New year, new you? It’s the new year catchphrase we’ve all heard a million times over. But what does it really take to achieve – and hold on to – a new you this year? In the second instalment of The Eat Right Series For Busy Mums, Lucy Patel, a.k.a. the Modern Mum’s Nutritionist lets us into a few secrets on how to find that new you this year, plus how and why you should make yourself your New Year’s Resolution.
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Let’s look at the usual pattern of events from mid-December to the new year in January. We finally get some time to relax, to slow down, to indulge freely, to relax our routines and spend concentrated time with our families. After 11 months of what feels like constantly dashing around from task to task, this time of year brings some much, much needed time for us to break away from our normal and just “be” for a short time.
The big Christmas hangover
As we enter January the narrative we tell ourselves takes a drastic u-turn; enjoyable, pleasurable indulgence has turned into over-eating, relaxation has turned into laziness, cheeky chocolates for breakfast has turned into poor parenting; in just two short weeks we move from our Christmas bubble of joy into hard and fast diet culture, where we are taught to believe we must now reinvent ourselves, fix our diet, work off the Christmas ‘excess’ to excess in the gym – why do we allow ourselves to go through this?
January can be one of the hardest months for us to manage – with the Christmas “hangover” (both literally and figuratively) hitting us hard in that first week, coupled with going back to work, saying farewell to family members we may not see again for several months, taking down the jolly decorations (I really hate this part!) and getting back to the rigorous routines of the day to day.
A seismic shift
We decide, with the best of intentions, that we must lose weight, completely change up our diet, start having AT LEAST five portions of vegetables each and every day, and drink much, much less. There are two big issues here; firstly, these are not conscious decisions that we have sat and thought about, understanding why said goal would benefit us, what the gain is, how this aligns with what we want for the year ahead, and how it could make us feel better. It is a sub-conscious submission to what we think we SHOULD be doing, just because it’s the 1st January.
Secondly, we fail to plan. Going from spending 80% of your day in the house picking freely at lovely Christmas food, to thrice-weekly gym classes, and three fixed meals fully balanced with protein, carbs and veg, is a big, big shift! This just isn’t possible to do without a well thought through plan, regardless of how inwardly motivated you think you feel that it’s what you want to do.
We get so caught up in a frenzy of social media messaging, advertising, conversations with friends that have suddenly shifted from casual Christmas chat about whether we prefer Roses or Quality Street, to interrogations querying “what are your new year’s resolutions?”, which we automatically feel must be responded to in some form of “making ourselves a better, healthier person”, or we fear being viewed as lazy, unmotivated, and without personal goals.
A new you this year? Time for something different
It’s time for a different approach, with no diets, and no well-intentioned yet unrealistic resolutions that will leave us feeling even more despondent come February. This year, make yourself your New Year’s resolution.
Goal setting alone doesn’t tie in the goal with what it is you are expecting to get from achieving it. For example, a goal like “I want to go to the gym twice a week” isn’t particularly motivating as it isn’t connecting you with an outcome. “Going to the gym” on its own won’t be a particularly exciting concept for most of us! Before you set goals, first spend some time writing down your thoughts, feelings and aspirations for the year ahead. Write freely, but answering these questions might help structure your thoughts:
“What does healthy mean to me?”
“In six months, I want to feel…..”
“In six months, I want to enjoy…..”
“In six months, I will be….”
Looking ahead to the “future you”, and what she wants, will really help ground your goals today and make them more tangible, increasing your motivation and commitment. And remember, your goals do not need to be grand, social-media-posting-worthy declarations. They can be as simple as allowing yourself ten minutes of quiet time before bed to relax, read or journal; or expanding your cooking repertoire by finding one new recipe each month to cook for the family. 2022 is your year, and your plans are your own. You do not have to feel at liberty to present a transformational journey to your friends and family as to how 2022 will be your “best year yet”.
Baby steps
I am a great believer in small, consistent change. In my experience, going all gung-ho with change rarely works in the long-term. Change is a journey, and making slow but consistent progress in areas that mean something to you personally, and that you embed solidly into your life, will result in much longer term success and happiness for you.
You don’t need to change yourself in January. Your goal is happiness; spend some time working out what will make you happy in 2022, and make this year your own.
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Lucy is a Registered Nutritionist and specialises in supporting women regain their health, energy and body confidence after having children. You can follow her on Instagram @lucypnutrition, she also runs a private Facebook group ‘The Busy Mum’s Survival Hub’. She works remotely and from her clinic in Cheshire. You can find out more about Lucy by visiting www.lucypatelnutrition.co.uk
Background photo created by schantalao – www.freepik.com, Woman photo created by jcomp – www.freepik.com
This is really interesting .. 🙂 I am taking those baby steps.
When you are a kid, you have no idea you’re going to lose such close contact with family when you get older. Cherish it while you can is the advice I’d give my kids, but like us, they take it for granted. 🙂 Wishing you a happy new year.
Thank you for sharing this inspirational post! I too feel that January is a very difficult month as it causes us to try and organize our lives from the excitement in December. I will definitely try the tips you’ve outlined here.
This is such an inspring post! It’s so true that we don’t have to change ourselves in January. We can start make small changes little by little and make the becuase we want to, not because all the people do it.
Goal setting is something I give importance to. As we enter a new beginning, a new year it’s the best time to set goals and hopes
I am a firm believer of taking small, baby steps too. If you want to achieve something big, it always starts with baby steps as a journey to a thousand miles starts with a single step
Exactly 🙂 we live in a generation where quick (read immediate!) results are expected; we don’t have to wait for anything anymore, and putting consistent effort into things and allowing them to build over time is becoming a bit old school I feel. Put in the work, and the results will follow 🙂 thank you for commenting, its always nice to know what other people think about this topic x
I love setting goals and making sure I fulfill them at the end of the year. It should be SMART and attainable.
I am usually pretty good at setting goals each new year. My problem is sticking to those goals and not getting distracted by daily life.
These are such great tips to remind us to be kind to ourselves as we set goals for the new year. I need to do a better job at not taking on too much too soon!
It is nice to see a shift in things. The pandemic has made things so different, and it is good to adapt. These are all good thoughts on making positive changes that are the best for ourselves.
Thank you for taking the time to comment 🙂 it has been an incredibly difficult two years, and self-compassion and taking after ourselves, in whatever form that comes in, have to be a priority for us all x
Hhhhmmmm….I love how warm and encompassing your guide is. Even I am tempted to take it up and make use of it….hihi! Thanks for sharing about it, Talya.
I’m so glad you found the article useful Ntensibe!
That’s great to hear Emman! Goals should absolutely be SMART – this is where new year’s resolutions almost always fall down – not realistic, not time-bound, not achievable! It sounds like you have a practical and positive approach to goal setting which is so great to hear 🙂
Great tips. I’m all about trying to eat healthy this year. I may stumble here and there but I’m looking forward to the challenge.
Hi Thena, its great that you are trying to eat more healthily this year. The best thing to do is make yourself a little plan, and it might be that you change just one thing to start with, such as having 2 portions of veg in your evening meal, or something that you feel you can do consistently. Focus on this, and then once this becomes embedded in your routine, you’ll be super motivated by your success and ready to take on more 🙂 remember, consistent small steps are powerful!
You are 100% right Ebony. Doing something small but consistently is much more powerful than trying to do everything at once and getting completely overwhelmed 🙂