As January marches on, many of us will be fighting to stick to our newly-made resolutions. This New Year has seen the pledges “lose weight” and “get fit” top the list of resolutions made by us Britons, according to research carried out by the charity Drinkaware.

Nearly half (47 per cent) of those surveyed highlighted that losing weight was their key resolution for 2010 with one in five aiming to lose more than two stone during the year. Considering an average target weight loss of 15.11Ibs per person, the whopping 23 million stone is the equivalent to 27 million 15Ib Christmas turkeys.

Alcohol also featured highly in people’s priorities in the research – 6.7 million Britons aim to curb their drinking in 2010 with 4 million trying to give up alcohol all together during January. The reasons for this resolution were given as over-indulgence over Christmas (25 per cent); health reasons (45 per cent); and weight loss (47 per cent).

Despite all the healthy intentions for 2010, the research also found that a mere 11 per cent have confidence of sticking to their resolutions. This compares to 19 per cent who are confident they will have given up by the end of week one and 43 per cent who feel they won’t be good all year.

The research was conducted as part of Drinkaware’s campaign, “Drink More Be More”, to encourage people to stick to their New Year resolutions. The charity’s website (www.drinkaware.co.uk) has a dedicated drinks calculator which lets you enter the drinks you’ve had to reveal the effect this has on your health. The details include the calorific content of those drinks and how much exercise you need to do to burn off these calories.

Making pledges to eat more healthily and be more active can be difficult to stick to. To help you make 2010 a healthy New Year, we have written some top tips for you.

Top Tips For A Healthier New Year

* Be realistic     

When you decide to be healthier, make small changes initially such as eating more fruit or extending your daily walk by ten minutes. This way, you are far more likely to be successful.   

* Reward your progress     

Monitor your progress and reward yourself for each mini-goal you achieve. For example, you may want to lose two stone in 2010 but 2Ibs in week one ~ if you achieve this, treat yourself to a mug of hot chocolate, head message or whatever else helps you to relax. These treats along the way will help you stay focused.

* Recruit a friend     

If you can work towards your New Year resolution with a friend, it’ll make it easier to stay on target. You can encourage each other to stick to your resolution by meeting up for walks or hosting dinner parties and using only healthy ingredients for the meal.

* Think

Make sure your New Year resolution is considered, preferably something you have been thinking about for a while. The less knee-jerk your resolution is the more likely you are to stick to it.   

* Be vocal

Tell your family, friends and work colleagues what you have pledged to change in 2010. By publically announcing your intentions, you are more likely to stick to them.   

* Resilience is key     

If you have a moment of weakness and eat that slice of cream cake or have a glass of wine, accept it for the set-back it is – and carry on. You’re only human so falling off-track occasionally may happen, but the important thing is to get back to it straightaway and keep working towards your long-term goal. Although January is traditionally a popular time for setting goals, it is important to be consistently striving towards something – and not necessarily just when a new year rolls around. So, if you are lacking a motivational target at present, why not take advantage of the fact it’s January and set yourself a realistic aim for today, tomorrow and the year ahead?

Vanessa AlexanderEsteem Fitness – Corporate Fitness, Nutrition and Well-being Consultancy

Enhancing Personal Health and Corporate Wealth