Happy 2025! Each new year is a symbol of renewal and a time when many people decide to make positive changes in their lives. These can include eating better, exercising more, cutting back on alcohol or cigarette consumption or managing our weight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
New year\u2019s resolutions often focus on healthy lifestyle habits, which can have a positive effect before or after a breast cancer diagnosis. See our article on breast cancer prevention<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite all these benefits, it can be difficult to adopt healthy habits and maintain them over the long term. That\u2019s why new year\u2019s resolutions tend to fail shortly after we make them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few tips to help you achieve and maintain your new year\u2019s resolutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Setting S.M.A.R.T. (s<\/strong>pecific, m<\/strong>easurable, a<\/strong>chievable, r<\/strong>ealistic, t<\/strong>ime-bound) goals is key to sustainable resolutions. This means setting goals that are:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Set specific <\/strong>goals. Avoid resolutions that are too general. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, instead of resolving to \u201ceat better,\u201d resolve to \u201cdrink less soda\u201d or to \u201ceat at least one fruit or vegetable with each meal.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Have clear indicators <\/strong>in mind. This helps to better track the resolutions you set and break down a big goal into several steps to better monitor your progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, the goal of doing at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day can be broken down into several steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dividing a big goal into small steps that are easier and quicker to accomplish helps you stay motivated over the long term.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n To succeed, it\u2019s important to set realistic goals<\/strong>. Think about your abilities, your energy, your experience and the time available. Asking questions is key to finding solutions and anticipating potential obstacles.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if your resolution is to cook more meals at home, the questions might be:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This can also be an opportunity to identify the resources available<\/strong> to help and support you.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if your resolution is to cook more meals but you lack recipe ideas, the solution might be to consult a dietitian or buy a recipe book.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is also an opportunity to ask the people around you to help you achieve your resolution, even if you are experiencing fatigue during treatments, for example.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Choosing realistic goals also includes planning for more challenging times or sometimes even a relapse<\/strong>. Take the time to get to know yourself better, identify what is holding you back and what helps you to move forward. Adapt your strategies to progress at your pace. This will also help you to identify triggers that might be linked to your emotions or environment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, stress or fatigue can lead to a relapse to comforting behaviours (e.g., smoking, eating fatty or sugary foods).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, the people around you can also be a trigger (e.g., drinking alcohol socially or over the Holidays).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing that something is good for you is not enough to implement it. If you are feeling unmotivated, remind yourself why you want to adopt these healthy habits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Take time to celebrate the small victories, <\/strong>because this will increase your chances of maintaining changes over the long term.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take the time to observe the positive impact of these changes on how you feel<\/strong>. Maybe you notice that you have more energy, strength or endurance. Maybe you feel a sense of pride or accomplishment. This can be a source of motivation to maintain this new habit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n You could also identify a reward<\/strong> to celebrate your effort <\/strong>such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if your resolution is to exercise more regularly, it could be broken down into several parts, each of which has its own schedule.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: you can adjust your schedules if they are not realistic or achievable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you struggle with the changes or they take longer than anticipated, don\u2019t get discouraged. Instead, adjust your goals as you go<\/strong> and, above all, be patient with yourself<\/strong>. Implementing healthy lifestyle habits takes time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019re not alone in this process. The Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation offers services to support you in adopting healthy lifestyle habits.<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting support from professionals<\/strong>, such as kinesiologists, dietitians or psychologists can also make it easier to integrate new habits.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Resources available in Quebec<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The service <\/a>My Active Health<\/a> of the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n List of useful and certified addiction resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.msss.gouv.qc.ca\/repertoires\/dependances\/organis_certifier.php<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.quebecsanstabac.ca\/jarrete<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Happy 2025! Each new year is a symbol of renewal and a time when many people decide to make positive changes in their lives. These can include eating better, exercising more, cutting back on alcohol or cigarette consumption or managing our weight. New year\u2019s resolutions often focus on healthy lifestyle habits, which can have a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":15450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breast-health"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rubanrose.wpbeta.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rubanrose.wpbeta.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rubanrose.wpbeta.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rubanrose.wpbeta.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rubanrose.wpbeta.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rubanrose.wpbeta.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rubanrose.wpbeta.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rubanrose.wpbeta.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rubanrose.wpbeta.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rubanrose.wpbeta.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} \n Coming up with healthy resolutions and maintaining <\/span>\n \n them over the long term <\/h2> <\/section>\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n
Specific<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Measurable<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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ACHIEVABLE<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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R<\/strong>ealistic<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
REWARD<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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TIME-BOUND (SET A SCHEDULE)<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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