Courtesy of the National Institutes of Health
Many of us make New Year's resolutions. Few of us manage to complete them. According to the National Institutes of Health, a few common strategies can help you be one of those few, successful resolution-keepers.
"Change is always possible," says Dr. Linda Nebeling, an expert in behavioral change and nutrition at NIH. "You're never too out-of-shape, too overweight, or too old to make healthy changes."
"One challenge with New Year's resolutions is that people often set unrealistic goals. They can quickly become frustrated and give up. Any resolution to change needs to include small
goals that are definable and accompanied by a solid plan on how you'll get to that goal."
For instance, a resolution to lose 30 pounds may seem overwhelming. Instead, try setting smaller goals of losing 5 pounds a month for 6 months. Think baby steps rather than giant leaps.
Next, develop an action plan. You might decide to walk a half hour each day to burn calories. You might stop buying vending machine snacks. Or you might limit and keep track of your daily calories. "These are specific behaviors that could help you meet your larger goal of losing 30 pounds," says Dr. Deborah Tate, an obesity and behavioral researcher at the University of North Carolina.
"Research suggests that if it's something you really want for yourself, if it's meaningful to you, you're more likely to stick to it."
6 Tips for Great Resolutions
- Set realistic goals. Write down the steps that will help you achieve them.
- Plan for obstacles. Figure out how to overcome them. Don't give up just because you've slipped.
- Track your progress. A journal or diary is one of the best tools for helping you stay focused and recover from slip-ups.
- Get help. Ask friends and family for support. Consider enrolling in a class or program.
- Reward yourself. Give yourself a healthy treat when you've achieved a small goal or milestone.
- Add variety. Keep things interesting by adding new activities or expanding your goals to make them more challenging.
Think of exactly how the change will enhance your life. For instance, when you stop smoking, your risk plummets for cancer, heart disease, stroke, and early death. Reducing stress might cut your risk for heart disease and help you fight off germs.
Even small improvements in your physical activity, weight, or nutrition may help reduce your risk for disease and lengthen your life. In one study, overweight or obese people who lost just 7% of their body weight slashed their risk for diabetes by nearly 60%. Keeping facts like this in mind can help you maintain your focus over the long haul.
Setting up a supportive environment is another step toward success. "Think about the physical support you'll need, like the right equipment for exercise, appropriate clothing, and the right kinds of foods to have at home," says Dr. Christine Hunter, a behavioral researcher and clinical psychologist at NIH. Remove items that might trip up your efforts. If you're quitting smoking, throw away your ashtrays and lighters. To improve your nutrition, put unhealthy but tempting foods on a hard-to-reach shelf, or get rid of them.
Social support is also key. Research shows that people's health behaviors—like smoking or weight gain—tend to mirror those of their friends, family, and spouses. "You can enlist friends and family to help you eat better, to go on walks with you, to remind you to stay on track," says Tate. "Find things that are fun to do together, and you'll be more likely to stick with it."
"It helps when you're connected to a group, where lifestyle change like weight loss is a joint goal," says NIH's Dr. Sanford Garfield, who heads a large study called the Diabetes Prevention Program. Participants who lost weight through dietary changes and physical activity reduced their chances of developing diabetes. Group counseling that emphasized effective diet, exercise, and behavior modification were credited, in part, with participants' success. "There's a long history of group support leading to good results," Garfield says. "People learn from and reinforce each other in working toward their goals."
While making a change is one thing, sticking to it is something else. "Maintaining a change requires continued commitment until the change becomes a part of your life, like brushing your teeth or washing your hair," says Nebeling. "People who can maintain or engage in efforts to change their behavior, and do it for 6 to 8 weeks, are more likely to be able to support that effort longer term."
Some researchers are studying people who've made lasting healthy changes. The ongoing National Weight Control Registry compiles information on more than 5,000 adults who've dropped at least 30 pounds and kept it off for a year or more. Although the way these people lost their weight varied, those who've maintained their weight loss tend to use similar strategies. Notably, many participants track their progress closely, often in a daily journal or diary. If the numbers rise, they have an early warning to adjust their behaviors.
"Self-monitoring or tracking seems to be critical for almost every sort of behavior change," says Hunter. That includes jotting down the foods you eat, keeping an exercise diary, or making a record of your sleeping patterns.
Monitoring yourself might feel like a burden, but it's one of the best predictors of successful change. "Think about how you can make tracking more convenient, so it fits naturally into your life," Hunter says. For some people, that might be a pad of paper in a purse or pocket; for others, a mobile app or a computer program.
Make sure to have a plan to get back on track if you start to slip. "If you feel that your motivation is waning, think back and remind yourself why the change was important to you in the first place," says Tate. "Maybe you wanted to have more stamina, feel better, to be able to play with grandchildren. Recalling these personal reasons can encourage you to get back on track."
Of course, you don't need a new year to make healthy changes; you can make them any time of the year. But New Year's is an opportunity to think about the improvements you'd like to make and then take concrete steps to achieve them. Set realistic goals, develop an action plan, and set it in motion. Make your new year a healthy one.
https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2010/12/making-your-resolutions-stick
