By: Brandi Olden, RD, CD
It's now 2008 and don't you just hate
All the hype and commotion that surrounds the notion
Of making resolutions on New Year's Day
So forget that ritual and start something more habitual
Like sticking to solutions and forgoing the confusion
Surrounding your New Year's Day
Many people are beginning to rebel against the age old question of "What are your resolutions this New Year?" And who can blame them. Especially since most of Americans have lost all motivation towards these lofty goals by the month of March. So just forget about the resolutions already! Who needs lofty, unattainable goals at this time of year? What is needed is some old fashioned solutions … and maybe a bubble bath.
A modern definition of the purpose of making resolutions is to provide some calm to the storm that is the holiday season, to help people refocus on what goals they want to accomplish in the upcoming year. Another interpretation of the resolution is a way for people to chill out after a crazy year and take a breath before jumping into the new one. One of the theories on the origin of resolutions began with the early Christians who thought that January 1st needed to be spent "reflecting on past mistakes and resolving to improve oneself in the New Year." The ancient Romans signified New Year's Day with the symbol of their mythical king, Janus. Janus had two heads looking in opposing directions. One head is thought to be looking to the past and the other to the future. Ancient Romans would often look for forgiveness from their enemies and exchange gifts at this time of year. My favorite is the one about taking a breath before jumping into the New Year.
Last New Year's a poll conducted by Lifehacker.com stated 32.6% (3532 participants) of people chose to make a resolution to lose weight and get fit. From this, only 4.4% (473 participants) said they would like to get better at an activity. And 21.6% (2346 participants) stated that they do not make resolutions to begin with. This closely resembles what USA.gov has to offer on its top list of New Year's Resolutions.
First on their list is losing weight. However, you will have to go through a small handful of other top resolutions before you reach eat healthy and get fit; the two main ingredients in HOW you lose weight to begin with. One participant stated, "I don't make new year's resolutions since my philosophy is that anything that needs to change about my life should be done right away as soon as I recognize the need to change." It is estimated that more people will choose to not make resolutions in 2008 as they become frustrated with unsuccessful weight loss efforts because convenience foods are just too convenient for it to be worth cooking. So how can one set ACHIEVABLE solutions and be renewed for the New Year?
Start by taking a look at what you are currently doing by completing the Healthy Lifestyle Habits Checklist. Is there anything on this list that you feel could use some improvement? Identify 1-3 points on this checklist that would help you to feel more in control of your meal plan and get you in balance. Use these points as a guide to set a weekly goal for yourself. For example, Susy Q. feels that meal tracking every day will help her to feel more aware of the food choices she makes. So, she writes down meal track daily for 1 week as her goal. At the end of the week, she looks over her meal tracker to see if she has reached her goal. Notice that Susy Q. identified one thing and set a measurable and achievable parameter to reach this goal. Too often people get side tracked by their motivation to want to accomplish many things at once. The motivation that got them there to begin with soon dissipates as they become overwhelmed with maintaining multiple new behaviors all at once.
Keep it simple, keep is measurable, keep is reasonable, and here's to a great New Year!
