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New Year's Resolutions That Aren't Losing Weight

The Huffington Post     First Posted: 01/01/12 01:03 PM ET   Updated: 01/04/12 05:58 PM ET

Each year, many of us resolve to eat healthy food, get fit and, yup, lose weight. And while those goals are as admirable as they are popular -- especially for people who are at a weight-related health risk -- the reality is that fewer than half of people actually stick to their goals six months in.

So instead of the tired old promise to lose weight, we have 12 new healthy resolutions to try for 2012. Click through for our suggestions, then tell us in the comments what you're resolving to do in the new year.

Prioritize Sleep
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Americans are increasingly sleep deprived -- one survey found that nearly 30 percent of adults sleep six or fewer hours each night, according to the CDC, despite the fact that the target number should be between seven and nine hours a night.

And while we often glorify sleep deprivation in our society -- pushing people to skimp on sleep to socialize, work or be more "productive" -- it has been linked to serious health problems, including memory impairment, decreased alertness, high blood pressure, stroke and obesity, to name a few -- one recent HuffPost blog compared the sleep deprivation epidemic to the cigarette smoking epidemic.

Make 2012 the year you put sleep back on the priority list.

Sleep is just as important for your health as getting exercise, fresh air and good food, explains HuffPost blogger Russell Rosenberg, Ph.D., CEO of the Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine and chairman of the board of the National Sleep Foundation. "It's an important piece to the overall health puzzle."

Need a little motivation? While Rosenberg says many people are familiar with the short-term affects of sleep deprivation, they don't consider the long-term consequences."If you continue to abuse your sleep, chances are your health will be negatively impacted in the long run," he says, explaining that people often use the same excuses they use when they can't stick to a diet, exercise plan or other health behaviors -- they don't have the time or the discipline. "Like any of those other things, it just takes proper planning and scheduling."

This year, resolve to check the gadgets at the door (research shows using them before bed can disrupt sleep) and commit to at least seven hours a night.
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Each year, many of us resolve to eat healthy food, get fit and, yup, lose weight. And while those goals are as admirable as they are popular -- especially for people who are at a weight-related health...
Each year, many of us resolve to eat healthy food, get fit and, yup, lose weight. And while those goals are as admirable as they are popular -- especially for people who are at a weight-related health...
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AH 2011
0 Fans
06:41 PM on 01/06/2012
There are so many great new years resolution websites this year. What great ideas to start the year off right with some practical improvements! http://alan-heidigreen.blogspot.com/
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Ossit
Ossit
385 Fans
02:31 PM on 01/04/2012
Oh of course I have another New Year's Resolution. Not make as many spelling mistakes.
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Ossit
Ossit
385 Fans
02:30 PM on 01/04/2012
Another article dictating what one has to do with their life. Sleep hours that work for you. If you get along okay with only 4 hours rest then do it, not let an article decide.

New Years Resolutions are silly because you put unrealistic goals upon yourself to measure up to what other people want of you. Sleep more, lose weight, I'll do this and that so everyone can give me a pat on the back. I only have one News Resolution every year. Get through the year. Hope I can pay my bills, hope I don't go another couple weeks without food, be glad I've got heat and light for another month. No article suggest what I 'should' be doing.
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celebjunkie222
4 Fans
 
11:47 PM on 01/03/2012
Good article. Makes me happy to think I do mostly all of these things!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
missmaryc
58 Fans
11:00 AM on 01/03/2012
It was pretty cool clicking through the first four of these and mentally checking them off as things I already do regularly. Also, I use my vacation days and stay away from sky high heels (being 5'11", they're really not necessary). Unfortunately, I do need to quit smoking. :-(
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Karen Dianne
4 Fans
04:53 PM on 01/04/2012
Deep breathing is very helpful here!
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Biz and the Geek
4 Fans
10:33 AM on 01/03/2012
I love the list, especially "use your vacation days"! But I think one important element to success is a good plan of attack. There is a simple 4 step plan that I use to be successful with my resolutions.

http://businessandthegeek.posterous.com/turn-those-new-years-resolutions-into-accompl
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StrayTalk
48 Fans
05:09 AM on 01/03/2012
I would also add start running, eat real food and drink beer everyday. Not because it makes me rich, but it does help keep me healthy, happy and energized.*

* Not endorsed by the AMA, FDA or the POTUS
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JSDKoeln
154 Fans
09:42 AM on 01/02/2012
I made a December decision to start anything I wanted to accomplish in the next year BEFORE the 1st. That way it wouldn't feel like a New Year's resolution but just a continuation of a path that I choose to be on.

But honestly, I did have a new year's health resolution for 2011 and I did accomplish it by year's end. It wasn't about losing weight (although that was a one excellent benefit of my resolution). I set out to deal with a genetic defect in my heart and, by the miracles of modern medicine and lots of physical dicipline and emotional turmoil, it's all functioning normally again. -- for 9 months!

Resolutions aren't always bad. But the ones you make, you really have to commit to. Sometimes our lives depend on it!
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William Anderson LMHC
Licensed Psychotherapist, Weight Control Expert
132 Fans
 
08:07 AM on 01/02/2012
Good ideas, but the most important thing is to stop thinking in terms of resolutions and start thinking in terms of dreams and goals. Here's why: http://theandersonmethod.com/goals-2012-resolutions-weight-loss-diet/

William Anderson, LMHC
Author of 'The Anderson Method - Secrets of Permanent Weight Loss'
www.TheAndersonMethod.com
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noahmarder
Exposing the regressive lies, one by one
308 Fans
11:50 PM on 01/01/2012
There is no such thing as a good New Year's resolution. If you need such a silly excuse as the "start" (Neither Dec 31 or Jan 1 has any astronomical significance) of a new year to do something different, you have already lost the battle. If you truly want to make a change for the better, then do it, no matter what day of the year.
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ziggy3339
48 Fans
08:12 AM on 01/02/2012
On the other hand....
New Year's resolutions have been good for me. I had an addiction to cigarettes that seemed to require (for me) a time frame in the future (a specific date) to quit. Some time to prepare for the day, stock up on carrots, support groups and gear myself up for it. Other things (non addictive) also work for me on this day of a "new leaf". It's like starting with a clean slate ! It's always a positive feeling, filled with hope. I know I must be a minority on this but that's my experience.
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noahmarder
Exposing the regressive lies, one by one
308 Fans
12:35 PM on 01/02/2012
I think it's great that you quit smoking. I don't know why you had to wait for something arbitrary like a new year. I am sure you had wanted to quit for a while before that. A new year is not a clean slate. It is just one more day.
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littlebrowngirl
814 Fans
11:15 PM on 01/01/2012
These are all great suggestions. I never understood the super high heel thing. They are dangerous and ruin your muscles and bones in your feet and legs.
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jmichaelmunger
Tired of Fear...
559 Fans
10:05 PM on 01/01/2012
I can tell Huff Po editors are getting sloppy with subheadings like "Remember To Breathe".

And besides, in reference to the "Ditching the Heels," if your company requires you to wear pumps I would consider building a time machine so that you can leave the 1960s.
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ken derow
109 Fans
09:10 PM on 01/01/2012
If yo are a smoker, the single best new year's resolution you might make is to commit yourself to quit smoking. Now there is a brand new powerful and unique smoking cessation program app that is available on all Andriod devices. It is called, Quit Smoking, Start Now." As I designed it, I know that it is based on solid psychological theory, brain science and behavioral modification priciples. It is unique and based on more solid scienitfic precepts than any other commercially available smoking cessation program app. If you are and interested in quitting, give it a look.
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JBS
Part time misanthrope & full time curmudgeon
317 Fans
08:17 PM on 01/01/2012
I'm willing to do the "bike to work once a week" thingy ... if I ever find a job.
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Ladybug50
276 Fans
07:13 PM on 01/01/2012
For the last few years my New Year's resolution has been to "gain 5 pounds" and "watch more tv". I have yet to let myself down. This year I am not going to follow that same resolution, I'm going to "lose" 10 pounds. I'll still watch tv, just not as much. This article gives me some great pointers to start this year's resolution. Wish me luck.
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