It is almost the end of January, are you still sticking to your resolutions?
It’s hard; the initial motivation you had in December may have faded a bit, perhaps your work schedule has gotten busier, and the excuses just seem to come easier.
Most resolutions are abandoned by February, and it makes sense. Holiday habits (spending money, overindulging with food, etc) that were the catalyst for your behavior change have since naturally adjusted, so it may not seem as necessary to stay focused on your goals. Believe me; I know all too well the lofty goals set while in the midst of a December cheesecake binge don’t seem so relevant when the sweets are gone in February. But don’t give up on your goals just yet; the reality is that change is difficult and anything worth having is worth some hard work. Here are a few ways to make it easier to stay on track with your health resolutions.
Fitness Tracking
CES showed us this will be a huge year for wearables, and now is the best time to use these to help you reach your fitness goals. With several models of fitness trackers previously released, the newer designs are much more intuitive and user-focused. While the first few models really focused on just a few metrics, the current standard has a variety of data points gathered, and also has specific calibration for different activities. Everyone initially thinks of Fitbit when activity trackers come to mind, but there are now a load of brands out there that offer different interfaces, and different benefits.
Using a fitness tracker can help you find the little ways to stay the course and make more active choices, like taking stairs instead of an elevator. Other than the basic steps and heart rate metrics, some of the trackers calculate calories burned and a variety of other parameters. With the popularity of Garmin, Misfit, Polar, and Xiaomi along with the fitness trend, you can more easily find “health buddies” to join in as a support system. The best part is that these some of these interfaces can be linked together, so it really gamifies the process and makes staying active more fun.
Plenty of mobile health apps on the market today essentially turn your phone into a personal coach, and what really makes this a great approach is the customizability of it all. It might not be quite as effective as hiring a person to train you in exactly what you want, but there are apps focused on abs, weightlifting, running, and many more- giving you the ability to personalize your fitness program with minimal cost (if any). This is an aspect that will be more and more incorporated into wearable devices moving forward.
Healthy Eating
You can work out all you want, but if you don’t have proper nutrition it will be a huge waste of effort. It is much easier to cut calories than to burn them off! A balanced diet is critical to achieving your health goals and with the popularity of healthy living now there are a lot of options available to keep you moving in the right direction.
Guilt-Free Fried Food
I still can’t figure it out, but for some reason the food that tastes the best is the worst for you. Especially food of the crunchy and fried variety, it is my Achilles’ heel. Oil-free cookers help to keep out the really unhealthy trans fats, sodium, bad cholesterol, and other harmful elements, while still managing to crisp up food of all kinds. These have been trending upwards all holiday season, and it is clear to see why. You can throw in any food and it uses a combination of infrared heat and convection to quickly cook your meal. The lack of oil not only makes it healthier, but it is also much cleaner. Squeezing a new fitness routing and healthy cooking into your schedule is tough, and it takes a lot more time and effort to balance everything. The little things like this that help you stay focused while saving you time and effort really do make a difference- you don’t want to ditch your goals and have your health suffer because it is too hard to make a change.
Get Juiced!
Getting your 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day is pretty difficult to actually do, especially if you are adapting to a new schedule with extra activities and fighting to stay committed. A lot of nutrients are lost when you cook veggies, so juicing is a really neat way to preserve those essentials to maximize your efficiency. Juicers not only get you all the vital nutrients you need from your food, but they make it very easy to package your drinks for the whole day, or even week! Meal prepping saves time, and if you already have a day’s worth of required fruits and vegetables in a bottle you can drink on the go, that just makes it easier to stick with the healthy lifestyle.
The hardest part about a new routine is trying to make it fit, and feel like it belongs. If you have help to make the switch easier, it is more likely to stick around and become your new norm. Any hacks you can do to make the switch easier will benefit you in the long run, and the satisfaction from reaching a goal will outweigh the instant gratification from slipping back into old habits. Check out our fitness hub for more great ways to stay healthy.
What are some health hacks you use?
