The trouble with resolutions

You see it every year. January 1st approaches, and suddenly the gyms are crowded, the health food stores get a boom, and your Pinterest is full of your friends' good intentions. I think it's a little engrained in us to want the shot at a fresh start each year. I get it! I love a fresh start as much as the next guy. But you know what? Nothing actually happened at midnight on the 31st. It's a night like any other. Just like the "magic" of starting your next plan on a Monday doesn't help you, New Years' resolutions are typically a set up for failure and disappointment.

Problem #1: We aren't designed to change overnight.

We are creatures of habit. That's pretty much common knowledge, right? So it definitely doesn't make sense that we expect to be able to reverse multiple bad habits quickly. There's lots of habit research out there and reference to "habit stacking." Basically, when you try to tackle one single habit, 80% of the time, you'll succeed, but if you try to change two at the same time, success rate goes down to 30%. No wonder we fail at our resolutions! Most people who make them make more than one.

Problem #2: Resolutions are often too vague with no real deadline.

Every heard you should make your goals SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-bound)? Therefore, saying "this year, I'll lose weight," or "in 2017, I'll get healthier," doesn't come close to complying with SMART goals. If you lose 1 lb or 50, technically you lost weight. But I bet you won't celebrate 1 single lb of weight loss, will you? Follow the SMART guidelines if you want to set real goals!

Problem #3: "Failing" at resolutions compounds more each year.

Now, this is just a theory, but, if year after year, you make New Years' resolutions only to fall off the wagon each time, your level of disappointment, shame, and guilt is bound to get worse each time. Imagine it's January 1st... you're excited that this is your year. You're going to lose that extra 30 lbs that's been hanging around the last couple years. You have a great diet in mind, a few friends to do it with, and a no-longer-neglected gym membership. You're ready for success, right? Maybe. But five days in, and you're miserable. You're hungry, grumpy, tired, and really just ready to dig into some Ben & Jerry's. You think back to last year when you tried to lose the same 30 lbs and how you failed. That self-doubt is there, lingering, waiting for you to feel weak enough to cave into your many many cravings.

Problem #4: The hype doesn't live up to the reality.

Have you ever imagined what your weight loss journey will look like? Ever gotten back from an awesome workout session, only to check for the abs that MUST be there, and they're not? Our expectations for weight loss and working out tend to be glamorized and unrealistic, therefore we develop lofty expectations for how quickly our bodies will change. Unfortunately, body composition changes are SLOW. Much slower than we want them to be. It can be disheartening to not see changes, and this often derails goals. New Years resolutions are exciting-- 4 weeks and only 2 lbs is not.

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It doesn't have to be this way! Yes, use the New Year as a spring board for things you want to do or achieve! But don't ever feel like that's the only time to make a change. Don't want until the next January 1st, don't even wait until the next Monday. The "I'll start tomorrow" mentality will never get you where you want to be. Next up for me? A Whole30! I'm nervous and excited, but I'm also so ready to learn more about my specific nutritional needs and irritations. Since having Rhett, Marcus and I have gone through several phases of "cleaning up our diets," but that has been much too vague to yield any new knowledge or results. Follow along as I take on this 30 day challenge starting January 9th.