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How many of you have set a resolution on January 1st and have legitimately followed through until Dec 31st? Probably not many of you. Actually, it’s probably more common to fail at your resolution than to succeed. But we keep setting them anyway because it’s a new year and that’s what you are supposed to do.
Take a look at the patronage at any given gym in January and then compare that to to the traffic in the same gym in March. Within 10 weeks, many of us start falling off our resolution wagons.
It’s probably a fair guess that many resolution setters are feeling quite defeated, come March. They might even be blaming themselves for their failure or lack of motivation because they didn’t achieve the type of results they were hoping for in those first 10 weeks of the year. But are we really to blame when we can’t seem to meet our resolutions? Or is the act of making a resolution itself, a part of the lack of success?
Goals are good aren’t they?
Now, I hear you when you say, “Aleta, how are we supposed to have success without setting goals?” And you are right. Goals at face value, are great! But I believe that it’s often our long-term goals that leave us feeling like failures when we abandon them for comfort or convenience.
What I suggest instead of setting one big resolution in January, is to set several small, attainable goals of habit for each month. Sort of like 12 mini goals that serve a bigger purpose in helping you attain better health.
I know, I know. How are you going to reach 12 goals if you can’t succeed with one. Don’t get overwhelmed just yet. Let me give you an example of how this could work for you.
Try this instead of setting a resolution
Instead of setting a resolution to lose weight in 2020, why not set small habit setting goals that, compounded together, would have the long term result of a healthier body and the potential of losing weight in the process!
These small, incremental habits or goals could look like:
Month 1 – Hydrate and drink more water.
Week 1 – Drink 1 glass of water as soon as you get up.
Week 2 – Keep drinking that morning glass of water but now also drink a glass of water right before bed.
Week 3 – Add a 3rd glass of water to your routine at lunchtime
Week 4 – Add a 4th glass of water at 4pm when that afternoon crash tends to happen and we start to crave a snack.
If I were to have asked you to drink 4 glasses of water a day starting on day 1 for 30 days, you might think that was too big an adjustment… BUT by starting with only 1 glass of water a day for the first week, by day 7 you’ve already had success in adding more water to your daily routine. AND after only 7 days you are closer to creating the healthy habit of hydrating with water instead of reaching for coffee or soda. After the 4 weeks, you’ve added a considerable amount of water to your daily intake and it probably didn’t feel like a big adjustment or painstaking process. The secret is the small, attainable increments that still feel like big successes!
Here’s the kicker though….
After 1 month of gradually hydrating yourself more and more each week, not only will you find it easier to consume water, you may notice that your skin or digestion has improved, that you feel more energized throughout the day, or even that you sleep better through the night.
The small incremental habits which were pretty much effortless, have led you to compounded healthy results. And guess what?!? You can’t begin to lose weight without proper hydration.
The idea of this system to carry forward your habits. After Month 1 is over, you don’t stop your water habit but continue on with it while you begin to tackle creating other health supportive habits. If you carry your hydration habit throughout the months that follow, you WILL reap the benefits. You could even revisit the same habit several months down the road in July to try and up your H20 intake even more! Before you know it, you have transitioned from someone who couldn’t fathom drinking 8 glasses a day to that person who always carries a water bottle with them to make sure that they are hydrated.
Other habits you could implement using this incremental habit system are:
Get up and get moving.
For those who are just starting out, start with 15 mins a day for 2 days in the first week, week 2 would be 15 mins for 3 days, then 4, finally reaching 15 mins for 5 days a week. If you want to challenge yourself a bit more, you can start with 3 or 5 days a week and add increments of time instead of days eg. week 1 – 15 mins a day, week 2 – 20 mins a day, week 3 – 30 mins a day etc.
Cut back on sugar
Again, this doesn’t have to be cold-turkey. Take note of where you could make some adjustments. Maybe it’s your morning coffee, soda at lunch, afternoon snack or ice cream after dinner. Try eliminating one of these sugary culprits for the first week. Then eliminate another. By slowly removing these sweet treats one by one, you’ve set yourself on a great path to helping you curb those sugar cravings.
Eat more fruits and veggies
Start this habit off by selecting your favourite fruits and veggies on your grocery shop at the beginning of this month. That way you already have them available to you. It can be as easy as taking some carrot sticks with you to work to nibble on instead of that 4pm chocolate bar. The pure-trition juices are a great way to engage this habit. Already prepared for you, it’s an easy way to get your fruits and veggies at any time of the day.
Better your sleep habits
Shift your bedtime AND morning routine. (early to bed, early to rise) by starting with 15 mins ahead of your normal schedule for both bedtime and your morning alarm for the first week, 20 mins for week 2, 30 mins for week 3 etc. This incremental shift could have you becoming a morning person before you know it!
Cutting back on Screen time
An easy way to start this habit is to get real with how much time you are spending on your phone – the MOMENT app is perfect for this. Also leave your phone behind when you go to the washroom 😉
Eat at home instead of take-out
Start with one home cooked meal a week. An easy hack for this is to cook a double meal on your day off so that you’ve got healthy meals ready to take for lunches or to have ready when you get home for dinner.
So many ways
There are a plethora of ways you can create healthy habits for the year ahead. This system is designed for you to feel good about making healthy choices. Not to make you feel deprived of things you were once able to have (like so many diets leave us feeling).
Choose habits that align with the ultimate goal you are trying to achieve. The more healthy choices you make, the better you will feel and the more likely you are to reach that long-term goal.
I can’t wait to see all that you accomplish this year!
