New Year's resolution dos and don'ts

SheKnows: How can I keep track of my resolutions and my progress at reaching them?

Dr. Sanford Siegal: I've treated more than 500,000 overweight patients, and I've learned that there are two main reasons why a diet fails:

• 1. The dieter is too hungry to stick to it
•  2. The weight comes off so slowly that the dieter loses her motivation

All of my efforts during the past 50 years of exclusively treating overweight patients have been focused on controlling hunger and getting the weight off as quickly as possible.

SK: Is there a "right" number of resolutions to make?

SS: With respect to weight loss, yes: one. Under the best of circumstances, losing weight is nobody's idea of fun. It takes willpower and dedication. Any other "self-improvement" resolution is an unnecessary distraction.

SK: What are some of the most common reasons people fail to keep their weight-loss resolutions?

SS: There are three reasons why weight loss resolutions fail:

1. Their goals are unattainable (any diet that claims that you can lose more than about 12 pounds per month should be avoided).
2. They are simply too hungry to stick to their diet.
3. The diet they've chosen produces such slow weight loss (maybe a pound a week or so) that they lose their motivation.

SK: How can people make their weight-loss resolutions more attainable?

SS: By being honest with themselves and not taking a break once they start a diet. You know if a diet sounds too good to be true ("Amazing Breakthrough! Lose 10 pounds in 10 days by watching TV!"). Set a realistic goal and don't stop until you've reached it. One thing that I've observed in treating over a half million overweight patients is that people who take a break from their diet before they reach their goal are likely never to reach it.