Given up on your fitness goals? You might need a reset

Australians are trying to take their health into their own hands, but many are giving up, making quick purchases rather than building up habits.

Among the majority of Australians failing to take their health into their own hands? There’s something you can do about that. Picture: Getty Images

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It starts at the beginning of the year but by April the rot has really set in: a huge 62 per cent of Australians have dropped or delayed their health goals just four months into the year, according to new survey data.

Across all measures of healthy intent, the Lighthouse Consumer Sentiment Tracker shows respondents were more likely to delay, neglect or swerve their plans to go to the gym, follow an exercise app or even use their gear by April compared with January.

But it’s the abandoned goals that show the worst results, and that’s in line with other reports of increasingly sedentary behaviour among Australians.

Data was collected exclusively by the News Corp Australia Growth Intelligence Centre.

In total, 26 per cent of those surveyed reported some degree of poor mental health, while 22 per cent said the same for their physical health.

The findings bolster reports of increasingly sedentary behaviour, says Heart Foundation physical activity adviser Elizabeth Calleja. Only 22 per cent of Australians meet the recommended physical activity guidelines.

“We have seen a decline over the last 30 years in the amount of activity people do,” she said. “A lot of people do over-strive and then they give up a little bit easier.

“When people are going through health kicks we’ve got to plan accordingly. We’ve got to set realistic goals and think about it.

“It’s a bit of a boom or bust, all or nothing mentality. People think: “I haven’t achieved that goal so therefore I haven’t done it well enough, so let’s give up”, but success is repetition … review it and just build upon that.”

“Reset and rebalance. Just do that on a weekly basis and slowly build up. Evidence shows that it takes 21 days to start to make or break a habit, so it’s about consistency as well.”

When it came to health purchases, rates of neglected purchases almost doubled across multiple metrics over the first four months of the year.

Sixty-two per cent of Australians have dropped or delayed their health goals this year. Picture: Getty Images

Those buying and wasting a gym membership crept up from 5 to 9 per cent of the population. Bought and neglected exercise gear was reported by 8 per cent of surveyees, up from 4 per cent, while wasted fitness apps were reported by 12 per cent, up from 7 per cent.

Food purchases mirrored this with reports of food wastage creeping up from 35 to 43 per cent. In the converse, access to GPs declined as 24 per cent of Australians delayed a medical consultation while increasingly researching medical answers online.

Consumers Health Forum chief executive Elizabeth Deveny said that while the intent of Australians was not being matched by follow through, it marked an intent to prioritise preventive health.

“Australians do invest a lot in prevention, right? Gyms, apps, vitamins, supplements, and sometimes the intention doesn’t match action,” Dr Deveny said.

“When people hear about the word prevention, they often think about kale and sit-ups, but of course, that’s only part of the story. Prevention includes things like eating well, drinking water, moving your body, getting enough sleep. It also includes things like being able to get the care you need, affording your medication, knowing there are screenings and tests available, and being able to access these too.

“We’re such a performative society that people will feel guilt that they didn’t follow through … people might instead have curiosity about themselves.

“(We should say:) ‘Oh, that’s interesting. I thought I wanted to do that, but I didn’t’. Could we come at it from the perspective of understanding and curiosity, rather than criticising ourselves?”

She said that when placed under pressure, many people lose their capacity for interoception — the ability to gauge what feedback the body is sending and to act on it.

'You don't need to earn your health through punishment and shame,’ says Dr Elizabeth Deveny. Picture: Getty Images

“If you can find a space, any space, just sit and ask yourself, what is it that you think you need,” Dr Deveny said. “Life is for living and for having the freedom of choice. It’s not for ticking boxes.

“Keeping yourself well isn’t about being perfect. It’s about noticing what you need at an individual level, asking for support and knowing that support will be there regardless of what you need, whether it’s physical, emotional or relational. It’s also about realising that you don’t need to earn your health through punishment or shame. You can build it gently, step by step, in a way that fits your life.

“I think there’s a trope of, if you try harder, you’ll feel better. So we’re still pushing ourselves, even though perhaps a part of our culture understands that that’s not necessarily the way forward.

“What worked for you yesterday might not work tomorrow.”