How to Achieve Your Health Resolutions this New Year

If you are like 41 percent of Americans surveyed by Statistic Brain Research Institute, you usually make a New Year’s resolution, such as losing weight, eating healthier, quitting smoking, or working out more often. Unfortunately, if you are like 42 percent of Americans, you never succeed at achieving your resolution.

This year can be different. Strive to live a longer, healthier life and push yourself to make resolutions you can keep.

How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions for Better Health

Set short-term goals that add up to a long-term outcome. Instead of resolving to lose 50 pounds by the end of the year, for example, decide to lose five pounds a month. Setting lofty long-term goals gives you plenty of opportunity to ignore your diet in the beginning then starve yourself over Thanksgiving and Christmas in a futile attempt to reach your goals in the last two months of the year. If you succeed at losing five pounds per month, you will actually exceed your goal without stress or starvation diets.

Make specific goals. Rather than making a blanket resolution, such as, “I hereby promise to eat more fruits and vegetables,” set a specific goal of having at least one fruit or vegetable with every meal.

Get an app. There is an app for nearly every aspect of health improvement. Wearable technology allows you to track your footsteps and vital signs. Other apps help you plan your workout and manage your calorie intake.

Keep a health journal that tracks your progress toward your goals. Write down everything you eat if your goals involve improved nutrition or weight loss, for instance, or weigh yourself daily.

Reassess your resolutions regularly and modify them as needed. If your goal was to run a 10-minute mile by the end of the year but you reach that goal in July, for example, try for a 9-minute mile by December.

Resolve to undergo screening and imaging tests. A blood cholesterol screening can let you know if you have a higher risk for heart disease, while a routine eye exam can catch glaucoma and other conditions that can rob you of your vision. Electron Beam Computed Tomography (EBCT) helps doctors see your heart, blood vessels, and all the organs in your torso to detect heart and vascular disease, cancer of the lung, colon, or other organs and many other diseases that cause early death or disease.

You can achieve your healthy New Year’s resolutions this year if you set reasonable goals and use all the tools available to you. Live longer and healthier this year, one goal at a time. For more tips on how to improve your health this year, consult with your health care professional. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at 770.730.0119 today to make an appointment with Virtual Imaging.