This time of year is a fantastic opportunity to start a fresh and make some positive lifestyle changes…

Whether that’ll be losing weight, eating better, or moving more.  Here at One You East Sussex, we understand it can be hard to stay motivated.  Especially during the dark and cold months of the year, that we currently find ourselves in.   

However, help is at hand with these 5 top tips to stay motivated and eager to reach your goals… 

1. Remind yourself of your reasons why you want to make these changes.  Dig deep and find the reason that means the most to you and keep reminding yourself of this and how great you’re going to feel once you have reached your goals. Visualise yourself as the new you! 

2. Don’t try to be perfect.  No one’s health and wellbeing journey is perfect, whilst we don’t want to fail, it’s natural to fall off track every now and then but it’s the getting back on track and learning from what went wrong that counts. By aiming to be perfect we put a lot of pressure on ourselves, so by accepting that it doesn’t mean we’ve failed if there’s bumps in the road, should help keep your motivation going. 

3. Be prepared and plan ahead.  Whether it’s planning your meals for the week ahead or leaving your exercise clothes out ready to put on in the morning, by planning ahead you’re making things a bit easier for yourself and less likely to feel unmotivated to do it. 

4. Find an accountability friend or family member.  Accountability really helps success, by having someone come along your journey with you, will help keep that motivation going. Arranging a walk/jog with a friend will make you more likely to do it.  Sharing recipes and cooking for a friend who has similar goals to you should help with that motivation to eat better!  Checking in with someone whether that’s a friend or health coach should help with that motivation. 

5. Break down your goal into small achievable chunks. Use SMART goals – Make sure your goal is specific, pinpoint exactly what it is you want to achieve for more effective planning. Ensure it is measurable, how are you going to measure your success? Importantly make sure it’s achievable and relevant.  Finally set a realistic time scale in which you’d like to achieve your goal, to keep that motivation flowing. 

Motivation is essential to achieving long-term goals! So it’s important to keep it as high as possible, whilst accepting that it’s normal to take a dip at times. By following the tips above we can help keep it as high as we possibly can! 

If you’d like more information about our FREE healthy lifestyle services for residents of East Sussex, visit our website at https://oneyoueastsussex.org.uk