“Next year, I’m going to get in shape.”

“After December 31st, it’s done – I’m changing my eating habits.”

“I’m going to hit the gym every day next year, no excuses.”

Sound familiar?

Throughout the holidays, many people make promises to themselves that they’ll get their health in check as soon as January 1st rolls around. While these resolutions are well-intentioned, they often fall flat just a few weeks into the new year. Most people who make resolutions for the new year want to hit their goals but simply aren’t prepared to understand the work it will take to change their health. 

Getting the mind prepared to make a long-lasting change is the first step in developing a new year’s resolution that stands the test of time. Breaking down large goals into small, attainable steps, finding a way to stay accountable, and being realistic about your intentions are all important steps in getting yourself mentally prepared for new changes you wish to make.

Get Specific

Don’t just say, “I want to lose weight.” Get as specific as possible with your goal. This will help you to maintain focus on where you’d like to go and can help you create a detailed action plan that will give you a roadmap to success. 

Goals like, “I want to lose 50 pounds before my birthday this summer,” or “I want to run a 5K in less than 30 minutes by the end of the year,” are more achievable than vague goals. 

Once you have a specific goal in mind, break your goal down into small action steps. That could mean figuring out how many days you’ll work out each week, deciding what day of the week or month you’ll do a progress check, or deciding the number of pounds you’ll need to lose each month to hit your goal. 

Checking your progress toward your specific goal regularly is important. It can be tempting to ignore progress checks due to fear that you’ve backslid or aren’t progressing as quickly as you’d like. Keeping track of your progress can cause some anxiety, but it’s well worth it in the end. 

Get Accountable

When setting a big goal, it may be tempting to keep it to yourself. Perhaps you’ve started to work toward a healthy weight many times before, but you’ve never followed through. Maybe you’ve talked to friends and family about how you’ve wanted to change your lifestyle so you can reduce chronic illness symptoms, but you fell back into old habits quickly. 

The good news: your family and friends want to see you healthy, and they’ll likely be supportive of your efforts. If you’re nervous about talking with your loved ones about the changes you’d like to make, it can help to be upfront about your fears. 

Letting them know that you’re nervous to work toward your goal because of past failures can help them to see how their support can play a key role in helping you make things different this time around. 

In addition to telling family and friends about your goal, keeping yourself accountable through your own methods can be helpful as well. After you’ve nailed down the specific behaviors you need to work on to meet your goal, it can be helpful to put a check on your calendar for each day that you follow through. 

You may also want to reward yourself by choosing a reward that doesn’t sabotage your progress (such as going to a movie or getting a manicure) after you meet a mini-goal. Small rewards along the path to your larger goal can help to keep motivation high.

Be Realistic

Ambitious goals are great – but it’s important not to overdo it. When goals are too lofty, it’s easy to get discouraged. Having realistic goals is a key part of staying committed to the small behaviors that allow you to work toward your goal over time. 

If you’re not sure if your health-related goal is a good fit for you, it may be worth making an appointment with your healthcare provider. They’ll be able to work with you to help you figure out whether the goal you have in mind is realistic. 

If you’ve worked with your doctor on weight loss goals before, you may have talked about using prescription weight loss aids to help you stay on track while getting in shape. If you’ve used the now-recalled drug Belviq, you should know that active Belviq lawsuits are currently being consolidated into a mass tort case. 

If you’ve taken Belviq and experienced negative effects, including cancer, it’s a good idea to talk with a lawyer about your case as soon as possible. When you took Belviq, you expected healthy support while working toward your weight loss. If you were injured by taking Belviq, you may deserve compensation. Reach out to us today for a free consultation on whether your experience with Belviq could qualify for inclusion in the Belviq mass tort case.