Seriously. Why did you quit? Statistics have shown that 80% of those that read this blog article already quit their New Year’s Resolutions by the second week of February. Losing weight and getting healthy are typically the most common New Year’s Resolutions each year. We are now more than halfway through the year and the number of quitters is even higher. And, studies indicate only around 8% are actually successful in achieving their ultimate New Year’s Resolutions. Why? Why did you quit?
First, I was curious if I could detect this well-known, alarming trend of seasonality in health and fitness via my website analytics at www.HowDoIGetRipped.com. My website has been active since 2010 so there are currently 6 seasons of data to analyze for trends. Check out the number of visits to my website per day over the past 6 years in the screen shot below…
I can confidently say that ALL 6 years my website has been active DEFINITELY show the seasonality in health and fitness around the New Year. The past 3 New Year’s Resolutions seasons are circled in green and show a SIGNIFICANT spike in visits to my website late December, during the New Year and then a gradual decline beginning late January, early February EVERY year. Typically I am reviewing a new Beachbody program around that time, so the initial spike may be an indication of people also looking to learn more about new programs, but generally I attribute much of the influx of visitors to my website to drivers based on health and wellness New Year’s Resolutions. I say this because Beachbody also releases new programs every summer and I do not see the large spike in website visits during the summer (not surprising as many people are busy enjoying their summer vacations and not focused on their health goals as much, from my experience).
Website visits dropping dramatically in late-Jan/early-Feb does not necessarily mean people are quitting their New Year’s Resolutions, but the data suggests that the drive for seeking guidance is lower during this time based on these results. I do believe though that the correlation of people quitting their health goals so soon after the New Year is a reality based on years of experience interfacing with my audience via private messages and phone calls. Quitting health and fitness New Year’s Resolutions IS very common and the norm. It used to happen to me every year before 2010. I know how it feels.
So, now that my website analytics appear to support the trend where most people quit their health and fitness New Year’s Resolutions shortly after they are established (majority just weeks from Jan 1), let’s briefly discuss why this may be happening and what can we do about it.
Just my opinion… although most people truly want to change and improve lifestyle, I feel like many people are guilted into creating New Year’s Resolutions each year with no intention to actually follow-through with their goals. The buzz and peer pressure around publicizing your Resolutions can be significant. As such, Resolutions can be forced from a combination of the New Year’s hype along with the feeling of Holiday remorse from poor nutrition and excess during the stretch of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve (you can even add the Super Bowl early Feb). If health and fitness was truly a priority, why wait until January 1 to take action each year? And, for those that have strong intentions to follow-through, most do not appear to have the patience required to achieve results consistent with their goals. It is not easy and it does not happen overnight (just like poor health derives from many poor decisions over time).
I believe that people are generally well intentioned to resolve to change, however, they do nothing to change their capacity to change. This typically comes from an inside-out transformation via personal development, growth, understanding of your WHY and motivation to make a difference to achieve your goals. This requires effort, especially given the challenges when trying to get in shape including stress, discomfort, soreness, exhaustion, nutrition discipline and general motivation to make a change. This transformation switch does activate simply because it is a New Year. As such, unless you change your mind, it will be difficult to stay on track when the “going gets tough.” The lazy, instant gratification mindset is exactly what gimmick solutions prey on for health and fitness such as magic pills, the “Smart” Electrical Ab Belt, Shake Weight and Ab Enhancer (dude, what is up with that Ab Enhancer?!?)…
But seriously, this is what turned me on to P90X and other Beachbody solutions. They LOOK like hard work, and the science behind the fitness and nutrition programs make complete sense to me. Work hard and make good decisions consistently over time. Leverage the guidance from the professionally developed programs with your coach to dial in results for your specific goals. If you do that, you WILL see amazing progress with your health initiatives. Indeed, I have helped thousands on my Team make this reality, including myself. And, yes, this can all be done while busy and going through tough times. For me, health and fitness has helped me through some of the toughest, most tragic times of my life. Life changing stuff here.
My previous blog article addressed the case for at-home workouts, especially when going to the gym is not an option, and case against New Year’s Resolutions. I have long supported ANY approach that helps you achieve your health and fitness goals, however, I have found that many people that do not follow-through with their New Year’s Resolutions use time as their excuse, cost of gym membership or even knowledge of what to do when hitting the gym. No excuse. Seriously, we are all adults here. No excuses. What is your health worth? There are many options available to help you in as little as 10 minutes a day and limited space or equipment combined with professionally developed nutrition plans that make it easy telling you what to do and when. You just need to act. And, you DO NOT need to wait until the New Year. You can’t afford to wait.
Need help? Reach out to me with the CONTACT BUTTON below NOW and we will do this together. I am here to help. I have been there and turned my life around. The time is now.
What will it take?
Personal development to train your mind for success (change) will be critical and motivation from support with other like-minded team members will help drive real results with your CONSISTENT action. YOUR ACTION. There are no gimmicks or shortcuts here with your health and fitness, but MANY tools are available to help. Make YOUR health and fitness a priority this year and not just an empty “Resolution” set on January 1. You owe you. You owe your family. Why did you quit already? Don’t be one of the 92% that quits their New Year’s Resolutions this year. There is still time to make your health a priority. Let’s do this!
HAPPY NEW YEAR IN JULY!!
