New year's resolutions: How to stick with your healthy 2024 resolutions - and make them fun

With 2024 upon the horizon, many of us are turning our attention to the new year.

A new year means new beginnings, and plenty of us will be looking to make resolutions to ensure a successful year. Surveys suggest 43 per cent of us are setting a new year's resolution, and of those many will be looking at health and fitness-related resolutions.

Losing weight, exercising more and eating healthier are typically top of people's agendas on January 1, but keeping these resolutions going can be tough. In fact, research from Bimuno shows that the anxiety around resolutions can lead to many people not setting them in the first place.

But sticking to our healthy new year's resolutions doesn't have to be a chore - in fact, it can be a lot of fun. Here's how.

Start off gentle

Naturally, exercising is good for us. But we don't have to head to the gym on January 1 to set a world record deadlift, or take to the streets on two wheels dressed in Lycra.

But new research from the Institute of Cancer Research in London have found that even gentle exercise, like walking or gardening, can significantly reduce the risk of serious illness. The study, involving 547,000 women over the course of 12 years, found that the most active people were 10 per cent less likely to develop breast cancer.

So instead of committing to the gym, perhaps just take longer walks with the dog, or give your garden some early TLC.

Bin off the sugar

Last year, the NHS spent an eye-watering £1.5bn on diabetes drugs, and will probably end up having spent more in 2023.

It's thought Brits eat twice the recommended daily amount of sugar, with ultra-processed foods like cakes, biscuits and fizzy drinks causing long-term problems for our health. The greatest concern being type two diabetes.

But some foods can help to lower our blood sugar levels - and eventually aid us in sacking off sugar for good. Coffee, nuts and green vegetables are a good place to start our diet, and to replace those sugary temptations look to things like dark chocolate, apple slices and peanut butter.

Burn calories - fast

Having started off gentle, you might feel an urge to burn calories quickly. This is especially the case if you're trying to shed a few pounds in the new year.

Over the past few years, high intensity interval training (HITT) has become all the rage thanks to fitness gurus like Joe Wicks. Quick, but intense, bursts of sprinting, skipping, cycling or even dancing can burn off as much as a packet of crisps.

It might not sound like much, but it all adds up. And the more fun you have, the more likely you are to stick with it.

Ready meals aren't all terrible

Eating healthy doesn't have to mean wasting our evenings chopping salads and peeling endless vegetables.

When we look at ready meals, most of us cannot see past the ultra-processed junk that sits on supermarket shelves.

But a closer look at what's available can toss up some real gems. Those that are packaged up as "low calorie" or "fat-free" often live up to expectation.

Morrisons' Nourish range (especially the high protein stuff) Waitrose's Thrive microwave meals and M&S' Eat Well range are among the best to look out for. Check the labels to compare nutritional information - but keep an eye on the ingredients for any ultra-processed foods in disguise.

Get that bread

After a week of eating turkey sandwiches, bread is perhaps the last thing on people's minds in the new year. But with the new year, maybe it's time for a new loaf of bread?

Wholemeal bread - especially seeded bread - is often the best for us, being rich in fibre and vitamin C (thanks to the ascorbic acids). But some will unfortunately have additives thrown in, which does about as much good as pouring Pepsi over a salad.

Our choice would be Sainsbury's multiseed farmhouse bread, as it doesn't have all the unecessary additives thrown in.