The start of the New Year is always a time for reflection, and is where many of us put our willpower to the test by taking up a New Year resolution aimed at achieving fitness goals to create a better version of ourselves, often in vain.
In fact according to a survey conducted by Savanta on behalf of BUPA, published in 2018, a quarter of Brits said they’d made a New Year’s resolution for 2019. Of these, a staggering 88% did not keep their resolution, with 66% falling off the bandwagon within a month!
GHN's own research from 2018 confirmed as much, showing that 78% of people who made a New Year’s resolution to get in shape failed to stick to their plan.
In 2023, we’re going to give you a little extra help to ensure you stay on the straight and narrow until at least Valentines Day – after all, you should love your body and don’t cheat on your fitness regime!
Here’s some expert advice to follow…
WHY DON’T NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS ALWAYS WORK?
Though many resolutions fall apart early in the year, there hasn’t been enough research into why they go south – mostly because we can’t accurately measure the success of a resolution.
But our experienced GHN Sponsored Athletes reveal their thoughts as to why many of us struggle to see new year's resolution through.
People lack support! Something in their life has urged them to do something about whatever the resolution was about. If it is losing weight, for example, they have tried before and made ‘occasional’, excuses why things have not gone as planned. Noted that there are all sorts of reasons resolutions fail, such as lack of willpower, lack of specific targets or unrealistic timescales.
People make resolutions with the intention of motivating themselves without understanding that they actually need to change their habits, rewire their brains and be active in their quest for change.
IS THERE A FORMULA FOR SUCCESS?
There is no reason why January or February shouldn’t be a time for personal change, so that come Valentine’s Day there’s a whole new you to celebrate.
It is not the end of the journey or how you get there that is important – it is the start of such a journey that is important. In the same way, starting your resolutions the right way is all that matters.
Here are some GHN Top Tips to help you stick to your New Year’s resolution -
> Ignore any negative comments from outsiders!
> Aim for small-scale resolutions so you don’t overstretch yourself!
> Be patient and give yourself time. Everybody is different. Just because some people can lose weight quickly, doesn’t necessarily mean that you will!
> Have an 'accountability buddy', someone close to you that you have to report to!
> Celebrate your success between milestones. Don't wait for the goal to be finally completed!
> Focus your thinking on new behaviours and thought patterns. You have to create new neural pathways in your brain to change habits!
> Focus on the present. What's the one thing you can do today, right now, towards your goal?
> Be more mindful. Become physically, emotionally and mentally aware of your inner state as each external event happens, moment by moment, rather than living in the past or future!
HOW EASY IS IT TO FORM GOOD HABITS?
Resolutions come from wanting to make a change in life, to remove what we consider are bad habits and replace them with good ones.
According to an article in the British Journal of General Practice (BJGP), good habit formation often fails because no one is ever taught how easy habits are created - it is down to simple repetition. Put your mind to making the change, and keep at it.
When asked about how we can replace bad habits with good ones. The simple response is - it begins with being truthful to oneself. Admit you have bad habits – good ones are subjective to your way of thinking. Good habits are just as easy to make as bad habits.
Science would suggest to us that the more we do something the easier it becomes. Habits move from being conscious and therefore difficult to maintain, to being unconscious and something that we do without thinking. As a rule of thumb it takes 66 days to break a habit and learn a new one. Use your willpower, focus on your ‘why’, stay accountable and you will find that it's so worth it and so much easier than you ever imagined once you fly past the initial hurdles.
