Happy almost new year!
I hope you’ve had a great holiday season. Talking about a new year always goes hand-in-hand with the topic of resolutions.
That’s why I wanted to chime in with my take on things, and show you the BEST way to set yourself up for success in looking and feeling slim, energetic, happy…whatever your goals are, right out of the gate in 2017!
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I do love this special time of year. One is ending and another is just starting up…I get excited thinking about what’s to come!
BUT this time of year also drives me absolutely CRAZY!!
My Facebook feed and inbox gets completely bombarded with weight loss promises – magical pills and powders, 2-minute abs, mega ripped this and super fast that…you know what I’m talking about.
The BIG problem with all of these programs are the expectations are off from the start.
They try to play into a big barrier in most people’s lives: lack of time. They try to show you that “you don’t have to put in time cooking or working hard in general to see results, with us, it’s easy!”
You’re given an expectation that things are going to happen instantly, magically, and effortlessly.
But you know what…they never do. And if they do, it’s short lived. When old habits catch back up, you’re left disappointed, discouraged, unmotivated, and blaming yourself.
It’s not your fault though!
It’s super easy to get caught up in the hype, promises, and guarantees. I used to too, year after year, and even more frequently than that. Whenever I saw an ad pop up reminding me how Kim Kardashian lost 50 pounds drinking juice from a rare fruit – or something like that.
I’d start something new up, maybe do really well sticking with it in the beginning, but then something would happen and trigger me to self sabotage, I’d fall off the wagon, binge, and my “I’ll start again on Monday” cycle would continue. This gets magnified with the: “new year, new you” excitement.
Why not do things differently this year? Avoid getting sucked into the tempting quick fix trance.
Building healthy habits that set you up for long term success to reach your health goals, whether it’s losing weight or getting more energy, does.take.some.work. I’m not gonna lie or sugar coat that.
Sure those magical pills and powders might give you a glimpse of what you’re looking to achieve, but how sustainable (and expensive) is that?
Reaching and sustaining your goals involves you making you and your health a priority in your life.
It doesn’t mean you’ll have to quit your job or stop driving your kids to basketball practice. There’s a way to balance your health and happiness with your obligations.
Here are the 3 simple steps to start seeing some lasting change:
FIRST: Figure out what your health goals are.
Get specific with it. How do you want to look and feel? Do you want to lose weight? Be happier? Stop feeling bloated all the time? Get more energy? These are the big things you’re working toward. On top of that, WHY are they important to you? How will your life be different or better if you achieve them? What’s the cost of not achieving them?
SECOND: What’s in your way?
With that goal or goals in mind, sit down and make a list of what’s stopping you from achieving it or them. What’s standing in your way? What’s the root cause of you not looking and feeling as great as you want to? Identifying ALL of the things standing in the way of you reaching your goals, all of your barriers – dig deep on this one. Often times these are mental blocks. Really start getting in tune to yourself and your thoughts, feelings, and habits.
THIRD: Break down your goals and barriers into manageable pieces.
Small actionable steps you can take to move you forward and avoid getting crushed by those barriers. For example, if you realize you tend to overeat because you notice that you’re eating at times you’re not even hungry, what’s something you can do to avoid this? Why is it happening to begin with?
Maybe look at your water intake to make sure you’re drinking enough throughout the day (fun fact: often times we think we’re hungry when we’re really just thirsty!) Or maybe, if you’re like me, you tend to eat when you’re procrastinating. What I do is call myself out on it, and make myself take action steps on whatever I’m putting off doing. My “hunger” magically goes away 🙂
Or if lack of time is a barrier for you when it comes to eating healthy lunches when you’re at work, what’s something you can do within your schedule to overcome the daily mid-day takeout? Maybe you make a larger batch of dinner then take leftovers with you?
If you want to start exercising more but feel like you don’t have time, start small. Maybe ask yourself what can you move or delegate to squeeze in just 20 minutes of movement into your day?
So please, skip the quick fix promises this year, and set yourself up for long term success in reaching your goals. Start by figuring out exactly what they are. Then what’s standing in the way of you achieving them (remember to dig deep, not all reasons are obvious, often times we have mental limiting beliefs and blocks), then finally, break down those barriers into small action steps to move you forward. What can you start doing NOW?
It doesn’t have to be big by any means! Making smaller changes and being consistent with them will do a lot more for you than making bigger changes that you do once in a while. You can build off small changes to make real new healthy habits that stick.
Comment below and tell me a barrier that’s in your way of reaching your goals. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by this and would like some help, I’d love to help you do this, it’s what I do best! Shoot me a message if you’d like to hop on a call with me to identify what you specifically can do to reach your goals.
Happy new year!
