Your Bridge to Health; Promoting Optimal Wellness for Mind, Body and Spirit
It’s January, and Attendance at the Fitness Centers High. After the holidays, attendance at fitness centers increases as people focus on healthy New Year’s Resolutions and try to work off excess pounds and inches from holiday festivities. But, after the 1st month of the year, motivation tends to slide and attendance tends to drop off.
So What Can You Do?
- Set goals. Make a plan with a short-term goal in mind. This can make it easier to achieve your desired results. Start with a goal for ‘today,’ then ‘this week,” this month.’ Goals should be short-term, realistic and attainable.
What are Your Goals for Exercise in 2017?
2. Keep At It – With repetition, the healthy steps you are taking become your new positive, healthy habits.
“It Takes 21 Days to Change a Habit.” How often have you heard this saying? Actually, there is no scientific evidence that supports this old adage and it is now considered a myth. A study in 2009 showed that when we want to develop a relatively simple habit like eating a piece of fruit or taking a 10 minute walk daily, it could take anywhere from 18 – 254 days of daily repetitions for the behavior to become a habit, with the average about 66 days. The simpler the task, like “drinking water every day” the easier for the task to be automatic.
The study concluded that “performing the behavior more consistently was associated with better model fit.” Also, that “missing one opportunity to perform the behavior did not negatively affect the habit formation process.” Simply put, repetition of a behavior in a consistent manner increases the likelihood of that behavior becoming your new norm.
3. Get Support to Help You Stay on Track.
Cape Ann Wellness 