Do you have difficulty keeping your New Year’s resolutions? Here’s how to keep yourself on track

Making a New Year’s resolution is one thing. However, being able to keep it is another thing entirely.

Every year they’re made with the best intentions – with the hope and desire to become a better version of ourselves – so why is it that millions of people make New Year’s resolutions knowing that the chances of them ever fulfilling them are minimal? is? ?

Jasper Rook Williams – fitness expert, online coach and owner of JRW Fitness – has built a successful career so far working with hundreds of clients around the world to improve their nutrition, training and lifestyle calibration. He has a good idea why.

“The goals, while sometimes a bit ambitious, are rarely the problem and they are all set with the best intentions,” Rook Williams told ABC News. “The problem is that the approach has rarely been thought about enough. People have high ambitions that depend on usually unrealistic and unsustainable methods. Instead of just thinking ‘I’m going to eat salads and go to a gym’, people prioritizing achievable routines, sustainability and lifestyle changes from a broader and more holistic perspective.”

According to research, Rook Williams is not wrong. The failure rate of New Year’s resolutions is estimated at 80%, with most people losing their resolve and motivation just weeks later in mid-February, according to US News and World Report.

“Changing your habits is very difficult, including finding the right time to make a change,” said Bas Verplanken, professor of social psychology at the University of Bath, in a report released in 2017 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology . from December 31 to January 1 is not a dramatic discontinuity. Many resolutions are made on December 31st and lost on January 2nd.

Psychologically, the start of a new year is often seen as a pivotal moment: a time to reflect on the previous year and look ahead to the new one. But this doesn’t necessarily translate into immediate change and action just because of the timing.

“Anything worth having is never without obstacles”

It is perhaps not surprising that the top three resolutions made each year are living healthier (23%), personal improvement or happiness (21%) and losing weight (20%), according to a report published by Statista in November 2022.

“A good question to ask yourself when you’re starting out is, ‘does this feel sustainable?’” Rook Williams explains to ABC News. “If you can’t maintain the routine, you certainly won’t maintain the results.”

One of the things Rook Williams has discovered that helps people maintain their success is when people have (or are given) a sense of responsibility.

“You have to keep in mind that creating new habits is hard and progress on anything valuable is never linear,” he said. “There will be times when you want to quit or the results seem to have stopped and that can be difficult to deal with. That’s when having someone to guide you and hold you accountable can be invaluable in the change process.” .”

To successfully bring about change for the better, Rook Williams says it ultimately comes down to finding the right balance.

“In the case of fitness, it’s not just the food, the training or the wider lifestyle that will bring about the change, but all three things working together,” he continued. “They are not mutually exclusive. A lack of motivation is common and, in my experience, something that comes when you don’t have a plan. Whether you hire a professional or not, you just need to take the guesswork out and always have a feeling Gaining direction helps the individual on his path to success.”

“Motivation is temporary”

One of the biggest obstacles to maintaining New Year’s resolutions, especially when it comes to fitness goals, is choosing goals that are both achievable and sustainable.

An estimated 12% of all new gym memberships each year occur in January, according to a study by IHRSA, the fitness industry’s only global trade association representing health clubs around the world. Another study shows that four out of five people who go to the gym in January actually stop within five months.

“Motivation is temporary for everyone,” says Rook Williams. “So the best thing you can do is use that time to create the habits and routines necessary to get you through once it subsides. And it will subside. It always does. The classic thing for new gym starters to do in the new year is from zero to 100 miles per hour… They want to go from not training at all and eating whatever they want, to training five, six, seven days a week and eating like a bunny. This just makes things worse for that they will fail, because it just is not realistic.’

One of the biggest reasons Rook Williams’ clients often succeed when it comes to goal setting is the focus on maintaining a healthy outlook every day and “saying no to short-term thinking.”

“Being new to something and hoping to be perfect right away is a good way to give up on something very quickly,” explains Rook Williams. “Make sure you leave some slack. If you planned to workout three days a week but only did two, that doesn’t mean you’re a failure. It’s still two more than before, so wipe the slate clean and try to do it again without holding on to guilt or punishing yourself.”

“Everyone falls off the horse sometimes, even the pros,” Rook Williams continued. “What’s important is how quickly you dust yourself off and get back to work. Those who make it do so right away. But those who let one mistake turn into more mistakes are the ones most likely to give up and start over .year.”

‘Never just one solution’

Whatever New Year’s resolutions you make, for Rook Williams, success is all about perspective and making incremental changes that fit your lifestyle, rather than disrupting it completely.

“There is never just one solution to a problem, whatever that problem may be,” he continued. “Your goal may be set in stone, but the way you achieve it shouldn’t be. Don’t get married to just one method. Finding lasting success is all about finding the method that’s easiest and most convenient for you. is the most maintainable.”

Unrealistic expectations and the dangers of expecting to get it right the first time are one of the main things Rook Williams warns his clients about.

“With so much conflicting information out there and each of us having our own unique goals, schedules and responsibilities, the chances of getting your nutritional approach in the right place if you go it alone right away are incredibly slim,” explains Rook Williams. “Even if it works, it may not be sustainable, so be prepared for a period of trial and error.”

For Rook Williams, this was a big reason why he became a coach in the first place. “It took me forever to put it all together, and once I did, I wanted to help others do the same, and in a lot less time.”

Research actually supports this. According to a 2012 study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania’s Weight and Eating Disorders Program, 65% of dieters return to their pre-diet weight within three years and only 5% of people who lose weight on a restrictive diet , such as a liquid or no carbohydrates, manage to maintain weight – only one in twenty dieters.

“Carbs are tasty, alcohol can be fun, food is for eating and it’s completely unrealistic for most people to have to do without all of these things forever. When you think about it logically, it’s no surprise that the majority of people fail to keep off the weight they lose.”

Ultimately, making a big change in your life requires more than just the desire to do so. It requires purpose, determination and a willingness to learn, all combined with a heavy dose of reality and a well-constructed approach to change.

“If you’re having a day where you feel like nothing’s bothering you, remember that you’re running your own race,” explains Rook Williams. “Success is not achieved by being perfect every day, but by doing your best every day, whatever you think of it. What I have learned for myself – and what I have really seen that leads people to success – is that your good habits you have and routines that you have created over time, that is what will get you where you want to be.”

Rook Williams said: “It’s not just the food, the training or the wider lifestyle that will create the change, but all three of those things. They’re all connected.”

Do you have difficulty keeping your New Year’s resolutions? Here’s how to keep yourself on track, originally published on abcnews.go.com