by Eliza Sininen

Created on: December 29, 2008

Many of us want to add a new healthy habit for our new year's resolution. The reason that we fail to stick with them is that they don't fit in with the lifestyle we already have. But there is a way to join in a new activity with things we already do. Almost all of them can be remembered like this and it definitely makes things easier!

I wanted to resolve to drink more water. But there's really no point just saying I will. As soon as I'm a week out from January 1st, the novelty is gone and I'm no longer thinking about it being a great new thing. So, my approach is to drink a glass of water as I am making a cup of coffee and waiting for the water to boil. Some people drink a glass of water before they sit down to a meal. Some use a toilet trip to remind them to go to the kitchen afterwards for another glass. These are examples of adding into existing routines.

If you're a smoker trying to cut down, come up with another habit to match. As an example, make yourself drink a glass of water before each one. Or eat a sweet, or walk for five minutes. Some people set a stopwatch for a certain number of minutes before they allow themselves another smoke. Some people resolve never to smoke with another person (this one is probably the most effective). It doesn't matter if the new habit has no real benefit, but what it does do is help you either delay, or change, the way you smoke. This way you don't have to deprive yourself - which is much harder to stick with - you are just breaking the way the habit continues.

If you have issues with overeating, there are a few tricks. They all involve again, breaking a habit or changing the way it's done. It might be the glass of water before the meal. It might be putting your fork down and swallowing before the next part. Perhaps you will have something healthy before eating any "bad" foods as a compromise. Or perhaps it's by just halving the item size. If you tend to eat in certain situations - in the car, in front of the tv, at the movies - either be prepared with healthier options, or simply make a deal with yourself that you will no longer eat in those places. Still allow yourself to have the food you wanted - but you must get up and leave the room or car, etc.

If you think you should eat more fruit but you don't enjoy it - find other ways to enjoy it! Try a different fruit. Try cutting it up on a plate, try dried fruit, try fruit pies or cake. Some people like fruit puree in a drink or smoothee. Cook it into a meal like Apricot Chicken or Baked Apple, or have a Banana split for dessert. Apple and banana are even nice on a sandwich. Change the way you look at the fruit - it's not a horrible item you bite into, it's something you can add to other foods.

If you bite your nails, find something to keep your hands busy, like knitting, texting, playing with modelling dough or a stress ball, sketching, even just drawing circles and squares. Be constant with this, if you find yourself biting, do your "new habit" every time. Wear gloves if it helps. Some ladies find it a helpful distraction to have a manicure and false nails done, so that they don't mess up their lovely nails.

When we make a new resolution, it's almost always because we have a habit we want to change. The secret to breaking a habit is to replace it with a healthier one which doesn't seem like a drag. Put your thinking caps on to find that new habit, and you can succeed!

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