The New Year is here and with it comes the sudden need for everyone to tell each other they’re going to do something different this year and you’re no stranger to these resolutions too.
The most popular New Year’s resolutions will often be something about health and fitness and don’t we all just love to tell everyone that this year we’ll lose weight or this time for sure we’ll be able to quit our bad habit.
Making New Year’s resolutions is an encouraging way to start the year but as much as this is positive there’s a chance you’re one of those people who just can’t catch a break with even just one! You end up making the same resolutions over and over and over again but you end up either giving up or losing track as time progresses. What do you do?!
Don’t worry! You’re not exactly alone in this situation and the whole world’s got your back! There’s definitely a way to make sure you stick to your resolutions this time around and this article will do just that! We’ll narrow down the top 5 Health and Fitness New Year’s Resolutions, why we fail and what we should do to keep them.
- Sleep more
Ah yes, thanks to smart phones and social media the digital world has since forgotten what it’s like to have a good sleep. Sleep has a lot of health benefits and lacking sleep definitely results to plenty of drawbacks. As much as important sleep is many will definitely not be able to hold on to this resolution very long.
Why you fail
One moment you’re posting a good night message to your Facebook wall and the next you’re locked in a funny conversation with your BFF about what happened today at school. Then you realize it’s 1 am and you get frustrated because you have to get up early or else you’ll be late for the nth time!
That’s just an example but the root cause of sleep loss are distractions and most of them come from the internet. We live in an age where we don’t want to be left behind on the internet so we constantly want to see what’s going on in real time. We browse our favorite websites, stalk our crushes (and enemies!), and initiate conversations just so we can get someone to talk to before we go to bed.
How to keep them
It’s going to be a pain to attempt but try it anyway: Turn the WiFi off at bedtime. Heck, turn your phone off while you’re at it. No, don’t turn it off when you’re lying on your bed; turn it off the moment the clock strikes your bedtime no matter how early it is.
The principle behind this is to simply get the source of distraction away just before you sleep. It seems like a weird tactic at getting more sleep but it works. I tried it myself and I actually get at least two more hours of sleep almost everyday.
Imagine: getting two more hours of sleep everyday. Doesn’t that sound better than arguing with a stranger online over who shot first?
- Quit bad habits
Quitting smoking, drinking, gambling, and other bad habits is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions specially smoking. It’s funny because everyone knows these habits are bad for you yet they keep on doing them anyway. We can’t blame them, though. These bad habits are a way for people to escape real world problems and these habits can get pretty cheap too. But with many people dying over these bad habits every year it’s no wonder it’s always up there with the top resolutions people make every year.
Why you fail
If you keep reverting back to these bad habits you’re not alone. Smoking for instance, only about 4-7% of those who try to quit actually stopped entirely while the others were only able to resist the temptation for a short duration and resume due to withdrawal symptoms or a stressful event in their life.
The main culprit? These people didn’t seek help. One of the best ways to improve yourself is to ask for help as tackling an impossible hurdle by yourself will only result to failure. The result would be a return to the bad habit and often times it becomes a bigger problem than before.
How to keep them
As mentioned above, the best way to quit a bad habit is to seek help. You can start by asking help from your family or friends. If it’s really getting out of hand then you should go for a therapist or ask for a proper program to help you quit. Not only will you be able to have something structured to guide you (because cold turkey sucks), but they might also be able to offer you alternatives or substitutes for habits like smoking in the form of vapes from https://www.buyvapesbulk.co.uk/ or a similar website. Such practices would enable you to quit slowly but consistently.
- Lose weight
Losing weight tops the list of resolutions for countless individuals each year, driven by the desire to improve appearance and health. In pursuit of this goal, many embark on a variety of methods, from rigorous exercise routines and trendy diets to experimenting with diet supplements aimed at weight loss. Despite these efforts, the challenge of shedding pounds and keeping them off persists for many, leading to a cycle of temporary success followed by quick regain. This recurring struggle indicates that while self-directed methods can offer some results, they might not be sufficient for everyone.
In such cases, seeking medical help can provide a more structured and potentially effective approach to weight loss. Medical interventions, such as the prescription medication Semaglutide, have shown promise in assisting individuals on their weight loss journey. By consulting with healthcare providers and exploring Weight Loss Solutions that include medical treatments, individuals can access tailored strategies that address the underlying factors of their weight challenges.
Why you fail
The one reason many people fail is due to their lack of consistency. You can try all the pills, diet programs, and hire all the coaches you want but if you can’t keep a healthy lifestyle everyday (or at least for most of the week) then you might as well not make this resolution at all
How to keep them
Consistency is the main problem and the solution should be to simply “be consistent” right? Well, not really. Although that’s the end point of everything else in this list, what you will keep doing consistently matters a lot more when it comes to weight loss.
Here’s an example: Let’s say you’re divided into two kinds of people: Person A and B. They both have the same weight loss resolution and they don’t really care how much weight they lose as long as they lose extra and keep it for the rest of the year. Person A vows to omit chocolates and all sugary foods everyday while Person B will simply cut back on the same food by half everyday too.
From this situation we can definitely say Person B will have an easier time managing their diet because it’s much more practical and the willpower required isn’t much. Person A, on the other hand, will definitely need all the discipline they can muster with the possibility of having withdrawal syndromes which would lead to sugar cravings and result to weight gain.
Bonus Tip
Having the same New Year’s resolutions every year isn’t really a pleasant thing when you think about it. It’s like you know you’ll fail but you make them anyway because everyone else seems to be doing so. If you’re one of these people then here’s a tip for you: Pick one and stick with it. Don’t be like those who make resolutions like they’re making a grocery list if you know you won’t be able to keep half of them by the end of the month.
Focus on that one thing you’ve always wanted to accomplish and do it no matter what. It’ll be easier for you to handle and you are most likely to keep it just in time for a new resolution too. Good luck!
About The Author:
Food Scientist. Fitness and Health Aficionado. Investor. Writer.
Robert James likes to tell people how to grow their money and how to naturally lose body fat. He’s currently compiling a list of top 10 weight loss tablets that are made from natural ingredients and will do a report on this in the future..
He owns a small website catered to his passion to write about health and fitness. His main weapon against weakness is the kettlebell.
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