If you’ve ever been to a New Year’s Eve party, or even if you haven’t, you are probably accustomed to getting asked about your New Year’s resolutions. You’re probably used to people at parties resolving to cut down on ALL sugary and processed foods or hitting the gym every day for an hour, but when you check in on your closest friends a month later, you find that they have had little success cutting out bad food or maintaining a strict gym routine. This is the story of all our lives. New Year’s Eve can be a fun time filled with drinks, great food, and company so it is easy to say stuff about sticking to a strict gym routine or even getting up at 5 am every single day. However, when you take that food away and the alcohol has worn off, you will probably find it harder to find ways to “fix” your life – I am here to help.
First, when you’re trying to implement your New Year’s Eve resolution make sure you don’t try anything too extreme or unmanageable. You want to start small, so you can start off a weight loss routine by going to the gym three days a week. Then you can try adding on more days once it becomes easier to manage. You don’t want to start off by doing that ab routine for seven days a week only to feel burned out after the first week. You want to incorporate this gym routine into your daily life rather than falling victim to a good old Netflix show, after a long day of work and other commitments. The same goes for other resolutions like cutting out sugary foods. For instance, you might find yourself feeling more tired after consuming large amounts of Hershey’s kisses or diet coke in the morning instead of eating a nutritious breakfast. To start cutting down on some of your fave guilty pleasures, you can make yourself a delish breakfast that is high in nutritional value (Avocado and egg on whole wheat bread usually do the trick), and you can also eat some candy later on in the day. With each week you can start cutting down, piece by piece, on how much candy you consume. For instance, you may eat a chocolate bar a day but the next week you can try eating half that amount in a day. This is more manageable and you are not experiencing sugar withdrawals during those tiring afternoon hours when your energy is at an all-time low.
We’ve all been there: a week into the New Year we all know how horrible it feels to stress eat that candy or to take several breaks from the gym. By starting small you are also avoiding the guilt that comes with failing and not being able to accomplish these goals. Start small and then check off little goals for you to accomplish each week, so that you feel more fulfilled in the long run. You’ve got this!