Over the last day or two, half the world has been splashing the cash on new gym memberships, stocking their fridges with low-carb or dairy-free foods, and promising themselves that they're going to stick to whatever resolution they've made for 2018.
Meanwhile, the other half have been looking on with smug self-satisfaction, knowing that pretty much all of them would have broken their promises come next week.
However, contrary to the trope that everyone gives up on their resolutions pretty much immediately (take my own attempt at "veganuary", for instance, which ended at 2pm on New Year's Day), it turns out that a significant portion of people actually last a very respectable amount of time - but it varies according to which goal you've set yourself.
In December 2014, the top three resolutions for people in the USA were - in order - to
lose weight, exercise more, and be a better person. Unfortunately, there aren't a great deal of quantifiable results on whether or not people actually became "better" (whatever that means), but there has been a lot of research into weight loss and exercise resolutions.
When it comes to losing weight, the success of the resolution really depends on which route you take. Crash dieting is highly unadvisable, as people who drastically change their daily routine will either a) give up on it before they've reached any kind of target, or b) return to their old habits after hitting their goal.
On the other hand, following
a specific diet rather than just saying "I'm going to eat healthier" has been proven to yield longer-lasting results, and one study in 2010 showed that one third of obese individuals were able to lose 5 per cent or more of their body weight by following a strict regime. Furthermore, 33 per cent of that successful group were able to maintain most of that weight loss over the following five years.
So about one in nine people stuck to their weight loss resolution permanently.
As for exercising more, one study showed that about 12 per cent of people who join a gym do so in January - much to the annoyance of the super-committed gym bunnies who spend their whole lives on the treadmill. However, about half of those people will end up dropping out within the first six months.
According to this research, though, that still leaves 50 per cent of people being successful in their New Year endeavor. However, other studies have put the figure closer to about 12 and 37 per cent - perhaps because they take into account the individuals who chose to exercise outside of a gym setting.
Either way, it does seem that
committing to exercise is a slightly more sustainable goal than attempting to change your diet - perhaps because it usually involves paying out for a gym membership, or possibly because adding something to your routine is easier than taking something away.
But what about those who have made other, non-fitness related goals?
According to a 2015 study from BUPA, 43 per cent of people last less than a month when it comes to committing to their resolution (whatever it may be), and 80 per cent quit entirely by March.
But don't let yourself get disillusioned before you've even given it a real go. If these statistics are accurate - and, let's be real, there's a lot of variation in these studies so you can probably give or take five per cent - then around one in five people manage to keep their resolutions for more than three months.
It only takes 66 days to form a habit, so continuing something for a few months means that it's likely you'll keep it up for good. Bear that in mind while you're trying to hold off from smoking that cigarette, or struggling to avoid having a sip of beer, because setting yourself a two/three month goal seems a hell of a lot easier than going for a permanent one straight off the bat.
Basically, most people barely make it past a month - but you're not most people, now, are you?
