After celebrating New Year’s is a popular time for people to make promises to themselves to make improvements with their health, their lifestyle and other areas of their lives. Resolutions are easy to make in January, and people even find it easy to get excited about their resolutions when they start paying for their gym memberships or buying Healthier food. But as time goes by, the enthusiasm for resolutions can fade. Instead of allowing your healthier intentions to drift away, you should make 2017 the year when you finally make a healthier you.

Always Start at the Doctor’s Office

Instead of diving head first into lifestyle changes that involve diet and exercise, you should first visit your family doctor in Gilbert to get professional advice about your plans. Medical providers are great resources for information on nutrition and advice on how to start an exercise program the right way. Women can find great advice on exercise and diet as they apply specifically to women by visiting a Gilbert women’s health clinic close to them.

Make Your Resolutions in Stages

Weight loss is one of the most common resolutions made each year. You may want to lose 40 pounds by May, but setting that as your only goal can be intimidating. Whenever your resolutions are aggressive, it can cause you to give up before you have a chance to succeed. Instead of saying you want to lose 40 pounds by May, your resolution should be to lose eight pounds a month for the first five months of the year.

The biggest advantage to breaking your resolution up into stages is that it gives you several smaller and attainable goals as opposed to one big and intimidating goal. It also helps to have a short-term deadline for your goals as you start to make long-term lifestyle changes. Short-term goals give you something to look forward to and a way to measure your achievements. This gives you a definite timeline you can follow to reach your goal and makes your goal more realistic.

One of the biggest mistakes people make with resolutions is they decide to completely change their diet in order to get healthier. When you try to completely change the way you eat, you are bound to go back to your old habits quickly. Instead of making a complete change, you should replace foods you eat with healthier options. For example, there are tasty whole grain breads that are healthy alternatives to use in place of white bread.

When you talk to your doctor about your diet, discuss how limiting the amount of calories or carbohydrates you eat can improve your health and help you to lose weight. There are ways to replace foods with healthier options that allow you to achieve your goals without having to give up the foods you love. For example, if you love soft drinks then it may be difficult for you to give them up for a healthier lifestyle. Instead of giving up soft drinks, you can change to drinks that have no carbohydrates or calories but offer a similar taste. Over time, you can work towards giving up soft drinks altogether and replacing them with healthier drink options.

If you know that you will be altering your diet in 2017, then start transitioning the food in your refrigerator over to healthier options from what you may have in there. Preparing ahead so you are already set with the healthy foods you want to eat will assist with this resolution success.

If your goal is to exercise more in 2017, then start the year off with a planned out exercise program and clothing you will need to achieve that goal. When you invest in your resolutions by purchasing the right foods and exercise programs to start the year, it is easier for you to get motivated to reach your goals.

Finding Long-Term Success

Despite all of your best efforts and the money you spend to reach your health goals for 2017, you may still find yourself slipping back into your old habits by the end of February. Think about the real reasons why you decided to get healthy in the first place before you give up on your resolutions.

If you and your spouse just had a child and you want to have a long and happy life with that child, then that is your inspiration to make your 2017 lifestyle changes permanent. If you had medical issues in 2016 that have put a focus on your good health for 2017, then use that to continue following your new eating habits and get yourself to the gym.

The reason resolutions fade so quickly is because people forget the real reasons why they made those resolutions in the first place. In 2017, make it a point to never forget why you want to live a healthier life and you will find it easier to make your lifestyle changes permanent.

Millions of people make New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of every year, but many of those people find it difficult to see those resolutions through to the end of the year. The more you stick to your resolutions, the more they become part of your daily habits. The trick is to make sure that you make realistic resolutions and then never forget why you made those resolutions in the first place. With a little will power, a health plan created with your family physician and plenty of dedication you can make a healthier you in 2017 and live a healthier life.