Future focus: Simple steps to stick to your resolutions

Starting a new diet? Deciding to quit smoking? Planning to save more? The first part of any year is a natural landmark for choosing goals for the year ahead. Whether you call this goal setting a ‘resolution’ or not, the effect is called The Fresh Start Effect and most of us will have tried to make good use of this before. Here are some of the most popular resolutions you can make in 2016 and some great ways to achieve them … with some help from Vitality!

Resolution 1:

Get fit

Getting fit is often the number 1 resolution because exercise is so good for you. Not only can it help you to lose or maintain your weight, but it can reduce stress, improve sleep quality, and improve your overall health. You have so many options to choose from when it comes to improving your fitness levels.

• Do you enjoy working out by yourself? Gyms are a great way to get fit, especially if you prefer to put in your favourite beats and zone out while doing so. Join one of Vitality’s partner gyms, Virgin Active, Planet Fitness, or Curves, for great discounts.
• Do you love to work out in a group? If you prefer the outdoors and like to work out in a group, parkrun is a great way to start your weekend. For those who want to really get sweating, try one of our Vitality Fit partners, Adventure Boot Camp, CrossFit, or S.W.E.A.T. 1000. If you are learning to run or prefer walking, Run/Walk For Life is a great choice for you.
• Do you prefer races? Running and cycling events are a great way to challenge yourself to exercise by giving you a concrete goal to work towards. Join SA’s most popular running and cycling club Team Vitality for discounts on gear and cash backs on races to help you get fitter, quicker.

Resolution 2:

Save more; spend less

This popular resolution is very difficult to see through. Our advice? One of the best ways to ensure that you are saving more is to reduce the amount you already spend on certain key items. In addition to getting cash back for your healthy choices by using your Discovery Card at Pick n Pay, Woolworths, Clicks, Dis-Chem, TotalSports, and Sportsman’s Warehouse, you can also save money by getting active with Vitality Active Rewards. Download the latest version of the Discovery app and activate Active Rewards. We’ll set you personalised weekly fitness goals and we’ll reward you for achieving them. You’ll earn a free drink with KAUAI or vida e caffè when you achieve your weekly goal but you can also earn up to 100% off monthly gym fees. Simply activate the Gym Booster on the Vitality Active Rewards page, and achieve your goals to earn up to 25% cash back on your monthly gym fees.

Resolution 3:

Eat better

This is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions because we all know that we should eat more healthily. There is so much dietary advice out there that it can be very confusing to figure out what’s best for you and your family. Vitality has made eating healthier easier with the HealthyFood benefit and our partners, Pick n Pay and Woolworths. When you activate the benefit you can get up to 25% cash back on healthy foods at your preferred partner, and up to 10% back at the other partner. In store, all the foods that are on our HealthyFood list are marked with the Vitality HealthyFood icon to make shopping for healthy foods easier.

Resolution 4:

Stop smoking

Quitting smoking has innumerable benefits including reducing your risk for certain cancers, extending your life, increasing your energy, improving your heart health, and reducing the risk to your loved ones. Despite these important reasons to quit, it is very difficult to do it by yourself. To help you quit, Vitality has partnered with one of the most successful end smoking programmes in the world, Allen Carr’s Easyway. The programme is endorsed by the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) and if you join the programme through Vitality you save 80%. What are you waiting for?!

Resolution 5:

Celebrate your successes

When life is moving at a breakneck pace, it can be difficult to remember to stop and celebrate the moments when you achieve something. We think that achieving your weekly Vitality Active Rewards goal is worth celebrating, which is why we give you a free drink with KAUAI or vida e caffè for every week when you achieve your goal. If two of your friends in your Active Rewards team also achieve their goal, you can celebrate their success too with an additional reward.

Resolution 6:

Spend more time with loved ones

2015 was a bumper year for movies and 2016 promises to be just as good. Taking in the latest blockbuster with friends and family is a great way to spend some time with them. If your New Year’s resolution is to spend more time with the most important people in your life, do it for less by activating Vitality’s SterKinekor benefit. Watch massively discounted movies and remember that Vitality kids can watch movies for free!

Resolution 7:

Prioritise your health

Putting your health first starts with knowing your health. Knowing your health statistics is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that you can take the steps you need to, to stay healthy. Start with finding out your Vitality Age, and completing a Vitality Health Check and Vitality Fitness Assessment. Get screened, take steps to prevent certain illnesses, and have a dental health check-up. Earn thousands of points and learn about your health by doing these assessments.

Whatever your New Year’s resolutions are, it’s now so much easier to achieve them with Vitality and our benefits. Get fitter, get healthier, and continue to be rewarded with Vitality in 2016.