Struggling to keep your New Year’s resolutions? Here’s how to keep yourself on track

LONDON — It’s one thing to make a New Year’s resolution. However, being able to maintain it is a very different matter.

Every year they are made with the best of intentions — with the hope and desire to become a better version of ourselves — so why do millions of people make New Year’s resolutions knowing that the chances of them being followed are slim to none. ?

Jasper Rook Williams — fitness expert, online trainer and Owner of JRW Fitness — has had a successful career to date with hundreds of clients around the world to improve their nutrition, training and lifestyle calibration. He has a good idea why.

“Goals, if sometimes ambitious, are rarely the problem and are all set with the best of intentions,” Rook Williams told ABC News. “The problem is that there is not enough thought in the vision. People have big ambitions based on methods that are often unrealistic and unsustainable. Rather than thinking “I’m going to eat salads and join a gym”, people need to prioritize achievable routines, sustainability and lifestyle in a broader perspective. and it changes from a holistic.”

According to the investigation, Rook Williams is not wrong. The failure rate of New Year’s resolutions is estimated at 80%, and most people lose their will and motivation a few weeks later by mid-February. US News and World Report.

“Changing habits is very difficult, including finding the right moment to make a change,” Bas Verplanken, professor of social psychology at the University of Bath. he said in a report In 2017 it was released by the Association for Personality and Social Psychology. “The change from December 31st to January 1st is not a dramatic break. Many resolutions are made on December 31st, and come down on January 2nd.”

Psychologically speaking, the start of a new year is often seen as a key moment, a time to reflect on the previous year and look ahead to the new one. But that doesn’t necessarily translate to immediate change and action just because of time.

“Anything worth having is never without obstacles”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the top three New Year’s resolutions made each year are to live healthier (23%), for personal improvement or happiness (21%) and to lose weight (20%), according to a published report. Statesman November 2022.

“A great question to ask yourself when starting out is ‘does this feel sustainable?'” Rook Williams explained to ABC News. “If you can’t stick to the routine, you’re definitely not going to keep the results.”

One of the things that Rook Williams has discovered is that people maintain their success when people hold or are given responsibility.

“You have to keep in mind that creating new habits is difficult and progress towards anything worthwhile is not linear,” he said. “There will be times when you want to stop or the results seem to have stalled and it can be difficult to deal with that. Then having someone to guide you to hold you accountable can be essential in the change process.”

Ultimately, to successfully make a change for the better, it’s all about finding the right balance, according to Rook Williams.

“In the case of fitness, it’s not just the food or the training or the broader lifestyle that will create the change, but the three things working together,” he continued. “They’re not mutually exclusive. Lack of motivation is common and, in my experience, it’s something that comes when you don’t have a plan. Whether you hire a professional or not, taking the guesswork out of it and always having direction helps an individual on the path to success.”

“Motivation is temporary”

One of the biggest obstacles to keeping resolutions, especially when it comes to fitness goals, is choosing goals that are achievable and sustainable.

Approximately 12% of all new gym memberships for the year occur in January, according to a study IHRSAthe fitness industry’s only global trade association representing health clubs worldwide. Another study indicates that four out of five people who join the gym in January will actually quit after five months.

“Motivation is temporary for everyone,” says Rook Williams. “So the best thing you can do is use that time to create the habits and routines necessary to get you through when you’re overwhelmed. And it will slow down. It always does. It’s the classic thing that new gym newbies do in the new year. From zero to 100 mph… They want to go from working out at all and eating whatever they want to working out five, six, seven days a week and eating like a rabbit.

One of the biggest reasons why Rook Williams’ clients are often successful when it comes to setting goals is maintaining a healthy outlook every day and “saying no to the short-term.”

“Being new to something and expecting it to be perfect right away is a surefire way to give up on anything very quickly,” explains Rook Williams. “Make sure you cut yourself some slack. If you meant to work out three days a week but only managed two, that doesn’t make you a failure. That’s still two more than you were doing before, so wipe the slate clean and try again without holding on to guilt or punishing yourself. “.

“Everybody falls off a horse at some point, even the pros,” continued Rook Williams. “It’s important how quickly you dust yourself off and get back to work. Those who do do it right away. But those who let one mistake flow into more mistakes are the ones most likely to give up and start over the next year.”

“Never a single solution”

Whatever resolution you may make in the New Year, success for Rook Williams is about focus and making changes that fit your lifestyle rather than stopping altogether.

“There is never a single solution to a problem, no matter what that problem is,” he continued. “Your goal might be set in stone, but how you get there shouldn’t be. Don’t get married to just one method. Finding sustainable success is about finding the method that’s easiest for you and that sticks.”

Unrealistic expectations and the dangers of expecting to get it right the first time are some of the main things Rook Williams warns his clients about.

“Because there’s so much conflicting information and each of us has our own unique goals, schedules and responsibilities, when you go it alone there’s very little chance that you’ll get your nutrition vision right away,” explains Rook Williams. “Even if it’s working, it may not be sustainable, so be prepared for a period of lots of trial and error.”

For Rook Williams, that was a big reason for becoming a coach in the first place. “It took me ages to complete everything and, once done, I wanted to help others do the same and in much less time.”

Research confirms this. According to a 2012 study by the Weight and Eating Disorders Program at the University of Pennsylvania, 65% of dieters return to their pre-diet weight within three years and only 5% of people who lose weight on a restrictive diet, liquid or liquid. without carbs, manage to maintain weight — just one in 20 people.

“Carbohydrates are delicious, alcohol can be fun, food is for eating and going without all those things forever is, for most people, completely unrealistic. When you think about it logically, it’s no wonder most people aren’t losing weight.”

Ultimately, making a major change in your life requires more than just the will. It requires purpose, determination and a willingness to learn all mixed with a heavy dose of reality and a well-constructed vision of change.

“If you have a day where you feel like you can’t be bothered with anything, remember that you’re running your own race,” explains Rook Williams. “Success isn’t about being perfect every day, it’s about doing your best every day, no matter what you think. What I’ve learned — and what I’ve actually seen lead people to success — is if you have good habits and routines that you’ve built over time, that’s where you want to go. that will take you.”

Said Rook Williams: “It’s not just food or training or the wider lifestyle that will create change, it’s these three things. They’re all connected.”