Motivation is usually pretty high at the beginning of January—even if you don’t fully buy into “New Year’s Resolutions,” you can’t deny the lure of a blank slate. There is nothing wrong with embracing motivation when it is high, but you have to be ready for the (inevitable) dip in motivation that comes when the “New Year New Me” mindset wears off.

These tips will help you assess your January resolutions and make needed shifts to ensure you continue working towards your goals in February.

 

5 Quick Steps to Reassessing New Years Resolutions

1. Check in with your New Year’s Resolutions and assess your progress.

Hopefully, you wrote down your resolutions because you will need them. Pull out your January goals and assess your progress. Which goals are you actively working towards? How is your progress? Are there any goals you haven’t even thought about? Any that you’ve already reached? The first step is assessing where you are now.

2. Scale down goals that are too ambitious.

Your goals need to require work… but if they’re too ambitious, it is easy to get frustrated and give up. One of the best-kept secrets of goal setting—especially regarding weight loss and muscle gain—is to aim low and ensure that you have process goals in place to track progress accurately.

3. Expand goals you’re easily achieving. 

On the flip side, if you’ve already “reached” a New Year’s Resolution, it probably wasn’t aggressive enough. Checking off a goal feels good, but now is the time to expand “give in goals” to push yourself a bit.

4. Double-check that they’re measurable and easy to track.

If you’re looking at your goals and cannot determine if you’ve met them, they’re not measurable enough. A goal needs to be “check-off-able,” and you have to be able to clearly say, “Yes, I accomplished my goal.” or “No, I didn’t accomplish my goal.” 

Try adding more numbers—how many ounces of water will you drink per day? How many miles do you want to run per week? What time do you want to get in bed every night?

5. Tell your coach or accountability partner what you want to accomplish this month.

Accountability is a buzzword for a reason—it makes a huge difference in accomplishing your goals. A coach, partner, friend, gym buddy, or even a fitness watch, will give you an extra reminder or push to stick with the actions needed to reach your goals. But, they’re only able to provide that support if you fill them in! 

Whether you’re chatting with your partner over a macro-friendly dinner or you’re checking in with your WAG coach, identify an accountability partner and tell them what you want to accomplish. Then, be honest with them about the kind of support you want from them, whether it is a cheerleader or a little (or a lot of) tough love. 

Not sure who to enroll in your goals or what kind of support you need? A WAG Coach can help! Sure, we’re pros at nutrition science, but we pride ourselves on being masters in accountability, and we have the tools and experience needed to help you reach your goals. Learn more about 1-on-1 Nutrition Coaching here.