Create healthy habits in the new year
New Year’s resolutions are easy to make and just as easy to break. Research has shown that about half of all adults make New Year’s resolutions. However, fewer than 10% manage to keep them for more than a
few months.
Resolutions usually come in the form of lifestyle changes, and changing behavior that has become routine and habitual can be hard to do. Change is always possible. You’re never too out-of-shape, too overweight, or too old to make healthy changes.
Some of the most common New Year’s resolutions are losing weight, getting more physical activity, eating more nutritious foods, quitting smoking, cutting back on alcohol, saving money, reducing stress, and getting more sleep. But no matter which healthy resolution you choose, research suggests that some common strategies can boost your chance of making the change a habit, a part of your daily lifestyle.
The main reason that people don’t stick to their resolutions is that they set too many or set goals that are unrealistic to achieve. One of the easiest routes to failure is to have too many resolutions. If you want to be fitter and healthier, do just one thing at a time. Give up smoking. Join a gym. Eat more healthily. However, don’t attempt to do them all at once. Just choose one and do your best to stick to it. Once you have got one thing under your control, you can begin a
second resolution.
Set a realistic goal. If you want to reduce your alcohol intake, don’t immediately become a teetotaler. Try to cut out alcohol every other day or have a drink once every three days.
Many resolutions have failed because they were too vague. So rather than saying, “I will organize my house,” use, “I’ll spend 15 minutes of each day de-cluttering part of one room”. Likewise, instead of “I will eat more healthily,” state, “I will make a home-cooked meal three nights a week.”
Any resolution to change needs to include small goals that are definable and accompanied by a solid plan on how you’ll get to that goal. For instance, a resolution to lose 30 pounds may seem overwhelming. Set SMART goals, that is, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound to create healthy habits. Instead, try setting smaller goals of losing 5 pounds a month for six months. Think baby steps rather than giant leaps.
Develop an action plan. You might decide to walk a half-hour each day to burn calories. You might stop buying vending machine snacks. Or, you might limit and keep track of your daily calories. These are specific behaviors that could help you meet your larger goal of losing 30 pounds.
To make a long-lasting change in your life, prepare yourself for the challenges you might face. Think about why you want to make the change. Is it important to you, or is it mostly influenced by others—like your doctor, your spouse, or a friend? Research suggests that if it’s something you really want for yourself, if it’s meaningful to you, you’re more likely to stick to it.
Think of exactly how the change will enhance your life. For instance, when you stop smoking, your risk drops for cancer, heart disease, stroke, and early death. Even small improvements in your physical activity, weight, or nutrition may help reduce your risk of disease and lengthen your life. Keeping facts like this in mind can help you maintain your focus.
Setting up a supportive environment is another step toward success. Do you have the right equipment for exercise, appropriate clothing, and the right kinds of foods? Remove items that might trip up your efforts. If you’re quitting smoking, throw away your ashtrays and lighters. To improve your nutrition, put unhealthy tempting foods on a hard-to-reach shelf, or get rid of them.
Social support is also vital to your success. Enlist friends and family to help you stay on track. Find things that are fun to do together, and you’ll be more likely to stick with your healthy lifestyle. It also helps when you’re connected to a group, where lifestyle change like weight loss is a joint goal. People learn from each other and reinforce each other in working toward their goals.
Maintaining a change requires continued commitment until the change becomes a part of your life. People who can maintain or engage in efforts to change their behavior, and do it for 6 to 8 weeks, are more likely to be able to support that effort long term.
Self-monitoring or tracking seems to be critical for almost every sort of behavior change. That includes jotting down the foods you eat, keeping an exercise diary, or making a record of your sleeping patterns. Think about how you can make tracking more convenient, so it fits naturally into your life. For some people, that might be a pad of paper in a purse or pocket; for others, a mobile app, or a
computer program.
Make sure to have a plan to get back on track if you start to slip. Remind yourself why the change was essential to you in the first place. Recalling these personal reasons can encourage you to get back on track.”
You don’t need a new year to make healthy habits; you can make them any time of the year! New Year’s is an opportunity to think about the improvements you’d like to make and then take concrete steps to achieve them. Set realistic goals, develop an action plan, and place it in motion. Make your new year a healthy one!
Sources: National Institutes of Health-https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2010/12/making-your-resolutions-stick; Health-https://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20452233,00.html; Shape- https://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/5-ways-change-your-life-g…)
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