In a few weeks, Mount Pleasant and Charleston will be abuzz with the talk of New Year Resolutions. For some reason, society at large has decided that January 1st is THE DAY to start a new, healthier routine: to start going to the gym to exercise more, to stop eating and drinking unhealthy things, to begin to take on those projects you’ve been putting off, take more group fitness classes, more sessions with your personal trainer…
And here at DUFF, we are ALL ABOUT celebrating a healthy lifestyle! BUT if you have noticed the tree at the front of the gym, we have asked all of our clients to write down a FITNESS GOAL to work on in the new year. So why, in the mix of the holidays should you start thinking about goals now?
Read on to see why NOW is the time to start working on your NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS!
GET A JUMP START on the NEW YEAR
The experts at Forbes ask the perfect question: “What can you do now to accelerate those goals so you hit the ground running on January 1?” We’re all about action at DUFF and we love the idea that even though you may be indulging in the holidays right now, that if you have a healthy goal and plan set, when it’s time to put it in action, you’ll be READY!
TAKE THE PRESSURE OFF THE NEW YEAR
BuzzFeed has another good point. Beyond just being ready, having a plan in action before the big day will make you more likely to follow through with it all: “[Having a plan will] help take the pressure off of January 1st — off all of 201[8] — to begin ahead of schedule. Humans literally invented the concept of time! And so while dates on a calendar can be comforting and compartmentalizing, they can also be much too rigid when it comes to the messy and non-linear work of personal change.”
WAITING FOR THE NEW YEAR WASTES TIME
The Power of Positivity continues this point: “In a sense, if you postpone your goals to a later date, you will lose valuable time that you could spend to manifest your dreams. Think of how much you can get done between now and the new year. For example, imagine that you want to adopt a healthier lifestyle that includes more fruits and vegetables and a regular exercise routine. You could start feeling more vibrant and having more energy now instead of waiting until the new year, and you will feel accomplished knowing you beat everyone else to the punch and started your New Year’s resolutions early!”
STARTING BEFORE THE NEW YEAR MEANS LESS WORK
Plus the earlier you begin, the less work you will actually have to do! This is especially true at the gym. Shape Magazine sums it up perfectly: “The Statistic Brain Research Institute also found that 21.4 percent of people cite losing weight or eating healthier as their New Year’s resolution. With that in mind, waiting until January 1 can actually set you back, making it harder to achieve your goal.”
The article quotes creator of Dr. Di Fit Life, Dianah Lake, M.D.: “Many people gain 5 to 7 pounds during the holidays because of poor food choices and more alcohol intake,” so it continues, “It’s no secret that the holidays are a challenging time when it comes to eating healthy, and waiting until the start of the new year can result in giving yourself a free pass that you just don’t need. (Read: feeling more inclined to eat that cheesecake now, since you know you won’t have it in January.)…
If you start building healthy habits now, you’ll have strategies in place to avoid or minimize unhealthy food choices during the holidays, explains Dr. Lake. By doing so, you can stop bad habits from pushing you farther away from your goals—and continuing to make healthy choices will be that much easier come January, when holiday temptations are no more.”
NEW YEARS IN A NUTSHELL
So with all this in mind, we by all means recommend enjoying the holidays. But instead of putting your New Years Goals off until January 1st, come by the gym and write them down! Before you jump into our group fitness class, hang your goal on the tree! By putting it in writing, it will give you the chance to start processing your plans and possibly (even if subconsciously) starting them a bit earlier than January 1st. As the experts have shown, by starting the process early, you are mentally preparing yourself, getting a jump start and quite possibly making less work for yourself in the long-run. And we all know that resolutions that are easier to follow are easier to keep!
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