It’s that time of year again, the holiday period is here, and with the New Year, comes New Year’s Resolutions. Did you stick to yours last year?
If you didn’t, you’re certainly not alone. The key to achieving any goal is to ensure that it is realistic.
Meeting a long term goal, particularly with weight loss, will never happen in a week, or the first month. It is a journey, and making sure that you have set goals that don’t overwhelm you is the first step.
Many of us begin the year with the best intentions to achieve our resolutions, and end the year having fallen short of our targets.
Here are our 5 easy tips to help you meet your New Year’s Resolution:
Set realistic goals
During the holiday period, we have time to plan our meals, cook healthy food, exercise, and to make “us” time a priority. As work and school start back up and our old routine kicks in, our old habits also tend to creep back in. Creating a realistic goal is the first step to achieving your New Year’s resolution to lose weight. Remember you can always re-evaluate as you reach your targets.
Make sure you have a support system in place
An independent study* published in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that losing weight in a structured, supportive environment such as Jenny Craig results in more successful weight loss. The research showed that up to 3x more weight is lost while in a support program like Jenny Craig, compared to those who dieted on their own. Effectively the one-to-one support provided by our consultants helps you stay on track.
Be mindful
It’s important to understand that the journey of weight loss is challenging and that mindless eating can impact that journey. Jenny Craig menus are nutritionally balanced and include foods from all the core food groups. We encourage clients to move away from extreme dieting and eliminating entire food groups, instead encouraging them to enjoy everything in moderation and develop a healthy relationship with all food.
Eat smarter when dining out
Small swaps can easily save you from consuming excess kilojoules. Instead of snacking on birthday cake and other indulgent treats at all those office birthdays, why not bring a healthy plate of food? You might just find there are others in the office that have made the same New Year’s Resolution as you who will be so pleased to have something healthy to snack on while still being part of the celebration. Healthy options could include fruit salad, some hummus or salsa with veggie sticks or lightly salted popcorn.
Plan ahead
If you already know that you won’t be able to avoid that slice of birthday cake or scoop of ice cream, plan ahead to be able work this into your menu plan, so you don’t have to miss out on that treat. Your weight loss consultant can help you to plan this in advance so you don’t throw in the towel on your New Year resolution.
*1Ref; Rock CL, Flatt SW, Karanja N, et al. JAMA. 2010;304 (16): 1803-1811.
