SELF IMPROVEMENT: Hard bodies, healthy lungs, trimmer...
SELF IMPROVEMENT: Hard bodies, healthy lungs, trimmer waists. New Year’s resolutions are popular because “people want a fresh start, they truly want to make their lives better,” says Kim Hancock, a licensed family counselor in Tustin. Surveys show that while 90% of Americans make resolutions, 55% abandon them within the first month. Those broken resolutions serve a purpose, says Hancock: “People are more realistic, they’ve discovered that they don’t keep them. Instead, they’re making a commitment to themselves later in the year when they’re really ready to do it.”
PUMPING IRON: Expect some initial disappointments on the road to hard bodies, weight trainers say. “Most people are going to put a pound or two on during the first month, which really can be a big problem when you expect to lose weight,” said Danny Warren, an instructor at the Huntington Beach Family Fitness Center. That weight gain can be brutal to newcomers. Warren’s advice: “Make sure you’re really committed to coming to the club for at least three months so you can start seeing results.”
SMOKING: Once at the top of many lists of New Year’s resolutions, quitting smoking wasn’t as popular last January, says Donna Gordon, of the American Lung Assn., and she’s unsure why. “We’re waiting to see what happens this January.” . . . But there’s still plenty of reason to break a nicotine addiction: an estimated 1,525 new cases of lung cancer last year in Orange County; 1,185 tobacco-related deaths. What happens if you sneak a puff? Says Gordon: “Learn from it.”
DIETING: Losing weight also has slipped in popularity as a New Year’s resolution. “I don’t think that means people are throwing their hands up and saying the hell with it,” says UCI professor and weight management expert Dr. Ralph Cygan. Cygan’s preferred explanation for the fall-off in New Year’s resolutions: Better-educated consumers are aware of the tough task of keeping pounds off and are less likely to adopt “frivolous” resolutions that they know won’t be kept.