Are New Year’s resolutions really that helpful?

Written By: Mairead, Registered DietitianDo you set New Year’s resolutions? Some people love them, some people hate them, and lots of people just don’t care.

Resolutions can be a great way to make changes in your life, especially your health and fitness, because you can take advantage of that New Year’s momentum. It’s easier to make changes when you feel like you have a blank slate, or other people around you are working on their goals as well. If the New Year is what motivates you, that’s amazing!

Where resolutions can be less helpful, is when we make them too extreme, unattainable, or something that’s just not sustainable in real life for the long-term.

A resolution to be more active this year could be a very positive thing if you are starting with moving your body more regularly (whatever that looks like for you), and in ways that you enjoy. But if we interpret this resolution as needing to go to the gym or run every single day of the week for the next year, we’re likely to give it up quickly, since you’re almost guaranteed to run into obstacles around this.

A resolution to eat healthier this year could be interpreted as aiming for balanced meals and trying to eat more vegetables most of the time. This is more likely to lead to positive changes than aiming to cut out all sugar, carbs and processed food overnight.

The key to making resolutions actually work for us, is to think less extreme and look for changes we can keep up for the year, not just the next 2 weeks. And if your resolution doesn’t pan out? You’ve got 364 other days of the year that you can start your goals on. Don’t wait for another year to pass if there’s changes you really want to make.

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