Healthy You:
When Resolutions Fail,
You Can Still Succeed
by Kim Jones, Cary Medical Center
As the New Year gets underway, I bet you’ve probably
made a resolution…or two…or three, right? It’s a ritual
that dates back to 153 BC, when Janus, the mythical king
of Rome from whom we derive the word January, was
placed at the head of the calendar. Janus had two faces
making it possible for him to look back and reflect on
past events and to look forward to the future’s potential.
From this, January became a time of celebrations and
rituals; a time to get rid of bad habits, exorcise demons,
and start the New Year off with a clean slate.
In modern times, January 1 is the day when
millions of Americans surge forth to work on goals that
often revolve around achieving a healthier lifestyle. Most
popular among New Year’s pledges are to lose weight,
quit smoking, exercise more, and eat healthier. But while
your intentions may be good and you’re genuinely
motivated to succeed, you’ve got a better shot
at winning cash in the lottery than sticking
to your resolutions. Sad, but true
considering that the latest survey
results reveal that the success rate
of actually achieving a New Year
goal is only about 8% (with some
reports having it as low as 5%).
Ugh. With a statistic like
that you’re probably asking yourself,
“How can I possibly make a healthy
lifestyle change with the odds so stacked
against me?” Well, don’t despair. There are simple,
effective ways to significantly improve your overall wellbeing and result in a healthier (and possibly even happier)
you. Just a few small changes each day can lead to lifelong wellness.
if your idea of a well-balanced meal is a 16 ounce steak
washed down with 16 ounces of soda try going vegetarian
one night a week. That’s just 1 meal out of 21. Seems
pretty achievable, right? And when that becomes a habit,
try adding another vegetarian meal or a meal with one
small serving of meat and two vegetable dishes. The key
is making small changes that you can live with for the rest
of your life.
You Are What You Eat
The most common New Year’s resolution in the
United States is to lose weight. So if millions of us are
working toward slimming down, then why is the average
American waistline expanding? One simple answer
is that we are perpetual dieters. “Diets generally don’t
work,” said Marthe Pelletier, RD, Cary
Medical Center registered dietitian.
“People often try diets that are
so restrictive or nutritionally
unbalanced that they are very
likely to fail because they just
can’t or shouldn’t stick with it
long-term.” Dieting, especially
extreme dieting where calories
are severely reduced, can lead
to weight loss, but it is only a
short term solution. Numerous
reputable studies have shown that
this approach to losing weight can actually be more
harmful than healthy and that people who lose weight this
way often gain it back and sometimes more. “Repeated
dieting puts your body into a defensive state – it tries
to protect itself from starvation by altering and slowing
down a number of body processes, including heart rate,
Don’t Fail Again
temperature, and mental functions,” said Pelletier. “When
One of the major pitfalls of New Year’s resolutions you deprive yourself of food or don’t get the essential
is that they are often just not very realistic. Let’s face it, nutrients your body needs to survive, you disrupt your
you’re probably going to hate working out at the gym body’s ability to function properly.”
on January 1 if you hated it on December 31. Yet every
year, we gorge on chocolate cake, loaded nachos, chicken
Most nutrition experts agree that the best way
wings, and eggnog until 11:59 p.m. on New Year’s Eve to lose weight is by making simple changes that can be
and then vow to never touch the stuff again. But it doesn’t sustained for a lifetime. If you’re battling the bulge, try
usually work that way; your life will probably not change these tips:
dramatically when you flip the calendar to January. And 1.
Slow down. Avoid “mindless eating” like while
what’s worse is that failing year after year can lead to watching television or talking on the phone. Learn to
frustration, guilt, disappointment, and even depression. recognize when you get full and then stop eating.
When it comes to setting lifestyle goals, be 2.
Use smaller plates. This will keep you from piling
reasonable. Strive for changes that can be measured in on more food than you need.
days or weeks rather than months or years. For example, 3.
Don’t drink your calories. Calories in drinks
WINTER 2010 County Health 43