New Years Resolutions/Setting Realistic Goals

Generally I’m not a New Year Resolution making type of girl. I do admire people that give things a shot however, and I have known friends and family in the past that have made an attempt to stick to a resolution and triumphed and also failed miserably after around the first 6 hours. This was me last January with my new sensible dieting plan. I opened the final Terry’s chocolate orange at 12.30 pm after consuming a tuna salad whilst watching ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ for the 31st time!

We’ve all made them, failed them and beat ourselves up over them. This year I’ve had a realistic change of heart.

I think it’s really beneficial to try and make your New Years Resolutions workable. I wanted to lose 1 stone in a month, which I’ve tried to do in the past and was unsuccessful in the process. After 2 weeks and losing 2 1bs, I gave up! It was ridiculous of me to stop because in hindsight I could have lost at least a good half a stone in those 4 weeks anyway. Sometimes when we set time limits on our goals and we make mistakes or fail a little, we have to think about not giving up, but actually to re-think, ‘Well, haven’t I done well!’

I have in the past applauded myself with achieving no New Years Resolutions, but setting goals and getting there. I planned on losing  2 stone last year, but giving myself 6 months to do it. I set a target of healthy eating using an app to count my calories instead of using fad diets. I began in April 2024 and up to today, I’ve lost 22 1bs in weight. With 2 1b still to go, I’ve nearly achieved my goal but it’s just took longer than I expected at a total of 8 months. As I mentioned, I’m nearly there and I feel so much better after having lost nearly 2 stone. So looking back my goal was admirable but not realistic for me by setting a time frame.

My New Years Resolution from today is to try and get around 8 hours sleep per night. I’m not going to feel guilty if I get 6 hours 1 night or 7 hours the next. I just know that trying to get at least that amount will be healthier for me and that’s what I want to aim for.

Have you set any New Years Resolutions?

Here’s some ideas that I think are achievable.

1   Start a new hobby. Is there something you’ve always wanted to take up? Maybe craft, art, sewing, learning a new language or learning to play an instrument. Some of these things can be done cheaply and there are lots of apps that have free resources. How about a free course online too?

Here’s some links: https://www.duolingo.com/

https://www.savethemusic.org/blog/easy-instruments-to-learn/

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/free-courses/full-catalogue  

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses

2   Quit smoking. I have smoked and it’s one of the hardest cravings to overcome. There’s lots of advice you can get online and you can pop into a pharmacist, especially in the UK, and get support to help you stop. If you’d like to quit vaping, you can try and use a 0% nicotine vape and go from there. Also the NHS provide an app that you can use to help. The link is below:

https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/

3    Be more active. I don’t like exercise to be fair but as I’ve got older I do understand that looking after your body by doing regular exercise is better for your mental health and can help you lose weight, lower blood pressure and make your heart stronger. It’s not necessary to join a gym if you can’t afford it (but if you can good for you), but try and walk more, take the stairs and pop a 5 minute cardio YouTube video on. It all helps, and a little activity each day is better than nothing.    https://youtu.be/_g8uPipBkoU?si=cweNaWNLa1rHIr48

4   Drink more water. I’ve always found this one difficult. Apparently 8 glasses a day is about right. We all know the benefits. Healthy skin, better digestion, joint lubrication, good for circulation and so on. My advice if you find downing 8 glasses a day difficult; grab a water bottle, keep it with you and sip, sip, sip throughout the day.

5   Save. You could set a little target to save each month and find a high interest account. The Yorkshire Building society, over the past few years, has had some really good high interest accounts. If you can’t save a certain amount, save what you can, and you may be able to afford a holiday or treat yourself. It’s good to remember what’s achievable for you.

And on that note I’d like to wish you a very prosperous and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!