We are now well and truly in to 2017 and if like most people you have decided on making changes in your life for the better then here are our top tips to sticking to those all important new year’s resolutions and achieving your goals.

1) Make sure your resolution is specific. It is not ok to say to yourself "In 2017 I want to lose some weight" because this simply is not good enough. You need to be very specific with what it is you EXACTLY want to achieve and by when and then reverse engineer the amount of work / effort required to meet your goal. For example you should say "I want you lose 2 stone in weight by the end of 2017"

2) Break it down – Now we know the goal is to lose 2 stone in weight (12.7 kilos) let’s break it down even further. Breaking your goal down in to manageable and measurable milestones will help you stay focused and not be daunted by the bigger goal. Losing two stone sounds a lot more challenging than saying I want to lose 0.24 Kilos per week or 1.58 kilos per month... get it?

3) Log your progress. Why? By tracking and documenting results in a notepad or on your mobile device you can see just how far you have come during the days, weeks and months of the year. If your goal is to lose weight you more are more likely to see changes on the scales than in the mirror in the first instance, so seeing the numbers go down (or up if you are looking to gain weight) will keep you motivated.

4) Know your why? You are more likely to achieve your New Year goals if you have a strong ‘why’. Your why is the REAL reason you decided you set yourself a new goal for the New Year. Want to lose weight? WHY… Want to stop smoking..WHY?... Want to save more money.. WHY? Being a specific and honest as you can will be the river to stick to your goals when the going gets tough. Again we suggest writing your 'why' down and looking at it every day.

5) Make it fun – No matter what your goals for the new year think of ways you can achieve your them by making associated activities and actions fun. Want to lose weight?.. No problem join a Zumba class (they look like fun)… Want to stop smoking? Great! Treat yourself with the money you save from not buying cigarettes. Want to save money by not going out? Wonderful! Have fun nights in with your friends & family playing board games and cooking at home.

Keep it simple and good luck!