4 Realistic Health Resolutions to Make for 2019
By Brian Acton
December is the perfect time to reflect on the past twelve months and think about what you want to accomplish next year. If you plan to make a New Year’s resolution, you may be considering lifestyle changes that will make you healthier.
But according to U.S. News, 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February, with reasons for failure ranging from lack of a game plan to unrealistic expectations.
The best way to get started on a successful New Year’s resolution is to set a realistic goal and identify the actions you will take to accomplish that goal. Here are four realistic health resolutions you can make for 2019.
- Start a Consistent Exercise Routine
It’s easy to say you’ll be lifting weights in the gym six days a week or training for a marathon in 2019. But busy schedules and a lack of planning can derail lofty goals, especially if you currently lead an inactive lifestyle. Make sure to focus on establishing an exercise routine you can actually follow.
A realistic routine will mean different things to different people. For the extremely active, a realistic goal may involve going to the gym an extra day each week. For people just getting into exercise, committing to a half hour walk three days a week might be enough to get started. Set a realistic exercise routine with a schedule that you can stick to.
- Substitute Healthier Meals
Crash diets often fail because they are extremely difficult to maintain over long periods of time. Instead of committing to a hardcore diet, try substituting existing bad eating habits with healthier choices.
For example, you may want to reduce the amount of times you visit fast food restaurants by 50%. You might want to replace your daily dessert with a healthier snack. Or, you could start eating a balanced breakfast rather than grabbing coffee and donuts on the way to work. These are all realistic, achievable lifestyle changes.
- Get a Better Night’s Sleep
Getting a good night’s sleep is an extremely important aspect of your overall health - it affects your physical and psychological well-being and can help you be more productive during the day. There are many ways you can commit to getting a better night’s sleep:
- Establishing a consistent sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day.
- Eliminating the blue light emitted by screens (such as phones, tablets, and television) before bed.
- Getting consistent, regular exercise.
- Getting a better pillow if your current pillow isn’t getting the job done.
While you probably can’t commit to every sleep improvement method there is, you can take a few steps to improve the quality of your sleep. The benefits will extend to many areas of your health.
- Reduce Your Stress Level
Too much stress can be bad for your health. But eliminating your stress entirely would be virtually impossible - your job, family, and basic survival needs create a certain unavoidable amount of stress. However, you can take steps to reduce your stress using very achievable methods.
For example, you could commit to setting aside one day a month to engage in a deeply relaxing activity, such as getting a massage or going to the spa. You could reduce stress at work by delegating some of your responsibilities, or you could work on removing a few social obligations from your calendar if you’re feeling overextended.
In Closing
These examples are still in the beginning phases – working out the gritty details will help you set realistic goals. By establishing an achievable goal and putting together an action plan, you’ll be setting yourself up for success. Just remember, backsliding or falling off the wagon doesn’t mean you have to give up on your resolution. There’s always tomorrow.
Sources:
https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/articles/2015-12-29/why-80-percent-of-new-years-resolutions-fail
http://blog.menscience.com/why-crash-diets-fail-3-reasons/