Surprisingly not many people stick to their fitness and health resolutions come the new year, especially when your choices are limited due to public health restrictions and your own safety and that of others.
Deciding to shed those extra pounds you put on during the holidays, slimming down, improving your strength, or just moving more every day are common resolutions that are usually left unaccomplished a few weeks into the new year.
Below are some helpful tips so you can follow through with your resolutions this year and actually see results.
Don’t Ignore Nutrition
No matter what your goals are, what you eat, and how you eat it, impacts your health and fitness just as much as working out. A balanced diet and a planned calorie deficit might just be the deciding factor between you and your fitness goals this year.
Ask for Help
Be it a personal trainer at your local gym or an online coach, having a professional draw up a plan that suits your needs and takes into account your own limitations will prove much more effective than going in blind and trying to exercise without any sense of direction.
These services are usually paid unless you’re good friends with a trainer, so people tend to skip them and just work out on their own. You can absolutely do that, but do some research of your own beforehand and understand what your body can do and what goals you can realistically achieve on your own.
Track your Progress
Most fitness-friendly people might come across as odd with their food journals, weighing diaries, and measurements, but they do it for a reason. Keeping track of what you’re doing and what you’re achieving is a great way to stay on track and motivate yourself to keep going.
Don’t feel discouraged if you don’t see any progress right away though. It’s normal to see fluctuating results throughout the days and if you are new to exercising, it’s normal to not see any progress for the first couple of weeks.
The important thing is to trust the process and not give up. Steadfast determination and resolve will get you the results you want in the long run.
Taking a fitness tracker or step counter with you is also a great way to see improvement and set daily goals.
Pair up
While a gym buddy might not be so easy to find nowadays, having a friend or family member accompany you during your daily exercises, even if it’s a walk around the neighborhood, is a great way to stay accountable to your goals and resist the urge to give up.
Set Realistic Goals
Breaking down big goals into smaller, more manageable goals, is much more effective and will do wonders for your sense of accomplishment. If you want to lose 4lbs a month, set your mind to losing 1lb a week, or if you want to take 10,000 steps a day, start with 5,000 steps and work your way up. You’ll stay motivated for longer since you will be hitting these milestones much faster and feel more confident in achieving your end goals.
Do what you can, with what you have
Not everyone can afford a gym membership or a personal trainer. If your goal is simply to be more active this year or lose a few pounds, find a workout routine that works for you and that you can realistically do by yourself.
If going for a walk outside or filling your storage room with heavy weights isn’t really your thing, you can always invest in a treadmill or, alternatively, stock up on some home gym equipment like power bands, or a jump rope.
At the end of the day what’s important is what you have set for yourself to accomplish and what you can do to stay on track. If an exercise seems too taxing and more of a task than a fun activity, change it up and focus on a different one.
Whatever you set yourself to do, remember that this is for you and your health and, as always, consult a proper professional whenever you decide to change a part of your life significantly, be it your diet or your workout.