Keeping Your New Year's Resolutions
Provided by: Jen Brandt, M.Ed., Assistant Director, Office of Recreation and Wellness

It's the same thing every January 1. Frustrated by bad habits like smoking, overeating or living a sedentary lifestyle, many of us vow to change through making New Year's resolutions. This year, I'm dieting, or exercising regularly or quitting smoking for good, we pledge. By May, the stair stepper you bought is gathering dust in the closet, the diet books are sitting on the shelf unread and the cigarettes are still in your back pocket. Defeated, many of us give up further attempts to change.

The physicians of Texas Medical Association would like to offer you some tips on how to keep those resolutions and have a healthier New Year. The most important point to consider when making New Year's resolutions is to decide if you truly are willing to make the effort to kick a bad habit or start a healthy one. Making a decision to change just because it's New Year's Day isn't enough to keep you motivated for long. Lasting change means being prepared to make sacrifices. If you're resistant to making the necessary sacrifices, ask yourself why. Many people resist change because they're afraid of the unknown. Unhealthy habits may be harmful and detract from your quality of life, but they're familiar, and for many that's reason enough to keep them.

The best way to overcome this fear of the unknown is to make yourself fully aware of the consequences of not changing your current habits, and the advantages of adopting new behaviors. Make a list of the pros and cons of smoking, for example. A "pro" might be the relief from tension smoking brings you. A definite "con", however, is the increased risk of cancer and heart disease. Seeing the consequences of a bad habit in black and white may make fear of the unknown less imposing and make changes more desirable.

Once you have decided you are ready to make that New Year's resolution and stick to it, you need to develop a plan of action and make that plan a priority. If you wish to start an exercise program, plan what kind of exercise you will do and how often. Make it a part of your weekly schedule. But be sure not to set your goals too high, such as expecting to exercise every day for two hours. Doing so can lead you to quit after making one slip, cautioned Dr. Saundra Gilfillan, a Dallas psychiatrist. "If you say you're never going to eat any desserts ever again, for example, that's probably not true," Dr. Gilfillan said. "It's important to be reasonable in what you expect yourself to do."

Some people falter because they don't make plans for dealing with inevitable temptations to smoke or overeat or give up exercise. Here are some ideas that may help: