With the new year comes resolutions, and with resolutions come inevitable failure, disappointment and forgetting until next year.

In fact, according to U.S. News and World Report, around 80 percent of people fail their new year’s resolution.

Making grand goals to stick to for an entire year is impossible without knowing how to go about it. Because of this, I’ve asked local trainers, dietitians and business owners around Pullman for ways to stay on track of some common resolutions.

Read more

We could all stand to read more, but finding the time can be difficult for students bogged down by classes, work, clubs, social life, etc.

Longtime employee of Brused Books, Monique Slipher, suggests carving out a specific, regular time in your schedule for reading, whether it be with coffee in the morning or right before bed.

“It does take a little bit of self-discipline,” Slipher said. “You got to say to yourself, ‘OK, I’m going to block out time to sit down and read a book.’”

As for finding a book to read, Holland and Terrell Libraries have an excess of amazing reads that go underutilized. If you can’t find the book you want there, you might see it at the Neill Public Library.

If you’d rather own your books you can find something new at The Bookie or used at Brused Books.

“Pick a topic you’re really interested in or passionate about and start there,” Slipher said.

If all else fails, there’s always time to read The Daily Evergreen.

Lose weight/work out more/be more active

Pullman has plenty of options for those with fitness-related goals. At Sanctuary Yoga, trainers embrace a holistic approach to wellness with yoga, barre and dance classes.

“Rather than think about a resolution, which inevitably may lead to disappointment, we in the yoga community focus on setting intention and living with intention,” said Judy Kolde, Sanctuary Yoga owner. “So if you intend in the next 12 months to live a more balanced lifestyle, we have a lot of offerings here.”

If you’re looking for something intense, Pullman CrossFit serves as another option.

“The hardest thing to do is hold yourself accountable,” said Scott Parrish, owner of Pullman CrossFit. “We’re going to do the programming, the workouts are going to be pretty intense, the classes are scheduled. When it comes to choosing to go the CrossFit route I think that’s what helps [people] stick to it.”

The UREC offers a gym, as well as swimming, rock climbing, intramural sports and plenty of fitness classes to choose from, said Joanne Greene, director of University Recreation Programming.

“If students wanted to get more into weightlifting, to yoga classes, to dance classes,” she said, “we’re hoping to provide a lot of different options for students to find something that they like.”

For a fee, students can work with personal trainers who will prescribe exercise, workout routines and some nutrition advice to reach a fitness goal.

Whatever you choose, make sure you pick a method you have fun with.

“What’s really important if you’re going to start an exercise routine is that you find something you enjoy because that will make it easier to stick to it,” Greene said.

Eat healthier

When it comes to eating healthier, WSU dietitian Alice Ma recommends setting smaller goals instead of big resolutions that are hard to commit to.

“Oftentimes we tend to go really big and say ‘I’m going to stop eating dessert’ and that sets up failure pretty easily,” Ma said. “Set smaller goals that are achievable and maybe set a big goal for the longer term.”

Ma said setting short-term goals can look like eating fast food once every few weeks or picking healthier items over fat or deep-fried foods, rather than cutting it out completely.

For overall healthier options, Ma said choose plenty of vegetables and use meats and cheeses as a garnish as opposed to treating it like the main dish.

In the dining halls, choose foods like grain bowls, brown rice, lean chicken breast, fish, veggie burgers and fresh cooked vegetable options. When eating out, again, go for vegetable dishes and pick tofu, fish or grilled chicken.