Keeping your New Year's resolutions
Did you make any? Any New Year’s resolutions that is. If you did, you need to know how to make them stick this time. Forget about last year’s failed ones; the ones you made this year will stick, right? Metro.se asked the experts on how we can succeed. Whether it’s about getting fit or eating better, what’s important for your success is motivation. Says psychologist Linda Hellquist: “It’s motivation that counts. If we’ve been told by others to lose weight, we tend to do worse (with our resolution).”
In order to get your motivation up, you might want to ask yourself why you made this particular resolution. Another tip is to get together with a friend who wants to reach a similar goal. “If you can get someone else to join you, you often increase your chances of succeeding,” Hellquist continues.

“This is great for your motivation.” Make a plan for how you are going to keep your resolution, and don’t bite off more than you can chew, especially in the beginning. “Try to lower your expectations. Don’t do everything at once, but set gradual goals like ‘if I get to the gym once a week at first, then that’s fine.’ To change is difficult, but if you do it one step at a time and find new, positive habits it’s doable and makes things easier.” If your resolutions concern your career, then you might want to structure just how you are going to go about changes, and whether these changes are realistic. Ask someone if they can be of help with your plans. Think things through.

Barbro Holm Ivarsson is a psychologist who is an expert when it comes to quitting tobacco. “Get yourself motivated,” she says. “Think about why it’s important to quit—that’s the only thing that will make you stick to it. The best thing is to have a date planned, a date when you are going to quit. Plan and think about things that may help you succeed, throw all things tobacco out that day and join a support group. Make sure you take care of yourself at first, eat well and get moving.” If your goal is to get healthier with training, then Karin Haglund, a health coach and personal trainer, has the following advice: “Have a clear goal picture, think and write down your motives. Why do I want to live a healthier life? One great way to eat healthier and lose weight can be to remove sugar. Ask yourself what vegetables you are going to eat today, instead of just adding vegetables. Make sure you have good produce at home and eat a healthy breakfast, then you are off to a great start that day.”