It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Oh wait. That was last month. But…it is the most wonderful time of the year to lose weight. I know that’s your New Year’s resolution. I also know 87.3 percent of those who set weight loss as a New Year’s resolution, do not succeed. Why? Well, the real reason is weight loss is a mental game. If you’re not ready mentally, it’s just not going to happen. But this year let’s blame it on something else and take the pressure off. People don’t stick to their weight loss goals because it’s just too complicated and confusing in this day and age.

Like it or not, the New Year is a time to reflect on what went right and what went wrong, and make changes in areas you want to improve upon. New Year’s resolutions get a bad rap, mainly because they’re hard to stick to. If you think about it, resolutions, which are a mission to break an old habit in exchange for a new habit, are set up for failure. The problem lies in unrealistic expectations to change these habits overnight, literally cold turkey. It takes a colossal serving of self-discipline and a whopping amount of will power to instantly change. If we had that kind of determination, we probably wouldn’t have to resolve to change anything.

A month ago, you, me and millions of others welcomed in the New Year with renewed hopes, dreams, aspirations and…resolutions. We were filled with zeal and exuberance. The energy on the starting line of 2015 was palpable, as if we were all in the starting gates at the Kentucky Derby. It was glorious and exciting!