By Lori Kittelberg

It’s the first half of January and the first question off everyone’s lips is “What’s your New Year’s resolution?” And typically the answers are all about shedding pounds. According to Statistics Canada’s Health Indicators released November 2003, 15.6% of Canadians aged 20-64 have “excess weight” and a whopping 31.9% are “overweight”. No surprise that when it comes to making healthy lifestyle changes, we tend to set ourselves up for failure, particularly after a week of eating turkey and bonbons. Diets are cut to near starvation level. That workout that was supposed to help deal with stress becomes a source of stress. We get tired, bitter and angry and finally give up.

“Most people feel losing weight is about willpower, deprivation and lack of choice,” says Ramona Josephson, a local nutrition coach and author of HeartSmart Nutrition: Shopping on the Run. “In fact, it’s the opposite.”

So what’s the secret to making and sticking to your New Year’s resolution? For me, the first step is not making a resolution. Resolutions, likes diets are made to be broken.

The following are some dos and don’ts to help you on your journey.

• Do read food labels. My rule is the more words I can’t pronounce, the worse it probably is for me. Though I’m not an advocate of completely cutting one food from your diet (unless you have allergies), you’ll be amazed to see how much crap is put in “instant” foods and sometimes even a can of tomatoes. Most often, you’ll find sugar or some sort of corn syrup in just about anything in a box or can. How do you get away from this? Read on……
  
  
• Do make your own basics. I can already hear the collective groan. I don’t mean you should churn your own butter or make a full-course meal seven days a week. Keep it simple. Soups are the best, particularly during the winter. Make a huge batch of turkey soup with your holiday leftovers in the freezer. Pretty much any vegetable (carrots, squash, potatoes, peas) can be pureed with some stock and spices for an excellent meal in a bowl. Once you’ve made that one batch, you’ll save tons of time those days you get home and just don’t want to make anything. Best of all, you’ll know what you’re eating.
  
  
• Don’t eliminate foods or starve. (Been there, done that.) You’ll lose a ton of weight really fast then you’ll gain it all back when you can’t take it anymore and start scarfing down whatever you forbade yourself to eat. “If you feel hungry you’re setting yourself up for overindulging,” says Josephson. Plus you’ll have no energy to do what you need to do. Even more sobering: Short-term weight loss leads to long-term weight gain,” she adds.
  
  
• Don’t do sports you don’t enjoy. This seems like a no brainer, but I’m shocked at how many people will do a particular sport or activity that they despise or hurts them, only because they think that it’ll burn more calories and they’ll lose weight faster. Do something you like and you’ll want to keep doing it.
  
  
• Do learn a new activity. Variety is key to keeping fit. Take on something completely new or tweak your favorite activity to challenge yourself. If you like to leisurely kayak English Bay, get together with a friend and work in some sprints racing one another. IF you run the seawall every weekend, try hiking up some of the uphill trails in Stanley Park now and then. Ever watched the dragon boats glide along False Creek? Find a team and try out a practice with them.
  
• Finally do have a fit and healthy 2004.