01/01/2026
If I'm being honest, I'm really not a fan of New Year's resolutions because they're usually poorly planned, done for all the wrong reasons, and not realistic nor sustainable. This is why the vast majority fail within the first few weeks.
But lifestyle changes shouldn't be a quick fad, they should be sustained, healthy habits that you adopt over the long-term, so here's some tips to make your resolutions more effective so you don't fall at the first hurdle like most do...
1). Make the changes small! Sometimes less is more, as throwing more workout sessions into your routine or drastically increasing your calorie deficit etc won't result in greater benefits. In fact, it's been proven repeatedly that the quicker you try and change your behaviours, the more likely it is that you'll experience a relapse (see the Transtheoretical model of behaviour change). For example, if you're the type of person who struggles to find the motivation to do any significant exercise, then are you realistically going to maintain going to the gym five times per week?
Start small, after all it's far better to go to the gym once a week and sustain it (52 sessions per year), than go five times a week and give up after just two weeks due to injury or burnout (10 sessions per year).
