Focus on New Years GOALS not RESOLUTIONS
Here we are December 31st, 2017…. Where did that year go?
Do you remember what your New Years resolutions were this year?
What were they?
Did you keep them? No??
I don’t like New Years Resolutions. They are weak and usually an “in the moment” decision. At the start of 2017 I wrote goals, I had them on a pinboard above my desk. They were Business and Educational goals, and they followed the SMART principles…
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time specific
And you know what? I achieved them, well before the end of the year.
So rather than having the generic “I am going to lose weight and tone up in 2018” (whatever “tone up” means, don’t get me started – for another blog post), why not look at how you would achieve that… “I want to lose XX amount of kilos this year, go to the gym XX times a week, clean up my diet and drink more water”. So let’s look at this more closely because as they say, and one of my favourite sayings, ‘A goal without a plan is just a wish’.
Breaking up that initial resolution into MINI GOALS is the way to go.
“I want to lose XX amount of Kilos this year” – Its specific, measurable, potentially achievable and realistic, and definitely time specific.
How are you going to do that?
“I am going to go to the gym XX times a week”
This is where, in my opinion, it gets tricky, but start small. If you have never been into exercise, don’t decide from January 1st you are going to attend 5 times a week! It’s not maintainable, its a fast track to burn out, you’ll get disheartened when it doesn’t work out. Start with just 1 session and maybe taking the dog for a 20-30min walk on other days (not even everyday, although the dog will love it!). As your determination and love of Fitness grows, and it will, add an extra session. You will be at the gym the amount you intend before you know it. Also, during these initial sessions, be kind to yourself. I have have heard so many women, and felt this way myself, at the first session they attend – “I’m never going to be as fit as everyone else”. Hey, we all start somewhere! I think back to my very first BodyPump class 10 years ago, I did the whole class with 1.5kg plates on either side of a pump bar, I was POOPED and sore for a whole week. Now, I Crossfit multiple times a week and have been a nationally ranked powerlifter.
“I am going to clean up my diet”
Another tricky one, and again, start small. If you are someone who drinks too much soft drink, just start cutting back and adding more water. If you are someone who feels they need chocolate everyday (just for the record, you don’t), change it to every second day, then once or twice a week and so on. If you are someone who ends up eating from cafes in your lunch break, just work on bringing your lunch to work. Meal planning can actually be so simple, check out Aesthetique Liftwear’s post here about how quick and easy it can be. For goodness sake, don’t decide that January 1st you are going to eat nothing but carrot sticks and lettuce – it’s not realistic! We are wanting this NY goal to be a lifestyle change, nobody got fitter or healthier long term on a fad diet! Once again, you will find how much better you feel making these small changes and want to add more, then before you know it BAM you are following a healthy lifestyle.
“I am going to drink 2 Litres of water a day”
Actually really important when it comes to health and weight loss. Start small, but before you know it you will be downing 2L before lunch. Get yourself a large water bottle that fits in your bag. I have a 1L Tupperware bottles that fit in all my bags and can easily keep track.
After writing all this I am now going to say something that is going to shock you. While I am talking about the most common resolution, weight loss, I actually hate these resolutions the most! Why? Well I have been that woman chasing the weight loss goal, it can be so frustrating when you get stuck in a plateau and you are busting your gut. You then do things like drop your caloric intake further and further, which can be detrimental to your weight loss. Weight loss can become an unhealthy obsession and fast track lead to a problem. The numbers on a scale do not reflect health in many ways, if you are doing more strength training you may not necessarily lose as much weight, but your measurements could be decreasing – if you must focus on aesthetics, find a goal outfit rather than a golden number.
In my experience, focussing on physical achievement goals rather than aesthetics is so much better and satisfying. So what do I mean by “physical achievement goals”?
- I want to run the City to Bay in September
- I want to do True Grit in April
- I want to do my first push up on my toes by May
- I want to do my first chin up by August
- I want to squat 100kg by November
Find something that inspires you and work towards that, you will be amazed what your body can do. Once I started to focus on the physical achievements rather than aesthetics its where I started to love my body and its abilities. Don’t get me wrong, while writing this I am thinking “I would love to lose 5kg, have a beautiful abs and guns for singlets” (I am a woman after all), but I know it’s better to focus on my physical achievement goals of 45kg Snatch, 100kg Squat and 5×5 strict pull ups (haven’t done these since pre-pregnancy) – the aesthetics will come!
And on that note, I’m off to enjoy my low key New Years Eve!
See ya in 2018
Em xxx