Weighing In on New Year’s Resolutions

Get ready for a big surprise! You’re about to read the only blog on New Year’s Resolutions that isn’t about how to lose weight. (I know that’s what you were expecting, so I put the spoiler alert up front.)

Although weight loss is on the top ten list of most popular resolutions made every January 1st, I believe it remains there year after year because so few people ever achieve their goal. Instead, they just renew their resolution from one year to the next.

Here’s why that’s a problem. If you make your goal weight loss there’s only one way to measure your success; the scale. No matter what else you might be doing to eat well and stay in shape, the dreaded scale is where you turn to see results.

If you focus on making healthier food choices, you can score points at every meal and snack! This doesn’t mean you must achieve 100% nutrition perfection either. It means you have some specific goals in mind to help improve the quality of your diet, like consuming more fruits and vegetables or eating less sugar. Then whenever you’re deciding what to eat and drink, you can weigh your options to choose the foods and beverages that contribute to your goal.

For example, to eat more fruits and vegetables and cut down on added sugar you could get peppers and onions on your of slice of pizza instead of pepperoni and have a diet soda instead of regular soft drink. That’s a win-win for both goals and a much lower calorie menu so you might just lose some weight if you keep it up.

Focusing on just one or two healthier eating goals at a time will help you figure out what new options work best for you. Everything you try won’t be a winner. But once you find the right trade-offs they’ll soon become second nature and you’ll continue to make those choices without even thinking about it. Then you’ll be ready to make another change, like using less salt or leaner cuts of meat or smaller portions.

Gradually the quality of your diet will improve and your weight will probably go down. Before you know it you’ll be ringing in the new year, but maybe this time losing weight won’t be one your New Year’s resolutions.

Wishing you all a healthy, happy new year!

Robyn Flipse, MS, MA, RDN is a registered dietitian, cultural anthropologist and scientific advisor to the Calorie Control Council, whose 30+ year career includes maintaining a busy nutrition counseling practice, teaching food and nutrition courses at the university level, and authoring 2 popular diet books and numerous articles and blogs on health and fitness. Her ability to make sense out of confusing and sometimes controversial nutrition news has made her a frequent guest on major media outlets, including CNBC, FOX News and USA Today. Her passion is communicating practical nutrition information that empowers people to make the best food decisions they can in their everyday diets. Reach her on Twitter @EverydayRD and check out her blog The Everyday RD.