Losing weight, hiring a personal trainer to exercise regularly, eating better, taking better care of yourself. These intentions are admirable, but how to stick to resolutions when so many times in the past you’ve fallen off the wagon after a great start?
In order to stick to your resolutions, you have to approach change differently:
Mental Commitment For Sticking To Resolutions
This is where everyone fails, but it’s not your fault.
I’ll explain…
The two most common mental commitments are something like these:
Resolution Fail #1 – No Action Plan
“I resolve to lose weight.”
(or a better, more specific version would be “I resolve to lose 30 pounds.”)
Setting a goal is fine, but when it comes to sticking to your resolutions, this is missing one crucial piece:
ACTION.
Setting your sights on an outcome is just dreaming unless you have a plan of action to get there.
Your resolutions need to be what you promise to DO, not what you hope will happen.
So, if getting regular exercise is a challenge for you, you could resolve “to work out twice a week with my personal trainer.”
If consistent healthy eating is your stumbling block, you could resolve “to work with a nutrition coach for 3 months.”
These are ACTION promises, not outcome wishes.
Action is what creates progress. Intentions don’t happen until you actually DO something.
Resolution Fail #2 – Unrealistic Promises
The second reason people can’t stick to resolutions is that they bite off WAY more than they can chew:
“OK, starting Monday I am giving up sugar and bread, I’m going to work out with my trainer 3 times per week, get to sleep by 9 pm every night, hire a nutritionist, get up at 5 am to go jogging every day, and do yoga and meditation every weekend.”
Sure you are.
You cannot stick to 15 lifestyle improvements all at once. No one can.
So pick one thing to improve or upgrade first.
Something you can do 90% of the time.
Need to exercise more consistently (or without hurting yourself)? Hire a personal trainer.
Need to eat better for weight loss (and to tackle stress eating)?
Sign up for our nutrition coaching service to keep you on track.
Need help with stress management? Emotional eating? Give some of Dan DeFigio’s interviews a listen, he’s kinda smart about these things.
Pick one thing that will move the needle the most for you, and focus on that.
Once you have one lifestyle upgrade under your belt, then you can work on something else.
If you want to lose weight — and keep it off! — you cannot try to change everything at once.
That my friends, is a recipe for failure again and again.
Tip For Sticking To Resolutions
One final tip for sticking to your resolutions:
Mentally prepare yourself to be uncomfortable.
Changing your behavior is easy if it’s…well…easy.
People typically revert back to old comfortable unhealthy habits when feelings become unpleasant.
- You may be hungry sometimes.
- You may have to force yourself to wait 20 minutes before eating that after-dinner cookie.
- You may have to make the effort to take 2 minutes to plan your food for tomorrow, even though you think you’re so busy you couldn’t possibly dedicate 2 minutes.
Those are the “unpleasantries” it takes to make improvements. So be ready.
When you’ve mentally prepared yourself in advance to be uncomfortable, it’s a lot easy to sit in it and ride out the discomfort.
It’s not as bad as you may fear, I promise 🙂
The Best Way To Stick To Your Resolutions
The proven best way to stick to resolutions is to use a professional coach.
If you would like someone to be at your side, guiding you through your journey of improvements and changes, just drop us a note.
We’ll talk about personal training, nutrition coaching, exercise rehab for previous injuries, or anything else you need for your own wellness.
We’re ready when you are!