Tips for sticking to your New Year’s resolutions

Did you know that approximately 80% of people that make a New Year’s resolution, have given it up by the second week of February – with the majority of that percentage giving up by mid-January?

We all start the year with good intentions, whether it’s to ‘eat better’ or ‘do more exercise’, so why do so many of us fail? Most commonly it is that the goal is too generic (lose weight), too big (go vegan by going completely cold turkey on all meat and dairy) or you’re trying to achieve too much (go vegan, stop drinking, delete all social media!). So with this is mind, here are some tips to increase your chances of achieving you New Year’s resolutions this year.

Make your goals specific

Making your New Year’s resolutions specific can make them easier to achieve. For example if you want to ‘lose weight’, try setting a specific target weight and a date to achieve it by. By doing this it makes the resolution more measurable, and therefore more achievable. Try not to set the date too far in advance, as setting your target date of the 31^st December 2022 likely means you’ll put off trying until November!

Start small

So you want to try being vegan, but you’ve eaten meat and dairy your entire life? It is a great goal to want to achieve, however going cold turkey is likely going to end in giving up. How about starting with going vegan during the week, or even just swapping a few of your usual meals for vegan alternatives? Starting small makes the goal achievable, and the transition easier. Even if you do decide to go cold turkey but find yourself eating a bacon sandwich on a Sunday morning, falling off the bandwagon doesn’t mean you have to give up completely – just enjoy your sandwich then try again (and maybe find a bacon vegan alternative!)

Plan, plan, plan!

Fail to prepare = prepare to fail. If you want to eat healthier, more nutritious meals this year and want to avoid reaching for those convenience options, then preparation is key. Taking the time to write a meal plan, and then prepping for those meals, will make it so much easier to improve your diet and stick to it. Don’t forget to keep it interesting – meal prep doesn’t have to mean broccoli, chicken and rice 5 days a week.

Make it fun

A resolution you enjoy is one you are much more likely to stick to. Whether you set yourself some smaller challenges to celebrate along the way or make meal preparation a family activity, finding ways to make reaching your goals fun will also make them much more achievable.