Nearly 80% Of New Year’s Diets Fail — Here’s How To Beat the Odds
That New Year’s resolution you made is unlikely to make it past Valentine’s Day. Forbes reports that 8% of respondents to a Forbes Health/one Poll survey stick with a resolution for one month, while 22% make it to two or three months. At the four-month mark, it drops to just 13%.
With Jan. 17 being “Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day” and the second Friday in January being “Quitter’s Day,” those resolutions are unlikely to make it through Valentine’s Day, much less the rest of the year.
New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work
Everyone has done it at least once: resolved on New Year’s Eve to get fit, lose weight, or reach a health goal starting on New Year’s Day. People feel like they have a fresh start and can make all the supposedly necessary changes with this new beginning. But therein lies the problem.
People don’t go to sleep on Dec. 31 with one set of habits and wake up on Jan. 1 with all of them changed, no matter how badly they want it. Thinking it’s possible to make many changes overnight is a surefire way to doom the best of intentions.
For example, USA News reports that the Mediterranean diet remains the most popular diet in the USA for seven years now. If cooking at home isn’t already an established habit, people are unlikely to stick to it simply because of the significant change in habits needed to make that type of new routine stick. The Initial Enthusiasm
The Forbes Health/one Poll survey reports that 48% of people who make a New Year’s resolution do so for health and fitness goals. But before anyone can make these significant changes, they must have a foundation to support those changes set in place.
Every regular gym user knows how overrun their gym gets in January. By March 1, of course, everything will be back to normal. Even the most wellintentioned people fall back into old habits and routines.
Making Changes Stick
Don’t set unrealistic expectations. Nobody can lose 100 pounds in a month. Keep goals small and easy to accomplish. Losing two pounds in a month is far more achievable for almost anyone. Most people could surpass this goal, but that’s the point. Keep it simple.
If cooking at home with healthy food isn’t part of the daily routine, start with cooking one meal at home per week. Most everyone can do that at a bare minimum.
If cooking with fresh food isn’t the norm, start with a simple salad or a side of steamed vegetables once per week. Over time, build up to twice a week or one meal daily. Build these changes slowly and over time to ensure that they stick.
Buy a journal that offers specific prompts for working on particular resolutions.
Get support. Having even one friend, relative, or co-worker to check in and be accountable with can be helpful.
Seek out forums, Facebook groups, and blogs that support needed changes. Sign up for newsletters and read them regularly.
Build in immediate rewards. Humans often give up if they don’t see immediate results. Avoid the idea that the only results worth seeing are on the scale. Non-scale victories will seem more worthy of celebrating if they are rewarded immediately in a way unrelated to food.
All these things can come together to help change habits and routines. They set a foundation that will keep changes in motion moving forward.
Alex Caspero, Registered Dietitian at Delish Knowledge, says, “80-90% of short-term diet efforts fail. New Year’s resolutions can be successful, but the way you tackle your goals influences that success. Those with approachoriented goals are significantly more successful than those with avoidanceoriented goals. When it comes to changes regarding diet and exercise, setting goals like eating three servings of vegetables every day or exercising three times a week are more likely to be successful than avoiding sugar.
“When working with clients, I focus on creating sustainable, realistic changes. If someone is looking to lose weight, a drastic diet may work in the short term, but likely won’t be able to sustain for months at a time.
Instead, I like to create goals that improve health but are also doable: adding more vegetables and more fruits, setting an exercise plan, or enjoying more plant-based proteins over animal-based ones. I prefer setting positive, additive goals rather than restrictive ones, as they are easier to follow and measurable.”
Prepare for Setbacks: Strategies To Keep Your Resolutions on Track
Everyone experiences setbacks in almost every facet of life, so it is no surprise you would also experience them with New Year's resolutions. Prepare for them. Expect them because they will happen. Have a plan in place for managing these setbacks. Simply “getting back on track” won't work here. A better foundation must be in place.
Remember to celebrate those non-scale victories, too. These are little areas where life improves because better choices have been made. It's critical to notice those things and to enjoy them. Enjoy small rewards that keep motivation high.
The Results Ultimately, what matters most is the small changes you make to daily routines — making changes that feel doable instead of overwhelming. Small changes that, over time, add up to more significant changes overall.
Long-term health isn't an overnight accomplishment. Good health is found in the small choices people make every day. A balanced, methodical, and well-planned approach will get people to their goals much faster than a crash diet that coincides with the flip of a calendar page.