“New Year, New You”
You may have heard the phrase “New Year New You”, and you may have heard it recently, given the time of year.
That’s right, it’s January, and it’s also the kickoff point for New Year’s Resolutions.
One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is exercising more and losing weight– which is especially important for those of us with knee osteoarthritis.
According to a study published in Arthritis Care & Research, the official journal of the American College of Rheumatology and the Association of Rheumatology Professionals, weight loss can improve symptoms associated with knee osteoarthritis.
In the study called “Intentional Weight Loss for Overweight and Obese Knee Osteoarthritis Patients: Is More Better?”, the researchers followed 240 participants that were overweight and obese that were experiencing knee pain from osteoarthritis.
What they discovered was that not only did diet and exercise-based weight loss reduce their osteoarthritis symptoms, but the people that lost the most weight from diet and exercise, experienced the greatest decrease in symptoms.
So if intensive weight loss from diet and exercise can help relieve some of the painful symptoms of knee osteoarthritis, what better way to work towards this goal than making exercising more and losing weight your New Year’s Resolution?
Well, you wouldn’t be alone in making that goal.
According to data published by the market research and statistics company Statistica, 52% of Americans surveyed have the resolution of exercising more in the new year, and 40% wanted to lose weight.
That’s wonderful, except for the fact that all of this great intention doesn’t always lead to action. And if it does, this action is often short-lived.
Based on the research and data compiled by Statistica, on average, only about 9% of people will achieve their New Year’s Resolution.
Even those of us that make some progress in carrying out our New Year’s Resolution, will most likely stop at some point- and the research backs this.
According to data collected by the market research firm Ipsos, 55% of the survey respondents kept their New Year’s resolution for less than a year. 11% kept it for at least six months, 14% kept it for at least three months, 19% kept their resolution for at least one month, and 11% kept their New Year’s resolution for less than a month.
So what is going on?
Why is it that so many well-intentioned people fail to keep their new year’s resolution to exercise more and get in shape?
It turns out that the problem isn’t necessarily the goal or the intention, but rather the way that goal is executed and the expectations that surround it.
In our next article, we will take a further look at how to take the intention to work out and lose weight, and turns it into sustainable action.
And, the way to do it, may surprise you.
