I can’t believe I am saying this, but it is 2016! Last year had lots of up and lots of downs for me, and it certainly flew by. I feel like I was just writing a blog post about the start of 2015! But, today we are looking forward. It is a new year and a new chance to start fresh.
I’m sure lots of you have been thinking about New Year resolutions recently. Perhaps some of you have already started taking steps to fulfill them. Well, today I’m going to help guide you to making the right resolutions. Believe it or not, some resolutions can actually hurt you. So, I’m going to share with you some resolutions you should NOT make this year as well as how to rephrase them to make them better.
“I will lose 20lbs”
Stop fixating on the numbers. Do not make a resolution about losing a specific amount of weight because the scale is something that is very hard to control. Even if you do eat healthfully, workout more, and as a result look better – the number still may not match up with what you had hoped for. Ignore the number on the scale and focus on your abilities, strength, and health.
“I will do better”
Goals like ‘do better’ and ‘be stronger’ are way too vague. These resolutions are so broad that they will never be accomplished. You need resolutions to be specific enough that you can have a foreseeable goal to reach. It’s hard to come up with a plan of action for a resolution that’s so general.
“I will stop eating carbs”
This is way too extreme. Vowing to start any outrageous diet is a bad choice. Our bodies do not respond well to extremes. Cutting out all carbs is never healthy to do. Your body needs carbs to survive. You just need to eat the right carbs. Focus on eating whole grains and lots of produce. A majority of your carbs in a day should come from vegetables and fruit (with an emphasis on vegetables). But you also need a healthy dose of unprocessed “starchy” carbs. Please do not vow to follow an extreme diet this year – it won’t work. Instead vow to keep a food journal so you can see the types of food your eating and adjust when necessary.
“I will join a gym”
If you enjoy going to the gym, then please go take advantage of the New Year discounts and buy yourself a membership. But if you hate the gym, don’t waste your money. Having a gym membership won’t make you fit, just like owning a juicer won’t make you healthy. If you don’t enjoy going to the gym, you won’t use the membership and this whole health kick will fade away in a couple weeks.
Setting unrealistic deadlines
Having a deadline for a resolution or goal is a good thing, but you need to be realistic. When setting a deadline think about your current abilities versus what you are trying to accomplish. Setting an impractical deadline is a recipe for failure.
Setting training goals well beyond your current abilities
Just like the deadline, the goal itself must be realistic. If you struggle to walk half of a mile, you should not vow to run a marathon this year. It just isn’t realistic. Your resolutions should be something you have to work hard to achieve, but something that you can physically carry out.
Negative resolutions
Negative resolutions are ones that put an emphasis on something bad. For example, “I will stop eating dessert” is a negative resolution. These vows are restricting and list something you can’t do instead of something you can. Try rephrasing these resolutions to make them positive. Change that dessert vow to “I will eat more vegetables.” This is healthy, will likely help you eat less dessert, and most importantly, it’s positive.
The same resolution you made last year
If it didn’t happen last year, it won’t happen this year. Rephrase or completely change the resolution so it is something you are more confident you can accomplish.