Make a New Year's Resolution?

Did you know that around 80 percent of these resolutions fail by the second week of February? If you’re still holding fast onto yours — good job! If you haven’t, there’s still time to rebound!

There are plenty of reasons that even the most well-intentioned resolutions don’t make it through. It’s difficult to change behaviour, no matter how sincere you are about making things different. Though some may say we are weak, or don’t have a plan to execute, the real reason is simpler than that — we simply don’t understand our own psyche. The brain is complex, and though science works to understand it more every day, we are still far off from being to reprogram ourselves at will.

What you can do, however, is make it easier on yourself. Making a resolution can imply that you recognize that you want to change something to be better. Why not make it as smooth as possible to help turn these changes from temporary to permanent?

Did you make one (or more) of the common New Year’s resolutions?

Exercise More
You, or someone you know, probably noted that exercising more was a priority for the new year. With its many benefits, why wouldn’t you want to exercise more? Making the time for it, though, can be mentally difficult. Some may try to motivate themselves with new gym gear or signing up for a new class. However, these short-term actions may end up being a sunk cost. Changing exercise habits may need a few psychological cues.

• Exercise with a partner. Getting someone else involved can definitely help! Having another person around makes you more accountable for going. If it’s someone that shares similar goals, that’s even better; you can keep each other in check.
• Start slowly. There’s more risk than reward to signing up for a new gym pass, then immediately trying to test your limits. Make habits easily attainable. For example, walking twice a week can slowly grow to four times a week, and maybe even a couch to 5K program is in the cards!
• Make it fun. With exercise usually comes the need to drink more water, and many people tire of the same taste. Try fun infusions of water, like mango-raspberry, or something refreshing like cucumber-mint. Prepare this water so you always have some on hand — a pitcher like the Juice Boost Infusion Pitcher will make it easy!

Eat Better
Another popular resolution is to try and eat better. Looking at healthy recipes on Pinterest is one thing, but actually getting down to it and cooking is another story. If you work full time and have other interests, you might find it difficult to get your food habits in line. Eating better isn’t all kale and flax smoothies and chicken and cauliflower every day — all it takes is a few replacements and some simple, attainable changes.

• Look at substitutes. A lot of tasty-but-terrible-for-you foods (in large doses, anyway) have well-documented swaps that can help change habits for the better. Butter, for example, makes a lot of things delicious, but putting it in everything can increase the likelihood of certain health problems down the road. Baking with applesauce instead of butter, for instance, can help keep the taste while cutting the fat.
• Use spices. One of the worst raps that healthy food gets is its lack of taste. People think about poached chicken and steamed vegetables and just want to gag because of the lack of taste — when it’s plain. Try different combinations to see what suits your palate; the amount of calories added is basically negligible if you’re counting.
• Make it easy. If you’re into make ahead meal prep, you’ll probably want to buy certain things in bulk, even if you don’t use it all at once. Look at food storage options that make sure your goods are kept fresh, like these airtight glass containers.

Reduce Caffeine Dependency
Many people love the boost they get from coffee. The benefits of the caffeine content have been constantly debated, mostly around how much should be consumed. Whether you’re drinking it because you like or you’re dependent on the caffeine, too much can cause restlessness, increase sensitivity, or other side effects. If you’ve still got a habit for reaching for a hot drink, try these instead.

• Realize how much caffeine you’re taking in. If you’ve already had your morning cup and your coworker invites you for a mid-day coffee run, it’s probably best to opt out or sub your usual coffee for something else. Adding more on impulse, even if its once or twice, can lead to increasing the habit instead of decreasing.
• Try tea infusions. Though many teas have varying amounts of caffeine, herbal and rooibos tea infusions are usually caffeine free. Tea specialty stores are popping up everywhere, so explore your options and see. Make a pot with a built in steeper for easy clean up.
• Reduce your serving size. You might be willing to slog through a large cup of coffee because you’ve always done so, but reducing the size of cup you use could lead to you forming a habit towards something a little smaller. If you’re the type to stop in at your local coffee shop for your fix every morning, you might be saving some cents every time.

It can be difficult to hold onto a resolution, and even if you can’t keep it, you can always try again — don’t wait until the new year! Making life changes is something that can happen at any time of the year, so if it’s something you really want to do, hold steady and try, try again.