Take fad diets like juice cleanses: We’re drawn to them because they promise big results minimal time and effort, and they appear to work—but only for a while. Because of course the number on the scale is going to go down (temporarily) if you’re only drinking spinach water! But as soon as you go back to eating real food—as humans should do—you go right back where you started, not to mention you’ll feel hungry, low on energy, and bad for not being able to stick with it (even though it’s not healthy or possible live on juiced produce alone). The same goes for working out. “People exercise every day for the first two weeks of the year, then totally taper off by February,” says Sturtevant. “That level of commitment just isn’t feasible in the long run.” In short: Skip the extremes when it comes to setting health-related goals. To set you up for success, we asked experts for goals that feel so doable, you may wonder whether they’re even worth aiming for. You may not be ready for the marathon or be a Zen master by tomorrow, but we promise you will make significant headway on the journey to a happier, healthier you. Instead of reaching for a chocolate bar, try chocolate-covered almonds, chocolate-dipped frozen banana bites, or chocolate chips mixed with popcorn, pistachios, or both. Besides reducing your intake of added sugar—too much of which has been linked to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other health concerns—you’ll also get some heart-healthy fiber. But sitting better is easy. Just pop your booty: Pretend you have a tail, and bend slightly at the hips so you aren’t sitting on it. “This can help untuck your pelvis and elongate your spine so your vertebrae can stack up straight,” says Sherer. Also, adjust your chair so your feet rest flat on the floor (or a footrest), and your thighs are parallel to the ground. The alarm can also serve as a reminder to turn off the TV, close your laptop, and put down your phone, since the blue light that those devices emit can delay the release of the sleep hormone melatonin, making it harder to fall asleep. If you like to read before bed, dim the brightness on your reading devices. Activate blue-light-limiting features or install dimmer bulbs in your bedroom. “Even if your neighborhood isn’t walkable, you can still walk from store to store within a big shopping complex or park at the bank or the drugstore and walk from there to your other errands.” Walking instead of driving can help you live longer, improve your mood, and reduce your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. It also cuts down on greenhouse-gas emissions. Another good micro-resolution: Move your feet every time your phone is in your hand. “If you’re tied to a landline or need to stay put, just march in place or step side to side,” says Stanten. To do it, put down your fork, take a deep breath, and ask yourself how full you are and how much more food you think you need to be satisfied, suggests Sturtevant. “When we eat with awareness, we get more joy out of our food—and without that joy, it’s difficult to feel nourished.” “When you suggest doing something for just three days or even a week, it’s easier to get buy-in,” says BJ Fogg, Ph.D., founder and director of the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University. “Hopefully you’ll have a really great discussion at dinner that gets everyone onboard with making this a more permanent policy.” “We have specific ideas of what breakfast foods are, when in fact breakfast is just a meal like any other,” says Sturtevant. “I love roasted vegetables with sunny-side eggs on top for breakfast, but you could even have leftover pizza with vegetables on it.” And research backs up the power of short workouts: One study found that 13 minutes of weight training three times a week is enough to build strength, while another showed that just five minutes a day of running is all it takes to reduce your risk of death from cardiovascular disease. “Some studies suggest that merely standing is good for metabolic health,” says Tamara Hew-Butler, PhD, an associate professor of exercise and sports science at Wayne State University in Detroit. “The bottom line is that any exercise is better than none at all.”
