Top Reasons Your Resolutions Have Already Been Broken And How To Get Back On Track

We’ve all made New Year’s resolutions at some point. Sadly, we haven’t all had success with them. The reasons many fail are fairly common. How Do You Get Back On Track ?

On January 1^st you resolved to eat clean, work out and mold your body into a smoking hot showpiece for this summer. Week one went well. You were super motivated. Week two you slipped up only twice.

Or was it three times?

Week three was so-so. Now February is looking dismal when it comes to keeping that resolution.

How is it that you have already broken your healthy resolution? 

Many people set out with good intentions to keep their New Year’s resolutions, and losing weight is usually the number one resolution on the top 10 lists, but “48.4% of people have infrequent success” (Statistic 2017). Our goal is to help you understand the top reasons that your resolutions have already been broken and help get you back on track.

#1 You Didn’t See Quick Results Due To An Unrealistic Timeframe

One of my favorite gym memes says, “I ate right and exercised today. I better wake up skinny.”

If only one day into diet and exercise could be that gratifying! However, you have been eating clean, portioned meals and you’ve been visiting the gym at least four times per week for a few weeks now.

You may be wondering, “Why am I not seeing more of a change in my body?

Why hasn’t the scale moved?”

You need to realize: Losing weight is not a fast process. As a result, you must measure and celebrate all the short-term successes, each and every inch and pound.

Do not forget: Getting healthy and fit is a long-term commitment.

How Do You Get Back On Track?

Stay the course. Most people expect to see results very quickly and are highly disappointed when the progress is only trickling in.

The CDC (2015) states, “People who lose weight gradually and steadily (about 1 to 2 pounds per week) are more successful at keeping weight off. Healthy weight loss isn’t just about a “diet” or “program”. It’s about an ongoing lifestyle that includes long-term changes in daily eating and exercise habits.”

You must decide to keep pushing forward. Instead of thinking of your goal as a New Year’s resolution to lose weight, you need to think of your resolution as a lifestyle change.

Goals are temporary because once you accomplish the goal, then what?

The goal is over?

Now think about your goal. Was it set in a realistic timeframe?

Did you resolve to lose 10, 20 or 30 pounds?

Let’s break that down into weeks. If you want to lose 30 pounds and are losing weight at a rate of one to two pounds per week, that is a 15 to 30-week commitment or about four to seven and a half months. A 20-pound weight loss journey would take 10 to 20 weeks or two and a half to five months. As you can see, weight loss is a time-consuming process. You can’t expect it to be fast.

The healthy choices you have made the past few weeks have helped your body to slowly begin changing. You may be losing inches more quickly than pounds.

Are your jeans fitting looser?

I promise that your fit body transformation is in progress. It is just in its infancy.

The worst thing you can do is give up now. You’ve already invested many weeks and the best is yet to come!

#2 Adjusting To This New Schedule Equals Exhaustion And Stress.

Don’t discount the fact that making life-altering adjustments to your schedule requires you to be mentally prepared. You can’t stick to a new diet or exercise routine, or both at the same time, if you are not mentally prepared to handle a schedule change that yields exhaustion and stress.

Let’s look at why your new schedule causes this emotional turmoil.

Before you added diet and exercise to your routine, what did you do?

Did you go home and watch your favorite TV shows while munching on your favorite snack?

Those things are fun, easy and relaxing, not difficult or challenging. You were comfortable.

Now throw in change. Change in itself causes stress. Your new schedule requires you to go straight to the gym after work or get up super early to get to the gym before work. The exercise is totally exhausting. You’re sore. You use toothpicks to keep your eyes open at work. You’re exhausted.

You have to prepare meals because the same old pre-packed, processed foods and fast food won’t cut it. The food just doesn’t taste that great, and you actually have to cook, pack lunches and eat mindfully all the time. This is hard.

After just a couple of weeks, you are thinking that this new schedule pretty much sucks. You are literally emotionally, mentally and physically drained. The fiery motivation you started with has dwindled to mere embers, and you’re ready to go back to the old routine the old, comfortable routine.

How Do You Get Back On Track?

Take small, manageable steps. You have to make this journey manageable in small steps and build up your tolerance to both diet and exercise. Plus, you can learn tricks to become more efficient in the kitchen along the way!

Instead of trying to do everything all at once, try to make small adjustments one at a time such as:

• Cutting sugary drinks.
• Drinking more water.
• Cutting desserts.
• Working out only two or three days per week until you adjust.
• Slowly swapping out foods. Start with lowering processed carbs.
• Always having eggs for breakfast.
• Removing junk food from your house to avoid temptation.

Some tips for faster meal preparation include:

• Making large amounts of your favorite healthy dishes and freezing your meal portions in to-go containers for the week.
• Using the crock-pot.
• Doing all of your cooking for the week on Sundays.
• Using a meal prep company to do your healthy cooking for you. Caution, this could get pricey.

#3 You Have Failed Before And Are Losing Faith In Yourself Again.

Many people have attempted a weight loss resolution several years in a row and have failed. As mentioned, almost 49% will fail. Or, many will lose the weight only to gain it all back plus some extra.

Failures like these cause discouragement and loss of faith in one’s self when it comes to lofty, long-term goals. The good news is that you are not alone, and each year is a new start. Maybe you just need a new approach.

How Do You Get Back On Track?

Get some help. There are so many professionals in the health and wellness industry that you can hire to personally assist you with a plan built just for you.

Some things to consider include:

• Hiring a life/health coach. They help with behavior modification and weight loss! The CDC (2013) states, “Health coaching is a promising strategy for helping patients make behavior modifications that can prevent or manage diabetes and other chronic conditions.”
• Hiring a personal trainer.
• Hiring a registered dietician.
• Getting some help from a weight loss center (if you are obese).
• Or all of the above.

If you look in the right places, help is around every corner.

 

#4 Your Gym Buddy Is A No-Show

You get to the gym and wait for your gym buddy who shares the same New Year’s resolution as you, but seems to never show.

What do you do?

If you’re like many, you leave because you don’t know what to do in the gym, and the gym really is no fun without the buddy there.

How Do You Get Back On Track?

Ditch that bad mojo!

If you’re someone who needs to workout with a partner, you have to find someone new to workout with that is reliable. Take some group classes or hire a trainer who will always be there for you.

The social aspect of the gym is an important one. Even if your current gym buddy ditches you, remember that you will make new friends once you are a gym regular. Being around other fitness-minded people who are also working on their fitness goals will keep you motivated and help with your rate of return to the gym.

#5 You Don’t Know What To Do At The Gym

You know how to start and use the treadmill, but it is getting boring. The weight machines look daunting and you only know how to do curls with dumbbells. You have tried to use the equipment before, but felt awkward and hated looking like one of those new people.

You’re pretty sure that you are getting it all wrong.

The gym becomes a real drag and you feel lost and alone when you go, so why go?

How Do You Get Back On Track?

Hire a trainer or use online resources. Just five or six sessions with a personal trainer could change your life. They can show you how to use all of the gym equipment and help make the gym more fun. You can rest assured that you’re performing exercises correctly, and you’ll understand why you are doing particular exercises. Your trainer will teach you.

A gym education is priceless. If you can’t afford a trainer, and you want to be on the gym floor using machines and lifting weights, consider the many online sources that can assist you (like the one you’re reading now)! You can find workout plans and how-to videos to instruct you on how to perform exercises the right way. You can even practice your form at home before you go to the gym.

Making a plan is important for each gym visit. Know what body part you are going to work on that day. When you have a plan, you’ll never feel lost in the gym.

#6 Your Co-Workers Tempt You With Sinful Food

You packed a healthy lunch and are heading to the workroom to eat with your co-workers. Betty Crocker must have started working in your building because you could smell the sweet treats before the door to the workroom closed behind you! This happens to everyone.

It feels like no one is eating healthfully except you and your co-workers prod and joke with you about the horrible smell of the tuna that you brought with you.

“How can you eat that every day?

Gag!

Here, have some cookies with us.”

It’s hard enough to turn down delicious foods that you are trying to cut from your diet. Sometimes peer pressure makes it even worse. So, you give in and eat the cookies.

How Do You Get Back On Track?

Be strong. Tell people, “I don’t want that.” Explain your goals to others. Let them know that you are truly giving your weight loss goals your all and that you want to get healthy this year.

You may still catch some flack, but there could be someone else in the room who admires your willpower and determination. They may join you on your quest for health and start bringing healthy lunches as well, especially when your results start to show!

Conclusion

Losing weight is a fantastic New Year’s resolution and you should be glad that you started your fitness journey this year. You can do this!

There will always be setbacks and small diet or gym fails along the way. What is important is that you pick yourself up, pat yourself on the back for what you have already accomplished and then get yourself back on track. This year will be different. If you stay strong, this could be the year you create the better, healthier you!

By Sarah Chadwell, CPT