New Year’s Resolutions

18 January 2011

New Year’s resolutions: making them work

Most of us have set New Year’s resolutions for ourselves in the past and had the experience of not sticking with them. This year, we’ve put together some expert tips to help you achieve your goals. Good luck!

Make your resolution ‘SMART’

A good resolution like any good goal is ‘SMART’. That stands for:

  • Specific — Instead of setting a vague goal such as lose weight, set a specific goal, such as ‘I want to lose weight and I plan to do it through swimming 3 times a week and cutting 1000 kilojoules a day from my intake’. People who set specific goals are more successful than those who don’t. Make sure you write your goals down, and any smaller interim steps within your goal, as this will help you to define them.
  • Measurable — Instead of ‘I want to lose weight’, set a goal like ‘I want to lose 15 kg so I can achieve my goal weight of 85 kg’.
  • Achievable — Do you have the skills and resources needed to complete the goal? If you want to enter an organised cycle ride in the future — do you have a bike to train for the ride? Can you ride during daylight hours? Is your goal practical? Does it fit in with your lifestyle and your family?
  • Relevant — Is your goal relevant to your bigger picture goals? Does it fit with your long-term vision?
  • Timely — Make sure your goal has a deadline — and that you have set dates for individual steps within your main goal. For example, ‘I’ll be able to walk to the local shops and back by February’.

Know yourself

If your resolution is to get fit and you hate going to the gym with a passion, don’t plan on signing up for an expensive gym programme. Target other ways to increase physical activity, such as walking to the shops and carrying the shopping home, or gardening, bushwalking and manual labour.

Take baby steps

Running magazines often carry inspirational stories about people who’ve just completed their first 10 km run, half-marathon or even marathon — people who months earlier couldn’t run around the block. These people all share something in common — they didn’t start by lacing up their shoes and launching themselves into a 10 km run, only to injure themselves and never try again. Most of them started by simply walking!

By walking regularly they prepared their muscles and tendons for running, and started an exercise habit. Then by adding 15 seconds of light jogging into their walks here and there, they worked up to a point where they could walk and jog for a few minutes alternately. Eventually, they could go out and jog for 15 or 20 minutes. Next thing, they were lining up for their first fun run. Often it took months, but by setting small achievable targets, these people were always focused on a goal, and were rewarded when they reached it. Taking baby steps like this and setting smaller goals is a good way to move towards a big goal.

Small steps to . . .
Healthy eating
Switch from full-cream milk to reduced-fat or skim milk. After a couple of weeks you probably won’t miss the taste and you’ve made a sustainable change to your diet. Now you can move onto making other healthy changes.   

Getting fit
Make a commitment to go to one exercise class a week. Once you find that you enjoy the class, and that it’s not too intimidating, and that you have the best night’s sleep afterwards, you’ll soon be disappointed if you can’t go.

Resolve to walk some of the flights of stairs to your office, instead of taking the lift every day. Or take the stairs when there’s an option, such as in your local shopping centre. At first you may huff and puff your way up there, but you’ll soon get stronger.

Don’t overtax your willpower

Some experts believe that we shouldn’t overwhelm our willpower and self-discipline by attempting to make too many lifestyle changes at once. Certainly, I’m sure we’ve all had friends who’ve tried to quit smoking, lose weight and get fit all at once and who’ve failed. Far better to start exercising your willpower in the way that you would start exercising your muscles — carefully and with small challenges — that way you can gradually develop inner strength.

Record your progress

Keep a diary or a log of your progress — it will serve as a reminder of how far you’ve come and give you encouragement if you’re feeling disheartened. Psychologists have shown that keeping a record can aid compliance in many tasks, such as weight loss or fitness goals. Take time to review your goals and adjust them if necessary as you go. Make sure to reward yourself with something healthy when you achieve your mini goals.

Engage others

Enlist the support of those around you. If family, friends and work colleagues are aware of your goals, they’re much more likely to be supportive and to encourage you to stay on track when you’re struggling.

Find a workout mate or a buddy to quit smoking or lose weight with. You’re more likely to keep a workout date if you’re doing the activity with a friend, or you’re a member of a club.

Website forums and social media can be a useful way of meeting someone with the same goal, who you can swap encouragement and tips with. Many quit smoking websites offer programmes with regular email newsletters or SMS inspirational messages to help keep you on track. For weight loss, there are many online programmes, and also clubs that meet in person, that provide support and inspiration to help ease your journey towards your goal.

  

Top Ten New Year Resolutions….

1. Spend More Time with Family & Friends 

2. Fit in Fitness 

3. Tame the Bulge 

4. Quit Smoking 

5. Enjoy Life More 

6. Quit Drinking 

7. Get Out of Debt

8. Learn Something New

9. Help Others

10. Get Organized
 

myDr, 2005
Last reviewed: 13 October 2010
© Copyright UBM Medica Australia, 2000-2010. All rights reserved. All information and materials on this website are copyright. A user may download, save, display and print a single copy of information or material for their own personal, non-commercial use. A user may not publish, reproduce, adapt, re-write, modify, or re-sell material or information from this web site.

Document obtained from http://mydr.com.au/nutrition-weight/new-year-s-resolutions-making-them-work

You may also like

Make a Retirement Plan

Most people when thinking about retirement ask ‘How much capital in super to I need?' This is a fair question but the wrong questions to start with. The first question is, how much income do we need to live and meet my retirement lifestyle goals?   The following...

read more

What you need to know about Superannuation in 2024

A brief guide to the new rules and how they affect you. Introduction Superannuation is one of the most important ways to save for your retirement. But the rules and regulations around it can be confusing and change frequently. That's why we've prepared this article to...

read more
Investment & Economic Snapshot April 2024

Investment & Economic Snapshot April 2024

As of April 2024 Highlights Risk aversion and moderating expectations for interest rate cuts pressure bond and equity markets. Australian and US inflation data releases came in higher than expected as services inflation remains elevated. Geopolitical tensions...

read more