10 Common Mistakes to Avoid in Making a New Years Resolution

Here we are again. You thought to yourself. You are not really sure if you should have any New Year’s resolutions to start off the year, when looking back, you haven’t really done anything much about the resolutions you made last year. Is giving up a choice in this case when losing weight seems hopeless? Fortunately for you, almost everybody fails at their resolutions, specifically at 88%, so you are not really alone and neither should you take the easy route and give up. There are reasons though why people fail and it’s good to take a step back and look at why you failed first before you make any new resolutions for this year. In this way, you do not just make your resolutions but actually do them and this time, succeed at it. Let’s take a look at some common mistakes to resolution-making and how the experts would have you deal with it successfully this time.

1. Wanting everything to be perfect

Yes, you are a perfectionist at all cost and it may have benefited you at some point in your life. When it comes to making New Year’s resolutions however, being a perfectionist can prove to be a disadvantage. Research has confirmed how perfectionists have a lesser tendency to stay consistent with their resolutions due to their self-inflicted criticisms and for their over-planning backfiring at them. In the end, you only feel lousy about yourself because you tend to see everything as an all-or-nothing cause. As such, one slip up and you give up because you already feel like you have failed the whole program.

How to fix it? Flexibility is the key to resolving perfectionism and if you are a perfectionist, developing a sense of flexibility will allow you room for mistakes, slip-ups, and lapses which naturally happen at the course of your implementing your resolutions. You are not perfect and when you fall, you just have to get back on your feet the next day. Pick yourself up each time you fail and do not dwell on criticizing yourself for not being perfect. Perfectionism will only let you give up easily but flexibility will make you resilient and keep to your resolutions for the year.

2. Eating much less

Well, you had way too much over the holidays and isn’t it logical to eat much lesser now that you have resolved to lose weight? Cutting calories seem only logical on your way to losing weight but being overzealous can actually shrivel your progress. As personal trainer, Julia Buckley, has observed in many, cutting back too much too soon almost always results in backfires. Julia knows how consuming low-calorie diets tend to leave you low on energy and high on grouchy demeanor. You then put your body in a state of distress that triggers it to cling to fat stores. Starving yourself never produces good results and only makes you feel worse in the process.

What to do instead? Trainer and nutritionist, Kristy Stabler encourages you to reduce your normal intake at around 200 calories first and then check how you will feel about it before you reduce it any further. If you still feel energized and your measurements are reducing in the next two weeks, then it means that you are now at a healthy and desirable caloric level. Keep it going and keep it steady until you have reached your weight loss goals.

3. Expecting too much just from one resolution

Making just one big resolution and expecting it to solve everything is also a huge resolution-making mistake. Registered dietitian nutritionist and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson, Angel Planells, MS, points out that you if you proclaim that you want to lose 45 pounds but you will most likely not be able to achieve it, then you are just setting the stage for shame and failure.

How should you be setting your expectations then? You have to start small and be able to chunk it. Instead of making one big 45-pound weight loss resolution, chunk them and start with having 5 to 10 pounds as a goal. Work towards accomplishing this goal first and then succeed at it so you can move forward and feel more confident to lose your next 5-10 pounds. Without you knowing it, you have already lost the 45 pounds that you originally wanted to shed off. Chunking it makes it way easier to achieve, is less prone to failure, and gives you more motivation to get to your bigger goals.

4. Making vaguely general resolutions

When it comes to goals and resolutions, you have to be very specific. Conversely, if weight loss is your goal, making vague and general resolutions will make it hard for you to plan well and succeed at it. Dr. Pauline Wallin, a Camp Hill, Pennsylvania licensed psychologist has observed how majority of individuals set vague resolutions like, ‘eating healthier’ or ‘going to the gym more often.’ Sadly, they never work.

How specific should you be then? Be as specific as possible using exact numbers, dates, deadlines, time, etc. It is also highly recommended that you include if-then contingencies that will help you cope with slip-ups and temptations. In this case, you can say that you will not eat your favorite milk chocolates for 1 week and if you crave for it, you will wait for 30 minutes until the craving passes. If you still feel the craving, then you will eat 5 grapes. Having specific back up plans will help you stick to your resolutions more when confronted with some weak moments.

5. Overdoing your exercise routine

It’s easy to feel guilty when you have slacked off from your exercise routine. The New Year is definitely going to make you feel like you have to work out as hard as you can. Sarah Ann Kelly has seen how at the start of each year, she gets a barrage of new students as a trainer. However, they last only from one to two weeks before they call it quits. It doesn’t even matter that she gives them extra attention as they work out on their bikes or how they are ensured to stay hydrated. She would even caution them not to start out too fast too soon but they just do not want to listen and end up extremely tired and frustrated on their first day.

How should you get back on your workout regimen then? If you are going to try a new workout routine, you have to take it easy and observe how it’s done carefully rather than participate fully during the first couple of exercise sessions. Kelly further recommends that you have to inform your trainer or teacher when it is just your first time so your routine can be properly paced. Do not compare yourself though with the other, older participants as they have already adjusted to the routine. Focus on yourself and let your trainer guide you properly. Meanwhile, if you are simply continuing with your old routine, then do not suddenly add more reps or add more weights to your workout. Surprising or shocking your body like that is going to result to extreme fatigue, muscle soreness, or injury not matter how confident you are with your physical abilities. Should you feel dizzy, nauseated, or uncomfortable during a routine, take a step back for a few minutes or discontinue what you are doing.

6. Not preparing for the unexpected.

If you expect everything to just go on smoothly, then you are in for a big surprise. A glitch here and there is sure to come your way in your effort to keep to your resolutions and that’s just like everything else in life. If you do not prepare for such, it can certainly sideline any resolve that you may have to finally lose weight. It is good to make a list of your daily tasks, but do you get to accomplish them to the letter each and every day? There are probably days when you do but there are also days when you don’t. An expert in time management, Laura Vanderkam remarks how you might make plans about eating a healthy breakfast and end up eating whatever there is in your fridge.

How do you prep for the unexpected then? You still make plans, as they are what will set the direction towards your goals. But do not expect everything to turn out as planned because more often than not, the opposite happens. Do not only plan for things when they go right. Also plan for things when they go wrong. Instead of just planning for a healthy breakfast, also put healthy food in the fridge in case laziness strikes or when you are in a hurry.

7. Thinking that depriving yourself will shed the pounds off

Foods are either good or bad and you simply need to cut out the bad, including your favorite food group – and so you thought. Kelly Hogan, RD, a nutritionist based in New York City carefully warns how deprivation is actually bad for you in all angles. Losing weight by cutting out on your favorite food groups because you consider them bad can actually make you feel discouraged and eventually, lead to feelings of deprivation that get accumulated and result in binge eating. And when you binge eat, all your efforts towards losing weight can go down the drain just like that.

Should you go back to eating your favorites then? In the long haul, both self-deprivation and cutting out on any one food group are bad for you. So instead of thinking that it will help you lose weight, think portion sizes and focus on consuming a well-balanced diet. Think nutrition in varied colors with veggies, proteins, whole grains and even dessert – as long as you keep to your portion sizes.

8. Failing to set up a positive support system for yourself

No man is an island and when you fail to surround yourself with the right kind of influences, you may not get through to see the day of your resolution success. If you stay in the company of people who do not care about their health and eat whatever they like, your resolve can easily melt away. Tyler Spraul is a head trainer at Exercise.com and he believes that when you spend time with underachievers, you will tend to follow the same path that they do.

How do you set up that health-oriented support system around your goals? If you think about the 5 people with whom you spend most of your time with, you will see how you are a lot like they are. Knowing this, you have to make a conscious effort to be with people who can influence you positively towards your goals and create that formidable support system. It pays to be picky in this sense and Spraul would even go as far as urging you to find a friend or join a group of people who are as passionate about the same things as you are when it comes to weight loss. You can ask them to help keep you on track and stay accountable to what you have promised for yourself.

9. Getting stuck on slip-ups

How long do you think should you be wallowing on your occasional slip-ups? Definitely not very long! It is quite normal to feel bad about yourself after a slip-up but what you do after that spells the difference between real success and failure. One slip doesn’t automatically mean failing in your resolution. Quitting is what’s equivalent to failure and is a fatal flaw. Dr. John Norcross, a University of Scranton Psychology Professor does a research examining people’s compliance to their New Year’s resolutions. What he found was that when people believe they have failed, they are bound not to do it ever again or follow through on their resolutions. In the end, they give up and simply go back to doing their problem behavior.

How should you be dealing with a slip-up now? Like any other normal individual, understand that you too can fall off track but if you choose to, you can belong to that 70% who are able to still keep to their resolutions because they have used their slip-ups to strengthen them each time. With each slip up, pick up yourself and be strong enough to face the consequence of your act. Use those negative feelings to strengthen your resolve not to give in to anymore temptations next time until you finally succeed and reach your body goals. Do not dwell and wallow on your feelings of defeat because it is only over when you decide to quit.

10. Forgetting to synchronize your environment

Your surroundings is as important as what’s inside of you in your resolve to lose weight this year. But many make the mistake of forgetting to change their environment so that it synchronizes with their goals. Needless to say, they eventually revert to old bad habits and give in to temptations often. Imagine opening the fridge and making a choice between imported chocolate cake and fruit. Or deciding between a movie marathon all night and a sound 8-hour good night’s sleep. You have to be more resilient than that right?

How do you tie it all together? After you have everything arranged on the inside with your mindset and attitude, check your external environment. Successful self-improvement requires looking for ways to change up your environment so that it is conducive to your weight loss objectives. Make sure your home, office, and other places you’re often at, help you to eat right, sleep soundly, and exercise regularly. You can make a few tweaks that create a big impact. Moving the TV out of your bedroom can help you focus on sleeping more hours. You can also set up gym time with your friend so you will be motivated to go as scheduled. Always carry a water bottle with you so will not be tempted with other drinks. Sweep your cupboard and fridge clean of candy and high-sugar snacks. You know yourself better and there is so much you can do to make your environment very supportive with your goals.

 

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