New Year, Same You: Hacks to Maintain Healthy Habits Year-Round

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I’m pretty sure we’ve heard these sayings A LOT over the past couple of weeks:  New Year, New Me, right? Or New Year, New You. New Year, New Goals. I love making fresh new goals for the year. But I’m also a huge fan of maintaining the “old” goals and habits that were effective for me in the previous year.  I’ve set goals for one area of my life over and over again each year and that is (wait for it): my health and fitness habits.  

This is usually the most popularly discussed topic when it comes to the New Year, and I can honestly see why!  During the holidays, there are (in my experience) less gym sessions than usual and diets are much less strict. After the holidays, however, it’s time to start thinking about getting back into a solid routine. It’s easy to make new health goals each year or promise yourself this huge turnaround once January 1 comes along.  It’s worth remembering, though, that once the excitement of the New Year wears off, we’re left with the habits that we actually took the time to incorporate into our life so much that they became natural. It’ll be MUCH easier to maintain good habits year-round when being healthier becomes just another part of everyday life.

How Do I Sustain a Healthier Lifestyle for the Entire Year? 

If you’re anything like me and you continuously set exciting health/fitness goals every year only to go back to your regular habits a few months later, you’re probably frustrated.  Everything you’ve tried just hasn’t worked so you kind of gave up. This was me last year before I started establishing REALISTIC healthy habits that I could actually stick to. I can absolutely tell you to practice some of these habits and everything will be so easy and before you know it, living healthy will be second nature to you…but I wouldn’t be telling the truth.  There are going to be days that are much harder than others, but I can say it’ll get easier as time goes on. 

Set Realistic Eating Goals

Fun fact:  I love sweets, pasta, ice cream, all things “forbidden”!  This is what I’m used to eating on an everyday basis. Lots of memes list these foods in a challenge where you completely cut them out for a specific amount of time.  I personally don’t believe in entirely cutting off foods that your body is used to on the regular. I’ve completed one of those seven day challenges in an attempt to slim down. It went great, but when the challenge was over, it was like it never happened.  These challenges can even cause health issues so I’m not a fan.

So how do you maintain?  Start small! For example, if you’re used to eating ice cream everyday, aim to treat yourself at least three times a week.  If you don’t see much difference, keep reducing until you see what works for you. You can even keep eating ice cream daily, but with smaller portions than usual.  You don’t have to go to the extreme with your eating habits to make a change. When I realized this, my life got ten times easier! An example for me is fast food. I have a day in the middle of the week and one day on the weekend to eat one meal of fast food guilt-free.  

Meal Prepping is Key!

Before I started meal prepping, I would literally snack all day at work and grab whatever was nearby for lunch.  Can you say not healthy and DEFINITELY not financially smart? Now, I prep my lunch as well as my snacks.  This way, you can plan your meals effectively and not worry about getting off track. Some days, you’ll be tempted to say ‘forget this meal I prepped today, I’m grabbing something’ (yeah, I know) but stick to your plan.  You’ll be glad you did. 

Recording Water Intake

How many times have you said you were going to drink more water but couldn’t remember how much you actually did drink in a day?  There are a few fancy apps to track your water intake but I either tally my bottles down in my planner or my notes in my phone.  Another very easy way is to purchase a large bottle (or gallon if that’s what you’re going for) that has the target amount you want to drink for each day.  This takes you from a “whatever happens happens” mindset to actually building a lifestyle habit. See where we’re going with this now?

More Outdoor Workouts

Last summer, I came to love switching up my regular workout routine with some outdoor workouts.  I felt so much more refreshed and I even realized that I burned more calories than I would burn in the gym. If you get bored with your gym routine, consider taking it outside!  

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Be Patient with Yourself

Developing healthy habits isn’t a race to some kind of finish line and it’s all according to what works for you.  One of the most important habits that you can form is to be patient with yourself. Even on the days when you fall short of your health goals, oh well, it happens.  Start back fresh the next day. If I can do this, YOU can do this! Have you ever used any of the hacks above to maintain your healthy kick all year long? Let me know below what works for you!