Have You Already Failed?
Oct 15, 2021
After over doing it at Christmas, is it any surprise gyms are inundated with the New Year resolutioners insisting that this year will be their year to get fit and fabulous! Only 2 weeks later they find themselves back in the same position, work gets busy, the summer days are longer, the chardonnay’s cooler and the old habits die-hard.
The Journal of Clinical Psychology found that losing weight tends to be people’s number one new years resolution. However it also revealed of those that make a new years resolution 44% fail within the first month, 54% fail after 6 months, leaving only 8% actually achieving their goals by years end.
So what do the top 8% do differently and how can you make this year your most successful yet?
A study looked at a group of students and found that those that succeed in achieving their goals share 3 common traits.
1. They have fewer habits to change
This year instead of resolving to sleep better, exercise more, drink less and eat healthier, create a goal around changing just one habit. For instance you might feel you need to lose 10kgs, so set one specific behavioural goal around this, such as;
• Eating 3 different colours of vegetables for lunch
• Walking for 30 minutes every morning
• Drinking 2 liters of water everyday
2. They keep a record of their progress
You can’t manage what you don’t measure. With advances in technology, devices like fitbits and smartphones, it has become easier to manage and measures your health behaviour. Why not aim to walk an average of 10 000 steps a week. Although stepping on the scales doesn’t give you the full picture of your health, studies have shown that by simply measuring your weight on a regular basis you are more likely to make better health choices and achieve a healthier body weight.
3. They have accountability
Enlist the help of a friend, join a sporting team or hire the help of a health professional. I might be a bit biased but personal trainers have long been proven to be a very effective at helping people stay fit and healthy. I often hear from clients that ‘I probably wouldn’t have trained today unless we had this appointment’. Some people think trainers are only good to help you once you have built a foundation of fitness but in reality we are best at building the foundations so you have self-powered wellness. Although training 3 times a week with a trainer will bring great results, a weekly or monthly catch up with a trainer will ensure you stay on track for the whole year not just the first 4 weeks.
