A quick search for the most googled in the last few days is a pretty revealing summary of how most of us feel in these early days of 2018

-      How to lose weight fast…

-      How to do dry January..

-      How to detox…

Sounds pretty miserable doesn’t it? Not particularly optimistic or filling me with resolve and energy when I read that, how about you?

How can you make it different, so you aren’t setting yourself up for failure from the word go, so that you can develop healthy habits that you can keep for a life time and not just for January?  This article is going to give you clear steps which will provide you with a better understanding on how and what people that are successful are doing to cultivate change that lasts.

1-   It’s not a diet – framing a way you choose to eat as a “diet” or even more common in January, a “detox” is always doomed to failure because they typically come with messages of exclusion and elimination. If the foundation of your eating style is based on prohibited foods which can cause you to struggle to stay on track then this doesn’t represent a sustainable way of both thinking and feeling about food. Start by making simple changes and make those changes more about what you’ll be adding and including rather than what you’ve been told to cut out and avoid.

I am going to eat more fruit and vegetables every day

I am going to Up my protein intake

I am going to learn to cook some simple meals

Remember we love to categorise food as “healthy” or “unhealthy”, yet it’s the quantity we consume and the quality of the food that determines how it makes us feel.

2 – If it sounds too good to be true – Fitness and nutrition are always sold to us as if this fancy NEW program is going to get us to our goals faster and easier than ever before. Browsing the internet for the latest hack and trick is just deflection to the action you need to take.  There are no quick fixes, just get started whether that be back to the gym or out walking if you are starting from scratch. Put the junk food out of sight (better still dump it) and save your money for training with coaches that have a long track record of working with people directly or buy an introductory programme from an established coach to give you a framework for upping your exercise. Ditch the shopping list packed with expensive superfoods, detox teas and return to buying real food.

3 – You’re not going to find God - The booming personal development industry has existed for a few decades and nutrition is now being pursued with the same hopeful vigour seeking a similar outcome – happiness. This pursuit extends to posting about it online as much as possible in the hope of a virtual hug, yet it reminds me of these words by Patrick Stokes –

“In recording and sharing so much of our lives we’re neglecting to actually live them”.

Eating well will help you feel and look better but should not be approached as a means for finding enlightenment. Eat in a way that makes you feel your best. This might look a little different from one person to the next but the commonality is it feels like something you could do forever.

4 – Share, Give and Get Support Visit a place at least once per week that has people who support and encourage your lifestyle changes and where you can encourage others. This could be a gym, a book club, a church or somewhere you volunteer. Friendship and company can help strengthen your resolve to keep your training and healthy eating on track through kind words of support. Giving support to others also helps you find balance and purpose.

Finally - Exercise offers us the same dichotomy of opinions with training methods presented as good or bad yet it’s the consistency in ANY form of exercise that produces lasting results not the short term enthusiasm with which you attack your workouts in the initial weeks of January.