Why it’s time to scrap your New Year's resolution for weight loss

Happy New Year and if you are like most people, you have already reeled off a list of New Year's resolutions. You vow, this year is the year to lose that weight. You need to lose it because your health is suffering. You have to lose it because you are only getting bigger and bigger each year. You are fed up with living like this. 

What’s different about this year? Maybe your resolve is strong and you are super motivated. This is great, but unfortunately, it can be short-lived. Willpower and motivation are great tools, but they can be tough to bring out when faced with temptation and when you are lacking support, or everyone else is tucking in, it’s even harder. 

A resolution can be well-meaning, but having a vague goal may not be enough to help you in the long term and in tough times. A well-thought-out plan, knowing what you want and the benefits that will bring you can help you to stay on track and ride through the challenges. 

So, scrap the New Years' resolution and follow my plan to help you make a plan. 

How to ditch your resolution and make an achievable weight-loss plan

1. Set a specific weight-loss goal

How much do you want to weigh and by when? Make it realistic and specific. 

2. What are the benefits?

When you reach your goal, what will life be like for you? List all of the things you will be able to do and how you will feel. This is your why. Keeping the list to hand and imagining the feeling will help you to keep on track. 

3. Small steps

When we have a lot of weight to lose, it is easy to think that we have to make these giant steps and give up lots of things that we like because any action is not big enough. Small steps done consistently will lead to big things. 

4. Reward yourself

For every small step taken, for every little action, give yourself a pat on the back. A well done. Recognising your efforts is part of the challenge. If you had a friend who was running a race and every time she stopped you told her how rubbish and useless she was, she would never finish and she would be thoroughly dejected. You have to be a good friend to yourself. Give yourself support and encouragement to keep going, even when you’ve slipped up. Keep going. 

5. Get support

This journey is a hard one at times. It is not a linear straightforward journey. There will be times when you may feel like giving up. Surround yourself with your own cheerleading squad. These are people whom you can phone when you are having a bad day. People who understand what you are going through and will encourage you to keep going. A therapist is a great support. They will be there to help you unravel all the reasons that are keeping you stuck and will help you with your confidence. 

Self-hypnosis to help you even further

As well as doing the steps above, using self-hypnosis is a great tool to help you to visualise your end goal. Hypnosis will help you to be in a relaxed state and in there you can imagine yourself in detail as to what life will be like and what it will feel like. 

Our unconscious is not clear about what is imagined and what is real. Hence visualising what you want and imagining it is real will help you to do that in real life. 

A hypnotherapist will also help you to visualise a timeline for your goals and will help you manage and plan ahead for any challenges that you foresee to make them easier to handle. 

We are blind to our own blind spots and do not know what keeps us in the same patterns. A therapist will be able to reflect back to you what they see and don’t help you break free of unwanted and repeated behavioural patterns.