As the holiday season comes to a close it’s time to make New Year’s resolutions once again, the most popular of which is weight loss.
And yet, 60 percent of all New Year’s resolutions fail most of which end abruptly less than one month after being set.
In fact, an in-depth study reveals only 40 percent of those who begin a goal in the New Year are still sticking with it six months later.
However, you don’t have to be one amongst millions who make a goal only to return to your old ways within just a couple of months. Instead, you can utilise psychology along with other tips and resources to stick to your weight loss resolutions for good.
The one reason why most new year’s diets fail
There are many reasons your new year diet might fail, but this is the real kicker: they’re fad diets, with poor planning and execution.
People starting a new year’s diet often put a load of pressure on themselves to lose weight, and to do it as quickly as possible. So it’s no surprise that 30% of all new year’s resolutions are broken before February even begins! After all, combining a fad diet with unrealistic goals is a surefire way to gain back any weight you may lose.
Taking extreme measures to lose weight will only lead to disappointment over time. When starting your diet, avoid doing any of the following drastic things:
- Cutting out certain foods or restaurants entirely
- Following a trendy (a.k.a. unhealthy) diet
- Restricting calories to an unhealthy level (especially if it’s under 1,000 per day)
- Going on a cleanse
- Weighing yourself daily and obsessing over every pound
- Skipping meals
- Only eating at certain times
Here are 10 tips you should use to succeed this New Year.
1. Begin with a small goal
Many New Year’s resolutions fail because individuals attempt to make sweeping character changes rather than to focus on small, attainable goals. And, according to psychologist Lynn Bufka, Phd “it is not the extent of the change that matters, but rather the act of recognizing that lifestyle change is important.”
As such, you should set goals you can keep to prevent becoming discouraged.
For example, if you currently don’t work out at all, make your goal to work out three days per week rather than seven. Or, if your diet is unhealthy, focus on replacing a unhealthy breakfast or treat with fruit, whole grains, and other healthy options.
Doing so is a great way to set goals you can live with while viewing your new lifestyle as enjoyable rather than a punishment for mistakes you’ve made in the past.
2. Focus on one goal at a time
A healthy lifestyle is much more than making one change. Rather, it’s the culmination of many small choices you make on a daily basis (exercise, healthy diet, and social health, amongst other factors, included).
Likewise, it’s important to remember that your unhealthy behaviours are also the culmination of many small choices. And to be successful in thwarting each, you must focus on one goal at a time.
This means that you should not focus on correcting your diet, exercise, and other critical elements of your success all at once. Instead, you should begin a regular workout regimen and once you’ve successfully done so, turn attention to your diet.
Viewing change in manageable, individual parts makes it much simpler to stick to your weight loss resolutions as time passes.
3. Understand that slip ups can and will happen
It’s inevitable that you will slip up as you work toward your New Year weight resolution goals. After all, you’re combating months or years of bad habits.
By predicting and accepting these slip-ups, you’ll be well-suited to stay the course and push forward, even after making mistakes.
A study entitled “Getting a bigger slice of the pie. Effects on eating and emotion in restrained and unrestrained eaters” conducted by Janet Polivy, C. Peter Herman, and Rajbir Deo reveals the “What the Hell” effect. Specifically, it reveals that participants who were provided a larger slice of pizza before tasting cookies in the study tended to eat more cookies whereas those presented a smaller looking slice ate less.
This study reveals the mentality of many trying to lose weight that view a slip up as an excuse to resort to negative habits. This is the same reason many fail to return to their resolutions after making even just one mistake.
By understanding that mistakes are inevitable, you can avoid the “What the Hell” mentality and return to your new, healthy ways.
4. Create behaviour chains in alignment with your current routine
Behaviour chains are specific responses that cue one after another. For example, sticking one foot in the leg of a pair of pants elicits another cue to put the other foot in and then to pull them up, button them, and zip them.
These behaviour chains work for New Year’s resolutions as well.
This means you should set new behaviour cues that work with your routine. So if your goal is to eat healthier, don’t make this vague statement your goal. Instead, set a specific goal of “If it’s lunch time, I will eat the healthy lunch of meat and vegetables I brought from home rather than purchasing fast food with coworkers.”
This integrates healthy eating into your routine while creating a new habit that is simple to stick to for months (and years) to come.
5. Don’t go it alone
Recent research suggests that sharing goals with others can actually compromise your probability of succeeding. Typically, this is because sharing makes individuals feel as if they have already accomplished the goal through the social recognition of their plans to do so.
However, this isn’t true for everyone.
In fact, psychology suggests sharing makes it less intimidating to take steps toward your goals. Sharing keeps you accountable while providing a individual you can turn to for support and encouragement in times of need.
Your support doesn’t have to be a friend or family member either. You can do something different like sign up for group exercise to stay motivated to show up. No matter how you want to approach your new year’s weight resolutions in 2019, just don’t try to go it alone.
6. Eliminate excessive options, particularly as part of your diet
Research on self-control reveals one important fact about weight loss: being boring is sometimes the best decision you can make.
In fact, making too many decisions depletes mental energy, diminishing self-control in the process. When applied to resolutions for a healthier diet, it means that giving yourself too many options makes it difficult to stay on track.
Instead, choose just two to three healthy snacks to always have on hand. This way, you always know what to eat and don’t make poor choices due to decision fatigue.
The same goes for exercise. If you go to a gym and there are too many classes or machines, you might feel overwhelmed and not want to workout. But if you decide on just a few classes to take or one machine to master for the time being, it’s simpler to get in your necessary daily activity.
You may also check some weight loss myths to be sure you follow only the right advice.
7. Increase your feelings of control over the situation
If there’s one thing that is true of weight, it’s that many people don’t feel like they’re in control. This is particularly true for those who have tried (and failed) many New Year’s attempts to get in shape or finally lose the weight that has been bothering them for years.
By increasing your feelings of control over your weight, you increase your chance of succeeding in 2019 as well.
You can increase control by educating yourself about a healthy lifestyle (and its benefits), creating pros and cons lists about your decision to keep motivation high, and by critically examining what’s working and what isn’t.
All too often, individuals make a New Year’s resolution to “lose weight” without any mental or physical investment in the choice. By taking the time to read up on the topics that matter most to your health and investing energy beyond the gym or meal preparation, it will become easier to stick to your resolution.
8. Listen to your body
Even professional athletes have limits to what they can achieve physically and mentally before they must stop. And if you want your resolutions to translate into long-term goals, it’s important to listen to your body and what you need to prevent major hiccups in your journey.
A healthy lifestyle begins with a deep understanding of what’s working for your body and what isn’t. Most importantly, it means continuing to feed your body the right foods when you’re hungry and to stop exercising when you’re sick, tired, or hurt to ensure you don’t make a mistake that derails your resolution.
While it takes time to form a intuitive connection with your body, doing so is a great way to ensure that you’re working with your abilities (rather than against them).
9. Turn to technology for measurements and guidance
The benefit of weight loss resolutions in 2019 is that you have ample technology at your fingertips to measure, guide, and inform your journey.
New apps and information can tell you everything from how many calories are in anything you eat to the impact of your exercise, the relative benefits of different foods at the grocery store, and more! If you have a smartphone, using these tools can take a lot of the guesswork out of your goals and give you the information you need to stay on track.
It’s all about finding what you need and using whatever tools and other resources you need to stay on track with this year’s resolutions.
10. Use a premium-quality supplement to amplify your personal efforts
Just like altering one element of your unhealthy lifestyle won’t produce the results you want, one weight supplement won’t address your comprehensive needs either. And while many are sceptical of weight loss supplements for false promises and placebo effects, not all supplements are created equal.
PhenQ works from multiple perspectives to burn fat, stop fat production, suppress your appetite, boost energy, and improve your mood. This complements your own diet and exercise by amplifying results and giving you the energy necessary to workout, even after a long day of parenting, work, or other routine tasks.
The best part is that PhenQ is powered by α-Lacys Reset®, a formula that is scientifically proven for weight loss.
This enables you to enjoy results more quickly, giving you motivation to continue with your weight loss resolution goals.
Additional reading: 8 simple switches we recommend for your New Year’s action plan
This is the year to accomplish your weight loss goals
Whether you’ve tried to achieve weight loss goals as part of your New Year’s resolution for many years or this is your first, the 10 tips and resources above are a great way to stay on track this January.
Of course, there are countless additional ways to stay on track with your resolutions. Can you think of any? If so, add them to the list in the comments below.
You can find additional information about weight loss resolutions and PhenQ’s role in your success here.
