10 Tips to Start Your 2015 Fitness Journey

Do you participate in new years resolutions? If you are like myself and many others, you come up with an unrealistic goal in an unrealistic amount of time and within a few weeks you don’t see the results you want and give up. According to Forbes just 8% of people achieve their New Years resolution goals.

There is actual science behind why our brains cannot handle New Years Resolutions shown through an experiment done at Stanford by Professor Baba Shiv. A group of undergraduate students were divided into 2 groups. One group was given a two-digit number to remember. The other was given a seven-digit number to remember. Then, after a short walk through the hall, they were offered the choice between two snacks: a slice of chocolate cake or a bowl of fruit. What’s most surprising: The students with 7-digit numbers to remember were twice as likely to pick the slice of chocolate compared to the students with the 2-digits. Professor Shiv said this is due to a cognitive load from stress of remembering more numbers.

The start of a new year brings motivation to many. It allows us to look back on the previous year and see all that we have accomplished during the year and all that still needs to get done. This creates a motivation within us to accomplish and set out the New Year with a great resolution.

One of the top 10 new years resolutions is getting in shape or become healthier. But why are the new faces we see in the gym on January 1st gone by February 1st? This is most likely due to setting an unrealistic goal in how they wish their body to be, when no results are seen in 2 weeks many people tend to quit and give up.

How can we stick to this “getting in shape” resolution? I am going to give you my top 10 tips to start your New Year fitness journey with a bang and stick to it!

1. Start slow. If you overwork yourself the first day you are in the gym, you will be less likely to go back to the gym the following day. If you start out slow it will motivate you to continue going and eventually working up to longer workouts, heavier weights, and more days of activity throughout the week.

2. Find a workout buddy or a support system. We all know that it is hard to sometimes find the motivation on our own, so find a buddy to hold you accountable for your workouts.

3. Find a workout pattern that works for you. Cardio vs. lifting, find your healthy balance of the two and watch the weight shed off. Don’t be afraid to ask people how to use different machines.

4. Add in healthy foods before cutting foods out. By adding in healthy foods it allows us to slowly cut out the “junk” food we were once eating at a time when we’re ready. Because we have to be ready for change, and by changing at a pace of our own it allows for an actual lifestyle change.

5. Change your lifestyle, don’t just start a diet (because the word alone just doesn’t sound appealing). We want to have a healthy lifestyle, this is when diets that tend to start in the New Year set in stone and are no longer a diet for you but become your actual way of living. Healthy mind, body and spirit.

6. Cut down on the sugar and processed foods. You will see results quickly with this tip!

7. Drink lots of water! Water actually flushes out toxins found in our body and promotes weight loss at the same time.

8. Don’t forbid yourself from eating your favorite snacks or food. Develop a healthy lifestyle of say an 80/20 rule where 80% of the time you consume healthy foods and 20% you allow yourself a “cheat meal”. This is where many diets or changes can go wrong.

9. Eat smaller meals throughout the day. This will prevent you from overeating the rest of the day. If your stomach always has a little portion of food in it, you never get too hungry and overeat later in the day.

10. Remember results take time, they do not happen overnight. This is probably the biggest hurdle in weight loss but the goal is just to stay consistent in your journey.