I am against New Year's resolutions as a rule. Why? Because we set ourselves up for failure every time. The idea that at the beginning of the New Year you have to make yourself change is not a good way to make change. For example, many people want to lose weight for the New Year. Losing weight is not a horrible goal but we often set the number too high – 50 pounds a year should be an obtainable goal but most people don’t want to lose 50 pounds over the year, they want to lose 50 pounds by summer or 10 pounds in a week.
We are a society of "now" - we have fast food, faster ways to pay, instant transfers - we have no patience left. If our resolution is not complete right away - we either dump it because it was a waste of our time or we honestly forget and fall back into our old patterns. Change is not easy - and it's not quick.
Laura Riffel, a positive behavior change specialist, says that, in reality, it takes about 1 month to correct a behavior for every year the behavior has been in place. So if you smoked for 10 years - it should take 10 months to quit smoking. She said she applied it to her weight - it took her years to correct her eating habits and lose the weight she had put on during her child-bearing years. It takes time to change habits and the way we eat and exercise are tough habits to change because they are social, emotional and not something we can do “cold turkey”.
Another reason weight loss resolutions fail is because we start them in January. I was very disappointed in Discovery’s Health Challenge promotions. All the activities they promoted were warm weather activities. It’s easy to want to be more active when the weather is warm. It’s easier to eat healthier when farmer’s markets are in full swing and we can get fresh fruits and vegetables. Try making that change when it’s freezing outside and the closest thing to a healthy vegetable comes out of a can.
I am not saying don’t make these goals. I am asking you to think it through. Use this winter to practice being more active. Our family was blessed with a Wii for Christmas and we have spent afternoons playing sports. It just makes me wish that the weather will change so we can go do these things but in the meantime we are moving a little more than we were. I re-discovered my love of walking and crave warmer weather so I can walk more. Hopefully, that feeling will stay when the sun begins to shine.
You can change your diet. Switch your soda for seltzer, cocoa for tea. Keep an eye out for fruits – apples and oranges. Make apple crisp with oatmeal and brown sugar instead of apple pie. Make vegetable laden soups and stews. Find ways to change your diet to something manageably healthy.
As for New Year’s resolutions – I prefer to set up challenges that inspire me. I challenge myself every year to read 100 books. 2009 I read 95. It’s a fun goal and there’s no harm if I fail. I just challenge myself again the next year. In 2010, I challenge myself to use reusable bags when I shop instead of bringing home paper or plastic. These resolutions will benefit my life and the lives of those around me. When the weather gets warmer, I will challenge myself to exercise more, spend more time outside and try to fit in more fruits and vegetables but that’s this summer.

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