Setting Healthy and Realistic New Year’s Resolutions for a Better You

About one-third of people in the United States set New Year’s resolutions, but about 88% of them lose motivation and fall back into old habits within one or two weeks. These statistics might make it seem like setting resolutions isn’t worth it, but that isn’t necessarily true. With the right plan in place, you can stay on track and make real, lasting change.

At The Center for Primary Care and Sports Medicine, board-certified physician Lawrence Kacmar, MD, and our team help patients in and around Aurora, Illinois, achieve their health goals. Here, we offer simple but effective tips that can help keep your New Year’s resolution on track. 

Tip 1: Focus on health, not perfection

At the start of a new year, it’s tempting to set health-related goals, such as losing weight or eating healthier. However, if you aren’t realistic about your expectations, it’s easy to bite off more than you can chew and get discouraged.

For goals to work, they need to be manageable and specific. Instead of making a blanket statement, such as “I want to exercise more,” be clear about what you hope to achieve. For example, “I will exercise for at least 30 minutes on weekdays” is much easier to monitor and hold yourself accountable to than saying “I will lose 10 pounds by March.” 

The former lays out specific expectations — half an hour of exercise, five days a week — while the latter is aspirational, without any solid steps in place.

Tip 2: Build consistency through small, sustainable habits

Setting a New Year’s resolution is only half the battle. To make it a reality, you need to take consistent steps toward it. 

One of the easiest ways to do that is to establish a consistent routine. For example, if your goal is to consume more water, schedule specific times each day when you fill up a cup or water bottle and drink it, such as before brushing your teeth or after finishing breakfast.

Once you have a schedule in place, track it in a journal, mobile app, or a text document. Monitoring your efforts over time provides a visual reminder, which can help maintain motivation. 

Tip 3: Stay flexible and forgive yourself

Establishing new habits doesn’t happen overnight. It takes focus, dedication, and, on average, about 66 days for new behavior to stick. Because it can take such a long time, it’s easy to get discouraged, but if New Year’s resolutions were easy to keep, everyone would stick to them.

Remember that setbacks are normal. Some days you’ll feel motivated to work toward your health goals, and other days you won’t. This doesn’t make you a weak or bad person; it only confirms that you’re human. If you need to adjust your resolution or scale back its level of ambition, that’s OK. The main thing is to not give up. 

If you’re struggling alone, consider partnering with an accountability buddy. Mobile apps, such as Habitica, can help you feel less isolated by making it easy to team up with friends or family to achieve your resolutions together.

We can help you set realistic resolutions and maintain them

If you have a tendency to set New Year’s resolutions only to fall back into old routines a few weeks later, our team at The Center for Primary Care and Sports Medicine can help you set realistic, healthier goals and keep them on track. To get started, schedule your appointment by calling our staff or using the “Book online” button on this website.