By MIKE WILSON, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 1, 2002

The trouble with health-related New Year's resolutions is that people tend to set the bar too high: I'm going to run five marathons this year! I'm never eating sweets again! People fail in these goals for the simple reason that they're unreachable.

We wondered: What if they set goals for the new year that they could actually achieve?

To come up with a reasonable list, we called Jana Butler, weight program manager at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. Here are some tips from the St. Joe's weight loss program, suitable for hanging on the fridge.

1. Be physically active. A structured activity like an exercise class isn't the only way to burn calories. Moving your body through space in any time increment counts. Commit to a 10-minute walk at lunchtime and a 20-minute walk after dinner three to five times a week. Put a pair of tennis shoes in your car or at the office to make those quick exercise times easy.

2. Use meal replacements. Eating a portion-controlled meal replacement, such as Healthy Choice, SlimFast or Health Management Resources,is an easy and nutritious way to cut calories in your day. Commit to one a day and save calories equivalent to 26 pounds or more in a year.

3. Eat at least five full 1-cup servings of vegetables and fruits a day. Not only are fruits and veggies a great source of vitamins and minerals, they are very low in calories. Fruits and vegetables will also fill you up, so there is less room for other choices. Commit to planning your fruits and vegetables into your meals first every day.

4. Be aware of portion size. Large food portions are a huge contributor to the obesity epidemic in America. An average plate of pasta at an Italian restaurant equals 20 ounces -- four servings! Some tips to reduce portion size when eating out include making an appetizer your entree, sharing a meal or ordering half of a portion. Commit to reducing your protein portions (meat, poultry, fish) to the size of the palm of your hand (about 3 ounces) and choosing restaurants with healthy options.

5. Make "easy win" calorie substitutions. If you drink one soda a day at 12 calories per ounce, you add an extra 1,008 calories per week. Drinking diet soda would save you 52,416 calories a year, or the equivalent of 141/2 pounds! Commit to drinking diet sodas or other noncaloric beverages. Best choice is water, which contains no caffeine or artificial sweeteners and is essential to health. Eat fruit instead of drinking high-calorie fruit juices. (A large glass of orange juice has almost 200 calories, compared with a 90-calorie orange.)

6. Eat at home, control your environment. Half of Americans eat 50 percent of their meals in restaurants. Commit to reducing the amount you eat out by half. Plan your meals for the week and then shop accordingly.

7. Get a buddy. It is easier to change behaviors with the support of someone else. Commit to asking a friend to join you in this challenge -- walk together or plan a low-fat meal together.

8. Write it down. Food and exercise records are great tools to self-manage weight. If you don't know where the problem lies, how can you attempt to solve it? Commit to writing down the type and quantity of foods you eat. Then look at the trends.

9. Plan ahead. In a society where large portions of high-fat, high-calorie foods are everywhere, experts agree that the only way to control weight is to plan your eating and your exercise. Commit to planning your day's exercise and food the night before.

10. Drink water. Your body performs all its functions best when hydrated. Commit to drinking 64 ounces per day. Keep a bottle of water with you all day.

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