As we say our final goodbyes to twinkling lights and ugly Christmas sweaters, most of us set our sights on setting New Year’s resolutions – mainly hitting the gym; but how many of us are actually able to carry out these plans past the third week of January? If your New Year’s goal is to get fit, but you’re already finding yourself wanting to pass through the McDonald’s drive-through instead of the treadmill, these tips should help you stay motivated!
1. Make a list of why this goal is important to you.
The desire to live a healthier lifestyle is different for everyone. Maybe you want to lose or gain some weight, maybe you want to grow a peachy bum, or tone up your muscles, or maybe you’re tired of feeling sluggish and want to lead an active and healthy lifestyle to keep your body functioning at the top of its game. The list of reasons to exercise is practically endless, but whatever that reason is for you, write it down and put it somewhere you’ll see every day. Tack it up on a corkboard or even make it your phone’s screensaver. Developing new habits isn’t easy and motivation alone won’t get you to the gym every day. Remind yourself why you set this goal in the first place and what you hope to achieve from it.
2. Schedule fitness into your day
As I mentioned before, motivation will only get you to the gym the first couple of days. After a while, hitting the gym after a long day of work and classes won’t sound as appealing as hitting your bed and binge-watching your new favorite Netflix obsession. There is no simple trick to staying motivated, the only solution is to make fitness a habit. Once exercising becomes part of your normal routine, it’ll be easier to force yourself to go on the days where you’d much rather hide out in your bed. Until then, schedule fitness into your day. Look to see where you have a break between work and classes and set an alarm on your phone or write it down in your calendar when you have free time to work out. Even if you only have 30 minutes, try to get a small workout in. You don’t have to work out for hours on end, just get your body moving.
3. Try out different workouts
If you ask 10 people “what’s the best workout routine to follow?” you’ll get 10 different answers. There is no one way to work out and most times, the reason we quit going to the gym is that we’re bored and not enjoying ourselves. If you hate the treadmill and running, don’t do it. Go shop around for the work out that’s best for you. Maybe you’ll find your one true love in cycling, or kickboxing, or strength training. Like everything in life, finding what works best for you takes a lot of trial and error, but if your workout is enjoyable, you’ll find it much easier to keep it up!
4. Meal prep, meal prep, meal prep!
According to the U.S Department of Health and Human services, nutrition plays a vital role in how we look and feel. Regular exercise is important but if we’re not making nutrition a priority, odds are we won’t see the results we want. Most times, the hardest part about living a healthy lifestyle is changing our eating habits. The easiest way to avoid the fast food drive-through lines during lunch time is to have your meals prepared. If meal prepping for you is taking last night’s leftovers as today’s lunch or spending all day Sunday cooking your meals for the week, then great! You’re already setting yourself up for success. Meal prepping doesn’t have to mean plain grilled chicken and vegetables for the rest of your life. There are tons of healthy, quick, and most importantly, yummy recipes available for you to try out; and remember girls, carbs ARE your friends!
5. Make small goals
For me, I’ve always found that the hardest part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle was all the drastic changes I forced on myself at once. It took me a while to figure out what worked best for me. If you’re just starting out, be careful not to overwhelm yourself. Make small, realistic goals that you can stick to. For example, try cutting off soda or fast food for a month, if you manage that, crank it up to two months, and so on. Another goal could be to drink more water or to stop drinking your calories. Start off small and work your way up. If you go from never exercising and eating McDonald’s every day to working out seven days a week and only eating chicken and vegetables, you’ll most likely burn out.
Wanting to live a healthier lifestyle is a great goal to have, but it’s not always easy to carry out. If you find yourself struggling to meet your fitness New Year’s resolutions, try out some of these tips to keep yourself going all 2019! You’ll be so happy you did in 2020.