New Year's Resolutions
Where is the year going?
It seems like only yesterday we were enjoying the seasonal celebrations and now it’s the well into January.
Moving into the new year, many of us will have made some resolutions about making changes in our lives. So how is that going?
Falling by the wayside?
According to research, while many people make a new year’s resolution, quite a few fall by the wayside.
According to YouGov last year the most common resolutions were exercising more, losing weight, improving diet, saving more money and taking up a new hobby. Usually in January the gyms are full and by February the number of people attending has dropped off.
According to an article in Medical News Today, in a study, it was found that those who made a resolution were more likely to succeed in that aspiration than those who didn’t.
It said: “Resolvers reported higher rates of success than non-resolvers; at six months, 46 per cent of the resolvers were continuously successful compared to four per cent of the non-resolvers."
So, although the cards might be stacked against anyone who plans to make a New Year's resolution, simply by making that resolution, you have boosted your odds of success.”
What have I got in store?
So with that in mind, what have I got planned in terms of doing things differently?
Well, finding enough time for all the tasks ahead can be quite challenging so getting organised is important.
I also want to maintain a healthy diet so I can combine the two and prepare our meals in advance.
For eating healthily, a lot of personal trainers recommend meal prepping.
Spending time on a Sunday preparing food for the week, means that you have healthy meals prepared, which frees up time, also means you’re less likely to get a takeaway, so it should cost you less as well.
Through working at home I have realised that I’m better having a packed lunch made the night before or in the morning, than relying on making it at lunch time because I’m usually quite busy and might not be as motivated to make something healthy.
So, we’re trying to meal prep and have a menu for the whole week. It is something I have flirted with before and some weeks I am better than others, usually when life is busy I seem to lapse, but try to get back on track as soon as possible.
Improving fitness
Another one I am trying to work on is getting fit. You need to start by finding something you enjoy, you don’t need to go to the gym to get fit.
There are loads of different ways to achieve it. Sometimes it helps by exercising with a friend.
But, of course, finding the time can be an issue.
I know that stopping and going for a walk is good for me, but I’m struggling with doing it when I’m busy. I know that I will feel better and come back to my work refreshed but it’s still a struggle.
So, those are a few of the changes I am hoping to follow through with as part of the new year, new me idea and as the Medical News Today article says, ‘you have to be in it to win it’.
And if I find I am slipping on some of my ideas, I can resolve to change again, at any time of year.
Further reading
Of course, I am not the only one with ideas about New year's resolutions. Click here to see what SwiftFit have to say on the same subject
For some serious research on the subject, click here for Science Direct and here for ResearchGate
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