How to make 2024 your healthiest yet

Celebrate victories, every step counts!

• On the scale – Did you finish this year lighter than you started it (if this was your goal!)? Maybe you achieved your aim to maintain your weight? If you succeeded in any of your weight goals this year, give yourself a pat on the back and bloomin’ celebrate it! Even if you didn’t quite get to where you’d hoped, all progress made is an achievement, be proud of yourself.
• Building healthy habits –Achieving weight loss success in your journey is not only about what the number says on the scale. Take note of your daily routines, have you built any new habits that benefit your health? This could be as simple as switching to wholemeal bread from white or adding an extra 2 glasses of water a day. No matter what healthy habit you’ve created, whether big or small, you’ve nailed it!
• Advancing on fitness – Reflect on any improvements made to your fitness – whether you’ve fallen in love with a new exercise, achieved personal bests or simply upped your physical activity levels. Acknowledge the commitment you've made to improving your overall health. This will provide you with the motivation to create new activity goals for 2024.
• Improved mental resilience – Weight loss is as much a mental journey as it is a physical one. Take a moment to think about how your past year has gone. How did you handle disappointments or setbacks? Did you bounce back and keep going, or did you need to take a break? Maybe you formed new healthy habits or just stayed committed to your fitness goals. Recognise the progress you've made in developing your mindset – it's an achievement that will support you in the upcoming year! Remember, your past success is a sign of what you can achieve in the future!

Celebrate all these victories as signs of progress, emphasising that each step in the journey contributes to the bigger picture.

Reflect on challenges

• Accept you faced hurdles – Delve into the challenges you may have encountered in the past year. Perhaps you struggled with a difficult time personally that knocked you out of your weight loss stride? Whatever your reasons are for the difficulties in your journey, accepting that achieving your goals is never a linear process will help to prepare you for 2024.
• Identify triggers – Did you notice any specific triggers that caused you to fall off track? Triggers are personal to everyone and identifying what derails you is the first step to avoiding any future slips. It might be that after a holiday, you find it hard to get back to it once you arrive home. Or you struggle to draw a line under one bad day, so one day rolls into 3 days. Whatever your triggers are, don't beat yourself up over it! Just aim to work out how you can manage or overcome them in the new year.
• Recognise your strength – What strategies did you use to overcome your struggles? Whether you reached out for support from loved ones or changed up your goals to make them a little more achievable for yourself. Consider these as major learning opportunities that offer insight into your own resilience. Be kind to yourself, you're doing great!

Be consistent and patient

When it comes to 2024, consistency and patience are key. Recognise that results take time, aim to focus on the journey rather than the destination. By managing expectations and allowing for gradual progress, you'll begin to make sustainable habits and achieve your goals without the burnout.

Just eat the CHOCOLATE!

I understand the desire to cut out all ‘naughty treats' in your quest to lose weight, but if saying no chocolate is a really big deal for you, we both know that resolution isn't going to last! Besides, here at Nutracheck we want you to lose the idea of labelling foods as 'good' and bad'. Whilst I’m not saying your favourite treats should be your main source of energy, being healthy doesn't have to mean having a diet without any pleasure.

Just remember it's all about balance and eating in moderation. We believe in the 80:20 approach: eat nutritious foods 80% of the time so you can afford to relax a little the other 20%.

Prioritise your mental health

A healthy body goes hand in hand with a positive mindset, so aim to tackle stress proactively, concentrate on the things that bring you joy, and keep in mind that maintaining a balanced mindset is key to a successful journey. Pay attention to your mental and emotional well-being just as much as your physical health.

For many of us, eating is entwined with our emotions. If you know you are an emotional eater, you may find the 'Diary Notes' section of your diary particularly helpful. You can choose an emoji to sum up your day, and note down any feelings that you know have impacted your food choices for that day. The Nutracheck website, part of your membership, also has a helpful feature called Food Triggers (look for the link above your diary). There are lots of articles about dealing with emotional and situational triggers, with practical tips to help.

It's also important to recognise that there may be times on your weight loss journey when you need to take a breather and press pause. This is a helpful blog for such occasions – When to take a break from dieting.

Seek support

You don't have to navigate this path alone! Reach out to friends, family, and health professionals. Building a network of people to encourage you and go-to sources for advice not only makes the journey more manageable, but also boosts your chances of long-term success.

Nutracheck understands the importance of maintaining a strong support system, that's why we have a Forum for members to connect with one another. You can talk to like-minded people and share your highs and lows!

New for 2024 – we have a brand new feature, 'Link & Share Account'. (You'll find it under 'More' in the app). You can link your Nutracheck account with friends and family who are also members, to see each other's diary, progress and recipes. It's a great way to be prompted to fill in your diary! Plus feeling accountable to each other can really help keep you on track too.

Ready to conquer 2024?!

I invite you to kickstart 2024 by joining our '3 Steps to Success Challenge'! Starting on Monday 8th January, it's free to join!

The challenge will last 3 weeks and it's all about simple changes to build healthy habits that will last all year long. So why not join us and make 2024 your year! For more details and to sign up, click below.

Sign up now