestyle and health choices. Write down what you want to achieve through your resolutions, such as losing weight, improving gut-health, and sticking to a fitness routine, all of which will improve overall health.
Then consider what things you will have to do and what things you will have to stop doing to make that happen. These may include, eating more fruit and vegetables, including JUVIA into your smoothies to rebalance your gut microbiome, using the gym, removing or reducing alcohol consumption, and getting better quality sleep etc.
This will help you to visualise what your new healthy lifestyle will look like, so you can set achievable goals and objectives for yourself that are tailored to your individual needs
Step 2: Be clear on your ‘why’
Knowing why you want to achieve your particular goals is really important. It can be the difference between you seeing your challenge through to the very end or giving up after the first sign of discomfort. Those that know why their goals are important to them are statistically much more likely to stick to them, so write it down.
Step 3: Make a plan
Once you have identified what you wish to accomplish with your resolutions, create a detailed plan outlining how you will reach these goals. Establish a timeline that outlines when each task should be completed, and ensure that it is realistic so that you can stay within your desired timeframe. You may also want to break the tasks down into smaller chunks in order to make them easier to manage.
Step 4: Set attainable goals
Avoid setting unattainable standards for yourself; instead, focus on establishing achievable goals that are within reach over a longer period of time. To do this, start small by setting short-term goals with incremental steps leading up to the final goal. By breaking longer-term objectives into smaller tasks, it makes it much easier for you to stay on track and reduce the stress associated with trying to accomplish too much at once.
Setting smaller goals also really helps if you steer off track because it is much easier to correct your course (both mentally and physically) if you miss a small target like only eating cake once per week, compared to never eating cake again. Or, to burn 300 calories every time you go to the gym, compared to committing to losing a particular amount of weight.
Step 5: Track your progress
Keeping track of how far along you are in achieving your resolutions is essential in staying motivated and keeping them from slipping away from the back of your mind. Statistically speaking, those that monitor and track their performance over time are much more likely to succeed in sticking to and achieving their goals.
There are plenty of apps that you can download to help you track almost anything, ranging from your sleep, your calorie consumption, fasting periods, toilet use, and of course gym activity.
Even JUVIA has its very own app that helps you track your consumption and symptoms.
Step 6: Get Support
A challenge is always easier if you have support - as they say, a problem shared is a problem halved. Statistically speaking, you are much more likely to stick to a goal if you are sharing the journey with someone, so if possible, create a group or find a diet/gym buddy. Even if you don’t have anyone that shares your goals, ask someone to be an ‘accountability’ partner, who tracks your progress (from your journal) and spurs you on - or tells you off, if you go off course. It works!
Celebrate your wins!
Finally, don't forget to reward yourself when you accomplish something! It's essential to recognise your successes and take the time to celebrate them. Whether it's taking a day off work or treating yourself to a nice meal out, rewarding yourself for milestones is an important part of achieving your goals.
A reward doesn't have to be expensive - it could be something as simple as watching a movie or reading a book. Investing in experiences rather than material items can be more meaningful and help you create lasting memories.
Celebrating small accomplishments will encourage you to continue working towards your goals. Just make sure not to reward yourself with things that are counterproductive to your goals, too often.
Ideas to get you started
The good thing about health goals is that they complement each other. Improving your sleep, for example, will help you get out to the gym and make better food choices. Have you ever noticed how much you binge eat after a rough night’s sleep? Going to the gym also improves sleep quality and encourages you not to undo your hard work through bad eating decisions.
Gut health is also really important because it affects so many areas of your health. Try our gut health supplement JUVIA for just 6 weeks to see the difference it makes to your health goals.