New Year, New Me? No thanks….how about:
New Year, Same Me, but ready for personal growth?
If you really want to do something, you don’t really need to wait for January 1st to do it, but I do get the appeal of a fresh new year, fresh start and a time to implement something new. So it’s important to do whatever works for you.
I think it’s important to set ourselves goals, challenges, and grow from this. Achieving something you set out to do is incredibly rewarding and can promote self confidence and encourage you to push yourself further than you thought possible (in a good way).
I personally think if you decide to tackle something new or a change in your life, especially in terms of nutrition, then start small and work your way up gradually. You don’t have to completely change your diet overnight, or suddenly live in the gym - the likelihood of keeping to the changes long-term reduces because you get bored, struggle to stay motivated and give up.
Why not pick one thing to focus on at a time - it can be as simple as adding in an extra portion of vegetables/day for the next month, and then, once that becomes something you can keep going and add in another portion, or you can try something else, like reducing the amount of coffee you drink from three cups to two.
It’s also important to focus on the WHY behind your goal, that will ensure that you don’t rely on initial motivation only, which can shrivel away over time. If you want to exercise three times a week, what is your specific why? Is it so you feel confident to wear what you want to wear, or is it to make sure you have the energy to run around after your kids?
If you see the outcome and find your why, when you feel a bit demotivated, you can come back to it to ensure you stay on track. Increasing exercise or changing your diet will not be successful if your goal is to get healthy, because it’s just not specific enough. And sometimes, if you start to feel better, you can slip back into your old ways….
When it comes to setting goals or implementing changes in terms of our health, it's important to make them SMART, which stands for:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable Relevant
Timely
Let's look at an example:
Non Smart: "I want to eat healthier and reduce my sugar intake"
Instead, let's make it SMART:
"In January, I'm going to increase my vegetable intake by one handful each day, and I'm going to reduce the number of coffees I drink from from 5/day to 4/day.
You can keep track of this in a habit tracker, and at the end of January see if you were able to achieve it. If so, perhaps you'll go into February with a goal to increase your veg intake by a further handful or even reduce your caffeine to 3/day or perhaps you'll simply repeat the original goal again to really get the habit in place.
You don’t have to change anything this January, if you don’t want to, but if you do, I challenge you to keep things small and don’t put too much pressure on yourself to change everything all at once.
If you need more guidance about making some changes this year, then reach out to me and book your free 30-minute Health MOT:
Amy Cottrell
Registered Nutritional Therapist
Amy Cottrell Nutrition does not claim to prevent, treat or cure any physical, mental or emotional conditions. These blog articles are written for educational & informational purposes only and are not a subsitute for medical advice.
Do not stop or start taking medication or supplements without first talking to your primary health care provider.