Stephanie Baker, consultant nutritionist at natural and potent supplement brand Purolabs, share’s how to set up a regime that you’ll really stick to.
Studies show that up to 62% of people break their New Year health habits within a month of starting them.
There can be a lot of negative attention focused on these New Year goals, with people rolling their eyes at those ‘New Year, New Me’ folks. However, when it comes to setting any health goals, regardless of the time of year, I am a die-hard optimist. There’s nothing like a fresh New Year to signal new beginnings with renewed hope and ideas. Change is possible! Don’t feel disheartened if you’ve already faltered on your resolutions.
For the best chance of success, a clearly defined and realistic plan is key. Read on for a few tips to help keep those resolutions throughout the seasons:
Before you set up your new regime:
Review the ‘why’ behind your original goals. Will these goals enrich your life in some way? Improve your relationship with yourself and/or others. Do your intentions come from within or based on external pressures?
Attach emotion to your goals.
If you’re looking to lose weight, how you’ll look may simply not be enough to get you there. Think about how you’ll feel. A simple but incredibly effective tip is to write down or add to the notes section on your phone, a list of reasons why you want to achieve the goals you’ve set. Clear any goals which are simply aesthetic and keep the goals that bring long-lasting meaning.
Were your goals realistic? It’s important to strive for progress but if it’s at the cost of your well-being or ‘perfection’ is required to get there, then you’re already setting yourself up for failure. Shift what the end goal will look like to improve motivation to get there. The more realistic the goal, the more likely your body and brain will follow.
How to set up a regime:
Firstly, break your long-term goals into smaller chunks. As humans, we are goal driven. Hitting small, short-term goals, will only motivate us to strive for the next milestone. For example, healthy weight loss is 0.5-1lb a week. An entire diet overhaul may be too overwhelming, instead, make healthy swaps and keep the foods you enjoy in your diet, just review the portion sizes and/or frequency of indulgent foods.
Focus on small daily habits. Small incremental changes over time lead to life-altering improvements. A daily morning and evening regime is one of the most simple and effective ways to help you reach your goals without overwhelming you.
Our daily habits start the night before.
Look at your bedtime routine. Are you ‘doom scrolling’ on social media at midnight? Are you lying in bed staring at the ceiling wishing for sleep to come, which only makes sleep less likely to come?
A magnesium supplement taken an hour before bed can help relax your nervous system and help you drift to sleep for improved quality of sleep. Consistently good quality sleep over time will undoubtedly give you the energy to make your goals easier to achieve. Fact!
We’d recommend Purolabs Puro Magnesium Complex, £29.99, available from https://purolabs.com/
Consider support. If you feel like you have psychological blocks to your goals, whether that be self-esteem-related or physical blocks, then do consider seeking external help as an investment in yourself.
Professional help can provide unbiased, practical support to help you break through those stumbling blocks and helps you feel like you’re not doing this alone.
As you go through your regime, and you have days where you’re lacking motivation….we all have them, re-read your list of ‘why’s’ that you outlined when setting up your new regime to help keep you on track.
