How to Fix a Bad New Year’s Decision
We have a few days in the new year. How is this resolution progressing? Not that great, huh? Look, some of the permissions are just bad. Yours is probably one of them.
If you’ve relied on the magic of determination to direct you to the gym or help you lose weight, you are a failure and you should have made a solid, realistic plan for yourself instead. But you didn’t. So now let’s try to fix the resolution you’re struggling with so you don’t have to give up on this idea entirely.
If you can’t stick to your diet
Congratulations on overcoming the first trap, the temptation to say something vague like “I want to lose weight” or something ambitious like “I want to lose 50 pounds.” You’ve opted for a diet, or a challenge, or a detox, and you believe that if you can stick to it in January, you will come out of the month a little lighter and leaner.
But if you’re reading this, then it doesn’t work. The problem is, willpower and wishful thinking can’t overcome the realities of your life (no time to get lunch?) And your body (hey, when you’re hungry, you’re hungry).
In addition to this, many dietary problems are unnecessarily overly restrictive. There is nothing so bad about grains, tomatoes, or sugar that you need a religious conviction to avoid them. Eating less sugar is good; trying to eat zero sugar can be maddening. For example, there is some sugar in almost every pasta sauce store. I remember spending ten minutes one day at the grocery store – hungry, of course – looking for a sugar-free sauce. Eating a strict diet is exhausting . Most of us will give up soon.
This is also pointless. What do I think a teaspoon of sugar can do for a healthy diet? Make me gain 2 grams of fat?
What to do instead: Choose reasonable guidelines. Instead of cutting out sugar, set an acceptable limit, such as the World Health Organization’s recommendation, that sugar be less than 10 percent of your calories – or, if you’ve already mastered that, set it to 5 percent. Rather than cutting out gluten or grains, set a positive goal that overshadows carbs: perhaps make half your plate of vegetables.
If you haven’t been to the gym
If you’ve only been to the gym once this week (or zero), take that as a sign that you’re not in the mood for success. Chances are, you either didn’t have a plan at all, or you gave yourself such an ambitious plan that you put it off because it’s really difficult .
It’s okay to do exercises that seem easy! It is even necessary. If you don’t like running or are having a hard time getting started, consider how you could reduce it to something you don’t hate. Maybe you want to go for a walk and don’t mind mixing up a few intervals when you jog for 30 seconds at a time. Do it. Perhaps you could theoretically run three miles, but theoretical thinking on the couch won’t help you. Someone who walks several times a week feels better than someone who intends to run but never makes it.
You can do the same with your unrealistic killer gym workout schedule. Start by making a list of exercises that you find easy and fun. Do this, and then leave yourself free to do some of the harder exercises at the end. Over time, you will be doing more difficult things and less easy things, but there is no need to rush.
What to do instead: Choose exercises that you enjoy and then take the time to do them. Seriously, write the appointment on your calendar, mark yourself as busy, and make it your top priority for the day. This is why many people exercise in the morning, but you can do it in the evening if you protect this time with the ferocity of a wolf mom.
If you’ve done this once and it still hurts, get back on that horse, but take it easy, okay?
If it’s too cold
If you were going to start running, it was a hell of a week to get used to. A significant part of the country is either covered with snow or is experiencing freezing temperatures. I love to run in the cold, but not on this one .
You have two good options, and giving up on your goal is not one of them. Either you pack up and run anyway – it might require a trip to the store or a creative mix of things you already have – or you come up with an alternative plan.
What to do instead: The treadmill sucks, but it’s good to know how to survive on the treadmill , especially if you’re training for a marathon and can’t afford too many weekends to run. If not, consider January as a time to build strength and endurance in other ways. Attend a zumba series or weightlifting workout twice a week. (Better yet, both.) Then, when the cold snap subsides, you can’t wait to leave.