We all have the best of intentions in early January. We are over the indulgences of the holidays and ready to make a fresh start. But, for some of us, by mid-January those resolutions may be harder to stick to than at the beginning of the year. We asked our WW ambassadors for their top tips to make your New Years resolution a reality.
Nalini
1 - Set smaller goals to help achieve your bigger goals. Seeing the smaller picture will motivate you more than thinking of how much further you have to go.
2 - If you fall off the wagon, get back on! A cheat day can turn into a cheat week, a cheat month or a cheat year (this happened to me last year!).
3 - Don’t weigh yourself every day. Bodyweight fluctuates depending on hormones, water retention, etc. and seeing the scale move up and down can be depressing and make you think you’re not making progress when you actually are!
4 - Get your friends and family on board so they can support you! My friends tend to go to the gym or for hikes with me or choose healthier places for dinner because they are aware of my goals and want to help me succeed!
Jerica
Sometimes it can be hard to bring yourself back to the focus of your resolution, especially if it’s kind of conceptual, like an intention, like, “how do I remember to practice acceptance?” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The more I think about it, the more it feels just the same as any tangible goal. There still needs to be actionable steps, like scheduling time in your calendar to keep reading that book - yup, I am totally the type to put “read my book” in my calendar so I honour my own commitments. Or maybe taking the step to book a counselling appointment, to learn some tools to work through your thoughts and beliefs about yourself that might be holding you back.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
If you had a moment that didn’t meet your expectations for what you “should” be doing, that’s ok. What could you do differently next time that would allow you that success? How can you give yourself the opportunity to be who you want to be?
Nick and Jean-Luc, The WW Gays
Our plan was to get back to basics and restart all the things we did when we first started our journey: daily activity, tracking, detox (no more pop, potatoes, pasta, and alcohol for January) and healthy eating. Remember that even one day off doesn’t negate all the work you have done. Keep trying at your resolution because your journey will be like a roller coaster of ups and downs, just like keeping up with your New Year’s resolutions.
Cory
For us, ensuring we stick to our goals is by creating a routine that works for our life. For example, when our weekly meal plan is done, we preorder our groceries online and have them ready for pick up Friday night, this way we cannot sway from the plan and saves us from picking up any unnecessary items.
When it comes to ensuring we attend our weekly Workshops we plan our social events/activities around Tuesday night to ensure the evening stays open and there is no excuses not to attend.
Setting small realistic goals is a way to ensure that you stick with them. Soon enough these small goals will become a normal routine and a part of your daily life.
Karen
1 - Build on your success. Perhaps you are able to increase your water intake, or you had a good workout, but you still haven't figured out a breakfast. Keep working on the things working for you until you find that satisfying breakfast that you can incorporate. You'll probably discover some foods you'd enjoy!
2 - Listen to your body. I remember that I would eat mindlessly and not realize how much food I was eating until I felt stuffed and bloated. Eating foods for optimal health gave my body the fuel it needed. After a while I noticed how I gravitated towards a meal of grilled fish and vegetables over a hamburger and fries.
3 - Seek support. What I love about attending WeightWatchers workshops and going on Connect is that I am surrounded with like-minded people who want to better their health and ultimately their lives. It's a safe space to air your feelings as well you can be encouraged to stay on target to your goal.
A new year and a new beginning. You got this!