Beyond New Year's resolutions

Dietitian Helen Gibbs says you can make resolutions at any time of year, and she has advice for making them stick.

If you’ve already broken your New Year’s resolutions, you’re not alone. The fact is, most resolutions that people make around food and lifestyle fail.

Ask someone why this is the case for them, and they’re likely to say they don’t have willpower.

I honestly hate the idea of willpower, because it’s so full of self-blame. We’re surrounded by things that will increase our risk of overeating and inactivity. We simply can’t be “on task” 24/7 trying to change our behaviour.

Resolutions can be successful, though. What you need are plans and details behind them. Preparing in advance reduces your risk of returning to old behaviours. This involves thinking through what can be changed, and how, as well as who or what is going to support the change. If we don’t plan our health changes, we’ll almost certainly miss or forget important things. Spending time on planning makes sense.

A CHALLENGE

You don’t need to wait till the next New Year: try making a new resolution at any time and backing it up with planning. And do start with just one thing. Another reason our resolutions can fail is that we’re trying to change too many things at once. The sheer strangeness of the new behaviours takes up too much brain space. We end up lapsing back into old habits because it’s easier.

Here’s a challenge for anyone who wants to try for lifestyle improvement this year.

Over the next 12 months, can you think of six to 12 small changes you could make to your eating that would make a big difference long term? By small changes, I mean things like replacing two afternoon tea biscuits with a small serve of nuts. Start with just one of those changes and, to prepare for it, think through these questions:

How important is it for me to focus on this activity right now?

On a scale of zero (not at all) to 10 (extremely important), making this change needs to be at least a 7. If you’re saying 5 or less, be honest. Is there something going on that’s more important? Something that needs to be resolved before you can work on change? For example, I have a client who is in a “holding pattern” because her Dad is in hospice care. For her, change is important but not the most important thing right now.

What will successful change involve?

For example, let’s look at that idea of swapping two afternoon tea biscuits for a small serving of nuts. Ask yourself – what leads up to having the biscuits (without blaming willpower)? How do you end up having this routine? What maintains the routine? How would you change it?

Many people have a biscuit or two in the mid-afternoon to deal with the 3pm slump. These are often “workplace biscuits”. To change this habit, you’ll need to provide your own alternative snack.

What could prevent me from making change?

It’s important to think about the routines and rituals you have or are surrounded by. In many households or workplaces, the afternoon break is part of a routine where someone brings the biscuit tin out. Making a change means you need to talk to the other participants in the routine. They don’t have to change (although it might also be good for them). But, ideally, they won’t sabotage your change in any way.

Think also about your resources and your own mindset. In the case of substituting nuts for biscuits, you’ll need the money available to pay for the nuts, as well as the willingness to spend that money on them. This can be the hardest part of the picture for people who are used to always looking after others. Often it is unconscious sabotage:

“I will do without, I don’t need a snack at all.” However, going without is likely to lead to hungry impulse-eating later in the day.

Now that I’ve thought it through, is it doable?

Once you have the plan for your change ready to go, check you feel confident that the change is doable. Again, score it. If you can’t score more than 7, then you need to look back at the goal, because it might be too large or too rigid.

For many people, making change is difficult because of “black-andwhite thinking”. For example, they say they will never eat biscuits in the afternoon again, not taking into account some situations where this will not work.

I always encourage people to think of change in terms of “most of the time” or “more often than now”. This is more likely to cultivate success than “never” or “always”.

How will I measure my progress?

Humans are notorious for not seeing our successes. Try simple things like making a note in your diary or using an app to track progress towards your goal. This will allow you to see when your change goes from being something you have to think about to a habit.

And remember, this could take up to six weeks – hence the idea of taking time over the year to make six to 12 changes, one by one.

How will I celebrate this change?

Many people think of celebrations in terms of food rewards. Unlike many dietitians, I don’t rule out food rewards, but I encourage people to think of other ways of expressing this positive change. Even letting someone know you’ve made a change – and hearing that they are genuinely pleased for you – can be a bigger reward than you might expect.

READY?

I’ve focused on swapping afternoon snacks as an example, but the questions above can apply to any change you’d like to make.

Are you ready to give it a go?