7 Things People Who Actually Stick To Their New Year’s Fitness Resolutions Do Differently

Studies have shown only 8% of people actually keep their New Year’s resolutions – that’s an unfortunately small group of people. One of the main reasons why people fail is because they set themselves up for failure by expecting overnight success. Do yourself a favor: keep your resolution simple, obtainable, and most importantly, have patience.  Here’s a list of ideas that can help you reach your goals and be one of the 8 percent that reaches their goal!

1. Write your resolution(s) down on paper. The very first thing you should do with your list of resolutions is to write them all down physically by hand. The act of writing something helps brings it to fruition. You officially have that little thought on paper, which just brought it to life.

2. Tell people. Tell your mom, tell your sisters, tell your brothers, tell your friends, and post it on social media. This is something people avoid because they know if they fail, there’s no harm done – nobody knew you were trying to lose 10 pounds – so why does it matter? By telling people you respect, you have created a bleacher of fans cheering you on and keeping you motivated. You now have the fear of failure and the fear of letting them down to keep you committed.

3. Use technology to your advantage. We are living in a time where there is an app for everything! There are so many great apps to use to help keep yourself driven and motivated. Get Me To The Gym is one of my favorite apps I use to keep me on track. It’s basically like an alarm that keeps going off until the GPS can see you’re in the gym. By skipping workouts (or whatever it is you’ve resolved to do), the only one you’re cheating is yourself!

4. Keep a meal plan. By planning your meals, you are setting yourself up for success. If you don’t plan meals and you let yourself get to the point of starvation, you will indefinitely make bad food choices. Your mind will make you think anything healthy won’t give you the hunger satisfaction. Never let yourself get to the point of starving, and always have healthy options ready to go when hunger strikes. This will help keep you energized, happy, and healthy for anything else you are trying to accomplish as well. Keep a food journal with apps like MyFitnessPal. This is a great way to monitor how much those little snacks add up!

5. Take a look at the company you keep. If you are constantly surrounded by people who drink often and eat pizza at 4 AM, you’re most likely going to be one of those people. Spend more time with the people who inspire you, motivate you, and keep you on track. Instead of always going to eat or going out for drinks, go to a spin class or yoga class with friends. Be active in your social life rather than sabotaging your workouts.

6. Track your progress. Keep track of where you started and use it as a reminder of how far you’ve come. When you are consistently seeing progress, it will be a constant reminder of why you started in the first place.

7. Embrace the beauty of routine. They say it takes approximately 66 days to form a new habit. Get in a routine and stick to it for at least this long. Once you pass the 66-day mark, it will be something you crave and something you can’t go without!

Remember not to let the little bumps in the road get you down. Make 2016 your best year by finally attaining your resolutions. Let go of the bad habits and welcome in a fresh start and a new year.