How to Reach Your New Years Fitness Goals

With the new year in sight, you probably feel motivated to get back to fitness and achieve those goals you’ve had for the last decade.

That’s fantastic. But to be successful and retain your results once you reach your goals, you need to have the right tactics.

Below, we’ve outlined four of the most important things you need to know about reaching your new year’s fitness goals.

1. Start a 30-Day Weight Loss Challenge

Weight loss challenges are a fantastic way to kickstart your fitness journey. They are unique because you have a concrete plan of action and clear objectives to cover in a specific amount of time.

Here are some good weight loss challenge ideas:

a) Distance-based.

For example, you can challenge yourself to run seven miles each week - an average of one mile per day.

b) Consistency-based.

For example, you can make it a challenge to eat at least 90 percent healthy and nutritious foods. So, for every ten meals, nine have to be healthy.

You can also challenge yourself to do some exercise every day for 30 days. This is a fantastic way to get the ball rolling and build momentum.

c) Step-based.

If you’re a complete beginner and have no idea where to start, why not make the challenge more manageable. This is where a step-based challenge could work incredibly well. For example, set the challenge to walk 6,000 steps every day for 30 days.

2. Manage Your Expectations

If you’re new to fitness or have been out of the game for a long time, you might find it challenging to know what to expect.

As you go in, you must practice patience and manage your expectations. Since muscle gain and fat loss are limited, you can’t expect to make a drastic transformation in as little as thirty days.

Granted, you can make some significant progress. But a 30-day challenge will be there to give you a great start with fitness. After that, consistency, patience, and applying yourself to the process will carry you forward.

For reference, you can hope to lose between one and two pounds of fat per week. If your goal is muscle gain, experts like Lyle McDonald suggest that a complete beginner can gain between 20 and 22 pounds of muscle in their first year of training.

3. Take Advantage of Meal Planning Software

Meal planning software is incredibly beneficial because it allows you to record everything and see what you’re doing well and where you might be able to improve. This allows you to stay consistent with your calorie intake and achieve great results in the long run.

One of the best meal planning software systems out there is our planning app - Evolution Nutrition.

4. Two Important Considerations

Before wrapping this up, it’s vital to go over two facts and two opposing myths:

a) Focus on the process

Many people are outcome-driven. For example, lose 30 pounds of weight.

But, focusing on the process is a lot more rewarding and allows you to achieve your goals more easily. For example, instead of focusing on a distant weight loss goal, focus on the process of getting there: eating more healthily, exercising daily, sleeping more, and similar.

b) Stick with one plan

There is an idea that we need to ‘confuse’ the body to see optimal fitness results. But, the truth is, the body understands stress and tension. So long as we provide it, it will adapt.

So, it’s vital that you stick with one plan until you’re successful. That way, it’s much easier to track your progress, make small adjustments, and see what works (and what doesn’t) in the long run.