“Another year you made a promise. Another chance to turn it all around.”
That time of the year is upon us...let the crash diets and promises to not smoke anymore begin and ultimately fail! We all have this idea of re-inventing ourselves when a new year is upon us. We’re going to work out and become a completely different person. If this is really want to do, that’s fine. You go for the goal and don’t give up until you get it and go beyond. However, most of us quit halfway through January and tell ourselves we’ll pick up again tomorrow. Then that tomorrow turns into next Monday. Which turns into the following months, and so on. It’s an unhealthy, lazy pattern. So how do we stick to it?
Every year, I lie to myself and say I'm going to diet and work out. I’m going to watch what I eat and exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, five to six days a week. I do this for the first few days or so, and then my muscles get sore so I take a break. Do I ever go back? Nope. Do I feel guilty as hell about this? Of course. So how do we fix it? Well first, observe your resolution. Why are you doing it and what will be the benefits from it? My resolution for this year is the same as it was last year, except there’s a catch.
I now realize diving into something that takes a whole lot of dedication and time nose first is probably going to crash and burn in the end. I’m giving myself a realistic goal by having three things in mind:
- Be cautious of what you’re eating and fueling your body with. It’s OK to have a cupcake here or there, but don’t let that be all you eat. Don’t forget your greens or fruits and veggies!
- Put down the can of Dr. Pepper and substitute that with a nice tall glass of ice water, or least three.
- Instead of killing my abs with Jillian Michaels workout videos, I’m going to motivate myself by exercising for at least 30 minutes, three days a week (this includes crunches after meals...RIP abs).
I know myself, and I know my motivation skills are a little on the sucky side, which is why I’m not promising myself to be running a 5K by February. I’m more likely to stick with these goals because they’re realistic and it’s baby steps. The more I’m capable of getting these accomplished, the more the number of glasses of water and the amount of minutes I exercise go up.
Don’t give yourself unrealistic standards. If you have a resolution, stick with it, but figure out how to break it down and not overwhelm yourself. Happy New Year, everyone, and cheers to all of us and our hopes and dreams. I wish you the best of luck, and nothing but successes!
