How to Stick to Your New Year’s Resolution
I was out for a stroll on a clear, crisp, New Year's Day morning. Coffee in hand, enjoying the sights, and thinking about what the next 365 days have in store for me. To no surprise, I crossed paths with several ambitious joggers attempting to shed the Christmas poundage and set the tone for 2025. As they took deep, heavy breathes of cold, dry air with each stride, I could feel the burning sensation in my airway for them. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself, knowing that within a week or two, the sidewalks would be barren of tracksuits, headbands, and brand new running shoes, possibly received as a Christmas present. Maybe these pavement pounders substituted the outdoors for a treadmill, or maybe for their couch.
The most popular New Year’s resolution, by and large, is to live a healthier life—exercise more, eat healthier, lose weight, and so on. Unfortunately, this resolution is often abandoned by the end of January, possibly even sooner. Let’s explore why people fall back into their bad habits so quickly, and how this can be avoided. It seems to me there are three major reasons why we throw in the towel so soon.
Not Planning Ahead
We all love the idea of turning a new page and starting fresh vis a vis health, but often times we either aren’t willing to put in the time to plan ahead, or we don’t realize we need to. You’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who declares their New Year’s resolution in November, let alone before New Year’s Eve! If you have a low activity level and little experience in the gym, and you show up on January 1st, I promise you’ll feel like a fish out of water. "How do I use these machines?" "What exercises work my glutes?" "What's proper gym etiquette?"
The same goes for your diet. You might buy all this healthy food with the best intentions to eat it, but if you’ve never had kale or spinach before, how will you know how to prepare them so they don’t taste like kale or spinach?
Don’t wait until January to start exercising and eating healthy. If your heart is set on a lifestyle change starting on the first day of the year, you need to be highly prepared. Get a gym membership a couple of months before the new year to familiarize yourself with the equipment and see what others are doing (or hire me to show you the ropes 😉). As for your diet, research what foods are best for you, find some recipes online or from friends, and create a basic meal plan before making your big grocery order. Grease the skids.
Attempting to Build Rome in a Day
When it comes to diet and exercise, I’ve noticed that many people have an “all or nothing” mentality, especially at the beginning of the year. Every aspect of their lifestlye has to be perfect, or they delay their big change until next Monday. Before you know it, 52 Mondays have gone by and they're making the same resolution with the same enthusian as one year prior! Please, do not look at it this way—especially if you’re a beginner. It’s crucial to pace yourself. You don’t need to hit the gym several times a week or follow the perfect diet from day one. Start slowly, and make adjustments as you see fit. Gradually replace bad habits with good ones, and you’ll have built a strong foundation.
Don't get caught in the New Year's Resolution Cycle of Abandonment!
- Start off too strong
- Struggle to sustain
- Feel disappointed, ultimately give up
- Make the same ambitious resolution at the end of the year
Environmental Factors
Now, I’m not letting anyone off the hook, but many people consider January and February as the two most depressing months of the year—and for good reason. It’s the dead of winter, we’re feeling the post-Christmas blues, and now we have to deal with these aggressive New Year’s resolutions we made at a time when we felt far more inspired. It's no wonder why the joggers I saw on my walk have since vanished.
Even as someone such as myself who enjoys living a healthy lifestyle, maintaining it during these months is certainly more difficult than at any other time of year. Days are short and snow is falling. I'm supposed to drag myself to the gym in my winter jacket and boots, complete a strenuous workout, and follow it up with salad and bland chicken breast? Count me out! I’m not giving you the green light to continue your 2024 habits, but I am saying that trying to completely overhaul your lifestyle at this time of year might not be the best idea. It makes me wonder if we would have more success with our resolutions if they kicked in during a time of rebirth and rejuvination, such as the spring.
If you’ve struggled to stick to your New Year’s resolutions in years past, know that you’re not alone. Almost everyone has been, or is, in the same position. Being moderately active and healthy year-round is far more beneficial than starting off strong and burning out immediately. As long as you’re taking small steps to improve, you’ll be just fine.