New Years Resolutions - Did you keep them?

A blog From Helen Williams who works from FINE FETTLE MHC:

Did you start 2013 determined to stick to your New Year Resolutions? Has it all fallen apart after only a few weeks? The statistics show that less than 10% of those who make resolutions actually stick to them for 6 months with nearly half giving up by the middle of January with 45% blaming lack of willpower

If you have fallen by the wayside but really want to change certain aspects of your life then maybe you have to revisit the whole commitment thing and this time:

Set Yourself Up for Success

Your reasons WHY

The first place to start is to understand WHY you want to make changes

Too many people go straight for the WHAT (e.g. lose weight) without first considering WHY

It’s essential you think about the reasons WHY you want to make changes and improvements as without this initial process you have no driving force to keep you on track and propel you to succeed.

Take time to consider this, make sure your reasons are positive and personal. This shouldn’t be someone else’s goal for you. This has to be your true reason. So spend time really identifying the key points for wanting change. If your reason is strong enough it will keep you going especially when the hard times creep in, attach enough importance to the goal and you’l be more likely to succeed.

Your Goals

Once you have the WHY in place you can go on to set your goals following the SMART rules.

Research shows we are 80% more likely to achieve our goals if we make them “smart”                                 

What is SMART?

Specific - you need to know exactly what you want to achieve, vague statements will not work. So just putting “I want to lose weight” or “I want to improve my running” is not specific enough. Instead something like “I want to lose 1 stone by May 2013” or “I am going to run a 5k in May 2013 in less than 45 mins” is far more exact.

Measureable - you need to be able to track your progress and measure the out come.

Action based - say what you are going to do, have an action plan (see below)

Realistic and relevant - your goal should be challenging but realistic e.g. you are not going to lose 3 stone in a month. It must be “do-able”. Putting something unrealistic is just setting yourself up to fail

Time bound -your goals should always include a time limit. Whatever goal you are setting should always include “by when” do you want to achieve the result?

Your long term goal is probably your most important and meaningful but sometimes achieving this can be quite far in the future. This could mean that you have problems staying motivated and focused. If you set yourself shorter term goals, they are like stepping stones that will help you get to the ultimate prize and will help monitor your progress.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish”

(Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

Your Action Plan

★Write down a list of actions that you are going to take that will help you achieve your goals.

Make these actions positive. By this I mean don’t have a list of actions which start “I will not .......” this is a negative and concentrates on what we want to avoid or eliminate. So saying something like “I will not eat biscuits” will just make you want to eat biscuits

Start each action with an “I will .....e.g.eat more protein and vegetables”

★Every action you write down should lead to your goal

★Have a support group, tell people what you are doing. This gives you accountability. Enlist the help of friends, family or colleagues who will help you and maybe even join you. Choose carefully, you don’t want people around who are constantly trying to send you off track. We’ve all been around those people who say “one piece of cake won’t do any harm” or “one more won’t hurt” etc These are negative influences in your life, they are not your supporters they are sabotagers -ditch them or make sure you do not mix with them during this time!

★Write your WHY, your goals and action plan down. Buy yourself a beautiful journal and use it to record your thoughts and feelings along the way or maybe you could start a blog.

In your head it’s just an idea, on paper it’s a plan

★Be realistic with your action plan. It has to be sustainable. With each task think to yourself “can you see yourself doing this in a years time?” If the answer is NO then reconsider. These should be actions that you can fit in to your daily life. If they are realsitic you can do them

★Diarise things like exercise plans, make them as important as business appointments, do not allow other things to supercede them, give them priority and importance (all the more reason for making them realistic)

★Once you have written out your goals and action plan post it somewhere you will see it every day.

★Take time out every week to reflect on your progress and reward yourself for your successes.

★Goals are not set in stone, you can make changes as you progress. If you are getting stressed out because you are not achieving everything on your plan then change it to something that is more realistic (but should still be challenging)             

               

★So now go and write down your reasons for change, your goals and how you are going to achieve them.

★Take responsibility for your life. Whatever got you in to the situation you are in -YOU are the only one who can get you out. This is the single greatest skill you can learn, master this and everything else will fall in to place.

“Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.”

(Les Brown)

Surrey Nutrition Clinic offers support to help you achieve your health goals.

We offer full 1:1 nutritional consultations at FineFettle and we have now introduced a new 1 hour “Optimise You Health” session. During this time we can discuss your specific health or weight loss goals, your current diet and lifestyle and make recommendations to support you, whether that goal is to increase your energy, to lose weight, optimise your digestion or maybe to address PMS symptoms. The 1 hour session also includes relevant handouts.

As a special introductory offer for February and March we are giving a 10% discount to all new clients who book either an “Optimise Your Health” session or a full nutritional consultation

If you have a specific health complaint we do recommend that you seek a full 1:1 nutritional consultation.

Call Fine Fettle Multi-healthcare on 01372 458984

If you would like to speak to Helen Williams, the Nutrition Consultant then please call Surrey Nutrition Clinic on 0208 226 5063 or e-mail info@surreynutritionclinic.co.uk to arrange a convenient time.