We have entered the NINETH month of 2022!! (How did that happen?!) 😳
Raise your hand if you have accomplished your 2022 New Year’s Resolutions??? Still working on them or have you abandoned them all together? Do you even remember what your resolutions were? I don’t have any statistics to provide here, but I’m willing bet that the vast majority of resolutions made are never actually resolved. I’m just going based on my own experience because I honestly can’t think of one resolution that I made in 36 years that was actually accomplished. 😏
Why do we do this over and over again year after year?! If we’re being honest with ourselves we know that the goals we set are not likely to be achieved, but we never seem to learn our lesson. Every year we are hopeful that this will be the year that is different, but usually we make it 2 or 3 weeks and then end up quitting before February rolls around. 🤦🏻♀️
I get it though, I’ve fallen for it too. There is something inspiring about the idea of a fresh start. We want to be successful and we’re motivated to change and everyone else is making changes in January, so why shouldn’t we do the same?! I think the problem with New Year’s Resolutions are that we aren’t actually planning for success. In January we are fueled by motivation, but motivation isn’t the only thing required to obtain a goal. Ariana Grande seems to make getting what you want sound so easy… “I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it” (insert eye roll). In reality, there’s a BIG gap between the “want” and the “got”. We all want things, but how do we get them? And then once we have them, how do we keep them??
The most common New Year’s resolutions are centered around self-improvement and the majority of them involve some variation of health improvement…. lose weight, be more active, be healthy, quit smoking, drink more water, sleep better, feel good… see the theme? All of the things I’m about to say can apply to any one of the goals listed above, but I’m going to focus on the one that I hear most as a trainer/gym owner. Want to take a guess?
“I want to lose weight.”
There are plenty of programs out there promising to help you achieve this goal. All it takes is 6 weeks or 21 days or 3 months or some irrational amount of time with an end date. Extreme results achieved quickly using unreasonable techniques. (Again, insert eye roll.) These programs are always popping up because they know we’ll fall for them. Have you fallen for one? Think back on your own experience. What happened? Were you successful? Most importantly, were you able to maintain your success? My guess… probably not.
Losing weight isn’t easy and it doesn’t come quickly. The body just doesn’t work like that. If it were easy then our society wouldn’t be in the predicament that we are currently in. According to the CDC, the prevalence of obesity in the United States is estimated at just over 41%. Clearly there is no magic pill because if there was then someone would be capitalizing on it.
At Fit People, we are constantly battling with the narrative that losing weight should be easy or fast. It’s not easy and it’s not fast, but it IS possible. You don’t have to be extreme to be successful. You don’t have to starve yourself or cut out ALL THE THINGS or spend hours a day doing cardio to be more fit. You can still enjoy life and achieve your goal.
With our clients we are constantly preaching on the traits needed in order to find success in the gym. You need to work hard, you need to be patient, you need to be self-aware, you need to be consistent and you need to surround yourself with people/things that will hold you accountable.
Notice I didn’t mention how long it will take to achieve your goal. I didn’t say that you can’t have carbs or that foods with fat are bad. I’m not telling you to workout 7 days a week or that you have to run marathons to drop your body fat percentage.
In order to be successful and achieve your goals, you need a plan. You need to give yourself some grace and know that you won’t always feel motivated. Motivation is fleeting, but when you have a plan and you have someone or something to hold you accountable on the days that you want to give up then you are guaranteed to find success.
Start with the goal. Figure out what you really want and then tell someone. Tell someone who will be honest with you. Tell someone who will be there to hold you accountable until you accomplish the goal. Tell someone who is already “winning” with the same goal.
Remind yourself that it’s okay to take it slow. It’s okay that some days you will feel on top of the world because you’re checking off all the boxes and other days you’re doing good just to show up to a workout. Focus on the positives and just keep showing up. If you give up then you’ll never get there, so take small steps and be consistent. With consistency results begin to snowball until one day you look back and realize how much you have achieved and how fast the time seemed to go by. YOU. CAN. DO. IT. Just start and don’t stop.
If you’re wanting to get a jump start on 2023 then we’re ready to help! Just think about where you could be by the time January rolls around if you got started now. Forget the excuses. There’s not better time to start than the present. Send us a message to schedule a FREE total health assessment. Make today the first day to your story. 🥳
-Annie
