Every year in January there is a massive influx of diet culture spam and all sorts of restrictive eating plans to get you started and help you along your weight loss journey. Of course, this can be massively triggering for many people and may mean they fail within the first couple of weeks because they’ve set themselves very unrealistic expectations.
For others though, this sudden burst of motivation and inspiration from others can mean they feel a renewed sense of purpose with their weight loss journey. The whole “New Year, New Me” mindset helps to give a fresh perspective for many people, especially if they’re indulged over Christmas and are craving some vegetables and movement.
Whether you start your diet on January 1st or take some of the pressure off and start midway through the month, beginning afresh in the New Year will help to spur you along your way. A huge 42% of people will last just 2-4 weeks on their new diet before giving up, so if you start after this initial influx of people, you could feel less pressure and therefore be more likely to succeed.
To play devil’s advocate, January could also be one of the worst times to start a diet, it doesn’t get light until about 9 in the morning and then gets dark at 4 in the afternoon making it hard to find a good time to get some exercise in. With the cold weather, the only thing you really want to do is curl up with some comfort food and forget the world.
However, if you do find the motivation to get outside and move, the motivation to try and stay warm could mean you end up running or walking even faster and burning more calories. Some people may find that they try every New Year, set themselves up to try again and lose weight and end up stuck again. This can be very disheartening, and you may find that you want to look into alternative options. These should not be taken lightly and should always be thoroughly researched so you’re well aware of all your different options.
Getting your new diet off to a positive start can hold the secret between success and failure, knowing how to plan it out and then sticking to this plan will give you a sense of control over the whole situation.