Winnipeg well-being experts say throw out resolutions for 2015

New Year's resolutions are out and specific goals where gratification is delayed are in, according to well-being experts.

Fitness goals continue to rank high on New Year's resolutions lists, but they are becoming increasingly difficult to attain and one Winnipeg life coach says it's because of our society's preoccupation with instant gratification.

According to Ryan Anderson, getting what we want when we want it makes it difficult for people who expect to see physical results immediately. 

Anderson says every day is New Year's Day because each day offers opportunities to begin again. But in the first few days of the new year and year-round, people make the same mistakes and compromise their goals in the process.

"Taking on too much early on. Going to the gym five times in a week and then killing yourself and then all of a sudden two weeks later your body is so sore and the rest of your lifestyle hasn't adapted to that then you just give up or quit," he said.

While Anderson advises against too much too soon, Winnipeg wellness advocate Lindsay Somers believes in the age-old notion that action alleviates anxiety. She says the sooner one starts working toward an objective, the sooner one will feel the rewards of that objective.

"Once you start moving you immediately feel better," Somers said. "And that leads to better things and better food choices and they're all interconnected."

Somers encourages anyone with a fitness goal to commit to an activity that will be set up in advance: A dance class, or cross-country skiing group, for example.

She says everyone needs support and people can find that in group exercise. 

But Toronto nutritionist Theresa Albert says that before anyone can take on anything or begin to work toward a goal, they need a starting point.

"We tend to get people who are keen and gung-ho and this is a good start...and we see them fail because...they haven't actually figured out what it means to them to succeed," she said.

Albert says people who want to change their lifestyles in a positive way must believe in lifelong health. She suggests making one change in your life per week, such as changing what you eat for breakfast (or beginning to eat it if you don't already).

"Unless you change the way you eat, the places you eat and how you eat, not only what you eat, you're bound to fail," she said. "Plan to eat healthier, plan to lose weight. Yes, go on a diet but remember this is a lifelong change that you are making. Go slow. Make it sustainable."