New Year's Resolutions

It's that time of year again... make it count this time!

Ahhhh it’s that time of year again. The time in which gyms are full at 6 am, Walmart is sold out of fresh vegetables, and people are prioritizing themselves more than ever before. The popular comment from regular gym goers during this time is ‘give it a month and it’ll die down’ and sure enough when mid-February rolls around, the turnout in the gym looks nearly the same as it did in early December. In fact, research indicates that less than 20% of New Year’s resolutions are maintained long-term and many are ditched within the first six weeks of the new year! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been guilty of dropping the ball on New Year’s resolutions just as much as the next person but through experience, I’ve found strategies to make them stick for the long haul. Today’s post will dive into practical resolutions regarding your health and wellness that can be started immediately and tips to uphold them indefinitely! I know you have holiday parties and other festivities to attend so let’s get right into it.

Healthful New Year’s Resolution Ideas

(1) Begin an Exercise Program

Of course, I have to start the list with my Captain Obvious hat on but rightfully so. If you currently do NOT follow a regular exercise plan that includes getting roughly 150 minutes of activity per week with resistance training, this is a sign that you need to start now.

How to accomplish this? This could simply mean walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (even while watching your favorite TV show) and doing two full-body resistance training workouts on Tuesday and Thursday for 25 minutes each. With this setup, the weekends are yours!

- Pro-tip: If you are reading this and don’t have an exercise routine or get much structured exercise at all, START SLOW! Begin with choosing one day out of the week to walk (or bike, elliptical, etc.) for 20-30 minutes. In the absence of equipment and optimal weather, you can even walk around your place of living/work, walk up and down stairs, and even do jumping jacks! After a couple weeks, move this up to two days. Add on an additional day once you gain some confidence and feel you’re ready for it – at this point, you’re getting over an hour of exercise per week which is a great start and a huge progression from where you were initially! Finally, it’s critical that you include resistance training in conjunction with the cardiovascular training. Same as above, start with one day (bodyweight exercises are great to begin with) and then add an additional day once you feel up to it. Do NOT rush this process!

(2) Prioritize Hydration

Many of you have probably heard the advice that you should be drinking half your bodyweight in fluid ounces of water per day and in fact, that’s the BARE MINIMUM! I could write an entire essay on how important hydration is (in fact, it will be an upcoming post) but understand proper hydration has major implications on your digestion, mood, concentration, and can have a profound impact on your ability to lose weight for those that are trying.

How to accomplish this? It can be difficult getting to the threshold of water each day but I’ve found ways to make it more manageable. First, each morning I almost immediately down 30 ounces of water (much easier when it’s room temperature) alongside the vitamins that I take. This is a great way to get a head start on your daily goal. To make water more appealing, you can also experiment with adding an electrolyte powder (such as propel) or drink zero/low calorie beverages, although I’d recommend limiting those to 1-2 per day. Finally, it’s easiest to get a large water container and prioritize refilling it as many times as it takes to reach your goal.

- Pro-tip: Try to steer clear of drinking out of plastic bottles. These often contain chemicals that are less than ideal to consume. Instead, opt for a glass or metal container – Hydro Flask is a great brand and you will save money in the long-run investing in one of these!

(3) Revamp Your Diet

If you haven’t read it yet, go back and look at my ‘Introduction to Nutrition’ post that I released a few weeks back. It goes into the nitty gritty of all things optimizing nutrition and how important your approach to eating is for your health and vitality. No, a revamped diet does not mean you need to be drinking Kale smoothies and going on a 6-week juice cleanse; it’s actually rather simple.

Prioritize preparing your meals at home during the 5-day work week and then give yourself some freedom on the weekends to eat out as you wish. This is what is often referred to as the 80/20 rule – your eating is strictly dialed in 80% of the time and the other 20% is freeing yourself to splurge (within reason). You’ll learn that these ‘cheat’ meals are much more enjoyable and have more “meaning” when they are consumed sparingly!

How to accomplish this? Find a day of the week where time allows you to get the bulk of your meal preparation done for the next 4-5 days. Personally, I do 2-3 hours of meal prep on Sundays and I’m good to go for the week. Overnight oatmeal and protein bowls (rice, vegetable, protein source w/ a condiment) are my convenient go-to’s. Find meals you enjoy that are time friendly and versatile to switch up.

How to Promote Adherence:

You probably already had an inkling that it’s important to prioritize the actions listed above but the hardest part is getting them done day in and day out – especially when things get hard… and yes, they will get hard.

Here are some tips for you to consider prior to getting started on your resolutions and during times of struggle:

(1) Understand progress is a marathon and not a sprint

I would attest that the most frequent cause of forbidden resolutions is the need for short term gratification. It takes time for changes to become noticeable, trust the process! For those looking to shed some pounds, a great goal is losing about 0.5 pounds per week. Although in a months’ time you may not notice a difference, think about six months down the road… 13 pounds is A LOT of weight and is extremely attainable! That six months is going to go by anyway so why not weigh 13 pounds less when you get there?

(2) Write down your goals and incentivize them

Make it very clear to yourself what your goals are and the timeframe in which you want to reach them. It’s great to make lofty goals but you want to ensure that you don’t make them so hard to attain that you give up as soon as you fall short. Another tip I’ve found rather useful is to include small incentives for reaching short-term goals along the way and a punishment for not following through. Heck, throw $150 in a jar and turn it into a charity donation if you don’t stick to your resolution – this will surely increase your likelihood of success!

(3) Give yourself some compassion

This isn’t to say that you’re not going to have to have some hard conversations with yourself to get the changes you want. However, understand that every day is not going to be perfect and 1-2 bad days is ABSOLUTELY NOT a reason to quit. Think back to the 80-20 rule -- if you knock it out of the park for 4-5 days of the week, give yourself some wiggle room the other couple of days! In the end, this is about enjoying life and going through it feeling and looking a way that brings you happiness.

I’d highly recommend that at this moment (yes right now), write down 1-2 things that you will prioritize (and accomplish!) in 2023. Don’t wait, it’s fresh on your mind right now!

Final Note:

As you begin the process of including new daily routines to prioritize your health and wellness, there will likely be some discomfort and you might even question yourself along the way. A fantastic way to maneuver this is to simply write down one thing each day (more if you’d like!) that you did that had a positive impact on your physical health. Whether it was going for a 20-minute walk during your lunch break, choosing the salad bar over the fried chicken, hitting your hydration goal, or even going to bed 20 minutes earlier, writing these small ‘wins’ down will help you gain traction and confidence in yourself to keep going!

As always, reach out with any questions you have on New Year’s Resolutions!

Quote of the week:

“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one!” – Brad Paisley

DISCLAIMER

-       This is NOT Medical advice. Consult your medical professional before starting any supplement, diet regimen, or workout program.