It’s that time of the year again when many of us are feeling the effects of over-indulging during the festive season and all our best intentions for the coming year need to come into fruition. Just thinking positively can help improve our health, so if you want to start the New Year by eating healthier, losing weight, and getting fitter, then read on for inspiration for achieving your 2018 resolutions.

Set goals

There’s not much point in aiming for unrealistic routines if you’re never going to achieve them! Instead, think about what healthy aspects you need to change and set realistic goals to guide you and help you to succeed. Start off by taking on small differences that are easy to do and stay on track by writing them down so you can reflect on them as time goes by. For example, don’t tell yourself you’ll go to the gym every day. Rather, try to commit twice a week to begin with and increase visits more frequently after it becomes a routine.

Increase physical activity

Find a physical activity that you enjoy. Otherwise the chances are greater that you will lose interest quickly. Do you prefer to exercise at home or would you benefit more from joining a class? Some people find an individual workout plan is key to helping motivation and support during a workout as they are tailored to specific strengths and weaknesses. Whatever activity you choose, increase the time in each session so you build up slowly and improve at your own speed as the weeks go by.

Improve your diet

You don’t have to be the type of person who eats too much junk food to be unhealthy. Most of us could do with improving our diet to ensure we eat more healthily. Try and keep a food diary to monitor eating habits to identify those that could be changed so you can introduce a more balanced diet. This may include making smoothies, cutting back on meat, or eating less in the evenings. It’s not necessary to deprive yourself of the food you like, but being more careful about what and when you eat will all help to a healthier well-being.

It’s important to keep an eye on your progress so you can see for yourself how you’re improving, but you should never get stressed about how long it takes. With the right determination and action, you’ll start the New Year feeling healthier and fitter.

Sally Collins is a professional freelance writer with many years’ experience across many different areas. She made the move to freelancing from a stressful corporate job and loves the work-life balance it offers her. When not at work, Sally enjoys reading, hiking, spending time with her family and travelling as much as possible.