Well, it’s that time again.
The holidays are over. Gift-giving has turned into returns and refund-getting. Holiday feasting has turned into post-holiday binging and gorging and depression over increased waistlines and decreased wallet size.

Happy New Year!

It’s time to make good on all those resolutions you made while you were toasting in the New Year. Resolutions, you say? Oh, yeah, those things. They were easy to make and harder than heck to keep.

There are many interesting statistics relating to New Year’s resolutions. One set of statistics published online at ProactiveChange.com states that between 40 and 45 percent of American adults make New Year’s resolutions. That’s the good news.

These statistics, as well as others, go on to say that approximately one fourth of all resolutions are broken within the first week after making them. Wow, that didn’t last long, huh? Furthermore, by the end of the first month, a whopping 30 percent are broken and by six months, a little more than half of all resolutions are broken. Resolutions typically consist of weight loss, making more money, improving relationships, yadda, yadda, yadda.

There are as many theories about why so many resolutions are broken as there are resolutions. Suffice it to say that merely making these resolutions just isn’t good enough. There have to be strategies to make these resolutions stick. 

Let’s look at the age-old standard resolution: weight loss. I’ve made the case before how weight loss can be very beneficial to your joints. Remember that one pound of weight loss translates into a mind-blowing four pounds of weight-driven stress off your knee, hip and ankle joints. Many people resolve to lose weight, but never even give a thought as to how they will accomplish that.

Even if the goals seem reasonable, one must have some basic information just to formulate a plan, like how much do you really weigh for starters? Then there’s how much weight you want to lose versus how much weight you’ll actually lose.

There is a very interesting section found at www.LiveStrong.com; it’s called The Daily Plate. It’s not only a calorie-counting application; it will tell you, based on information you provide about your age, height, weight and activity level (honest information, by the way) and depending on what goal you set, what your calorie consumption needs to be to either lose or maintain weight.

Here’s an example; let’s say we have a male, age 55, who is 5’ 10” tall and weighs 200 pounds. His activity level is considered light. His goal is to lose 1.5 pounds per week. After inputting the information, the results say that this person should consume 3008 calories per day to lose 1.5 pounds of weight based on the selected activity levels.

Three thousand calories? That’s an awful lot…and it does sound like that.

What one can take away from this is that we invariably set goals that are too strict, too difficult or too impractical that almost certainly set us up for defeat.

There are also as many diet gimmicks out there as there are unwanted neckties to return. Barring extenuating circumstances such as chronic/severe health issues and activity restriction, the old-calorie in vs. calories out remains the only simple truth.

Set honest, attainable goals
Granted different people, me included, need different motivations to achieve goals. The message is to make the goals attainable. Be honest about your weight and activity levels when trying to establish a diet or exercise plan. Make short term goals that are reachable in a reasonably short timeline. It’s easier to say “I will lose 10 pounds at a time” that to say “I have to lose 50 pounds.”  Fifty pounds can be such an overwhelming number, that many people are defeated even before they’ve started. Losing weight in smaller increments is emotionally easier to handle and physically easier to accomplish.

So, to make healthier, happier family members, whether it’s weight loss, or job/income improvement, set goals that are truly within reach and set progress indicators that are can be attained in shorter time frames.

Lighten the load, get the blood moving, be a better husband, wife, father, mother, worker, whatever…just be honest with yourself and you’ll be happier and healthier.

Get going, and good luck.

Chisholm’s expertise in nursing, orthopedics and surgery spans more than 30 years. For more information on orthopedic-related topics, visit www.bone-and-joint-pain.com. Submit questions or comments to Ken at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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