02 Jan New Year, New You? How to Make Your Health Resolutions Stick

If you’re like many Americans, you intend to make some positive changes as of Jan 1. For most people, health resolutions top the list. Whether it’s a resolution to eat better, exercise more, lose weight, get active, try a new sport, or undertake a big challenge, most people start with their physical health each New Year’s when planning how to tackle the new year ahead. Yet often within a few weeks resolve has faded, the old habits have returned, and we revert to our old ways. Want to beat the stats? Here’s how:

Make Your Health Resolutions Stick

• Use the buddy system: it doesn’t matter if you’re planning to hit the gym, get active, or try something really daunting like a bucket list race or activity – research shows you’re more likely to show up when someone else is counting on you to be there. Having a friend, spouse, or family member make a similar commitment can help keep you motivated when you’d rather skip a day or sleep in. 

• Check Your Mindset: Give yourself permission to have a bad day. Sometimes you overindulge, oversleep, or just can’t get your workout in. Many people get overwhelmed and feel like they’ve failed, but seeing it as a set-back rather than a failure gives you permission to keep trying.

• Be Realistic: Elite runner Meb Keflezighi talks about how even he sets goals that are realistic – otherwise it’s too easy to become discouraged if you don’t accomplish them. For instance, if you’re starting out as a runner, maybe don’t challenge yourself with a full marathon, but do try a 5k or a 10k.

• Make it Easier to Succeed: They say nothing succeeds like success, so help make it easy for you to win. If you’re trying to eat better, don’t fill your pantry and fridge with tempting junk food. If you know you love hitting fast food at lunch, pack a healthy lunch instead. If you know you’ll skip a work out when you’re tired, try to get it in before work. Be your own support system!

• Make Your New Habit a Regular Habit: It takes time for anything to become a habit, whether it’s a healthy or unhealthy. Now that you’ve decided to make a change for the better, you want to make it part of your daily life. Once you’re a regular at the gym, a familiar face in the park, or your co-workers know lunch-time is when you head out for a quick walk, you’ll hear questions about where you were if you miss a day – and you’ll miss it if you don’t.

• Enlist Help: Some people don’t know where to start when making healthy changes, and that’s when it’s time to get some professional help. Start with your yearly physical and yearly physical therapy check up. Just as with your physical, your yearly PT check up will help show you if you could improve strength, flexibility, mobility, and more – as well as how to do it, with both manual (hands on) therapy and at-home exercises/stretching.

Need help getting started? Body One Physical Therapy is locally-owned and operated, with three locations serving Central Indiana: North Indianapolis/Carmel, Fishers, and Zionsville. Our team of caring, expert physical therapists is ready to help you start off 2020 right. Call today and get ready to start living your best life.