How To Accomplish Your New Year’s Resolutions With Ease - From A Registered Dietitian
Have changes you want to implement, personal goals you strive to accomplish, or ways you want to grow in the New Year? Keep reading to discover five tips that will help you accomplish your New Year’s resolutions with ease.
Get specific on your why
Perhaps your goals for the New Year include improving your diet, maintaining a consistent exercise routine, or practicing stress reduction techniques, whatever they may be, I encourage you to get specific on your why - WHY are these changes important to you? What will these changes provide you? Purpose-driven action can help with consistency especially when the New Year’s motivation starts to fade away. In my personal experience, I’ve found that consistency and sustainability in making nutrition and lifestyle changes comes from knowledge and clarity around why those changes are important. When you understand the WHY behind making the desired changes and then are given sustainable tools to maintain them, you feel empowered and driven to move forward in the direction of well-being. If your goals include becoming healthier in the New Year reflect on the “why” behind that goal; is it so you can get pregnant in the next year? Be a more present parent? Increase your productivity at work? Reduce your risk for chronic disease? The list could go on, but ultimately your “why” will be unique to you. Spend time turning inwards and reflecting on the purpose of your New Year’s resolutions and then when times get tough, remind yourself of your “why.”
Create one small goal and stay consistent
Maybe you have numerous resolutions for the New Year and you want to make BIG changes in your life - that’s great! However in a culture where instant gratification is desired and often expected, it can make these big goals seem within instant reach which often is unrealistic and not the case. Change, especially if it involves working on nutrition and lifestyle to restore health and create balance in the body, takes time… and consistency is key! Some nutrition and lifestyle changes can be implemented and you may notice the impact on your health immediately. For example, you may notice eating a protein-rich breakfast that supports blood sugar balance in the morning improves your energy and minimizes cravings throughout the day, but what if your goals are to also restore hormone balance? Working on meal structure and blood sugar support will absolutely help, however seeing these changes in hormone health may take several months. That’s why in addition to getting specific on your why, it’s important to create small goals and stay consistent. I recommend creating one small goal and implementing specific changes consistently to achieve that goal before working on another one. I’m a huge fan of small consistent steps in the right direction! Truly, it’s our actions day in and day out that have the largest influence on health. While a New Year can inspire and motivate us to make changes and improve our health, lasting change comes from consistent and sustainable actions.
Tune out the external noise
Overwhelmed when you go on social media and hear all the New Year’s resolution talk?! Bombarded with ways to get healthy? Feeling lost, distracted, and unsure where to start given all the external noise? TUNE IT OUT! I find it incredibly helpful to take a break from social media, let go of other’s expectations, and spend time turning inwards when creating resolutions. On January 1st, I put the technology down and get out pen and paper to write out and visualize my dreams for the New Year. I also spend time reflecting on what the previous year taught me - what expanded me? In what ways did I grow? How has life challenged me and what did I learn from those challenges? In addition to reflecting, I deepen my gratitude for the gifts and blessings I’ve been given in the past year. Creating resolutions from a place of gratitude and introspection helps quite the noise and focus on what truly matters to you in the coming year.
Take time for non-judgemental reflection
As the month of January continues and you’re working to accomplish your New Year’s resolutions, take time for non-judgmental reflection. Reflect on your progress while remaining flexible and open to what your accomplishments may look like. Pause, and remind yourself of your “why.” Perhaps you created a new healthy habit that you’re implementing with consistency and decide to create another small goal, or maybe you decide to adjust your previous expectations and goals. Remaining present and turning inwards can have profound effects on your progress and help you accomplish your goals with ease. Presence, consistency, and grace. Remember you are only human and change is never easy! Give yourself grace and express gratitude that you are taking steps in the right direction, however small.
Consider working with a Registered Dietitian to guide you on your health journey
Feeling stuck? Finding it a real challenge to uncover a way of nourishment that is right for YOU? Looking for personalized recommendations and someone to guide you on your health journey? Consider working with a Functional Medicine Registered Dietitian like myself who can help you transform your health with personalized nutrition strategies and advanced functional lab testing! Our bodies are complex and each person is unique. If you’re struggling to make sense of your symptoms and resolve your low energy, hormone imbalances, and gut issues, consider applying to work with me using this link. I am currently accepting 1-on-1 clients! We’ll work together to find the best form of nourishment for you and make progress towards your health goals.