While change is hard, the following five tips will help:

1. Establish realistic short-term goals.
2. Discuss the goals with friends and family.
3. Choose a diet that is healthy for heart and brain. This should include more omega fatty acids and less processed meat and lower sugar intake.
4. Avoid rapid weight loss diets.
5. Be flexible: if one thing doesn’t work, try something else.

Dr Carolyn Kaloostian of the Keck School of Medicine at USC, said it can be easy to get distracted from your goals:

“These start-of-the-year priorities unfortunately get sidelined due to competing obligations, responsibilities, and commitments from work or family.”

Doing things with other people can help, said Dr Kaloostian:

“I see some of the best results from patients who join a team and compete with others in obstacles races and runs.

They train together, help each other through injuries, develop great friendships due to similar goals, and have short-term goals to succeed at the upcoming course.”

Start with something easy and do-able, Dr Kaloostian recommends:

“For those who are new to getting moving, our so-called ‘couch potatoes,’

I strongly recommend starting with a short low-intensity fast-paced walk, about 15 minutes daily after stretching of course, to get into the groove and see how good it feels to just get moving.

It would be dangerous to jump into an intense workout regimen which may result in injuries.”

Be realistic about goals, but try to stay optimistic, said Dr Kaloostian:

“Approach each day with gratitude and refresh your commitment to this goal each morning.

Try to avoid adding new projects to your to-do list as this may pull you away from your goal.”

Dr Carolyn Kaloostian is the clinical assistant professor of family medicine and geriatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.