By Elizabeth Chitwood, Student, UW Department of Nutrition & Beth Olson, PhD, UW Nutritional Sciences Department
The holidays are right around the corner, and after that will be a new year. This brings New Year’s resolutions, which means a spike in new gym memberships, new financial goals, and for some folks, a new diet. Wanting to be healthier is great, but why wait until the new year? You can start now, by making one healthier choice with each meal or adding a few more minutes of activity each day, and maybe by the time the new year rolls around, you will have already developed a few new healthy habits.
You may have heard that it takes 21 days to form a new habit, but this one-size-fits-all formula doesn’t work for everybody, especially if your goal isn’t simple. One study found that it could take anywhere from 18 to 254 days to form a new habit, depending on the person, the behavior and the environment.
This doesn’t mean you should give up on your goals. Maybe it will take a little longer than you hoped for, but if you start now (instead of Jan. 1, 2020) you could be halfway there by the new year. Although the changes you made to improve your health may not yet be a habit, you will still get the benefits each day that you make a healthier choice.
So, take that walk at lunch today, eat another vegetable today, or eat dinner at home instead of a fast food restaurant today. Instead of making New Year’s resolutions, make lifestyle changes, and start working toward them today. If today doesn’t go as well as you hoped, get back up and start again tomorrow. Learn what does and doesn’t work for you and move forward toward a healthier lifestyle. Maybe your New Year’s resolutions will be met without even thinking about it.
