Keeping your resolution for a healthier 2020

As we begin a new year and a new decade, many people have resolutions or goals that they'd like to achieve. 

Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) — As we begin a new year and a new decade, many people have resolutions or goals that they’d like to achieve. For a lot of people, they want to eat healthier or get in shape; but often these resolutions are abandoned after January.

Those changes people make at the start of the year may be too severe, and that’s why they fail.

“One of the mistakes people make is making drastic changes. So they might say I’m going to cut out carbs, or I’m going to stop eating any sugar or no chocolate at all until 2021. And so that sets them up to get frustrated by about March,” said Lisa Money, a sports dietitian with Apex Athletic Performance with Prisma Health.

Instead of making a big change, doing something small gives you a better chance of keeping the habit throughout the year.

“I think the hardest challenge is thinking long-term. So when a person tries to make changes, they go all out because they’re so motivated. So we want those changes, we want that motivation to last more than 12 weeks,” said Money.

One easy resolution that will help your body is just drinking more water.

“An easy thing to do is just start to drink water. A person can drink water right when they get up in the morning to start their day so they are hydrated. And when you do that you’re able to think more clearly, as well as just have more energy,” said Money.

And don’t try working out every day if your body isn’t used to it.

“The mistake they make is they say ‘I’m going to work out everyday.’ And when they do that, and their body’s not used to it, they may get sore, they may get tired, have lack of energy; and then they stop. A more realistic goal for exercise would be to just pick one or two days a week that they think they can maintain,” said Money.

Another great goal is to make yourself breakfast most days a week, because what you eat and how much you move does matter.

“A person’s lifelong habits and patterns of eating can influence how long they live,” said Money.

Money said think of your resolution as a marathon, not a sprint.