Looking at the year ahead and wanting a better, healthier year for yourself? This feeling is one that often spurs New Year resolutions around the world. But for many, resolutions are simply a set up for failure.

If you want to make changes for the better and have them stick, create a realistic plan for how to achieve your health goals.

Here are 4 plans to enact that will have you living a healthier life before you know it.

1. Hang out with sober friends.

According to The Recovery Village, “Alcohol use disorder is estimated to affect more than 15 million people in the U.S. each year, and 88,000 people died from excessive drinking according to the latest study. That is more than deaths from drug overdoses (64,000 in 2016).”
We all know we should be cutting back on the booze. Consuming too much on the weekends can set your health back in numerous ways. It is also one of the primary culprits for premature aging. But instead of simply setting alcohol abstinence as a goal, plan for success by skipping events that serve alcohol.

Additionally, make it a point to hang out with friends who are sober. Center your weekend plans around activities that keep you active and far away from anyone’s alcohol cupboard.

2. Increase your sleep opportunity.

Not getting enough sleep increases your chance of accidents, decreases your quality of life, and impairs your memory. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. If there is one way to vastly improve one’s health and overall well-being, it lies in making sure you get the recommended number of sleep hours.

Many of us have experienced getting into bed, yet not being able to drift off. And we hope that sleepiness will come as we pull out our iPhones or turn on the TV. This ends up eating into our sleep hours and the result is a growing sleep debt. Sound familiar? Try this tip from Matthew Walker, author of Why We Sleep.

Walker proposes that instead of turning to distractions until we feel sleepy, we get in bed at a set time to give yourself the best “sleep opportunity.” Even if you do not drift off to sleep right away, you are giving your body the optimum opportunity for achieving the recommended 7 to 8 hours of sleep.

3. Dedicate a daily meal to eating your greens.

The importance of eating vegetables is clear. But if eating more vegetables has been a long-standing resolution of yours, with no sign of progress, do not fret. It could be that you simply have not found a plan that has worked for you. Where people often fail is in adding vegetables as an afterthought when meal planning. Instead, a more drastic approach could help kickstart a better diet habit.

Dedicate one meal–breakfast, lunch, or dinner–to eating your greens. Then get the recommended amount of 2 and a half cups of vegetables in one go. No more trying to add a bit to your lunch and then more to your dinner. Get it done and over with and then move on with your day. Take a look at these daily recommended servings of vegetables, and you’ll realize that eating your greens can be achievable and tasty, too.

4. Make exercise social.

Is getting fit or losing weight one of your goals for 2018? You probably know that exercise is key to achieving both those goals. But if you have tried and failed in the past to adopt the exercise habit, do not throw in the towel just yet. Find an exercise buddy and make exercising social.

Ask your best friend to meet up with you for a morning run or brisk walk several days out of the week. Or take up a sport where you meet up 1 to 2 times a week. Incorporating others as much as possible into your fitness plans increases your likelihood of not copping out.

By making exercise a social event, you will be committing to others, not just yourself. What does that mean? You will not only be letting yourself down when you decide to forego an exercise date, but you will also be letting others down, too. That thought is often enough to get a person to put on their jogging shoes and head out the door.

Make 2018 a year where you finally achieved your health and beauty goals because you had a fail-proof plan for success.