2024 is just around the corner. As with every new year, we can find ways to improve our health, whether physical, spiritual, financial, etc. Many folks plan to hire a coach to help them lose weight. Some plan to take a budgeting course or attend church more often. Others don't care about the date changing and feel as if making New Year's resolutions is an act of insanity- repeating the same thing over and over, expecting a different result.
The truth is you can start a new diet or lifestyle change any time of the year. Many of us would be in big trouble if we always waited until New Year's to make positive lifestyle changes. "The Forbes Health/One Poll survey found that the average resolution lasts just 3.74 months. Only 8% of respondents tend to stick with their goals for one month, while 22% last two months, 22% last three months and 13% last four months." See the below graph from Forbes
In this study, Forbes interviewed 1,000 individuals and found that 48% of interviewees wanted to improve their fitness in 2024.
As a certified personal trainer and nutrition and health coach, I have some advice for you if you want to get or build healthy habits in the new year.
Start Small
-Mark Twain
All too often, we fail at achieving our goals because they're too big or too much too soon. For example, someone might say, "I'm going to start exercising five times a week." If this person has already been working out three times a week, it's achievable, but if this person hasn't worked out in several months, five times a week is unrealistic.
So, how should you create a goal?
Use this acronym to help you. S - Specific M - Measurable A - Achievable R - Realistic T - Timely
For example, instead of "cut out all sugar," you might say, "I'm going to limit myself to one sweet treat per day for the next month instead of my normal 4." Once you've achieved that goal, you might reduce the frequency of treats to every other day for a month and continue slowly chipping away at that goal. Taking this approach will make it significantly easier to reach the end goal. It might take longer, but you'll be able to maintain it.
Let me give some statistics to help reinforce this truth if you're skeptical about small actions having a significant return.
"Just 3.4 minutes per day of vigorous lifestyle physical activity (like climbing stairs or fast walking) led to a ~17% decrease in cancer incidence; 4.5 minutes translated to ~31%.
30–60 minutes of strength training per week reduces all-cause mortality by 10–17%, with additional inverse links to CVD, diabetes, and some cancers.
20 minutes of physical activity yields a 43% drop in the risk of developing depression, while exercise was found to be 1.5x more effective than leading antidepressants.
Even the vaunted 10K steps per day rule is getting rolled back, with 2.3K steps improving heart health and 4K shown to reduce the risk of all-cause mortality.
Getting a boost, if employers encouraged their workforce to walk an extra 15 minutes per day (~2K steps), the global economy would gain $100B from improved productivity and life expectancy." - Statistics from Fitt Insider newsletter
What is considered a small initial investment (one sweet treat per day instead of 4) can pay considerable dividends in the long run.
2. Add Accountability
Let's be honest; you know it's important to work out, eat your veggies, get plenty of sleep, and drink more water. The hard part is actually doing it!
I've helped hundreds of people improve their health, and the number one thing people say when they've reached their goal is, "I knew I could do it. I just needed the accountability."
Having a coach can help ensure you do what you already know you should be doing. Not only will a coach provide accountability, but they will also encourage, support, care, and provide invaluable amounts of guidance or advice when you need it the most. I take the confusion out of fat loss by giving my clients workouts based on their needs and food recommendations based on their preferences and goals.
Many folks like to join a Facebook group that has like-minded individuals. Others like to ask their spouse for accountability or a relative or a neighbor. Whoever you choose, make sure you communicate to them what kind of accountability you want. Instead of asking your sister to "hold me accountable." You might say, "I want you to text me on Sunday morning every week and ask if I did my workouts." Be specific and be honest with them. A true friend isn't going to judge you; they'll want to help you.
3. Have a solid WHY
Many people start a New Year's resolution without ever knowing why they're starting it in the first place. Perhaps you've developed a habit of trying to lose the same 10 pounds every year, so you make a resolution to lose 10 pounds every new year. Or maybe you want to get fit because your spouse wants to. These are not deep, compelling reasons to make a lasting change.
People who achieve their goals have a mix of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic means it comes from within yourself. Extrinsic means it comes from something outside of yourself. An example of intrinsic motivation is "I want to feel more confident in my own skin because I deserve to feel confident." Extrinsic motivation may sound like, "My mother told me I've gained a few pounds, and now I want to lose weight."
In addition to finding your underlying motivations, ask yourself hard questions like:
"How is this time going to be different"?
"How will achieving this goal affect the people around me"?
"What am I going to change to achieve this goal?"
"What obstacles might prevent me from achieving this goal"?
"How does achieving this align with my values"?
Once you understand your why, have accountability, and create SMART goals, you'll likely accomplish your goals.
This framework can be applied to anything you want to do. Start with why, ask for help, and create a plan. Once you have those things in place, it's time to follow through and start doing. Just start, or as Nike says, "Just do it."
This blog was written by Danny George,
Danny is passionate about helping everyday folks lose fat, build muscle, and improve their quality of life. Danny graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a bachelor's degree in exercise science and a minor in nutrition. Since then, Danny has worked with youth athletes, post-partum moms, seniors in assisted living, and everyone in between.
If you're interested in working with Danny, you can apply to work with him here or contact him at danny@dg-fit.com