So…. who’s got New Year’s Resolutions??

And….. who thinks they’re going to have given up on them by the third week of January??

How about we unravel that self doubt, and put some sustainable goals in place….I’m going to be covering my top 5 tips for smashing your new year goals!!

TIP ONE:

Don’t bite off more than you can chew! 

Does your goal list look like this…?

  • Dry January 

  • 10k steps/day 

  • Workout 5 days a week

  • No chocolate

  • Get back into playing ukulele 

  • No bread 

  • No pasta

  • Daily cold plunge 

  • Spend more time with family 

  • More gigs

  • No caffeine

  • Drink more water 

  • Leave work earlier

  • Meal prep

  • Daily meditation….

(What an almighty head fuck but it won’t be far off what some of you are setting out to achieve this January)

 

If you set yourself unrealistic goals which involve changing ALL of your habits ALL at once, then you’re setting yourself up to fall flat on your face. You can’t expect to change all those niggling habits in one go, it becomes too much to focus and when you start falling short of even one or two goals, that’s when motivation slips. 

 There’s nothing to say, you won’t achieve all of your goals this year, but tackling them all at once is not a winner! 

In my practice, we set weekly goals so clients can make actionable changes at a steady pace. My recommendation would be to pick three habit changes that are going to make you FEEL GREAT, and get started on those for the first ¼ of the year (not everything will be achieved in 30 days!)

TIP TWO:

Don’t look for the quick fix! 

Cutting corners (or more likely calories) to reach your goals is not the way to go! Quick fixes only result in quick rebounds. 

If you want to ditch the yo-yo dieting, the way you go about it has to be realistic and sustainable, and that might not mean you get to your end goal as quick, but you sure will smash it for the foreseeable!! 

For example: Rather than rushing to the gym 5 days a week for 2 hours at a time for 3 weeks and then completely burning out, injuring yourself and falling off the wagon…. You could start with 3 days a week for 30-45 minute sessions and build it up from there.

You might not feel like you’re going to get the changes to body composition you were hoping for as quickly BUT honestly less is more and strength is king so you don’t need to be spending endless hours on the treadmill or hitting disgustingly sweaty HIIT sessions to get results. 

Calorie intake is another good example, do not drop to heroically low calorie deficits, THIS WILL SLOW YOUR METABOLISM and result in rebound weight gain. 

TIP THREE:

Get some accountability! 

That doesn’t have to be a coach (although hit me up if you do need some support), it could also be a gym buddy…. a lunchtime walk buddy… a cooking at home together buddy, or even a team of like-minded people if you’re starting a new sport!

Surround yourself with people on the same path and this will take you a long way to reaching your goals!

TIP FOUR:

Allow yourself some grace! We all slip up, we certainly can’t be 100% perfect with all our habit changes all of the time. I encourage the 80:20 rule, try to nail it 80% of the time and you can afford to be a bit more relaxed for the other 20%. 

100% is not sustainable but it certainly is demotivating if that’s the sort of pressure you put on yourself.

The 80% approach can be a game changer, and remember it’s not ‘cheating’ to eat ‘off plan’, but it can be a treat when you’ve been working hard at your goals. 

And remember, it’s never failure, it’s just good choices and better choices. 

TIP FIVE:

Have fun with it! 

If you’re setting yourself goals to smash daily grueling workouts and eat like a rabbit, this is simply not sustainable and down right miserable. 

The reality is, this approach would feel like a punishment so it’s hardly encouraging a good relationship with your body. 

Whereas if you set yourself a fun workout schedule (find the types of training you actually enjoy) with a reasonable commitment (eg 3 times a week) then you are much more likely to stick with it!

Food wise, you need to eat well for YOUR body, not whatever social media is telling you is the latest cure all diet. There is no one size fits all, and extreme restrictions and calorie deficits are a) not sustainable and b) more likely to result in rebound weight gain.

If you’d like to stay up-to-date with my lastest nutrition and training tips, you’ll find all this in my newsletter. You can sign-up HERE

The content in this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding your health.