How to Set a Successful New Year’s Resolution

Wrapping paper is filling your trash cans, the eggnog in the fridge is almost gone, and the number on the scale has somehow jumped far higher than anticipated, despite your best efforts. Sound familiar?

Luckily, it’s a brand new year. A clean slate. What are you going to do now?

Sure, it’s a bit cliché to set New Year’s Resolutions, and even more cliché to say you want to lose weight. But it’s cliche for a reason – it IS a great time to start fresh with a new plan and a hopeful outlook. It feels like you can put behind you the mistakes and let-downs of last year, and motivation is extra high. It’s the perfect time to take advantage of that “fresh start” feeling. 

In fact, this could be the year that you finally achieve your goals; the year you finally do what you always say you’re going to try. This is your year for renewal.

But how?

How Do You Set a Successful New Years Resolution?

In order to renew your life, you need to write a resolution for the goals you have. But how do you set and write one that sticks? Let’s take weight loss for example, because it is one of the top resolutions every new year – probably because most people never achieve it. According to Statisticbrain.com, 38% of Americans who make new years resolutions are related to weight loss, and only 8% of those keep that goal.

How can you be part of that 8% who actually sticks to their game plan, whatever your goal may be?

Here are some simple tips for how to set goals that will set you up for weight loss and life transformation success:

1) WHAT specifically do you want to achieve? Write it down.

Decide what your goals are and don’t be vague or overly complicated. Don’t pick too many goals that may contradict each other. Don’t just say you want to lose weight – define a number that will make you feel good; something big, yet attainable.

Even if you have 50 pounds to lose, that can feel unattainable and overwhelming, so start with “Lose 10 pounds by the end of March”. This number is smaller and attainable, has a deadline to keep you motivated, and is not arbitrary. You can safely lose one pound per week, so if you start week one of January, you could actually be down eight pounds by the beginning of March.

2. Keep it Focused

Perhaps you want to run a 5k. Great! Focus on that, not on gaining muscle, so you can train and eat accordingly. Training for endurance is different than how you eat and train to gain muscle or lose fat, so focus on endurance so you can run your best race. Even better, plan to run a 5k by April in under 30 minutes. Be specific and write it down so that every day you have a goal to work toward. (Not sure how to set this kind of workout and eating plan? Contact me for help!)

3. HOW are you going to get there?

Don’t set a goal and then just hope your best efforts will get you there. Has that worked for you yet? No? Then it probably won’t work this year either.  Did you jot down a goal to “eat better”?  Uh oh. I’ve never seen a client, or myself, lose weight quickly or easily with “I’m trying to eat better”. As I was reminded by my Star Wars-obsessed, Yoda-quoting nephews this Christmas, “Do or do not. There is no try.”

Eat better is too vague. Instead, come up with a plan. You can get help creating a meal plan for you to know exactly how many calories, carbs, protein, fats, and sugars you should be eating to take the guesswork out. Or over one week, write down everything you eat. Then average out how many calories you’re eating per day to determine how many to cut or add (and yes, you may actually need to ADD calories because you’re eating so little that your metabolism has slowed so far down to help you survive that you’re holding onto every ounce of fat). Then look at what healthy foods will help you stay within your numbers.

For instance, “I will eat two eggs and oatmeal every morning, cut out sugary cereals, eat an organic turkey sandwich for lunch, and chicken and veggies for dinner. On Saturday, I will have a cheat meal.” This will help you grocery shop for the right foods, meal plan, and prevent eating according to your mood, which often leads to fatty and sugary comfort foods that pack on pounds.

Or it may be as simple as “eat breakfast every morning within 30 minutes of waking up” or “Run 15 minutes every day.” Baby steps are okay, as long as you have a plan every day to get you to your destination rather than just hoping for the best and never getting there.

4. Consider Why You Haven’t Reached Your Goal Yet

Sure, New Year’s goals are a great idea and sound wonderful, but how many years have you fallen off the wagon?  No shame, we’ve all done it. And there are reasons we’ve done it.  It’s time to find out why. In fact, this is probably the most important step in the process.

If you never address your obstacles or areas of weakness, you’ll never be able to renew your mind and body for the long term. Who cares if you lose 5 pounds in January if by May you’ve gained it all back? Quick fixes and band-aids don’t work.

A few years ago I had to look at why I wasn’t achieving my physical goals despite my efforts at the gym, and most often it was late night comfort snacking. A need to feel in control by actually relaxing and not controlling my impulses was a bad habit that took many forms from college on. Whether it was large amounts of healthy snacks like trail mix, or three too many servings of chocolate, or a glass of wine, I got in a comfortable routine with foods I loved that provided stability and a sense of both control and relaxation. Now I know I have to be careful that I don’t allow myself to fall into habits of nighttime eating, or replace them with something like drinking tea. That has made a profound impact on my weight and ability to maintain weight loss.

Maybe your “Why” Looks Something Like This:

• You’re intimidated by the gym or you can’t afford a membership, so you don’t go. Understandable. How about you workout at home with resistance bands and body weight?
• No time to workout? I bet you do have time, you’re just not making it a priority. We always find time for priorities. If it’s not a priority, why not? Take some time to think through why your health or self-confidence are important to you, and remind yourself of those things. Do you find time to watch TV with your children? Then replace TV watching with an after-dinner family walk, or tossing a football outside. Or find someplace private during your lunch hour to squeeze in some jumping jacks, squats, push-ups and lunges.
• Lack of self-confidence. Maybe you’re in a rut where you don’t care enough about yourself to make the effort. Is it affecting your marriage? Are you less productive at work? Would feeling stronger and more energetic improve things? Would 10 less pounds decrease jealousy or make you feel more attractive to your spouse?
• You’ve failed before. Maybe you just feel tired and starting all over with fitness makes you feel discouraged. Have you tried before and didn’t hit your goal, or regained the weight you lost? Do you miss being athletic and have trouble facing the fact that you’re just not capable of the same things anymore? Remind yourself that it’s never too late to start or to reach your goals. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll feel better. The body can change and adapt in amazing ways, and your fear of feeling less significant or unable might just go away within a few weeks. You can keep waiting and stay where you are, or you can start now and look back in a few months, grateful that you chose to take a step and have moved forward.

This is the Time to Renew Your Life

Keep these “Whats”, “Hows” and “Whys” in front of you. Post them on your bathroom mirror or at your office so that when you’re lacking motivation (which will happen) you have something of substance to remind yourself to keep going and why you’re doing this. Remind yourself that you’re capable of more than you think.

These are the ways that you can write and set a successful new year’s resolution.

This year, it’s time to renew your mind and how you think about fitness. It’s time to renew your strength and transform your body. It’s time to renew your life. You can do it, and I’m here to help.