It’s nearly March. Can you believe it? So maybe now is the time to ask how we are going with our new year’s goals.

The most common two goals people make at the start of the year are - getting fit and losing weight.

These are very goods goals to have and by no means all about vanity - adults who are overweight and obese have an increased risk of developing chronic disease, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Australia.

However, research from Edith Cowan University has shown most people abandon their new year's exercise plans within a month — so how do we get ourselves back on track?

Maybe part of the problem is how just a “getting fit” goal might be too broad one fitness professional has told the Western Plains App.

Gilgandra Youth and Recreation Coordinator Monica Mudford told the Western Plains App small steps are critical when starting or restarting an exercise routine.

“I think the key is setting realistic, short-term goals. So for instance eventually you want to make a workout a daily routine, but at the start it doesn't have to be, so don’t beat up yourself at the start if you're not doing it,” she said.

“If you want to look better and feel better, you definitely need to get moving more.”

“A lot of people when they get started they can be a bit overwhelmed or just scared of starting a fitness routine. But every time you go at the start you need to remember every workout you do is good for body, you are doing a good for yourself, you are setting new behaviour patterns in place” said Ms Mudford.

Renate Hume and other ladies get active each week at Aquarobics in Coonamble. IMAGE: Coonamble Times

Nearly 300 Australians were surveyed over two months at the start of 2022 as part an Edith Cowan University School of Psychology research project and answered questions regarding their exercise goal resolutions, different types of motivation, mental wellbeing and more. 

Lead researcher Professor Joanne Dickson said it was surprising what did and did not influence people sticking with their new year’s exercise resolutions.

“Our research found — for the first time — distinct underlying motives that were favourable and unfavourable when it came to sticking with your New Year exercise resolutions.”

Professor Dickson. Course: Edith Cowan University.

Those favourable motives the researchers found included “exercise done for autonomous and intrinsic reasons such as fun, enjoyment, reward, purpose, or meaning, are beneficial to maintaining one’s mental wellbeing and beneficial in sustaining exercise adherence” Professor Dickson said.

“Theoretically, pursuing intrinsically motivated goal resolutions is thought to fulfil fundamental psychological needs, such as a sense of competence, fulfilment, worth, and enjoyment, which in turn promotes mental health but notably we found it also helps to sustain exercise adherence” she said.

By contrast she explained that extrinsic motivations such as meeting the demands or approval, feelings guilt or shame, or material rewards meant people were less likely to stick with exercise.

The last Australian Bureau of Statistics' National Health Survey from 2017–18 revealed that 67 per cent of Australian adults were overweight or obese (12.5 million people), an increase from 63.4 per cent since 2014-15.

If the current trend continues, more than 18 million Australians will be overweight or obese by 2030.

The same data also showed that in 2017–18, around 1 in 4 (24%) children aged 5–14 were overweight (17%) or obese (7.7%).

Gilgandra youngsters enjoy getting out and getting active as part of a group. IMAGE: Gilgandra Youth & Recreation Centre

Monica Mudford from Gilgandra Council said there were other things people could do to help start a fitness regime or get even fitter.

This included finding exercise you like, doing exercise with people you like and rewarding yourself for setting short-term goals.

When told by this reporter he can currently only do 3 minutes on a treadmill before getting completely puffed out. She said “next time aim for four and just work yourself up bit by bit”.