With every new year comes new year’s resolutions for all of us, which can be exciting and frightening. Weight loss is without a doubt one of the most common new year’s resolutions, but you know what else is expected? Unrealistic expectations. It’s easy to jump into the new year with ambitious goals and high levels of optimism, but 365 days is a lot. If you set unfair expectations for yourself, you’re much more prone to quick burnout and disappointment, which makes it easy to abandon your new year’s resolutions altogether. However, a manageable weight loss goal that is both reasonable and enjoyable will net you the results you’ve been dreaming of, as long as you stick to it! Here are some realistic weight loss resolutions that are effective and easy to stick to.
- Drink more Water: It’s hard to underestimate how vital water is for a healthy lifestyle. Water helps detox your body, strengthen your immune system, and boosts your metabolism. Although it’s on a person-by-person basis, we recommend 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of water a day for men and 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) for women. The easiest way to stick to this and see results is to eliminate sugary drinks from your diet, drink water during meals and carry a water bottle with you throughout the day.
- Cut back on booze: Severely limiting your alcohol intake or even cutting it out altogether can go a long way in seeing noticeable weight loss results. Alcohol is loaded with empty calories and carbs, making weight loss very difficult. Too much alcohol can lead to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. The best way to stick to this without quitting cold turkey is to establish some reasonable limits. Try to only drink in moderation on weekends or limit yourself to 2-3 drinks a week max.
- Slight diet modifications, not radical changes: You may think a drastic change in your diet is the answer. While that may be true in theory, a massive change in food intake is hard to do overnight. Not only is it challenging to establish new habits and abandon old ones, but unrealistic diet changes can also lead to stress and under eating. Small, incremental changes that yield results and aren’t hard to implement include: Eat more vegetables and fruits, eat less bread, eat more lean protein, eat fewer sauces/salad dressings, and cut down on sugar.
- Get moving, but don’t overdo it: Exercise plays a crucial role in weight loss; just like with diets, you may feel extra motivated to hit the ground running with new and intense workout plans to start the new year. But don’t set yourself up for failure with workout plans that are too much too soon because then it’s easy to slack off. Something as simple as daily walks, bi-weekly bike rides, weekend jogs, and at-home push-ups and sit-ups are practical and much more doable than hitting the gym five days a week.
A new year is always an exciting time when you have unique personal goals to tackle, but far too often, these die quickly because people try to do too much. Try new things that you know you can handle without stressing yourself out, and if you stick to them, your hard work will pay off! New year, New you!
Happy New Year!