New year. New goals. New beginnings.
The theme across social media filling up the news feed from December till the middle January, then it all goes quiet. Quiet because people don’t want to admit they have given up on their resolutions.
A common mistake is made when making your New Year’s resolutions, so let’s fix these mistakes and have a brilliant twenty-sixteen.
Starting on the first of January.
In one of his seminars, Tony Robbins tells us that people usually give up their New Year’s resolutions by the 7th day in January. This is because people go cold turkey on their goals and it doesn’t stick so it becomes a chore. In January, there is still so much Christmas food left, chocolates and puddings. You’re still catching up with friends and family at BBQ’s and dinners. Enjoy it and relax – start your resolutions later in the month or in February.
I have always started my resolutions either on January 13th or February 1st and I find it much easier, along with all the other tips below.
Making your goals too vague.
Popular resolutions: lose weight, stop smoking, eat healthy, exercise, drink more water. Great! Now let’s make it more in depth and create a little calendar of steps.
An example for a February start!
February
Week 1: Eat vegetables at every dinner. Drink one glass of water when I first get up and right before bed. Walk up the street every afternoon/after or before work.
Week 2: Eat vegetables at every dinner and salad at lunch on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Drink two glasses of water when I wake up and two right before bed. Walk around the block for at least 30 minutes in the afternoon/before or after work.
(Note: For the salad I didn’t write ‘Three times a week’, I actually wrote the days. This helps to keep you focused.)
Week 3: Eat vegetables at every dinner and salad at every lunch. Two glasses of water when I wake up, before lunch and before bed. Walk and jog in intervals around the block for 45 minutes.
Week 4: Eat vegetables at every dinner, salad at every lunch and a piece of fruit for every breakfast. Drink two glasses of water in the morning and at night. Carry around a water bottle and sip during the day. Jog around the block in the morning and power walk in the afternoon.
Tailor this to whatever you want and have fun with it. If you really enjoy the gym, add in gym time. If your not a gym person, you don’t have to go to the gym to lose weight. Power walk and jog in your neighborhood, do weekly swims at your local community pool or if you are lucky enough to live near the beach, swim or wade in the water. Find a yoga class or a local sports club.
The salads don’t have to be boring; add roasted veges, nuts and avocado. If you are a meat eater, add chicken or fish. There is a huge array of lettuces and veges to make your salad extremely yummy. Make a big one and split it into separate airtight containers. Add oils like coconut, grape seed and macadamia with herbs and spices.
Try and steam your nightly vegetables and pair it with a healthy side.
Remember this: Eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a Queen and dinner like a pauper.
Whatever your resolution is, create easy steps and make it fun!
Check out http://www.sportsmatchmaker.com.au/ to find someone in your area who would like to meet up and shoot hoops, swim, kick around the footy or any other sport. You select the sport you want and select WA, then it comes up with a list of people. You need to set up your profile first. THIS IS NOT A DATING SITE!
Here are three tips to help you drink more water!
Infuse with herbs and fruits
Water Tracking!
Drink More Water Tracker Printable Â
Use the printable tracker above and write times on your water bottle.
Eat food that is mainly made up of water.
This includes cucumbers, watermelon and other melon family members, salads with a lot of leafy greens, grapefruit and kiwi fruit. You could crush them up and turn them into icy-poles.
EXTRA TIP! Get a water intake app. I use the Hydro Coach, its great and easy to use.
Going Cold Turkey
Another mistake people make, because once you tell your brain you can’t have something, it wants it SO BAD!! Some cravings can be a deficiency in something the body needs, so listen to your body but keep firm. If you have a major sweet tooth, add it to your goal calendar mentioned earlier and slowly cut down on your intake of bad sweets and replace it with healthy sweets. There are so many yummy raw desserts on YouTube so start exploring. Drink red wine instead of other alcoholic drinks and keep these items for the weekend.
Giving up when you think you have failed!
If you went through a tough week because there was a death in the family or death of a pet, or because you got stuck late at work all week making you miss out on your vegetables and jog… DO NOT GIVE UP!! Accept that these things will happen then stop, think, re-plan and go. Change your goal calendar to fit with your life, flexibility is a vital key.
If you are having trouble sticking to it because you aren’t feeling motivated, recreate your goal calendar. You can do whatever you want, it’s your calendar.
Being too hard on yourself!
You get invited to dinner at a friends place and they offer chocolate cake as dessert. You want it and you can taste it, but you can’t because you are trying to lose weight right? I say… take it! If you really feel like it, take it. However, adjust a few things to fit it in. Take a small piece instead of the large and only have one serving. Eat fruit salad if it is on offer and drink water. The next day, do a little bit more cardio and be your normal active self. But enjoy the chocolate cake, because we are here to be happy and enjoy life. Don’t say ‘Oh I can’t because I’m trying to be good!’, there is nothing wrong with having a piece of cake – cake is good <3
Never EVER say diet!
It’s a lifestyle full of wonderful choices that lead to you feeling great!
Wishing!
I hear people all the time wish they could do something. I wish I could travel. I wish I could do more. I wish I could getaway. Well… go right ahead, all you have to do is plan it. You could plan a little getaway now for the Australia Day long weekend; go down south, up north or stay somewhere in the Perth Hills. Spend just an hour on Google searching for experiences and things to do, put them in a notebook and pick out a few to add to your goal calendar.
Below is a few things I have done over the years with links for you. But first, I have a special offer for you. To celebrate graduating from the Health Sciences Academy and receiving my Diploma as a Nutritional Therapist, I’m offering a free personalized goal calendar but only until midnight Tuesday 12th January, 2016.
Email me through my website by clicking on the link below. I will email you back with a questionnaire, fill it out and email it back then I’ll send you a personalized goal calendar along with personalized nutritional information. The goal calendar will be printable and will come with four blank ones so you can change things around later in the year.
Email me via the contact form here – http://myrapeggyrose.com/about/
Remember, offer is free and closes midnight on January 12th, 2016.
Trapeze – 2011
http://www.accesscircus.com/
Fly a Cessna 152 – 2013
http://shop.royalaeroclubwa.com.au/shop/listings/gift-vouchers
Volunteer at the Cat Haven -2013
http://www.cathaven.com.au/support/volunteer/
I sat in a huge caged off area and played with about twenty kittens!
Cuddle a Koala – 2009
http://www.cohunu.com.au/
Learn to sail – 2012 – Current
http://www.funcats.com.au/hire.html
Drive up to Newman, across to Port Hedland, back to Newman then down to Perth – 2008
This is what it looked like for 11 hours!
Watch the sunrise somewhere beautiful – Busselton 2015
Fly to Bali – 2012
(This is a photograph I took when I got stranded and lost while on an adventure. You can read about it here: http://myrapeggyrose.com/2013/12/01/stranded/)
Petrol in vodka bottles for your convenience – Kuta, Bali 2012
Enter a competition – Death of the Ladybug 2011
I made and photographed these for a competition and won first prize, which was a massive box of Kustom Cupcakes. This isn’t the photograph I submitted because I cannot find it, but it’s a photograph I took after I made them.
Attend an event, even if you only know the friend you go with and she also doesn’t know anyone there except you! – MASQabaret Masquerade Ball 2012
Climb a mountain or go on a hiking adventure – Bluff Knoll 2015
(Read about this here: https://soperth.com.au/climbing-bluff-knoll-highest-peak-south-west-wa-3094)
Bluff Knoll at sunset as we try to beat the light to get back down the mountain!
One of the many different textures of path up to the summit.
The summit of Bluff Knoll at 3, 606ft above sea level!
