OH! Magazine - Australian Version January 2016 | Page 8

MICHELLE
BRIDGES

PLANNING IS THE KEY TO

SUCCESSFUL
RESOLUTIONS

Michelle Bridges explains how to actually successfully achieve your
healthy resolutions.
very year I get asked about new
year’s resolutions, and every year I
give pretty much the same answer; ‘they
probably won’t work’.

E

This year I’m going to pre-empt the
cursory ‘so Michelle, tell me – how do you
stick to a new year’s resolution?’ by
explaining right here and now why your
chances of doing so are hovering
somewhere between ‘slim’ and ‘none’.
Most new year’s resolutions are made by
women when they’re upside down on the
bed with their legs in the air trying to get
into a pair of jeans bought in last year’s
summer sales! Or by blokes when they
finally admit to themselves that the ever
diminishing view of their manhood is due
to their waistline expanding and not their
‘friend’ contracting! So there’s the first
problem: decisions are often made in a
highly emotive state, which are often
negative.

Next issue with resolutions, is the timing.
Announcements that start with ‘that’s it!
From now on…’ invariably precede a
spontaneous run around the block, or
buying new runners and workout outfits
online! Which directly ties in with another
problem: no forward planning.
Then there’s also the issue of will power.
This is where our brain, stifling a yawn
and realising that it’s ‘that time of year
again’ conspires to undo us.
You see, the part of our brain that
associates an action in the present with a
benefit in the future is called the ‘prefrontal cortex’, which is located at the
front of our heads. Here lies what i call
‘Willpower HQ’, and it serves to
determines to what extent rockin’ a pair
of Levi’s in three months time will propel
you to pass up a deep fried Mars Bar or a
second glass of sav blanc.
The trouble is, that the pre-frontal cortex
is a hungry little bugger which needs

8

JANUARY 2016 ( OH! MAGAZINE )

plenty of glucose to keep operating at
peak performance. Which isn’t a problem
except that you’ve just put yourself on a
350 calories a day diet composed mostly
of goji berries, spirulina and walnuts.
The result? Within a day or two your brain
has had enough, willpower has left the
building, and you’ve got a filthy cold
because your full throttle launch into a
fitness regime flattened out your immune
system and you weren’t taking in enough
vitamins and minerals to prop it up again.
And there goes the new year’s resolution.
Pop it into the drawer and drag it out next
year. Or follow my tip for success in the
new year, which is:
Take a full month to plan the changeover
to a healthier lifestyle, ensuring that all
bases are covered. By this I mean
nutrition, exercise and mindset. Then,
and only then, should you start taking
action to achieve your new years
resolution.

www.michellebridges.com.au

( Fitness & Motivation )