The New year Goals Blues...why we should start by making small changes in the new year!
Well….i think its safe to say January flew by!
I am sure there would be a lot of us out there who have been trying to stick to the theme of ‘new year new me’ goals over the last 3-4 weeks, or at least a set of new goals you aim to start working towards as soon as the new year came around. You may be feeling a little let down if you haven’t been able to upkeep the new standards you have set for yourself.
The thing is, when we set new, usually extreme goals to achieve, we also set extreme standards in order to achieve these goals quite quickly. This makes it incredibly hard; I’d almost say impossible to stick to your new found routine in order to start seeing progress. Rather than setting the standards and expectations extremely high, take a step back and make smaller changes that you view as simple and easy to make. Now that January has ended does not mean you failed if you aren’t still doing what you were in week 1, but reset, and re-evaluate what did and didn’t work.
For example, rather than ‘no chocolate for 3 months’, allow yourself 1-2 rows per week, especially if you are going from consuming it on the daily, it is a big jump to try and stay completely away from it, otherwise known as ‘cold turkey’. Cold turkey approach does work for some, but the majority of people will give in to the temptation after some amount of time, and then feel extreme guilt, which is what we want to avoid in the long run, and instead of guilt, find balance! This is also a good way to set a smaller goal, for a longer-term effect. You may find after a few weeks you only really want one row per week, and over time maybe even bring it further down to one per fortnight!
Setting these smaller goals such as, I want to be consistent with my main meals throughout the week and allow for slight variability on the weekends (when I say slight, I am saying 2, maximum 3 meals that are different or eating out) allows this balance and is much more sustainable long term. Without sustainability, you won’t have consistency, which are the two keys (in my opinion) to see and feel progress! On average it takes 66 days for a new habit to be created and effected, rounded, that is about 2 months. So in fairness to your new year goals, you still have another 30 days to create and withhold your new standards/habits!
Keep at it, whatever wasn’t working over these last few weeks, break it down, evaluate why it may not have worked, what worked well, what didn’t, what are you going to change? Our Gym Meals are the easiest way to stay accountable 7 days a week. This could be your most consistent meal across the week, and all you need to do is hit a few buttons .
- Bec B
