We’re just about to wrap up the second full week of 2025 which probably means you’ve been working towards your New Year’s resolutions for a few weeks now. Maybe the newness and excitement of a new health and fitness journey is starting to wear off. Or things just aren’t going the way you planned so far. This was me the last few weeks.
We live in Southern California and thankfully the fires are not close enough to us that we’re in danger, however, we’ve experienced power outages and super strong winds that got in the way of my personal and professional goals. It was not the way I imagined kicking off 2025 and definitely threw me for a loop.
It got me thinking about New Year’s resolutions and how to navigate challenges when they come up right at the beginning of the year. Many studies show that most people never follow through with their New Year’s resolutions. Yup, that’s right! I typed NEVER. By the time February rolls around, they’ve thrown in the towel and gone back to their old habits.
To be honest, this doesn’t surprise me at all because habit change is hard. It’s hard for me and I’m a trained health and wellness coach who teaches people how to create lifestyle habits that stick. So, if this you and you find yourself saying, "I can’t do this s#%t anymore!” within the first six weeks of the year, I get it.
Challenges are inevitable and a part of life regardless of what you’re working towards. I’ve worked with several clients over the years and noticed a pattern when it comes to creating nutrition and fitness habits that are sustainable. The bottom line is it’s not a linear path, especially if your goal is weight loss. There’s ups and downs along the way no matter how motivated and committed you are to achieving your goal.
Fun fact: I recorded a podcast episode last year about this pattern. If you want to learn more about the Wellness Abundance Coaching 5 Stages of Habit Creation, go here to check it out.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming…
One thing that I believe is super important to know about yourself is, at what point do you seriously think about giving up? I’m talking about the “cracking open that bottle of wine and throwing away the cork because you know you won’t be needing it” phase. Or the “eating an entire box of cookies in one sitting” phase. Or the "sulking on the couch letting all the negative chit chat in your head tell you all the reasons you can’t make it happen” phase.
Now, I’m not trying to say there isn’t a time and a place for drinking wine straight from the bottle and bypassing the wine glass. Believe me, it’s something I’ve considered many times and I know you have too (no shame in this!). Sometimes it’s a necessary part of the process to get to where you want to go. So, I’m here to encourage you to do what you need to do during this time. Just be sure to truly enjoy every single sip from that bottle of wine and savor every single bite of every cookie you eat.
After you’re done, you can just give up OR shake it off, put on your big girl panties, and move on to the next step.
The important thing is to recognize that this might be your “giving up” threshold, which is actually really exciting! It may not feel exciting at the time BUT it’s the first step in the next phase. You’re coming out of the “I just can’t do this!” phase and moving into the “I’ve totally got this!” phase. At the beginning of the “I’ve totally got this!” phase, you may need to just keep doing what you’re doing and develop more patience or channel your inner Ross Gellar and pivot.
Working with a health and fitness coach like myself can help you navigate this territory. Let’s be real and admit that we can’t be successful on our own. Do you have the ability to make a lot of progress tapping into your own resources? Yes, of course you do! However, I guarantee no one who has ever been successful at creating new lifestyle habits has done this without help. I know I can’t do it on my own.
The ideal time for you to reach out for help is actually before you hit your giving up threshold. If you get ahead of it and brainstorm ideas on ways you can overcome any obstacles that get in your way, by the time you get there you already have a list of ideas ready to go.
If you’ve already reached that threshold and you actually don’t want to give up but don’t know what to do, I can help. If you’re willing to put in the work on your end, I’ll do the same on my end. I’m confident I can help you get past your giving up threshold and get to your destination.
As much fun as it sounds, sitting around sulking with your bottle of wine and box of cookies probably won’t give you a body that ages gracefully, is full of energy, and stays lean and strong. There’s no magic formula (if there was one and I knew it, I would share with you in a heartbeat!) to overcome the hurdles. You just have to go at them head on, whatever that looks like for you.
So, go here right now to book a free call with me so we can chat about your “I just can’t do this!” threshold and create a strategy to help you get past it. Set yourself up to be on the “I followed through with my New Year’s resolution(s)!” trolly. You’ll look back at this time with a smile and feel a wave of gratitude that you didn’t give up.