If last year is any indication, many people have given up on their New Year’s resolutions by now, and even more will drop off in the coming months. Research shows that health and wellness topped the list of the most popular resolutions last year, but only 58.4 percent of people had stuck with their resolutions through the first month of the year. By July, that number sank to 44.8 percent.
It’s a shame that more than half of people who set significant wellness goals for themselves last year failed to reach them. As a mother and CEO, I know exactly how it feels to struggle to make healthier choices, particularly for professionals who juggle a lot of responsibilities.
One of the reasons I believe these resolutions aren’t being fulfilled is because people are setting unrealistic expectations of themselves. If you’re addicted to sugar for example, you’re not going to suddenly quit drinking soda and drink only plain water. It’s a very difficult transition to ask yourself to make (and the reason I founded hint®). It’s also easy to get sucked back into old habits when you’re overwhelmed by a busy work schedule and convenience is key.
To me, the solution to making healthier choices has always been about making those choices enjoyable. It’s the core mission of my company. If the experience is enjoyable then you’re more likely to do it and stick with it. Simple as that.
Below are some tips on how you can infuse your life with healthier choices that are actually attainable, regardless of how hectic each day may feel.
Make fitness fun
We’ve all seen what happens at gyms during the new year -- attendance goes way up for a few weeks, and then starts a steady decline as more and more people give up on their fitness routine. With family and professional responsibilities always top-of-mind, it’s easy to make excuses to stop going to the gym, especially if you don’t like going.
If you truly do enjoy going to the gym and lifting weights or running on the treadmill, great! But if -- like many people -- you really struggle to force yourself to go to the gym, consider finding an alternative activity you enjoy more that can get the blood pumping. Make sure it also fits with your daily work schedule. Waiting to the end of the workday is a surefire way to skip out on your workout, as that’s when most of us feel burnt out, but fitness can fit into your life in so many ways.
Personally, I love to get up early and go for a hike. It’s a great way to start a busy day feeling refreshed and energized, and I find being outside versus in a gym extremely zen. Maybe hiking isn’t for you, but there are a ton of activities that could fit the bill. Try taking a dance or martial arts class at lunch or after work. Get your colleagues to join you on a mid day walk or hit up a spin class.
You never know what kind of physical activity might capture your interest, but if you find something you enjoy that fits realistically in your schedule, you’ll have a much better shot at sticking with it. Plus, the more you do fit fitness into your day, the more productive each day will be.
Eat and drink better
Obvious, right? But we all know eating and drinking better can be a challenge throughout the workday. I knew I needed to make some changes when I found myself beyond my ideal weight and suffering from other health issues like acne and overall exhaustion. I needed the sweet and heavily caffeinated beverages just to get through the day, but I also came to realize that these drinks were the root of the problem. So I got rid of it.
Cutting the Diet Coke out of my life was huge -- in just a few months, my skin issues had improved and I was much closer to a weight at which I felt happy and healthy. There was just one problem: I don’t really like drinking plain water. That’s why I launched hint, because I believe that it shouldn’t suck to make healthy choices.
The trick for me was to find things I actually enjoyed, but were better for me. No more tolerating plain water, which just made the workday more depressing -- for me, hint was the middle ground. And I didn’t ban all food with sugar, some sweets in moderation are ok. I don’t completely deny myself life’s guilty pleasures; instead, I feel great about cutting the majority of the sugar and artificial ingredients out of my day-to-day routines, and treat myself once in a while.
There are lots of ways to make healthier food and beverage choices that still taste great. Read labels, pick real foods (instead of snacking on gummy bears grab some fresh strawberries or grapes) and when needed, get creative about how to add flavor.
Make wellness a professional priority
As a leader of a healthy lifestyle company, being healthy at work is something that’s really important to me. After all, it’s the place where we spend the bulk of our waking hours. I take care to make wellness a priority, not just for myself, but also for all the people that work for me.
I’m eager to work with people who embrace the culture of wellness that our company champions, and I love to support them in living a healthier life. Not only is it the right thing to do, but as I’ve written before, it makes good business sense. I always encourage other business leaders to make health and wellness a priority during the workday.
If you’re lucky enough to work at a company that understands the value of investing in employee health and wellness, you should take full advantage of those opportunities. But even if you find yourself at a less progressive workplace, there are still plenty of ways to have a healthier workday.
Taking frequent breaks away from sitting in front of a computer screen is important. If you can get up and stretch or take a walk periodically throughout the workday, you’ll feel much better. You may even be able to find a buddy at work to join you for a quick walking meeting. For example, I know managers that take weekly “walk and talk” meetings to catch up with direct reports.
Beyond ensuring you don’t get stuck at your desk all day, there are a few other ideas to keep in mind. If your workplace doesn’t make healthy snacks available for employees, consider bringing your own. The minor short term effort you need to make will have long term results. And in a broader sense, being healthier at work also means managing your stress and making sure you don’t get burned out.
Set aside time for mindfulness
With so many demands on my own time, I understand how difficult it is to carve out a few moments for yourself to just breathe (or meditate, do yoga, or any other mindfulness activity that helps you step away from the bustle of daily life for a few moments).
However, you owe it to all the people in your work and home lives to keep yourself healthy and present. Part of that includes making sure you aren’t neglecting your own mental and spiritual wellbeing. What works best for you is deeply personal -- maybe it’s yoga or something as simple as a quiet bath. I feel like a better leader and family member when I dedicate time to myself, just being present or reflecting.
Be healthy and have fun
In short, you don’t have to be miserable or give up on your professional goals to fully commit to living a healthier lifestyle. It’s all about balance, and finding ways to make choices you feel good about.
Keep these tips in mind before you throw in the towel on your healthy resolutions, because they just might be more attainable than you realize!
Kara Goldin is the founder and CEO of San Francisco–based hint, a healthy lifestyle brand that produces the leading unsweetened flavored water and a scented sunscreen spray that’s oxybenzone and paraben-free. Listen to her podcast, Unstoppable, where she interviews founders, entrepreneurs and disruptors across various industries and keep up with her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
