How To Create A Lifestyle Change In 2018?

And just like that 2017 is over. A new year has begun and you might be ready to make a lifestyle change.

Happy New Year friends and happy 2018 to you all!! May this year will be filled with blessings and prosperity.

January is that time of the year where the motivation is high, goals are slapped on various pieces of paper and we throw ourselves into the deep end head first. Within a couple of weeks, some of us get burned out; others continue going but slowly drop off like flies. By the end of the month, only a small percentage of people continue hitting their goals.

Why Do People Quit?

• Some people say it is too difficult to follow a diet or training plan.
• Other people say it is too hard to get back on track once they have fallen off.
• Some people say it is too hard to find the time.

I love seeing new faces in the gym. People are eager to work on themselves and create a lifestyle change.

Goal-Setting for a Lifestyle Change

Everyone is capable of creating and visualising their goals. The downfall is the lack of patience. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither were you. My recommendation is to:

Lifestyle Change: Choose five goals

By selecting a small handful of goals, it makes the process of reaching them less daunting. It allows you to strategically focus on those goals. Let’s say for example, the goal is to do 20 push ups by the end of 2018. My next recommendation is to:

Break Those Goals Into Smaller Short Term Goals

By breaking these goals into smaller short term goals, it will help you to focus on a smaller piece of the puzzle. The goal is to do 20 push ups by the end of 2018; thus the smaller goal is to do 5 push ups within 3 months. My next recommendation is to:

Write Out Weekly Goals

By writing out weekly goals with a pen and paper, you have made the goal more concrete. Tell someone that goal in order to keep yourself accountable. Aim to practice your goal at least twice a week and tick off at the end of the day. The action of ticking off a goal creates pride and a sense of accomplishment. Always be proud of your victories regardless if they are big or small 🙂

Creating a Lifestyle Change

Creating a lifestyle change is probably one of the hardest things that a person can do. I chose to change my lifestyle through fitness nearly 13 years ago and I understand how difficult it can be. My biggest tips on creating a change for your health and overall wellbeing are:

Focus On One Day At A Time

Forget about the number of workouts you have left for the week. Focus on what you want to achieve today and today only.

Prioritise Your Progress

Create a plan or follow a training plan that you can realistically follow. If you can only train 3 days a week, find a plan that caters to you and your needs.

Making Time For Your New Lifestyle Change

Schedule time during your week for your workouts, prepping your meals for the week. When I first started out, I always trained at 8.30pm in the evenings. I always blocked out 2 hours on my schedule for the gym no matter what. The same for prepping my meals, it was a priority. By eating homemade meals, I am able to keep myself accountable for my nutrition.

Focus On Your Overall Wellbeing

Make sure that you are getting at least 6-8 hours of sleep a night. Aim to drink a little more water each week. Start with 1.5L a week and gradually increase it. Aim to eat more fruit and vegetables each week and try new ones. Start with eating 2 fruits and 1 vegetable one week and gradually increase it until you can reach 5 fruits or vegetables a day.

Focus On Recovery

If you feel that you need a rest, take a rest day. I have two rest days a week. Sometimes, I switch my rest days around with a training day, other times, I take an additional day if I feel like I need it.

Exercise Your Mind

Read a book, a newspaper or watch a stimulating documentary.

Enjoy And Take Care Of Yourself

If you like to take hikes, go to the spa, watch a movie with friends or eat burgers on Saturdays, go out and do it. Your lifestyle change doesn’t mean that you sacrifice other aspects of your life. Your lifestyle change enhances them.

A positive attitude, a clear mind and consistency will help you along the way.

Until next time,

Folakemi Olamide