8 Ways To Actually Stick To Your New Year's Resolution

Losing weight is the number one New Year’s resolution. It’s not surprising – we’re always being told how the Western world is horribly overweight, how diseases such as diabetes and heart disease are on the rise and that obesity rates are soaring.

But most people still fail in their weight loss resolution.

The trouble is, while most people know exactly what to do, following through with it, constructing goals and sticking to a plan are all different matters. Resolutions often fail because people just don’t think them through properly before starting out.

There are two approaches to take when setting your New Year resolutions and coming up with goals, one concerns the mental aspect of goal setting and the other the physical act of following through with your promises.

Goal Setting

Goals must be clear and defined.

It’s no use simply saying “I want to lose weight.” What does that mean exactly?

Would you be happy if you looked exactly the same, but the scales said you were 20 pounds lighter? Probably not. So be specific with what you want.

If you want a leaner mid-section, then say so. If you want to fit into size 10 clothes, then that’s your goal, or if you have a specific item of clothing you want to be able to wear without looking like a balloon that’s about to burst, go for that.

It doesn’t just go for weight loss either. Strength and performance goals are just as specific – to bench press 200 pounds for 10 reps, perform 10 body-weight pullups or to sprint the 100 meters in under 13 seconds are all specific, measurable goals with a set end point – you know when you’ve achieved them.

So we know that goals need to be specific and measurable. What else?

Your goals should be achievable and realistic too. If you’re currently weighing in at 300 pounds, getting down to 150 pounds might be slightly out of reach this year. There’s no reason whatsoever why two years down the line you can’t be exactly where you want to be, gut getting to 200 pounds may be a more achievable target. Likewise for someone training for strength who currently squats 225 pounds, aiming to squat 500 pounds by the end of the year is a little over ambitious.

Finally, your goals must be time-based.

Having a goal for this time next year is great, but how do you know if you’re on track or not?

To make sure you reach your goals, you need to give them an end date, otherwise you put it off and will never get where you want to be. This leads on to the final pointer on setting mini-goals.

Mini-goals are great for keeping you on track and monitoring progress. Here’s how you might break down a large goal into several smaller ones to make it easier to reach:

Ultimate Goal (One year away) – Lose 30 pounds and have visible ab definition.
6 Months – Lose 15 pounds and fit in the jeans I bought last Summer but never managed to get into.
3 Months – Lose 7 pounds and see noticeable improvements in progress pictures.
1 Month – Stick to gym and eating plan religiously.
1 Week – Add an extra 30 second interval to each cardio session and cut calories by 350 per week.

8 Actionable Steps To Achieving Your Resolution

We’ve discussed how to set your goals and how to break them down into smaller, easily achievable steps, but what about the actual nitty gritty – how to make sure you get down to the hard work, actually make it to the gym, stick to your diet and get the results you want?

Here are eight steps to ensure you do just that:

1. Write Your Goals Down

If you’ve just gone through all the above section, you’re already far ahead of most resolutioners, but don’t lose that momentum – write down all your goals and keep looking back at them.

2. Put Your Goals in Multiple Places

Grab a bunch of post it notes and jot down various mini-goals on them, then stick them as many places as you can – your desk, fridge, bathroom mirror, in your car, basically wherever you’ll be confronted by them all the time. Seeing your goals regularly keeps them fresh in your mind.

3. Tell as Many People as Your Can

People often keep their goals a secret in case they feel embarrassed when they fail. Use this fear of failure as a motivational tool and tell the world about your goals. Those who want you to succeed and care about you will do their best to provide motivation, while those who want to sabotage your efforts serve as motivation to see their faces when you prove them wrong and reach your goals.

4. Get a training partner.

A training partner can be a tricky one, as you don’t want to always be the one trying to motivate the pair of you, but a good training partner is worth their weight in gold. On those days when you just don’t fancy going to the gym, a good training partner will give you a kick up the butt. You can return the favor when needed too, and a buddy can actually make the gym fun. Just make sure you spend your time training rather than chatting by the water cooler.

5. Set a Time for Exercise

You don’t just not turn up for work, or skip meetings, so take the same approach to the gym. Get your diary now and book out set times every single week for the rest of the year for your training. You’re twice as likely to do something if it’s written down. If for any reason you can’t make one of the sessions, change it at the earliest opportunity.

6. Keep a Training Log

Quite simply if you train the same, you stay the same. Don’t just go through the motions – keep a record of what you do in the gym and aim to get just a little bit better every session.

7. Progress Photos

Take a progress photo once a month to gauge how you’re getting on. If your goal is weight-based then weigh yourself too, or strength/performance-based then give yourself a mini test or competition to see how progress is going.

8. Keep a Food Diary

Despite being listed last, this is possibly the most important step. Diet is the main place people fall down, so don’t let yours slip. Write down every single thing you eat and drink. Firstly this serves as a way of making sure you don’t cheat on your diet, and secondly serves as a way of monitoring what works and what doesn’t.