New Year, New You - How to Keep Your Resolutions

This is it. This is the year you’ll stick to your resolutions. You’re committed. You’ve planned ahead for starting 2019 on the right foot. Studies show that an overwhelming majority of New Year’s resolutions are health related, 71% of them in fact. Here are some tips on how to keep those resolutions this year.

• Make your resolutions attainable. Progress is made in baby steps, not giant leaps. If your ultimate goal is to lose 40 pounds, start small by resolving to lose 10 pounds by April 1.
• Sprinkle in a fun resolution or two. Make a point of scheduling some girls’ nights or coffee dates with friends. Plan a family vacation to go somewhere you’ve never been but always dreamed of visiting.
• Focus on what you can do, not what you can’t. Instead of telling yourself you can’t have potato chips and soda, try to think about all the fruits and vegetables you can eat in abundance.
• Make appointments in advance. Take an hour or two to make phone calls to set up all your preventive health appointments for the year. These may include an annual physical, well women’s exam, mammogram, colonoscopy, eye exam, and teeth cleaning. If you plan on making big changes to your diet, make an appointment with a registered dietician at Marshall’s Diabetes and Nutrition Education Department by calling (530) 672-7021.
• Set (and keep) your sleep goal. No matter what your resolution, getting enough sleep will help you achieve it. Try to go to bed 30 minutes earlier once January 1 comes around. The dishes in the sink or that last load of laundry can wait until tomorrow.
• Plan some cheat days. Drastically changing your diet is hard. If it wasn’t, we’d all be our ideal weight and dress size. Seeing light at the end of the tunnel for a piece of cheesecake on Sundays or a mid-week bowl of ice cream will help you stick to your plan the rest of the week.

To find a doctor or nurse practitioner today, visit marshallmedical.org.