The New Year presented a great opportunity to kickstart your fitness routine. Maybe you started January out strong — consistently eating well and hitting the gym — but, as you got busy, things may have fallen off track.
You’re not alone. Year after year, polls and surveys show that the most common personal resolutions involve diet and exercise. However, statistics also show that the majority of people — 80 to 90% — end up abandoning their new health objectives after just a few weeks.
Use the following tips to stay focused on your fitness goals and set yourself up for success all year long.
Be realistic
If you’re coming from couch potato status, don’t vow to go to the gym 6 days a week. If your diet consists of plate lunches and fast food meals, don’t become a no-carb vegan.
Setting the bar too high in the beginning of your journey can cause frustration and make you abandon your goals. Instead, place the bar just out of reach. You know you can get there if you challenge yourself, and you can keep moving the bar up as you progress.
Try setting small goals, such as eating 5 fruits and vegetables a day, or committing to 3 30-minute workouts a week. As you become more consistent, ramp up the difficulty of your workouts, or strive to fit in more gym sessions every week.
Be specific
Many people set broad goals such as, “eat healthier” or “lose weight.” These vague, unspecific statements are hard to measure, and hard to find the motivation to achieve.
If you say you’d like to “exercise more,” how will you know when you’ve reached your goal? If you skip a workout today, tomorrow, and the next day, what will motivate you to go to the gym next week? Without some measure of success, your goal can easily slip away.
Set a specific, measurable, attainable goal with a timeframe, such as “run a 10k in August.” You’ll be motivated to train as race day gets closer, and you’ll have the satisfaction of crossing the finish line and knowing you've fulfilled your intention.
If it helps, map out a plan for how you will reach your goal. Details make all the difference when it comes to finding success and longevity.
Be forgiving
Don’t take an all-or-nothing approach to your fitness goals. If you miss a workout or eat a poi doughnut, you haven’t failed. Remember, healthy habits aren’t built in a day, but over many months.
There will always be days where you’re too busy to go to the gym or cook a healthy meal. Try not to use minor slip-ups as an excuse to go back to your old lifestyle. Instead, plan to put in an extra 5 minutes on the treadmill tomorrow, or eat a salad for lunch.
Taking the right approach and keeping a positive attitude is essential in achieving your weight loss goals in 2019. Visit kp.org/weight for more information.