New Year's Resolutions Failed AGAIN??!

I never start the new year with resolutions to change. For me, starting to implement health changes whilst on holiday just isn’t going to succeed. Others do have good results with this focus but the evidence seems to point to those successful people are in the minority.

So when embarking on a new health kick here’s a few things to consider-

Keep going- It doesn’t matter if you don’t quite achieve your goals.  Have a think of why you didn’t reach your goals and try to plan so it doesn’t happen again. You’re better off attempting to be healthy and falling off the wagon every so often and trying again than not getting back on board and giving up.

Make the timing suit you- It could be a Tuesday afternoon in March. That’s cool. I avoid starting to implement changes when I have big events coming up such as weddings, big birthdays and anniversaries.

Budget- Plan to start your healthy eating regime when you get paid. Eating healthily can cost more and it does take a little planning.

Be kind- try not to set yourself up to fail. Have manageable goals with “relaxed” days planned each month where you don’t have to be quite so focused on your routines.

Be wise- Have your new goals be something you enjoy. If you hate running and eating salads daily, look for alternatives that you do enjoy or else you won’t last the distance and your journey won’t be a pleasurable one.

Here’s my basic template for my goals this year-

Goal 1- Improve my movement.

Goal 2- Increase my quality of life and longevity.

Goal 3- Improve my body composition.

Here’s what that looks like based from my 4 Pillars Of Health-

Movement-

1. Lift heavy twice a week.

2. At least 20 minutes daily of bodywork like stretching and foam rolling.

3. Sweat A LOT twice a week. Ideally this would be a mixture of HIST (high intensity strength training) and saunas.

4. HIST 2-3 times a week- this would be a circuit of some sort and martial arts.

5. Walking- 30-60 minutes of both medium and fast paced at least once a week.

Nutrition-

1. Remove nearly all processed foods.

2. Eat between 11am-7pm.

3. Eat as many colourful foods each day.

4. Focus on eating good sources of protein and fats and limit carbs on lazy days.

5. Red wine consumed on Friday and Saturday only. No other alcohol permitted.

Sleep-

1. Aim for 8 hours of good restorative sleep.

2. Aim for 8 hours of good restorative sleep.

3. Aim for 8 hours of good restorative sleep.

4. Aim for 8 hours of good restorative sleep.

5. Aim for 8 hours of good restorative sleep.

Mindset-

1. Slow down and be in the moment.

2. Don’t judge people.

3. Be grateful.

4. Implement stress relieving techniques.

5. Have fun.

This is a just a snapshot of my world when aiming to reset for better health. Yours may look very different but hopefully this will give you some ideas on what you might need to look at to begin to feel, move and perform better in your life.

Thanks for reading.

Rich