January 2022

Four Tips for Sticking to Healthy Habits

“This is the year I am going to…” We all start off the New Year with good intentions and high hopes for making big changes in our lives. According to Statista, the most popular New Year’s resolutions involve improving one’s physical health. Whether it’s exercising more, eating healthier, or just losing weight, most of us have a strong desire to improve ourselves physically.

And we usually start off with a bang. We’re able to stick to a new diet or exercise plan for a few days.  But then the energy wears off… and we find ourselves losing ground instead of losing weight. Discouraged, most of us usually give up within just a couple of weeks into the new year.

So, what’s going to help us achieve our goals? More articles on healthy eating or another piece of exercise equipment? Probably not.

What we need more than anything is a way to stick to our original plan. Something that helps us press on when the initial commitment begins to fade. We researched a number of sources and found a few handy tips to help you stick to your resolutions and have the breakthrough you want in 2022.

1) Start Small

If your resolution is to start running, you’re not going to complete the Boston Marathon next week. Big goals are great, but the action steps to achieve those goals are event better. By breaking things down into smaller, achievable steps, you are more likely to succeed. And those successes (no matter how small) create momentum. This sets the stage to begin building a habit. That future marathon begins with a short walk today.

2) Plan for Obstacles

Whether it’s Family needs, work obligations, or even bad weather, there will always be a few speedbumps that get in our way. They key is to anticipate those the best you can and have a back-up plan so that you can keep progressing on your goals. When it comes to health, be sure to pack healthy snacks for those times when you work late, and your only food options may involve a drive-through. Or pack a pair of walking shoes so you can get some steps in while you wait for your child’s soccer practice to get done.

Little boy looking through objective lens

Person at the lake in the evening with so hands in the air

3) Forgive Yourself

When it comes to achieving goals, the one thing everyone has in common is that we all stumble occasionally. Even finely tuned Olympic athletes have off days. Whether you cheat on a diet or skip a workout today, just get back on track tomorrow. Success is often simply about not giving up in spite of feeling the temporary sting of failure. So do not lose heart when you experience a set-back. In her book “The Happiness Project” author Gretchen Rubin reminds us that, “The one mile walk you took in the evening is better than any 3-mile run you slept through this morning.”

4) Measure Once, Celebrate Twice

Keep track of your progress. Even if progress is just taking a simple action every day. Seeing that you are sticking to your commitment and taking some form of action every day helps to keep your morale boosted and your mind focused. And as you make progress, don’t forget to give yourself a pat-on-the-back. Celebrate once when you begin your action step and then a second time when you’ve completed it.