Sure-fire way to achieve your New Year’s resolutions

NYE is that special night when — maybe encouraged by a little too much champagne — we whisper these big, bold promises to ourselves as the clock strikes midnight, vowing that we’ll finally get around to doing the things we promised ourselves on this same night 12 months ago.

The bad news? You probably won’t. Studies out of the USA have found that, by February, about 80 per cent of us will be back to pretending that night of big promises never happened.

Here’s another fun fact: surveys consistently find about 50 per cent of all NYE resolutions involve getting fitter and eating better. The problem is that we go at these targets like bulls at a gate, living on limp lettuce and training until we ache.

For about a week, that is. After which we collapse on the couch tired, sore and reaching for the ice-cream.

But a NYE resolution is just a goal with a fancier name, and the trick to sticking to any goal is to make sure they’re SMART.

Put simply, the SMART goal system (it stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) means you set targets which are realistically achievable, and you set yourself a deadline to achieve them.

Are you going to complete a marathon in February when the only thing you’ve run over the past 12 months is a hot bath? Nope. And attempting it will only bring injury and disappointment.

But could you run 2km by February? Then four, six or even eight as the year wears on? Absolutely.

Small, achievable goals are goals that actually happen. And since so many resolutions are about diet and fitness, I’m going to shortcut the process for you this year by giving you a sure-fire way to get started.

DIET

This year, I want you to forget the idea of cutting out any particular foods (we’ve all tried that, and it doesn’t work), and instead embrace the idea of swapping.

Swapping is, in my opinion, the most sustainable form of dieting, because you’re not actually dieting at all.

Here’s how it works: when you know you’ve eaten something you probably shouldn’t have, the next day you swap it for a healthier option.

Ordered a pizza when you were too tired to cook? No problem, just make up for it the next day by swapping in a salad. Had a couple of after work drinks with colleagues? Swap them for water the next day.

Easy, right?

FITNESS

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) needs to be on your radar in 2022. It’s the easiest, most effective and least time-consuming form of exercise there is, and it’s super easy to personalise to your fitness levels.

HIIT simply means short, sharp exercise sessions, and there are thousands of them on YouTube for you to follow along with, or you can make up your own.

The best part? Most only last about 10 minutes, including rest periods (so you can never say you don’t have time again), and studies have found people who embrace HIIT training lose up to 30 per cent more weight than people who don’t.

SLEEP

Any fitness program that doesn’t include sleep isn’t a fitness program at all. It’s the rest your mind and body needs to repair and recuperate, and yet most of us aren’t getting anywhere near enough of it.

But this year is all about achievable goals, right? So I want you to do one simple thing for me. This year, leave your mobile phone out of the bedroom, even if it means investing in an old-school analog alarm clock.

It’s the most effective thing you can do to improve you sleep quality, and it’s easy!

GET FIT AND HEALTHY WITH ADAM MACDOUGALL

Lose the beer gut without losing all the beers at themanshake.com.au

Adam MacDougall is the creator of The Man Shake. A new, healthy, weight loss shake that is low in sugar, full of protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals that you can have on the run and leaves you feeling full.

For FREE Health & Fitness tips, follow Adam on:

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