We have a few days left of 2020 and you're likely starting to reflect on everything you did or didn't do in 2020.
You may start to get sentimental.
You may start to reminisce.
You may make a promise to yourself that "2021 will be my year"
More often than not, New Year's resolutions include some sort of promise to that you will be more consistent in something. If you've found yourself reading this, your resolution likely includes: cleaning up your diet and/or being more consistent with working out.
If that is the case, then GREAT! I'm thrilled you're here!
New Year's resolutions are essentially new habits that we try to form and maintain. With that in mind, you've probably read all over the internet that "it takes 21 days to form a habit"...
A 12-week study completed by Lally et al. followed 96 participants and concluded that it took anywhere from 18 to 254 days to form a habit. The magic number being about 66 days.
However, creating habits doesn't have to be hard. In order to set yourself up for success, the most sustainable way to form a habit is by making your goal specific, taking the path of least resistance and... PATIENCE.
1. SMART Goals
If your resolution sounds like: "I want to lose weight", "I want to be more active". I want you to think: SMART. Specified, measurable, attainable, realistic/relevant and time.
If your New Year's resolution is to lose weight...
How many pounds or inches do you want to lose?
Will you use a scale to measure your success?
What are realistic mini-goals that you can use to track your success?
How is your goal relevant to you and your life?
How long will it take you?
Here are two examples I want you to consider:
Scenario 1: Client A wants to lose 10lbs.
Scenario 2: Client B wants to lose 10lbs to feel more comfortable and confident in their skin. In order to do so, Client B has set up manageable milestones (-0.5lb a week). Client B will set their fitness plan in motion by including a minimum of 15 minutes of movement each day and is hoping to reach their goal in 5 months.
Which client do you think will be more successful?
DING DING DING! Client B.
In order to be successful, you need to do more than merely write down a resolution or goal down on a piece of paper or in your phone. By implementing a plan to achieve your New Year's resolution, you are setting yourself up for success.
It is also important to have short term and long term SMART goals. Here's an example to illustrate what I mean:
Example
Goal: Weight Loss
Long term
Specified - I want to lose 10 lbs
Measurable - I will lose 0.5lb a week
Attainable - I will do this by including a minimum of 15 minutes of movement in my day
Relevant - I will feel more comfortable and confident in my skin and reduce my risk of cardiovascular disease
Time - I will achieve this in 5 months
Short term
Specified - I want to move for 15 minutes every day for the next 3 weeks
Measurable - I will add a walk in the morning and set a timer on my phone
Attainable - I will do this by tracking my steps in my Fitness tracker
Relevant - This will contributes to my long term goal of losing weight
Time - I will do this for the next three weeks
The short term goals are designed to create manageable milestones for you to achieve while on your way to your long term goal. Short term goals are constantly changing and evolving and should always be created with your larger goal in mind. Look at short term goals with the view of prioritizing incremental changes. If you make a 1% change very day, you're more likely to be able to keep that extra 1% as a part of your routine. Before you know it, you're at 100% and carrying on with your new fitness habit!
Okay, so you've set your goal, now what?
2. The Path of Least Resistance
This goes in hand with your short term vs. long term SMART goals.
In simple terms, you are less likely to do something if it is perceived to be difficult or the path to do the "thing" is difficult. Here is an example to illustrate this:
Example
Goal: 15 minutes of movement a day
Scenario 1: In order to go to the gym, you need to get up early, pack a gym bag, get dressed, warm up your car (if its cold and snowy where you live!), drive to the gym, get to the gym, change into gym clothes, warm up, you scratch your head trying to find machines / squat racks that are empty, you try to figure out what exercises you want to do and so on.
Scenario 2: You pack a gym bag the night before and lay out your gym clothes. You wear your gym clothes to the gym so you don't have to change and arrive at a gym with a plan of execution.
See what I mean? When you make your end task easy to get to, you're more likely to do it. My point is, make the action that you want to do easier to complete. (If you want more information on how to really do this, I highly recommend James Clear's book called Atomic Habits).
3. Patience
I have heard time and time again from various clients "I didn't lose as much weight as I thought I would in a month".
Here's some tough love before you keep reading: If it didn't take you 4 weeks to gain all of the weight you are currently trying to lose, why would you think it would take a short 4 weeks?
Okay, now that we got that out of the way..... It takes anywhere from 2-6 months to experience noticeable changes in your body. These changes can range from weight loss, fitting better in a dress you could never wear before, increased energy, increased mood, etc. But it takes time!!!! Don't just give up after a few weeks because you aren't seeing changes right away. Give it time, don't give up and you will be happy that you stuck to it.
Did you know that in 2019, Strava dubbed January 19, 2020 as "Quitter's Day"? This is the day that most people gave up on their fitness and health related resolutions. Approximately 19 days into a 2020 is all it took for a large majority of users on the fitness social platform to give up on their resolutions! Don't be a part of this statistic in 2021.
Too long, didn't read?
Here is a recap of how to make your New Year's resolution work:
1. Implement SMART goals (both short and long term). Make your goal specified, measurable, attainable, realistic/relevant and time sensitive. Short terms SMART goals = manageable milestones that will help you get to your long term SMART goal.
2. The path of least resistance: make the tasks that you need to do to complete your SMART goals as easy to complete as possible. If your goal is fitness related, you can do this by creating a workout plan and removing any obstacles that stand in the way of you and completing your fitness related task.
3. P A T I E N C E: It takes longer than 3 weeks to create a habit. It takes even longer than that (2-6 months) to see physical changes in your body. Keep going!!
That's it from me for now,
Nicole Erica
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References
Clear, J. (2019). Atomic Habits An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones. Place of publication not identified: Cornerstone Digital.
Lally, P., Jaarsveld, C. H., Potts, H. W., & Wardle, J. (2009). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998-1009. doi:10.1002/ejsp.674
Martyn, E. (2019, August 12). How Long It Actually Takes To See Results From A New Workout. Retrieved December 23, 2020, from https://www.womenshealth.com.au/how-long-it-actually-takes-to-see-results-from-a-new-workout
Quitters' Day: Why Strava thinks you're about to give up your resolution. (2020, January 17). Retrieved December 19, 2020, from https://runningmagazine.ca/the-scene/quitters-day-why-strava-thinks-youre-about-to-give-up-your-resolution/
Which SMART Objectives Definition Should I Use? (2020, January). Retrieved December 19, 2020, from https://www.clearreview.com/resources/guides/which-smart-objectives-definition-should-i-use/
All of the opinions expressed in my blog are my own and do not reflect the opinions or values of my affiliates. This blog is not meant to replace advice and direction given to you from a regulated health care professional.
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