One of the most popular resolutions that people like to make for the New Year is either to lose weight or improve their overall health. Yet, it seems like only a handful of people manage to accomplish these goals and the resolution itself can create more harm than good. Here are a few things to consider before embarking on your newly-created fitness goals.
Hitting the hospital before you hit the beach
New Year’s resolutions might supply the motivation, but it may give too much confidence, which can be harmful. According to Huffpost, some of the most common mistakes made by people just starting an exercise program include not warming up, doing too much too soon and failing to seek a professional evaluation.
Those that dive head first into a life of fitness and well-being without first doing the proper research can put themselves in danger. Excessively exercising too soon can lead to injury, both mentally and physically. The concept of recovery time when a person first starts out is often overshadowed by the prospect of achieving that “dream body” as soon as possible.
Revival of harmful diets
Many individuals opt to search the Internet for tips or tricks rather than seeking insight from a professional. The danger with consulting the Internet is that one can stumble upon harmful ways to lose weight. These people might be trying to find the quickest and easiest way to lose weight, which may lead them to try any diet that promises instant results. However, there are many different factors that go into losing weight besides a diet. Everybody is different and so is each person’s best way to lose weight.
Unrealistic expectations or goals
Weight loss is a process; it doesn’t just happen overnight. One of the problems with making a New Year’s resolution to lose weight is the expectation to lose a certain amount of weight over a defined period of time. However, carrying unrealistic expectations about the ease of losing weight, amount of weight to lose or the time it will take to lose it might set people up for failure. When they don’t achieve their goals, they can experience a sense of failure that can lead to stress, frustration or even depression.
Motivated for the wrong reason
According to study done by researchers at Harvard, “Experts who study behavior change agree that long-lasting change is most likely when it’s self-motivated and rooted in positive thinking.”
Often, New Year’s revolutions are made for the sake of a new year or because of a desire to fit in. While a new year does bring the idea of change, a more powerful sense of motivation needs to come from inside. When there’s a rainy day or you have a really tempting food calling, motivation is what will keep you on track, and a positive motivation will have a stronger impact than just the motivation to maintain a resolution.
Forgetting other factors
According to UC San Diego Health, “Researchers say 60 percent of gym memberships signed in January never get used and most of the rest are ignored by mid-February.”
One of the problems with this type of resolution is that they are trying to break routine. Aside from motivation, other factors like time management and money are also involved. People can risk breaking the bank by spending money on gym memberships that they’ll let expire before achieving their desired figure. Organization is the key to achieving your resolutions.
