Help your customers beat Blue Monday and stay on track with their New Year resolutions thanks to some tips from Heart Research UK.

Keep the cost down - making changes doesn’t have to be expensive. If it’s too costly it could be another reason to give up and make you feel worse if you do. There are plenty of ways to keep active and eat healthily without forking out for a pricey gym membership or gimmicky diet plans.

Be specific - Create rules for your resolution so you’re clear whether you’re sticking to it or not. Instead of saying you’ll exercising more, say you will ‘go to Zumba every Monday’ or whatever else you enjoy.

Keep a track of your progress – realising how far you’ve come is a great incentive to keep going. Set smaller goals to start with but keep pushing yourself to do a little bit more once you’re there. Keeping a diary or photographs can be a great way to do this.

Small changes matter - Don’t take on too much; be realistic and choose something that you can stick to, as biting off more than you can chew could set you up to fail. However….

Failing is part of the journey - Don’t be too tough on yourself when you have a little slip. Changing our habits is hard and it’s natural to revert back to old ways. Pick yourself up and try again, celebrate the little victories and update your goals to keep your motivation strong.

Don’t go it alone – Try to buddy up with others who are looking to achieve similar outcomes but just be careful not to let quitters ruin your good intentions if they drop out.

_{Heart Research UK advice released as part of National Obesity Week}