Making Resolutions Count

It’s January! A new year has begun and generally that means that many people will be making a list of resolutions- something they have made a firm decision to DO or NOT DO in the year. Just how effective are these resolutions going to be? Will they last a month? A week? Maybe only a day? Whether or not your resolutions will become a habit all depends on the process you go through to make them.

For instance, I’ve heard many people declare that they are making a resolution to eat better or get healthy, but what does that mean?  A goal to eat better is just a statement unless you have a plan.

May I suggest a new way of looking at this seemingly immense resolution?

How about simply focusing on ingredients.  Specifically, making every ingredient count toward the resolution of eating better.  That means that every ingredient contained in the food I eat should meet the criteria of being good for me.  To me that means that the ingredient builds health in my body and doesn’t create disease.

Most likely this will mean that I will need to prepare the majority of my food from scratch  since that is the only way I will know what the ingredients are.  It also means that I need to learn how to read labels and understand what they mean for the times when I can’t make my food from scratch.

The first thing I did was define my resolution.  I took the “eat better” goal and made it more specific, “make every ingredient count”  this will make keeping this resolution easier.

Here are 4 more ways to help you keep your resolutions:

Make One Change at a Time.  Focus on one meal a day then when you have mastered that meal move on to the next meal.

Ask for Support. Don’t try to do everything by yourself.  Ask friends for recipe suggestions, participate in a group with like-minded goal setters, talk to you family about your goal- they can only support you if they know what you’re doing.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up. Everyone falls off the wagon at some point.  Just get up, brush yourself off and recommit to your resolution.

Share Your Success.  Your success will help inspire and motivate others who may also be trying to reach the same goal that you are reaching for.

Share what you do to stick with positive changes.