Written by: Danielle Hollinshead, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Every new year, new health & fitness resolutions are created. Whether it is to get in shape, lose weight, or generally become healthier, people all over the world state their new intentions with starting a new fitness program. However, only about 8-10% succeed in achieving their new year's fitness resolutions. Is there an explanation for this low new year's resolution success rate? And, if so, how can new resolutions improve the chances of succeeding in the new year?
Truth is – It is all about mindset, planning, and finally (most importantly) – Execution!
But remember, just because the new year is right around the corner, doesn't mean you should wait.
The sooner you start, the better.
Before we dive deep into the actionable advice, let's discuss some more important things.
First of all, new year’s fitness resolutions are highly individual. It might be getting in shape for one person, another trying new fitness classes, and the third is perhaps training for a new half marathon.
To understand the new year's resolutions success rate, we must look at it from a different perspective. As people make new year’s resolutions in the hopes of getting healthier and fitter, there is a new year's fitness and weight loss resolution failure rate, as we already mentioned. This new year's fitness resolution failure rate is due to several factors: lack of preparation, bad training plan (or non-existent), no clear goal setting, and finally – not following through with new year’s health goals!
Most new year's fitness resolutions fail because one of the above new year's health resolution mistakes has been made. So, what can we do to fix this? First and foremost, it comes down to... Mindset
It is no surprise that new year’s weight loss and fitness resolutions fail so quickly – when you set yourself up for failure from the beginning, then the new year's resolution failure rate is no surprise! Before anything else, you must change your mindset. Just because the new year has arrived doesn't necessarily mean it is the most suitable time to start. Taking care of your body and mind should turn into regular habits rather than a short-lived goal. It's just that the New Year is a symbol – One that signifies the beginning of something new and perhaps, in your case, the beginning of the greater YOU. So, focus on your mindset first – Realize that self-care is of utmost importance, and it doesn't matter if it's January the 1st or 20th of April – The sooner you start, the better! This leads us to the next point, which is namely, to set goals.
The new year brings plenty of motivation and momentum, both for your fitness goals and any other personal dreams and goals that you have. However, during all this overwhelming motivation, you may come to find that you are setting quite unrealistic, unsustainable goals, such as:
Losing 30 lbs in a month
Completely overhauling your life
Losing your old self and creating a new one
If that is the case, you should come to realize that massive, instant change isn't really needed. Even more so, sudden changes may turn out to be unbearable for your body and mind, so when setting goals, do so in an incremental approach. Realize that your body likes to change, but it likes it slow. Set simple goals, such as:
Becoming more active
Making better food choices
Getting better at managing stress
Becoming more aware of automatic, self-sabotaging behaviours (i.e eating bad foods daily)
Improving your sleep
These simple goals will set the fundament for you to achieve and over-achieve other more specific goals. With these considerations out of the way, let's discuss two of the most common goals for the New Year – Losing fat and gaining muscle!
With obesity being on the rise during the past couple of decades, fat loss is one of the most common New Year's resolutions, without a doubt! And this is perfectly understandable – Who wouldn't want to get rid of all that excess weight? However, losing fat requires a concrete plan, especially regarding your nutrition! The good thing? Fat loss depends on ONE main principle – Calories in VS Calories Out. To lose fat, you must take in fewer calories than you burn throughout the day, otherwise known as "eating in a caloric deficit".
And though that stands true, there are many other important considerations for a successful weight loss fitness plan. We can get deep into the science of it but allow us to just give you the actionable advice in a couple of bullet points!
Create a moderate caloric deficit
When losing fat, you also lose lean body mass (such as muscle) and obviously, you want to retain that lean body mass for optimal health and looks. Creating a moderate caloric deficit of 400-500 calories per day will allow you to lose fat, retain lean body mass, and provide you with energy for all physical and mental activities you have throughout the day.
Get balanced macronutrients!
Once you have established a moderate caloric deficit, it is time to take care of the nutrients you give to the body.
Protein and fats are essential for the optimal functioning of the body, meaning that the body needs them, but can't produce them on its own. Aim to consume about one gram of protein per lb. of bodyweight, along with up to 0.45g of fat per lb of bodyweight. And don't forget your carbs, because...
Training performance is important!
Besides a moderate caloric deficit and sufficient protein and fats, training is vital for your weight loss regimen. Not only because training will help you burn off some extra calories, but also because it helps you retain lean body mass... And makes you look tighter, more toned, and sexier naked! This is especially valid for weight training and other types of resistance training.
And guess what – Carbohydrates are the best energy source for such types of training.
Tip: Take Diet Breaks! We all know how exhausting a weight loss diet can be, both mentally and physically. Through the new year, as your weight loss plan advances. Make sure to get frequent diet breaks, where you still track calories but eat at maintenance rather than a deficit. This will give your body and mind a break from the chains of fat loss and will prepare you for your next bout of eating in a caloric deficit. Diet breaks can be implemented for 10-14 days, every 3-4 weeks of eating in a caloric deficit. And remember, a diet break doesn't mean entirely ditching your eating habits and losing track – it simply means eating some extra calories without creating significant changes in weight! A low carb intake may simply mean that your performance will suffer, so in all cases, a balanced ratio of all three macronutrients is optimal. Remember – This new year's fitness goal requires discipline, which comes down to mindset again – You need to be aware that you are doing this for the long term! You won't just do "one fitness resolution" and get to your dream shape – You must sustain the habits!
Check out my 12-week Nutrition & Wellness Coaching Program at www.ideal-fitnessnutrition.co.uk/nutrition-wellness-coaching-program
Danielle Hollinshead, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Danelle is a nutrition coach based in the UK, alongside with her husband, Ian, together they created IDeal Fitness & Nutrition, an online fitness, and nutrition coaching business. Between them, they have 5 children aged 4 years to 18 years. Together their mission is to tackle quick-fix diets and give people the knowledge and know-how to be able to create and maintain a complete healthy lifestyle. Alongside nutrition coaching, Danielle wants to take a stand and encourage more women to come forward and partake in a contact sport. Both Danielle and Ian are amateur kickboxers training and working in a busy martial arts gym in Portsmouth, South England. Danielle is keen to find more women of all shapes and sizes to step up and out of their comfort zones to take part in a truly rewarding sport. In her 4 years of training in kickboxing, Danielle has found it a struggle to find women of her size (UK size 16) that will put themselves forward for sparring and/or competitions. With a background of mental health issues and a negative relationship with food, Danelle has managed to turn her life around and wants to encourage more people like her to do the same.
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