New Year's Resolutions: Will you achieve your fitness goals this time?

This year I will:

• Lose weight.

• Exercise more.

• Eat better foods.

• Forgo the late-night snacks.

• Buy a pair of running shoes.

• Read a book on stress release.

• And start saving for a new wardrobe for a slimmer, trimmer me.

All of this, of course, starting today.

And if these new goals follow the path most New Year's resolutions take, they'll fade from memory about the same time as the 30-day warranties on the Christmas gifts.

Faced with the winter blahs, more good meals than planned over the holidays and the belt hooked on its last notch, people start the new year with new resolve to, primarily, lose weight and get fit.

Health centers are currently filled with well-intentioned people bent on improving themselves and their lifestyle. The problem is, visits drop off in February, and by March most of the new faces will be gone — until next January.

People pledge to make changes after the new year for a variety of reasons, which include the fact that days are shorter and people feel the need to get out and do something. Some also suffer from post-holiday blues, the cold weather, cabin fever and shock upon stepping onto the bathroom scales. They all want change.

While their intentions are sincere, what many people lack is knowledge necessary to reach their new goals.

Most goals focus on health.

The General Nutrition Center reports that eating better appears in 55 percent of the New Year's resolutions, getting involved in a regular exercise program in 50 percent and weight loss in 38 percent.

Another study shows that in most cases, fewer than one in five people actually stick with their commitments.

It's too easy, pointed out Rick Strout, general manager of the Sports Mall Metro in downtown Salt Lake City, to fall back into old habits.

"Especially if these changes prove to be too difficult. They try to do too much and become discouraged when things don't happen as fast as they expected. We live in a quick-fix society, and people want to see changes now," he said.