There's so much pressure when it comes to making a New Year's Resolution that I used to find myself doomed to fail before I'd even started!
But like anything, the end goal is made up of the little victories.
Working towards the daily wins builds confidence and esteem, creating a psychological landscape of 'the possible'.
Resolve and the Resolution
Don't forget a resolution is not about giving something up, its about giving you something back.
When you approach your resolutions this way you are much more likely to succeed.
When you can see yourself meeting the little daily goals, it inspires you to continue.
Suddenly your overall goal is achievable and you feel in control.
After weeks of parties, over indulgence, and constant binging on food and booze, it's small wonder by the time January rolls round we're desperate for a clean living lifestyle and all guns blazing, ready start an epic detox.
But how many people are still so eager come the 1st February?
It's all about approach and making realistic resolutions.
Did you know that the most common New Years Resolutions are:
Losing weight.
Getting more exercise.
Stopping smoking.
Saving more money.
It is reported that the average person will gain 5 lbs over the holidays so it makes sense that weight loss is the number one goal.
The world over millions of people will have kick started the year committing to various diets and training programs.
Sadly nearly 80% of those will have failed before February.
To make sure you're not part of that statistic it's important you alter your thinking when you're embarking on a diet.
Re-Frame your thinking and be realistic
When we use words like 'I'm going to give up' there's a connotation there that you're restricting yourself.
Instead, embarking on a diet with the mind-set that you're creating a a more healthful lifestyle, with delicious and healthy foods that will:
Increase your energy
Help you lose weight
Improve your sleep
Reduce mood swings
And a whole lot more...
Now suddenly there's a whole new perspective and you're not giving anything up, you're actually giving yourself so much more.
Remember - the most realistic and kind goal you can set yourself is to aim to be the best version of you.
The other important thing is to be realistic.
While its tempting to think we can shed pounds in an instant and look like a supermodel, achieving healthy goals takes time.
And chances are, we mere mortals could be on a diet from now until the end of time and a Victoria Secrets model it will not maketh us!
So the most realistic and kind goal you can set yourself is to aim to be the best version of you.
Approach it holistically, know that from the inside out you can be healthy and beautiful when you make healthy changes to your diet.
You can do it!
It takes just 21 days to form a habit - that's less than a month - and is therefore SO achievable.
Instead of trying lose a lot of weight for your resolution, this year focus on forming new beneficial habits... go for the mini victories and achieve the big goal.
By making changes that are manageable, you are far more likely to stick to them, and in a years time, you won’t need to be making the same resolution over again!
You may not have really thought about giving up sugar as a new Years Resolution, but it's certainly something worth considering.
Excessive consumption could be causing you all sorts of lifestyle issues, without you even knowing it.
Should you quit?
Have you ever met an ex smoker who regretted giving up smoking? No, me neither.
In fact if you were to talk to anyone who has given up smoking, their only regret is all the time they spent actually smoking, and how long they took to actually quit.
Now, we have so much intel on how bad it is for our health, how taxing it is on our finances, it's beyond comprehension that so many people smoked at all!
But scarily, people did, and even when they knew the fatal side effects on our health, they still continued to smoke.
Hideously addictive, tobacco was promoted everywhere and in the early days billed as being 'good for your health'.
It all seems crazy now that we know the truth.
As the medical industry caught up, the claims of health were replaced with ''it's fashionable to smoke' ad campaigns showing the enviable and aspirational lifestyles of the smokers on TV, in the cinema, on billboards and in magazines.
Thankfully, knowledge is power, and we all now know enough about smoking to have ditched the habit and numbers of smokers are massively on the decline.
Is sugar the new tobacco?
So many people still blindly consume vast amounts of sugar, unaware of the short and long term damage it is doing.
But because sugar is everywhere and has become so ingrained into our everyday lives, it too seems normal, when it is anything but.
And of course, it’s no surprise that both the tobacco industry and the sugar industry have both spent millions trying to get us to consume their products.
The truth is coming
There will hopefully come a time, not too far into the future, when more people will be aware of the dangers of sugar.
And lets hope that time comes sooner rather than later, with American teenagers eating around 34 teaspoons a day (the daily recommended amount for an adult male is 9 teaspoons) it means that almost a quarter of teenagers are pre-diabetic or diabetic.
Sugar v Smoking
Of course, eating a cute fairy cake with multicolour sprinkles looks nowhere near as ominous as smoking a cigarette, but ask anyone who has given up sugar, and like the ex smoker, you will be hard pressed to find anyone who has regretted their decision.
The reason for this is because there are SO many benefits to kicking the sugar habit.
Having a low or no sugar diet can contribute so much to your everyday lifestyle. In fact, there are very few resolutions that can deliver as many benefits!
Here’s what happens…
If you are eating too much sugar (and most people are!) you are putting your body under constant stress.
By raising blood sugar levels, your pancreas is forced to release insulin, the hormone that takes the glucose into the cells and brings the blood sugar levels down.
Meanwhile your liver attempts to metabolise the fructose which makes up around half of most sugars, no matter what form they come in, be it table sugar, honey or agave syrup.
Any excess fructose that can’t be processed by the liver gets turned into fat.
This becomes a constant cycle of stress, and combined with the energy spike and slumps, our bodies are never in a state of harmony.
Sugar also promotes inflammation and sebum production, which we know can cause acne, so even if you can’t see the internal damage, you might see it in the mirror!
So kick the habit now!
By cutting out excessive sugar, you will start to see the following happen:
Weight loss caused by the liver not having to store sugar as fat.
Increased energy created by a more regulated blood sugar level.
Clearer skin due to the lack of inflammation and excessive sebum production.
There a loads of other health reason for quitting sugar such as:
Better sleep.
A clearer head.
A better memory.
Fewer mood swings.
Increased concentration.
So, instead of trying 'lose weight' for your resolution, look to change your overall health habits - and the single best one is to cut down on sugar.
Look to improve your lifestyle and your health and remember, all it takes is 21 days to break a habit!
And another way to look at this is 'all it takes is 21 days to give yourself renewed health and vitality by kicking the sugar habit'
Be Good To Yourself & eat yourself healthy!
If you would like to quit sugar for good and regain control of your food choices, you can transform your life with my 21 Day Sugar Detox Program.