6 Steps to Fulfilling your New Year's Health & Fitness Goals

Every year, we all reach a point where we decide that the New year will allow us to facilitate change and bring us closer to achieving our goals. It definitely sounds amazing - but it isn't always easy to stick to our New Year's Resolutions. We often find ourselves spiralling down the same road we were desperately hoping to get off from. It's time to take back your life now! Let's face it, most of us pin down health and fitness goals such as diet changes or implementing more exercise into our routines. The following tips can help you stay on track!

1) Don’t be over-ambitious

As much as you'd love to improve the condition of your body, it is never going to happen overnight! If you're a beginner at fitness and would just like to lose a few kilos, it wouldn't be realistic to set a goal of running a marathon from scratch. Instead, keep things in perspective by aiming for small steps forward rather than big, stuttering strides. Building a better body requires time and hard work so take things fairly easy when starting out.

2) Set yourself fitness goals

If you’re serious about conquering your New Year’s resolutions, it’s time to set goals in place to measure your steady progress! In doing so, it will give your fitness plan a proper structure and keep you on the right track towards further advancement.

3) Get support from friends and family

To prevent this from becoming an uphill struggle, you need to admit that you cannot do this all on your own! Try to get your friends and family on board to support your training. With strong emotional support, it will become much less of a chore.

4) Create a manifesto

Draw up a manifesto that outlines your training plans and goals. This could really help you stay focused on those healthy New Year’s resolutions. By writing down your promises and pinning them to the wall, you’ll have no excuses not to live up to your original pledges.

5) Ditch the scale and get Camera-ready

Scales are your worst nightmare during this process! Did you know that it is actually common AND normal to have weight gain after the first month of training despite having a clean diet and training regularly?? This is because your body is in a constant state of inflammation and this leads to water retention and bloating - making you appear larger and tipping the scales come month-end! You need to remember that WEIGHT = FAT + MUSCLE , so if you love the way you look in the mirror (toned and muscular), but disappointed by the number on the scale (heavier than what you want to be), it's time to ditch that scale before it depresses you any further! Instead, take a photo of yourself at the end of each month to monitor progress.

6) Reward yourself for completing goals

Just because you’re trying to live up to some healthy New Year’s resolutions doesn’t mean you have to completely avoid enjoying the odd tasty treat. When you’ve completed a fitness goal, why not reward yourself with that slice of chocolate cake you’ve been putting off for weeks? By promising yourself regular (but not too regular!) rewards, you’ll soon feel more motivated to stay on course for better fitness. Moderation is key to maintaining a good physique.

Remember, life is too short to be uncomfortable in your own skin so it's time to take responsibility to make a change! You can do this!