You Say You Want a Resolution

I ate like a pig all through the holidays, but my strict diet starts right after New Year’s Day. I’m joining a gym, and I’m going to go every day for the next month.

To quote “Saturday Night Live’s” Stuart Smalley, “Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.” Every January, millions of people make a New Year’s resolution to get in shape. They buy diet books, weight-loss pills and home exercise equipment. As evidenced by the increasingly overweight U.S. population, more people fail than succeed.

How do you avoid becoming a statistic? Through hard work, realistic goal-setting and adopting a year-round lifestyle of diet and exercise. Most of us know the basics but have a hard time changing our habits.

“Most people that come to me know what to do, they just can’t do it on their own,” says Tobi Levine, a registered dietitian based at the Sports Club / L.A. To help keep them motivated and honest, Levine asks her clients to keep a food diary, writing down everything they eat during the day.

“People are amazed at what they’re actually eating,” says Levine, who, along with other fitness and nutrition professionals, says the two most common reasons for failure in diet and exercise programs are: (1) the lack of a realistic and maintainable program and (2) a failure to follow through.

“People don’t think they have enough time during the day for exercise. They’re busy with their families, their jobs,” says Dr. John DiFiori, an assistant professor at UCLA specializing in sports medicine. “The thing to remember is, you don’t have to become a competitive athlete. Thirty minutes a day, even broken up into two or three blocks, provides very important benefits over being sedentary.”

DiFiori talks about building “stimulus control” and “relapse control” into a workout program: in other words, finding ways to plan and motivate yourself to exercise, and to keep yourself from stopping.

“I tell people they need to find an activity they enjoy--cycling, swimming, whatever,” he says. “And if exercising with a friend helps them stay with it, that’s great.”

Working on a fitness goal together with a friend serves several purposes. First, it helps to know you’re not facing the difficult task of changing your lifestyle alone. Also, knowing one is accountable to someone else gives more motivation to show up at the gym or stick with the diet.

It’s worth remembering, DiFiori says, that inactivity poses a greater risk to more Americans’ health than does smoking.

The new year can be a logical time to embark on an exercise program. The average American tacks on 5 to 10 pounds during the holiday season, according to the American Dietetic Assn. Not surprisingly, it’s also prime recruiting time for the nation’s health clubs and fitness chains, many of which try to draw new customers by offering cut-rate membership fees. Sales of diet products also spike in January.

But clearly, a large number of members, especially those drawn in by discounts, will renew their cheap memberships each year while rarely stepping foot in the clubs.

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If you’re one of those people, you may benefit from a structured program that encourages fitness as part of an overall lifestyle.

That approach worked for Meredith Wright, a veteran of more than a few failed diets. “Intellectually, I understood that you had to eat less and exercise more,” says the 47-year-old Los Angeles native, “but I never really put it together and stuck to it.”

Wright had tried a popular program that involved drinking two diet shakes a day and eating one regular meal. It worked--temporarily. “I found it boring,” says Wright, “and as soon as I went off it, I gained the weight back.”

Lesson: Any quick-fix solution, including diet shakes and pills, is probably just that, a quick fix. In the long run, most people tend to put the weight back on. As Levine, the dietitian, says: “90% of diets fail. That’s why the diet business is so huge, because these diets don’t work. They’re too cookie-cutter; there’s no supervision; and they don’t train people to eat well.”

Today, Wright is a svelte 130 pounds, down from 170 about 11 months ago. What worked for her was enrolling in Michael Thurmond’s 6 Week Body Makeover, a Santa Monica-based nutrition and exercise program known for its before-and-after ads of clients. The core program costs roughly $1,000, which includes a personalized diet, training and follow-up. Clients can choose to stay with their trainers beyond the initial program at a cost of $25 per session.

Thurmond, a burly 48-year-old, uses his experience as a bodybuilder to counsel his clients, mostly women. He acknowledges that any diet program, including his, won’t work in the long run unless clients are committed to change.

“What no trainer or dietitian may be able to do is make you look like Demi Moore or Arnold Schwarzenegger. Genetics certainly play a role,” says Thurmond. “And if a woman loses weight, I’m sorry, but she’ going to lose it in her chest too. It’s fat.”

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Chris Bruckner, head of training at Sports Club / L.A., says he’s actually seen clients bring a magazine photo of an especially buff model or actor to the gym and tell their trainer, “I want to look like this.” “Well, we’d all like to look like that,” says the tall, slim Bruckner, “but we can’t all get the six-pack abs [clearly defined stomach muscles] or long legs. You can’t lengthen bones. You can’t change who your parents were. But if you’re committed to it, you can improve.”

Although it can help many people, spending a lot of money and time on health clubs, personal trainers, or special weight-loss or fitness programs isn’t necessary to lose and keep off weight. With a plan built on realistic goals, and a lot of determination, you can do it yourself.

After a lifetime of being overweight and lots of failed diets, Carl Powell, a Westlake Village attorney in his 40s, took matters into his own hands. “You have to develop something you can live with long-term,” says Powell.

Instead of cutting out food, he learned to eat substantial but sensible meals. His breakfast--a low-fat dinner entree--is unusual and definitely not for everyone. But it gives him a nutritious start to the day that is healthier than skipping breakfast or eating fatty foods like a jelly doughnut.

Since Powell is often on the run during the day, he used to grab high-calorie, fast-food meals. Now, he’s found lunch specials at such chains as Denny’s or IHOP a good alternative.

“They cost about the same as fast food, but it’s healthier and you can have more control over how it’s cooked,” explains Powell. He allows himself one day a week to eat whatever he likes, a tip recommended by many fitness professionals who say it can help keep people motivated rather than overwhelmed by strict rules. Finally, he drinks eight glasses of water a day--another suggestion that most of us have heard but few of us adhere to.

“As for exercise, an hour a day in the gym doesn’t work for me. I’m very busy, and I have a family,” says Powell. Instead, he tries to walk somewhat regularly, and will do small things throughout the day such as climbing a flight of stairs rather than taking the elevator.

Powell says he is disciplined and analytical, traits that have made it easier for him to adhere to his self-prescribed program. Not everyone can do it themselves, and not everyone needs to lose 100 pounds. But with the right attitude, commitment and guidance, serial resolution-makers should be able to succeed in 1999.

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Tips for Keeping Your Resolutions

* Get advice. A relatively healthy person might not think to ask his or her doctor for guidance on fitness and nutrition, but your general practitioner or a specialist can be an excellent resource.

* Don’t expect miracles. The latest diet book or home exercise gadget won’t necessarily work for you. As for fads like equipment that promises flat, toned abdominal muscles in minutes a day, remember they don’t work on their own. You won’t get a washboard stomach if you eat fatty, high-calorie foods and don’t get enough cardiovascular exercise. Before you start your exercise program, get a book that covers the basics of good nutrition.

* Keep it interesting. Varying your routine is better for the mind and body. “Your body adapts to specific exercises,” says Sports Club’s Chris Bruckner. “Plus, people get bored always doing the same thing.” Go swimming one day, take a walk with a friend the next, to the gym the following day. You get the idea.

* Keep it honest. Write down everything you eat, and don’t lie. If you’re eating too many desserts or fatty late-night snacks, cut down or eliminate them, or replace them with healthier alternatives, such as fresh fruit. Schedule time for exercise, and stick to it. Having a gym membership card in your wallet does not make you lose weight.

* Avoid extremes. Extreme diets and excessive exercise can trigger a panic response in your body. You can actually slow your metabolism. Instead, small, frequent meals and regular, moderate exercise are universally recommended by professionals.

* Set goals--in baby-step increments. If your goal is to have the body of a top model or athlete, you’ll likely be disappointed. Instead, set small, specific goals for what you’d like to achieve this week or this month. A doctor, trainer or nutritionist can help you set goals.