Resolutions for a healthier you
Many of us set New Year resolutions, year after year, and every year by the end of February or March, the resolutions go up in smoke. Some hang in a little longer and for some it’s a life changer. How come some people succeed and turn their health around? Why do others with similar goals only last a little while and then fall back into old habits? There are some important key factors to consider if we really want to achieve the health changes, we set out for ourselves. And this applies year-round, not only with New Year’s Resolutions. 😊
How do we phrase the change?
Is it “I want to lose weight” or “I want to fit into size xx” or “I want to run a marathon”? or is it “I am going to change my lifestyle to achieve and maintain good health”. Changing habits to achieve and support good health cannot be a temporary thing. Good health never goes on vacation or takes a break. Good health is a conscientious choice that we have to make each and every day. It doesn’t mean we can’t have slip ups! We all have them. What matters is that we get right back at it and keep on without beating ourselves up.Be precise about the change
Phrase it in a positive way and write it down. Make a Vision Board and put it in place where you can see it every day. Part of changing situations in our life is to visualize what we want. Manifest it – see yourself there.
Is the goal and the changes required to achieve this goal temporary or permanent?
Are we doing it to please someone else? Are we doing it to look good for an event or fit into a certain piece of clothing? Are we trying to look great in our new bathing suit? Or do we want to feel great every day? Do we want to be able to enjoy the activities we love into old age? Do we want to feel energized for life? Do we want to experience life to the fullest every day for the rest of our lives?
Why do you want the change?
Write it down, include it in your vision board! Don’t think of the change as reaching a final goal. Think of it as a new way. Aiming for a goal, implies that whatever we are doing is coming to an end at some point. That might work for training for a race. However, a healthy lifestyle is a forever commitment and will require reminders, hard work, and perseverance. Yes, it will become easier, and some things will become habit.
Are the goals attainable?
Are we setting attainable milestones? Do we want to lose 100 pounds in 3 months? Run 3 miles every day even though our schedule is already jam packed? Or are we looking at what we can achieve and stick with every day? Are we physically and emotionally ready to achieve the goals? Do we have the time or finances for how we want to achieve the goal? How about our timeline?
Set Milestones
In order to stick with the permanent change, we set milestones. We can’t change every bad habit we have overnight all at once. We have to set attainable goals – baby steps. For example, one milestone could be to exercise 3 days a week, or to park at the far end of the parking lot and walk a little more. Set a goal to drink one soda per day instead of 5. It is critical that these milestones are things and actions you can commit to and are willing to do. If you really hate celery, don’t set a milestone to drink celery juice every day. Or if you hate the gym, don’t commit to going to the gym every day. Good health is not supposed to be torture. It’s not supposed to make you miserable. It’s supposed to make you feel better on every level – physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.
- Are the changes we want to make sustainable and are we really willing and capable of making the changes necessary? Are we going to follow some diet that requires large financial expenditures that we can’t really afford? Are we learning about healthy habits and how to sustain the new lifestyle? Are we learning about what is good for ourselves, the individual? What about the time commitment this new goal requires? Are we taking ownership of what we need to do, or do we give that power to someone else? Are we going to burn out? Do we have the support system in place to achieve what we set out to do?
Even if we set out to do great things, are we physically, financially, and emotionally capable of doing what we set out to do? Again, baby steps…so we don’t get frustrated and set ourselves up for failure. Slow and steady wins the race. What works for others doesn’t necessarily work for you or me. We are all unique and have different starting conditions, environments, physical and emotional needs, and different mind sets. One size does not fit all!
Hold Yourself accountable
- Are we holding ourselves accountable? How are we holding ourselves accountable?
How do we keep ourselves honest and accountable? In order to hold ourselves accountable, we need be able to measure our success and the milestones we achieve. We also have to keep track of our achievements as well as our hurdles and falls. Journaling can help keeping track of achievements, hurdles, and falls and often show us trigger patterns that we are not even aware of. Talking to someone about our journey can help because we can hear ourselves expressing changes, desires, fears, and experiences.
If you are ready to make lifestyle changes and would like support and guidance customized to your needs, Dr. Evelin can help. To book an appointment with Dr. Evelin Valdez, ND, please visit https://booking.appointy.com/LotusWellness.
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