Seven Tips To Achieve Your Health Related New Year’s Resolution(s)
A large percentage of new year’s resolutions have something to do with health and wellness. Whether it is to lose weight, get in better shape, eat healthier or exercise more, lots of people come up short on achieving them. Several studies have suggested that roughly 80% of people discontinue their new years resolutions within 6 weeks. The best way to succeed is to set yourself up for success. These 6 tips will help you be part of the 20% who make it past the middle of February.
- Pick an exercise/activity you enjoy
- If you are not excited about going to do it, you will find reasons not to.
- There are many different types and forms of exercise
- If you are moving and getting your heart rate elevated from its resting level, it counts as exercise!
- Write down your goal(s) and make them measurable so you know when they are achieved.
- Make sure it is measurable, so that you can see and be motivated by your progress
- What does get in better shape mean? Here are some examples of trackable goals:
- Be able to walk 1 mile without stopping.
- Keep up with the grandkids for the day.
- Lift and carry 50 lbs across the room.
- Complete a 1/2 marathon or full marathon.
- What does get in better shape mean? Here are some examples of trackable goals:
- Break up bigger goals into achievable smaller goals
- Start with multiple small victories that build on each other.
- For the above marathon goal, break it into smaller chunks, if you are just starting maybe it’s 5 mile chunks, if you have run a 1/2 in the past maybe its 15 miles as the first goal and build a couple miles each month until you run the marathon.
- Make sure it is measurable, so that you can see and be motivated by your progress
- Make sure you are addressing the appropriate lead variables
- Lead variables are those that you can impact up front that will directly address the outcome of your goal or lag measure.
- For example if your goal is to lose 10 LBS you need to track calories consumed and burned
- Building a meal plan with healthier options
- Replace refined processed foods with natural whole foods
- Goal of eating an apple a day, instead of a packaged snack can make a big impact over time.
- Scheduling time for exercise
- Work out 4 days a week for 30 minutes is a trackable goal, that will help achieve the bigger goal of losing the 10 lbs.
- Building a meal plan with healthier options
- Break your goals down into the appropriate lead variables and watch the progress toward your goal, and ultimately achieve it!
- Schedule the time in advance
- Put it on the calendar as a standing appointment
- Make the commitment with someone else helps to hold each other accountable
- It’s much harder to blow off a gym date with a friend than just yourself.
- Start with a reasonable amount of time you are comfortable taking away from your current schedule
- Even 20 minutes a day of consistent exercise has been shown to have significant benefits.
- Make the commitment with someone else helps to hold each other accountable
- Put it on the calendar as a standing appointment
- Start and build slowly
- If you are new to exercise, or getting back into it do not overdue it
- Sometimes less is more
- Overdoing it and causing extreme soreness or worse, and injury is a great way to grind to a stop.
- Minimizing soreness early on will help you to stay motivated and enjoy the benefits of getting moving and feeling better.
- A general principle is to add no more than 10% at a time.
- This applies to both time and intensity, only change one of the following at a time, and don’t exceed the 10% rule.
- Reps
- Weight/resistance
- Duration or distance of activity
- This applies to both time and intensity, only change one of the following at a time, and don’t exceed the 10% rule.
- If you are new to exercise, or getting back into it do not overdue it
- Get adequate sleep
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- A good night’s sleep is optimal for your body to capitalize on the good stress you put on it during exercise
- Sleep also helps balance out stress hormones from the day, as well as prepare it to do everything all over again the next day.
- You will be in a better mood and have more energy to put toward achieving your goals.
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- Listen to your body
- There are a lot of things that can affect your bodies response to activity
- If you did a little too much and are feeling sore and tired, either skip that day’s activity or dial back the intensity of what you had planned.
- There are a lot of things that can affect your bodies response to activity
We hope you utilize these tips, and at this time next year, you can proudly say you are part of the 20% who succeeded with their resolutions.
Here’s to a happier and healthier you in 2019!
As always if you have questions, or need some guidance on where and how to get started, leave a comment or reach out to us via the have a question form.
Dr. Philip Denema, PT, DPT, ATC, FAAOMPT, Dip. Osteopractic, Cert. SMT, Cert. DN. Cert. VRS