Nutrition by Dawn - Blog

With just a few days left in 2022, many minds are beginning to switch from holiday cheer to looking forward to the New Year. For many people, the New Year can mean only one thing: creating a brand new New Year’s Resolution. 

So what am I making my New Year’s Resolution? It’s simple: I’m not. That might come as a surprise from someone who is constantly preaching the value of making positive changes in your life and for your health, but there’s an easy explanation for why I won’t be making a resolution this year. I’m always in favor of making switches that promote real, lasting changes in your life, and resolutions are not that kind of change. 

If we’re being honest with ourselves, New Year’s resolutions begin on January 1st and last for about a week, or maybe two, or maybe if you’re really dedicated, you can stretch it out to February. But no matter how you slice it, a New Year’s Resolution is almost guaranteed to not last, and that’s not the kind of change I’m about. 

So what kind of change am I in favor of? The kind that lasts. The kind of change that involves a true shift in mindset that means you’ll be committed to making short goals over an extended period of time, rather than trying to complete a 180 degree shift in your lifestyle that isn’t realistic or sustainable. 

Today, I’m bringing three tips for making real change in the New Year–that doesn’t involve any kind of resolution. 

1. Commit to bite sized goals rather than trying to eat the whole elephant. 

There’s a silly phrase that I like to refer back to: there’s only one way to eat an elephant–one bite at a time. The same is true for our goals. If you have a BIG long term goal for yourself, it may seem near impossible when looking at it from a distance. But if you break it down into smaller, bite-sized goals over a longer period of time, that impossible goal suddenly seems a lot more reasonable. 

In 2023, consider your biggest goals for yourself and break them down into small steps. Do you want to run a marathon sometime in your life? Maybe you start by reaching your step goal just walking, and then you tackle your first mile, and then you train for a 5K run. Your biggest goal may seem like a mountain you just can’t climb, but with baby steps, anything is possible!

2. Find an accountability partner. 

I get it–life gets busy. That’s why you need to find a partner who will hold you accountable to your goals, and you can do the same for them! Whether it’s a quick text message, a phone call, or a weekly meeting, having someone to turn to for support and accountability can help you remember to make your goals a priority. 

3. Find tangible ways to measure progress. 

When measuring your progress, it can be tempting to rely on popular methods of tracking how far you’ve come, like looking at your weight to measure your success towards your health goals. Unfortunately, variables like weight are not reliable indicators of success. Weight fluctuates with factors like water retention, and of course, as you gain muscle, your weight will rise even though your health is prospering. 

Instead, if your goal is to get healthy, look at factors that are more tangible, like measurements. Take your measurements at the beginning of your journey, and you can compare every month or so as you progress. That way, you aren’t reliant on a fickle measurement like weight that doesn’t take into consideration all of the factors at hand. 

When 2023 rolls around, I won’t be making any resolutions for myself. What I will be doing is evaluating where I want to be three, six, or twelve months from now and creating realistic goals for myself–and a plan to stick to them for the long run. 

What is your biggest goal for yourself? Let me know in the comments!

I hope you’ll join us as we cook up a delicious and healthy meal in March at our Perfect Pairings event. Get your ticket right here!