Over half of UK women struggle to keep fit and healthy every week

SPLENDA join forces with expert panel to launch the ‘Small Steps’ campaign, helping women keep healthy resolutions.

Research released from SPLENDA has shown that nearly all UK women (94%) have made a healthy resolution, but over half (52%) manage to break well-intentioned plans at least once a week. A fifth even find it difficult to keep up will-power for just a day.

This spring, SPLENDA is launching the ‘Small Steps’ campaign and with the help of an expert panel, will be giving women tips on how to keep going on those tricky resolutions. Style guru Nicky Hambleton-Jones, celebrity fitness expert Jane Wake, life coach Liz Wilde and SPLENDA nutritionist Kiran Goraya will be working together to help women take a series of small steps that can add up to make a big difference.

There are many occasions throughout the year when women feel the need to make a healthy resolution. Getting ready for a holiday topped the list (46%), followed by a quarter citing a family event such as a wedding as a good incentive to start being more fit and healthy. However, it does seem that even though women have the best intentions, healthy resolutions can be hard to keep. The research found that 65% of women needed more will power to stick to resolutions and nearly a quarter (23%) said that making goals more manageable would help them be more successful.

With over a third of women finding keeping fit the hardest healthy resolution, celebrity fitness expert Jane Wake has some simple tips on how to add exercise into the daily routine. Jane says, “We don’t need to pound the treadmill for hours or run a marathon to make a difference to our health. I’m part of SPLENDA’s ‘Small Steps’ panel, because I want to show that there are lots of little things you can work around your life and do every day that can make a big change.”

The research also showed that over 40% of women reward themselves with a new outfit when they manage to keep a healthy resolution, so it’s time to clear out the wardrobe and make some space once fitness goals are successfully reached.

Style-guru, Nicky Hambleton-Jones, says, “I’m so delighted to be involved in the SPLENDA ‘Small Steps’ campaign as I am a firm believer in little things making a big difference. For me, the clothes that we wear are such an important part of how we feel about ourselves. Whether it’s a whole new look or putting together existing outfits in a fresh way, if we look good we feel more confident and can make other small changes to a happier and healthier lifestyle.”

Half of the women surveyed (50%) found eating healthily the hardest resolution to keep. SPLENDA nutritionist Kiran Goraya has lots of useful advice that can help women stick with healthy eating without having to resort to faddy diets.

Kiran says, “There are lots of small steps you can make in your everyday cooking and eating that can help you manage your weight and feel good about yourself. Simple swaps such as using sweetener instead of sugar make a huge difference. I’m thrilled to be working with the rest of the panel to help women find happier, healthier more balanced lives.”

With the research revealing that so many women have good intentions, but that most are failing to keep up their healthy resolutions, life coach Liz Wilde is the final member of the panel and on hand to advise on how they can stay on the path to success.

Liz says, “The number one reason we put off improving our lives is because big changes feel so scary and unattainable. Which is why breaking goals down into small steps is the secret of success. There’s less fear when you’re just concentrating on what you need to do that day, and as you stick to your good intentions, you’ll be motivated to carry on until your new habits become a way of life.”

Another small step that women can take this year is to make the switch from sugar to SPLENDA – the sugar alternative with a great sugar like taste but a fraction of the calories, thanks to its original ingredient, sucralose. Available in both a Sweet Minis and Granulated format, SPLENDA is great for use in hot drinks, but also for baking sweet desserts, but without all of the calories of sugar.

To learn more about SPLENDA and its ‘Small Steps’ campaign or for the chance to win a personal style consultation with Nicky, a healthy eating plan from Kiran and a healthy eating cookery class or a personal fitness program with Jane, please visit facebook.com/splendaUK or splenda.co.uk.