Exercising more, eating better and getting healthy usually top the list for New Year’s resolutions. It’s no surprise that companies are more than willing to accommodate the demand for a quick fix to what has usually been a problem for most people for the entire year prior. Therefore, for the first few weeks of January we’re bombarded with commercials and products promising fast weight loss and a quick fitness fix.

These commercials lessen as the first month of the year progresses. By February most of us have abandoned our diets and new fitness equipment to settle into comfortable habits. Perhaps that’s because achieving fitness goals might take more than a new program, it might take a new mindset.

Exercise Your Mind

We can make all the goals we want, but if we don’t change other habits in our lives we might be challenged to find and maintain success. This is especially true for goals of health and fitness. Many of us become discouraged when results are not immediately apparent. We end up focusing more on what we are giving up today (a favorite food, our time, sleep etc.), instead of what we will gain, tomorrow.

If we take a close look at our day, we might discover that we have many routines we could consider a habit—something we do regularly that’s hard to change without a conscious effort. But the habits that come easy to us today may have required a conscious effort to incorporate into our lives.

Routine tasks such as:

• Getting up or going to bed at a specific time
• The time we eat our meals
• Our personal hygiene routine

These may seem simple, but if we omitted any of these we usually notice. We no longer even think about doing some of these tasks, because they have become part of our day. Think about if you’ve ever experienced a moment that you couldn’t remember if you washed your hair, if you set your alarm, or if you locked the door behind you—because you do it without thought.

Fitness Baby Steps

Instead of choosing multiple, or broad fitness goals, perhaps we could narrow it down to one new habit until it becomes part of our routine. Then we can build upon these healthy habits each month of the year. We can still have an overall large goal like losing a certain number of pounds, or lifting a specific amount of weight, or competing in a marathon. But if we break those overarching goals into small steps, we have a better chance at achieving our fitness goals and finding the time in our day to incorporate them.

Maintain a Positive Mindset

Even if we aren’t successful with every goal, each one incorporated is an improvement to our overall health and

Photo courtesy Unsplash artist Marion Michele

fitness. There’s no reason to think that we have to achieve complete fitness in the first month of the year. Don’t become upset if you get off-track; just start fresh the next day.

Fitting in Fitness

Consider starting with the easiest goal that contributes to your overall health to enjoy the delicious taste of success.

• If you spend most of your day sitting, consider an ergonomic laptop desk or a standing desk
• Start your day with simple stretches or a few yoga exercises
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator
• Exchange one daily unhealthy snack for a healthy choice
• Add an extra glass of water to your day
• Go to bed a half hour earlier

After succeeding with one habit for the month, it should be easier to add the next step such as increasing the time you spend walking, adding five more pounds on your weights, or reducing another snack from the day.

Healthy Habits

These healthy habits may not have you slipping into a smaller size immediately, but they can help you face each day with more optimism and maybe even less stress. By the end of the year all these little efforts might payoff for an overall feeling of wellbeing and help to achieve twelve new healthy habits.

This Post is Part of a Fitness Blog Hop

This post was written as part of a Pop Up Blog Carnival hosted by the Healthcare Marketing Network.  

More great posts by freelance healthcare writers on the topic of fitness can be found on the Healthcare Marketing Network blog. 

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