With the excitement of the New Year, it can be very easy to start making some BIG goals. There is something invigorating about the new year that always makes me want to tackle the world. However, this excitement will invariably dwindle and, sometimes, so will those goals. Ultimately, leaving us feeling defeated and unsuccessful. This is where a little bit of planning can go a long way to make sure YOUR fitness resolution stick.
Here are 8 simple and easy to implement steps to help you keep focused and feeling prepared to tackle your fitness resolution for 2018.
1. Be realistic
Don’t try to tackle ALL your fitness goals right off the bat. Trying to change so much all at once can feel daunting. Then you start to get overwhelming which will ultimately lead to frustration and then failure. Sit down and think about what you can realistically commit to doing. If you currently don’t exercise don’t make your goal to hit the gym 5 times a week. Start small with 2-3 days per week and work up to 5 days. If you’re looking to eat healthier don’t overhaul your entire diet and change everything you eat. Start with creating a healthy breakfast or cutting out the soda and work up from there. The point is, to be honest with yourself in creating your fitness goals. You can have a BIG goal but be sure to break it down into realistic bite size pieces so you don’t feel overwhelmed before you even get started.
2. Clearly define your goal
This pairs closely with the first tip to be realistic with your goals. Setting a big goal usually also means a vague goal. If your goal is to “Get healthy in the new year”, what does that actually mean to you? How do you plan to “get healthy”. When setting your goals not only do you want to be realistic but be specific as well. Clearly define the actions steps you plan to take to help you achieve that goal. If you want to exercise more, make sure you clearly set the parameters for that goal and HAVE A PLAN. Say “I will go to the gym 3 days a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday performing at least 1 hour of strength training for both upper and lower body”. This goal is very specific and clearly defines how your plan to get healthy. As I mentioned in the first tip, you can write a broad goal such as “I will lose 50 pounds”. But, that goal needs smaller goals under to it to clearly define how your plan to lose those 50 pounds. A good principle to follow is using the SMART method when formulating your goals. Make them specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
3. Track your progress
In my opinion, a goal isn’t really a goal until you not only write it down but also have a way of tracking that goal. Otherwise, it’s just a dream in your head. This is also about finding a way to track that is best for you. Something that you can easily stick to doing. This can be a written journal, a calendar you keep on the fridge, an app on your phone…really anything. As long as it is visible and helps you have a good visual on how you are doing on your goal. Make it objective like your weight, circumferential measurements, max weight lifted for you squat, for example. This will also help in keeping you motivated in reaching your goal as well as help pinpoint and barrios or roadblock you might come across on your journey
4. Have patience
This really speaks for itself but is very important. You will have slip-ups or days where you just aren’t feeling motivated. That is ok and even expected. Change isn’t always easy and you have to be patient with your progress, particularly when it comes to fitness related goals. Progress WILL have over the course of time so be patient and stay focused on the goal!
5. Stop thinking it has to be “all or nothing”
This is so critical when it comes to fitness goals. I see this all the time most often when it comes to nutrition. When the inevitable slip up or “bad day” happens the thought is often “well I messed up so I might as well not even try today” and then go on a binge eating session. This is the kind of thinking that leads to failure. If you track macros, then you would simply try to adjust your intake for the rest of the day to try to hit your numbers best you can. But no matter what, the best thing to do is to acknowledge it and then get back on track. Don’t let those bad days be excuses to just give up. Mistakes will happen. It’s part of the journey to your goal. Staying consistent with your progress and not letting those few bad days outweigh all the good days is what will lead to success.
6. Make an appointment with yourself
I find this to be a really important step when it comes to making the commitment to change and achieve your goal. If it’s not written down then often times it doesn’t happen. Just like you would put a lunch date with a friend on the calendar you need to make a date with yourself. So often the reason many people cite for not achieving their goal is “I don’t have time”. If exercise is part of your fitness goal then plan when you are going to workout and put it on the schedule. If nutrition is part of your goal then decide when you are going to meal plan and put that on the schedule. What this does is turns your goal into a priority because you have taken action and put it on your schedule. This makes it part of your day and not something to be ignored. This goes hand in hand with creating a plan for your fitness goal which I touch on in a previous post—read here.
7. Tell someone to make you accountable
You don’t have to go shout your goal out on the rooftops for all to hear. However, I do recommend entrusting a close friend or family member. This is someone that can help hold you accountable. Someone to check in on how you are doing and keeps tabs on the progress you are making towards your goal. This also serves to help make your fitness goal a little more real. Once you have spoken it out loud to another person it tends to sink in a little bit more than keeping it to yourself. Having someone hold you accountable can be that extra boost you may need to keep you focused on your goal. Some may feel like they need an outside source to help provide that accountability and choose to hire someone like myself to help. This can be a great option to have an unbiased input whose sole job is to offer guidance, support, and motivation.
8. Get back on track when you slip up
This was mentioned in tip number 5 but worth making this a separate tip. Remember, slip-ups WILL happen. No one can be perfect, nor should they. Life happens and you will be a lot more successful if you learn how to deal with the slip-up, make adjustments as needed and then move on. The whole point of making goals is to improve and make ourselves better. Sometimes the best way to do that is to make some mistakes and then learn from them. Don’t beat yourself up and throw in the towel, just improvise, adapt, and overcome!
I hope these tips will help you and that this New Year finds you happy and eager to tackle some big goals for 2018!
Stay Happy, Healthy, and Fit!
Allison
