Many people make New Year’s resolutions and fail within just a few weeks. Not this year. Heart Research UK is supporting the National Obesity Forum’s JanUary campaign – Do something good for "U" – and is asking you to commit to a New Year’s Resolution to make small changes for a healthier you in 2016.
Obesity is commonly associated with raised blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and poor glucose control, which can lead to the development of a number of complex health problems including diabetes and heart disease.
These top tips fromHeart Research UK could help you to make 2016 different and see you making those all-important small but meaningful changes that stick and form habits for the rest of the year and beyond.
Are you ready to embrace change? Choose a resolution that really matters to you. Perhaps you want to lose some weight, wish you did more exercise, want to finally stub out your smoking habit or enjoy a better work-life balance. Whatever you choose to change, do it for you.
Keep the cost down – making changes doesn’t have to be expensive. If it’s too costly it could be another reason to give up and make you feel worse if you do. There are plenty of ways to keep active and eat healthily without forking out for a pricey gym membership or gimmicky diet plans.
Be specific - create rules for your resolution so you’re clear whether you’re sticking to it or not. Instead of saying you’ll exercising more, say you will "go to Zumba every Monday" or whatever else you enjoy.
Keep a track of your progress – realising how far you’ve come is a great incentive to keep going. Set smaller goals to start with but keep pushing yourself to do a little bit more once you’re there. Keeping a diary or photographs can be a great way to do this.
Small changes matter - don’t take on too much; be realistic and choose something that you can stick to, as biting off more than you can chew could set you up to fail. However ….
Failing is part of the journey – don’t be too tough on yourself when you have a little slip. Changing our habits is hard and it’s natural to revert back to old ways. Pick yourself up and try again, celebrate the little victories and update your goals to keep your motivation strong.
Don’t go it alone – try to buddy up with others who are looking to achieve similar outcomes but just be careful not to let quitters ruin your good intentions if they drop out.
2016 could be your best year yet, so share your New Year’s Resolution with #HealthyJanUary and #dosomethinggoodforU and make your pledge today.