How To Keep Your New Year's Resolutions

It's that time of the year where everyone makes New Year's Resolutions. Whether it's to lose weight, quit smoking, spend more time with family, they all revolve around improving your life and we're down with that! What steps can you take to improve your odds of keeping your resolution(s)? Read on for our best tips:

1. Be Realistic

There's nothing wrong with choosing a lofty goal but sometimes they are so challenging that we get discouraged. Instead of saying, "I want a six pack by March", aim for losing 10-15lbs by March. This is a lot more attainable and you can always create a new goal once you hit this one.

2. Create a Plan

Create a formal plan to help reach your goal(s). Think ahead of the steps you will need to be successful. If your goal is weight loss, what can you do to combat those days you don't feel like going to the gym? Create a support system with friends & family. Throw out any junk food or temptations. Set yourself up for success.

3. Talk About It

Put it out there for the world to see! Psychologically, it will help keep you motivated to know others also know about your goal(s). And circling back to the last point, you can rely on those that know to help keep you in line. Your friends & family want to see you succeed.

4. Track Your Progress

Keep track of your progress with a journal. Sometimes it's easy to forgot how far we've come and seeing small goals get met along the way will help keep your head in the game. If your goal is to lose 15lbs in 3 months and you hit 5lbs in 3 weeks, it may not seem like a lot but it's a big win!

5. Let It Go This is something we preach all the time here at CrossFit 1727. We're bound to slip up here and there, we're only human. The important part is to quickly put it behind you, don't dwell on it and get back to the plan. Our saying is "get back on the horse"

6. Don't Give Up

It's going to take a little while to get into a real groove. We often start with high motivation which sometimes can dwindle as time goes on. Keep in mind that experts say it takes a minimum of 21 days (3 weeks) for a new activity to become a habit but more realistically, a study done at University College London proved to be longer. The study examined 96 people over 12 weeks, who each chose a different goal. On average it took longer than 2 months for it to become habit, 66 days to be exact. However in the study, it took anywhere from 18 days to 254 days for the participants so it's safe to expect it could take anywhere from 2 months to 8 months to change your behavior. Don't give up!

Book mark this page and come to it any time you need some reassurance. Keep in mind this acronym for your goals(s):

SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely

Shrewsbury, Westborough, Worcester, Grafton.