If you read my post earlier this month you know I am not a huge fan of new year’s resolutions. Most of the time, especially when it comes to fitness and health related resolutions - we start off great, lose enthusiasm after a couple weeks or months or days, and then are right back at square one, but this time feeling defeated. But it doesn’t have to be that way! There are ways to make fitness-related resolutions that you’ll actually keep. I’ve done it. Here’s how:
Set a non-scale goal. In fact, pitch the scale. You don’t need it. Instead set a goal that is measurable but by an actual improvement in your overall health. For instance, rather than decide to lose 10 pounds, set the goal of being able to run a 10-minute mile. Rather than focusing on fitting into a certain size, challenge yourself to run a half marathon, or complete 10 clean pull-ups.
Those goals give you a measurable accomplishment and one you can feel excited about hitting success points along the way. So, if your goal is to run 10-minute miles and you are now run/walking a 15-minute mile, you’ll feel excited when you are able to shave a solid minute off your time. And you’ll be re-energized when you are able to shave two minutes, then three, then four off your time. It’s also better for your long-term health.
I highly recommend signing up now - even if you haven’t run a block - for a half marathon or full marathon later this year. Having a deadline will force you to get up and get going when this initial excitement dies down. The only way I even got into running is by signing up to run the Chicago Marathon. I hadn’t ever run a half mile before paying to run 26.2 in my hometown! It kicked me into gear and each time I thought about skipping a workout I then thought about not being able to finish the marathon and what a disappointment that would be. Needless to say, I became a runner as a result.
Get specific with your goals. Just saying I want to be healthier or skinnier, or stronger isn’t really a goal. It’s an arbitrary way of trying to categorize yourself. Instead get really specific. (Yes this is similar to #1 with setting non-scale goals.)
What does it mean for your to be healthier? Does it mean running a half marathon without walking? Does it mean walking a flight of stairs without getting winded? Does it mean eliminating soda from your diet? Does it mean eating a vegetable with each meal? Give yourself really specific goals that you can track in an honest and measurable way.
Recommit to your goal - frequently. Just setting a fitness or health goal near the first of the year doesn’t mean it will be accomplished. You need to recommit to that goal over and over and over again.
We’re all different but find ways to remind yourself of the goal and recommit to it. I have reminders set up in my phone to prompt me to recommit to my plans throughout the year. I might ignore the reminder, or delete it as soon as it pops up on my screen, but I’ll see it and I’ll remember what I initially started off hoping to accomplish.
Other ways to recommit: Make a note in your paper calendar at the start of each month. Jot it down and tape it to your fridge or your bathroom mirror.
Give yourself time. I like to call it the McDonalds mentality. We want to order up a goal or a plan or a dream, and we want it - NOW. But creating a new habit and breaking bad ones takes time. Results aren’t immediate. And, even worse, results are hard to see at times. It can be easy to get frustrated and give up when we feel like we aren’t progressing as quickly as we want. We might feel we are putting in the work and not seeing the results. Don’t give up. Keep at it.
Also, I highly recommend keeping track of things that will show your growth - as small as it may be from week to week. For instance, I have a note in my phone called measurements and at the start of each month I take my measurements - that’s where you see small changes that you might not notice. Or you can do this by taking mirror selfies in the same outfit each month. The changes are often more noticeable when you can do a side-by-side comparison.
(Curious about the Workout look?? Windbreaker, Bra, Pants, Tights, Floral jacket is sold out.)
Begin again - and again - and again. Similar to the importance of giving yourself time, you need to give yourself the luxury of beginning again. It isn’t a matter of one mess up or one weekend binging on junk food and you have to give up for the rest of the week, month or year. Each day, heck each hour, is a chance to start again with your resolution. Use it, if you need it and begin again as many times as you need in order to hit your goals.
What am I missing? Anything you’ve done that have actually helped you keep your goals?
