A New Healthy You: How to Make (and Not Break) New Year’s Resolutions

So 2011 has just begun and you're already fighting the urge to scrap your New Year’s resolution to eat more vegetables. You’re not alone. While about 75% of people stick to their goals for at least a week, less than half (46%) are still on target six months later, a 2002 study found.

Why is it so hard to keep New Year’s resolutions? Apparently there's a biological reason why our bad habits are so hard to break, according to a new AP story. 

"We all as creatures are hard-wired that way, to give greater value to an immediate reward as opposed to something that's delayed," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and an authority on the brain's pleasure pathway.

It’s all due to a pleasure-sensing chemical called dopamine. “It conditions the brain to want that reward again and again—reinforcing the connection each time—especially when it gets the right cue from your environment,” AP reported.

We may overestimate our ability to resist temptation, but that doesn’t mean we can’t maintain our sense of discipline either. As Tun Hussein Onn, Third Prime Minister of Malaysia, once said: “Discipline is the most important thing in human life and has to be the main priority.” But how do we maintain our sense of restraint, while living in the spirit of now? How do we keep our health goals in check while trying to kick our smoking habit or resisting our sweet tooth? 

By now, our readers know that “Living Ramuan” is about living in balance. We took a look at four of the most popular New Year’s resolutions, and found some tips from Health magazine for keeping them in balance throughout the year.

1. Lose Weight: Don’t expect overnight success…and plan for bumps along the way. Use a food journal to keep track of what you eat, and make sure you have a support system in place. And don’t forget to reward yourself for sticking to your diet. Treat yourself to a new book or a new pair of jeans.

2. Quit Smoking: Since this is one of the most difficult habits to break Health magazine advises people to try out different methods to see what works best. Says Merle Myerson, MD, director of the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program at St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals, in New York City: "I always tell people to think of how much money they will save." If that isn’t an instant motivator in this economy, then what is?

3. Decrease Your Stress: Have you ever noticed that when you’re stressed, the first thing you do is reach for the bag of potato chips? Stress can reactivate bad habits. Plus, if stress is chronic, it can lead to “insomnia, depression, obesity, heart disease and more,” notes Health magazine. That’s why it is so important to cut out the stress in your daily routine. Try relaxation techniques, traditional Malay massage (called urut Melayu), sleeping at least one hour extra a night, socializing with family or friends, eating stress-fighting foods, taking vacations or even having more sex—your body will thank you for it later.  

4. Exercise More: Repeat, repeat, repeat. Hitting the gym at the same time of the morning, rather than fitting it in haphazardly, makes the striatum (in your brain) recognize the habit. Eventually, "if you don't do it, you feel awful," said Volkow.

What habits are you planning to kick in order to become healthier and balanced in 2011? Do you have any tips for keeping your healthy New Year’s resolutions in check from beginning to end?