A poll of 2,014 British adults in 2015 about New Year resolutions found that 90% of all participants made health, fitness or well-being-based pledges. While that is an encouraging number, one that isn’t is that 50% of people making resolutions were not confident that they would attain the desired result. Unfortunately, there is no data on how many people actually successfully get through a year completing their resolutions. But most of us would agree that the number would be quite small.
So why does this happen? Why do most of us make resolutions and get nowhere close to reaching them? One simple reason: We focus on the result and not on the effort .
When we say things like: ‘I want to lose 5 kilos,’ or ‘I want to be able to control my temper,’ or ‘I don’t want to fall sick in 2018,’ we are simply talking about what we want. It is a wish list of sorts and not much more. We do not look into what it takes to actually get there. Let’s take a classic example: fat loss.
Most of us want to lose some fat because we all indulge in gluttony and sedentariness during the year and this is our way to offset that. There’s nothing wrong with that. The trick to is to get the balance just right so you end up losing fat and gaining health while still enjoying life as it is today.
So your goal here is not to lose fat but to do things that will enable your body to consistently lose fat . There are things you do and don’t do today that are causing your body to gain weight. What you need to focus on are the changes that you must make (the effort) and not on the number on the scale (the result). Why? Because you only have control over the effort. The more effort you put into making these changes, the better the result you’ll see on the scale or the tape measure. What are these changes we’re talking about?
Activity needs to become a habit. How active are you today?
If you are currently moderately active, increase your frequency, duration or intensity by 20-25%.
If you are already very active, keep it going.
If you do nothing today, start doing something. You don’t need the best programme there is or the most expensive gym. Just start by going out for a run or even a walk. Do this 5 days a week and make it a habit. You’ll find your path once you start the enjoying the journey.
Food is simple. Stop overthinking it.
As long as you are eating enough protein (1.5 grams for every kg of bodyweight) and vegetables (1 cup for every 25 kg of bodyweight) and drinking enough water (at least 2 litres per day), all your nutritional needs are covered.
Sweet, fried or creamy foods are totally unnecessary but eat as little as you need to stay sane and on track. If you can eat none, that’s excellent!
Eat starch (rice, roti, daal etc) and fruit based on activity level. If you do something active, eat some starch after the activity. If you didn’t do anything active, don’t. Earn your starch.
Sleep is critical. Stop trivialising this. The connection between sleep and fat loss is pretty direct. The more sleep deprived you are, the less fat your body will shed. Aim for 50 hours every week. Break it up however you want, but get the 50.
The scale is a way to track how much more or less you need to do and eat. It is simply a tool that tells you how you need to tweak your effort. It is nothing more a digital read out. Don’t let it stress you out.
And finally, never give up on yourself. One bad weekend or a crazy month or a failed programme shouldn’t be your excuse to throw in the towel. That was just another experience and I’m sure it taught you something. It’s all part of the journey.
