Top 5 New Year’s Resolutions – and how to stick to them

Top 5 New Year’s Resolutions – and how to stick to them

Christmas is over and the last of the turkey sandwiches has been fed to the dog. It’s been fun and now New Year’s parties are on our minds. Our resolve is high, the scales remind us that the extra mince pie may have had an impact, or maybe it was that bottle of Bailey’s that Mum cracked open after Christmas lunch. Either way, it’s time for our New Year’s resolutions.

At the beginning of 2017, www.comresglobal.com revealed the top 10 New Year’s resolutions (that we didn’t really stick to) so here we’ll focus on the top 5 and provide a few pointers on how to stick to them.

Stick to your resolutions!

1.     Exercise more (38%)

The top resolution is, of course, to exercise more. Now is the time to sign up for the gym, if we pay a monthly fee then we are surely going to go. The most common excuse for not going to the gym is lack of time. Gym24h in Valencia is a low cost option and is open from 6.00 to 24.00 Monday-Saturday and until 21.30pm on Sundays, so if you have one close by, there is always time to go.

Valencia has an incredible climate. With more than 300 days of sun per year, outdoor activities are an excellent option to get more exercise.

If you have a bike, the city has hundreds of kilometres of bike lanes. Leave the car and use the bike as your main method of transport. If you don’t have a bike and would like to ride, rent one from BikeAlao and you’ll be provided with a detailed map of all the bike lanes in the city, plus you’ll be advised on the many routes out of the city, up the coast, along the river or into the countryside. Prices start at 2 euros per hour.

If you’d rather be accompanied, BikeAlao also does guided tours. An average tour burns 2000 calories!!

If walking or running is your thing, the Turia park is a great place to burn off those calories and the park splits the city for 9km of traffic-free fun.

2.     Lose weight (33%)

Exercising more is one way to lose weight. Another way is to go on a diet. While there are many fad diets around, the most useful advice is to eat a balanced diet that you can stick to. Combine a good diet with a bit more exercise and the weight will come off slowly but surely. Most gyms have a nutritionalist on hand, who will be happy to give you a free consultation.

3.     Eat more healthily (32%)

We all know that those extra portions of Christmas pudding aren’t good for us, but it’s so delicious!! Couple that with the Spanish cuisine available and it’s hard to know where to start. Cooking at home is always the best option. If you make your own meals, you know exactly what goes into your food and you choose the ingredients. There are a wealth of websites full of wonderful and healthy recipes to try, it’s another question of time. If time is against you, JustEat has a guide to healthy dishes that can be home delivered.

4.     Take an active approach to health (15%)

The 4^th most popular resolution is basically a combination of the first 3. The key here is that good health doesn’t just happen on its own. It’s a question of making it happen. The easiest way to motivate yourself towards a healthy life is to find an activity you enjoy, be it zumba, cycling, running, swimming etc. and going out and doing it. Almost everything is available in Valencia, and if you don’t want to be alone, there are countless groups on social media for healthy activities in Valencia.

5.     Learn new skills or a hobby (15%)

New Year, new skills and hobbies. With so many activities available, it’s hard to choose what to do. Valencia has so much on offer. Perhaps you would like to try your hand at painting. Ubik café has a regular group where participants are shown how to paint a famous work of art.

With Valencia being so conveniently located by the beach, it is also possible to try a wide range of watersports from scuba diving to kite surfing. One activity that has become very popular recently is the relatively easy kite surfing. SupLife give classes and they also provide all of the equipment for fun on the water in both Valencia and Jávea.

The other 5 of the top ten New Year’s resolutions are:

6. Spend more time on personal well-being. (12%)

7. Spend more time with family and friends (12%)

8. Drink less alcohol (12%)

9. Stop smoking (9%)

10. Other (1%)

Whatever your New Year’s resolutions may be, try and stick to them. Here at BikeAlao we’ve decided to try and stick to resolution number 10. 'Other' should be easy enough.

Don't stuff your dreams in a bottle :)