With the new year officially making through its first week here, many people who make New Year Resolutions typically begin to lose sight of them because that “new year” feeling everyone felt this time last week is starting to vanish away. Typically, people who tell themselves they are going to get healthier by working out call it quits in the first two weeks of the year. They either opt-out due to the over-crowded gyms this time of year, or just the simple fact that it’s extremely hard to leave your house when it’s below freezing or when there’s snow coming down (totally my excuse of why I haven’t done any outdoor exercising in awhile). Other reasons why could just be the lack of motivation: when life simply just happens; you lose your job, you receive some bad news, or when other obstacles life throws at you, it could be hard to stick your New Year Resolution of wanting to lose weight.
Never let things take you away from the bigger picture: to better yourself because you owe it to yourself.
If you’re having trouble keeping the big picture in mind when trying to achieve your resolution, here are some ways and tips that I try to keep them in mind:
- Tell yourself that with good things comes time. Sometimes you’re just so excited to have some change in your life that when really, you’re trying to make a long-term goal as a short-term one. My biggest problem that I have with this is that I want to see the number on the scale go down as soon as possible. I’m dying to see myself physically lose some pounds in my body and in my face, but something like that doesn’t happen after drinking a bottle of water and exercise the first few days. Long-term goals like this take time, dedication, determination, and consistency.
- For long term goals such as losing weight, make little short-term ones. I learned with my goal of losing weight is that it’s hard to cut every unhealthy habit out of my life cold turkey and replace them with new ones that my body isn’t familiar with. Instead of completely quitting sugary drinks for a strict water lifestyle, switch it up. Make a smoothie once a day to have something with a little bit of flavor. If you can’t make smoothies, just have a glass of juice or soda once or twice a day, but make sure it’s just that. For me, it’s extremely hard to cut soda out of my life because I’ve drank it for so long, my body begins to go through caffeine and sugar withdrawals, and it’s the absolute worst thing to go through in the world. Instead, I cut the amount of glasses I drink every week so that my body knows ahead of time that I’m not giving it as much as I used to, and it will also adapt to the changes I’m making as I make them. If you’re consistent with these short-term goals, your long-term goal will start coming in effect.
- Don’t think of it as a diet, think of it as a lifestyle change. My sister told me that a few months back when we all went to see my aunt in Jersey, when ask if she was still on her diet, she said that it’s not a diet but a lifestyle change. My cousin being a pre-teen and stupid, whispered under his breath that it’s still a diet. He was wrong though. My sister has been eating the way she has been for about 3 years already, and I see the changes her body went through because of it. As a person who is just starting to be more considerate in what I eat and drink, it is hard to see it being anything more than a diet because, let’s face it, a diet is something one does when they want to lose weight. But that’s where everyone begins to fail at losing it; they give up on it. In our minds, “diets” always appear to be something one does to lose weight fast. When you tell yourself “I’m changing my lifestyle habits” instead of saying “I’m going on a diet!” You’re not only helping your body adjust to these changes, but the losing weight part of it will come naturally on its own.
I’m not saying that you won’t have a few bumps in the road when achieving such a goal like this one. I know I had fell out of it and got back on because, let’s face it, ya girl loves to eat. Just because that happens, it doesn’t mean you can’t do it. Don’t let one hiccup make you feel hopeless. Just keep going, and believe in yourself, always!
-Liz (:
Letters From Liz. 