Hello 2023! ✨ New Year, New Me ✨ 5 Tips For Making and Keeping Your New Year's Fitness Goals

For people all over the world, one of the most common resolutions for a new year involve fitness or healthy changes of some kind. Whether you want to lose pounds, eat healthier, or start a new fitness journey, it can seem challenging or overwhelming to get started and keep going. If you're looking for some advice or some extra helpful ideas, I've got you covered. Below are my 5 tips for getting started and keeping on track to help you reach your 2023 fitness goals so you can feel wonderful all year long.

Photo by Purely Perspective Photography | @purelyperspective

Tip #1: Start Small & Keep Them Realistic

When you're starting out on your new fitness journey, it can be tempting to go all in. In the moment, it's easy to say "I want to lose 20 pounds by spring" or "I'm cutting out all the bad stuff from my diet- no cheating". But when we generalize goals or want to go from 0 to 100, we can get frustrated and overwhelmed with intense changes. Start out with small, realistic goals rather than larger ones. For instance, if you want to lose weight, instead of cutting out everything (sugar, fat, carbs), start with a smaller change such as making a pledge to eat more fresh fruits and veggies for a week. Begin with something small and attainable, and as the weeks go by, keep slowly making changes to your diet. You don't have to give up everything right away. Besides, depriving yourself of everything will only make a binge more likely, and you'll also be hella hangry. It's also important to be honest with yourself about where you're currently at in your journey. If your goal is to run a marathon but you've never run a day in your life, maybe a long run right off the bat isn't the best idea. Try a light jog/walk mix to start, and increase the length and intensity as you notice your cardio improve. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will your fitness or health goals.

Tip #2: Be Consistent & Be Accountable

I'll Confess: there are days where I just don't want to workout or get some yoga in. If I didn't sleep well the night before or I'm just feeling bleh, exercise is the last thing I want to do. There will be days where you will be tired, frustrated, or just not feeling it. But it's important that you just keep going. Even if you only get a 15 minute workout in, that little something is better than nothing. On the days I just don't want to go to the gym, I tell myself to go for just a little bit, setting a timer for 15 minutes, and I'll check how I'm doing when the alarm goes off to see if I want to continue or be done. 9 times out of 10, I go a little longer. Consistency is key here- if you do a little something just about every day, you'll notice changes faster than if you constantly start and stop again. Keep yourself accountable too- enlist the help of a fitness buddy who can keep you on track, or ask a friend to check in with you weekly. Another way to keep yourself in check is to get a fitness journal to write down your daily workouts and progress. By having someone or something to answer to, you're more likely to follow through with your commitments.

Tip #3: Realize It Won't Be Perfect & Easy

When we start something new like a fitness journey, it can be incredibly frustrating when we don't see immediate results or feel like our progress is taking longer than usual. It's important to acknowledge that anything worth doing and achieving won't be easy. You're not going to get instagram worthy abs in a day, and you're not going to learn to love healthy food overnight. Maybe lifting weights feels more difficult than usual, or you're simply struggling to just get through a basic workout. Or maybe you've been working out every day and eating right and it just feels like you haven't made any progress. Remind yourself that every day is different. Some days you're going to absolutely crush your workout and your diet, and other days you binge watch "The Hills" on the couch while eating a bowl of mac and cheese having not moved a muscle all day (this is me 100% by the way). The important thing is to just keep going and to not give up. Even if you do skip the gym for a few days, make it a point to go the very next day. You're not a failure if things don't always go exactly how you thought they would. Be compassionate with yourself to continue to keep working hard, even if it feels like you can't. Believe me when I tell you that you're making more progress than you think. You'll see it too if you just keep trying.

Tip #4: Eat The Dang Cupcake Or Fries! Then Get Back On Track

A few days back, I was having dinner with one of my good friends and we were talking about "what we should be eating". Both of us mentioned that we should probably eat a salad, but that wasn't what we both truly wanted to eat. I really wanted some french fries, and she was debating on whether or not to get something with more sustenance. Then she said something that stuck with me- she indulges from time to time, and instead of throwing her healthy eating habits entirely out the window, she gets right back to it with her next meal. If we eat something we deem as unhealthy, it can be tempting to say "screw it, I've already cheated. I'll just start again next week." But the cycle of "starting over on Monday" sets back your progress and doesn't give you the space to make real changes. If you indulge in a cheat meal (or two), just make it a point to have your next meal be healthy and go from there. There is no need to deprive yourself or certain foods you love all the time. You'll be happier and less likely to completely fall off the wagon if you allow for some wiggle room. And spoiler alert- I did have the french fries, and they were delicious.

Tip #5: Track Your Progress In A Healthy Way

I am not here to tell you how to live your life, but if I can give one recommendation, it's to not weigh yourself daily or even weekly. The little number on the scale is not a reflection of what you've accomplished or what your value is. On a daily basis, our weight fluctuates and there's nothing we can do about it. The number can go up or down depending on how much water we've had or whether or not we've eaten (and what we've consumed). For women, those numbers can change drastically if we're on our periods (hello water weight). It can be discouraging if you feel like that number should be different, especially if you've been working your tail off, and it can lead to an unhealthy obsession with achieving a magical number. Remember: fat weighs more than muscle, so those numbers can be misleading. Stepping on the scale every.single.day is a headache you simply don't need. Instead of using your scale, take note of how you feel overall. Do you seem healthier: are you getting stronger, are your clothes fitting better? Do you have more energy? Do you overall just feel better? Use those indicators as a way to mark your progress and not some silly number that needs to be achieved. As cliche as it sounds, the number on the scale is not a reflection of how hard you've worked or what your worth is. Track your progress by how you feel- not by an arbitrary and meaningless number, and I almost guarantee you'll feel better about the journey overall.

Remember: Keep going, keep trying, and give yourself the grace and space for all of the changes you're trying to make. It won't happen right away, but you will get there by going the right way!

Photo by Purely Perspective Photography | @purelyperspective

Are you making some fitness of health related goals for the upcoming year? Tell me in the comments below what they are. If you're already working on your journey, tell me how you keep yourself accountable and what works for you. I always love hearing what other people are working on- sharing and collaborating is a great way to connect and gather new inspiration!

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Let's Connect! Send me an email via allisonrachaelyoga@gmail.com or connect with me via Instagram on my page | I can't wait to hear from you- and remember: Live your bright and golden life :)