For regular gym-goers, the first two weeks of January are miserable. Everyone who has resolved to “get in shape this year” floods the gym, using elliptical machines and treadmills with reckless abandon. Two weeks later, the crowd thins and by this time every year, the regulars are the last ones standing, solid in the knowledge that they won’t have to wait for a machine for another 11 months. Why do so many people resolve to live healthier lives every year and then fail by February 1?
They Try to Change Everything at Once
When the indulgence of the holidays gives way to an expanding waistline, many people feel the need to start over in January with a radical change in their behavior. This rarely works. Habits – good and bad – are formed over long periods of time. Breaking bad habits are difficult, creating good ones are excruciating. Rather than focus on one habit to create or break, most resolutions involve changing everything at once.
They Don’t Understand that Healthy Living is a Lifelong Process
Once you understand that healthy eating is not a diet and exercise is not a program, you begin to see how important it is to address parts of your lifestyle that are holding you back. You may have set the resolution to complete a marathon this year, but have you figured out how that will translate to healthy living after the race is over? You may have decided to eliminate sugar from your diet, but how do you plan on sustaining that through birthday parties, holidays, and other celebrations?
They Forget About Total Body Wellness
While diet and exercise are important components of a healthy lifestyle, they are only part of the process. Helping the body to function at its optimum performance involves taking care of its structure and systems. Chiropractic care can not only alleviate the aches and pains associated with a new exercise habit, it can keep the body functioning the way it should through the entire year.
When the Going Gets Tough, They Give Up
So you didn’t make it to the gym this week. Or you had that bowl of ice cream after dinner. Who cares? A healthy lifestyle isn’t about being perfect, it is about making better choices today than you did yesterday. Get up tomorrow, hit the gym, make better choices at the next meal. Lasting changes are successful when you focus on the future, rather than the past. Most importantly, don’t give up. The gym just got a little less crowded.