Do you make and break resolutions every January or have you given up on the whole resolution thing or do you pick one or two things every year to work on until you have achieved them?

Regardless of your personal relationship with resolutions, you can take advantage of the January/New Year “Fresh Start” feeling to set some health goals for yourself for this year. This article will give you some tips on choosing those goals and achieving them.

1—Think about what would make you truly feel better a year from now. What is the thing that you need to change? Maybe you lead a sedentary/couch potato lifestyle and want to work out regularly. Perhaps you need to make friends with fruits and vegetables. Maybe you need to lower your blood pressure or cholesterol or blood sugar. Or, you need to ward off osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s or some other disease that might run in your family or that you might have risk factors for. Or, you might just want to run a marathon, walk 1000 miles or increase your energy level. Writing down your goals is the major part in achieving them.

2—Determine what measurement you need to see to know you have succeeded. This measurement is what makes goal setting work. You get to see your score! The measurement could be an exercise log you fill in daily, a chart of new veggies you promise to try, a specific lower blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar level (your doctor can help you set these goals), or whatever you know would mean you have achieved or made progress toward your goal.

2—Make a list of actions you can take to change your behavior in that area. Areas to consider are educating yourself on the consequences of not taking action, hiring a personal trainer, adding two servings of fruits and veggies to your daily meal plan, taking a meditation class, joining a support group, or just taking a 30-minute walk every day. Again, your doctor or nutritionist, health educator or training coach can help you in determining what actions can best help you get to your goal.

3—Implement the actions. Actually do what you wrote on your actions list. Write them into your calendar. Schedule the appointments. Tell your friends. If you miss a step or skip a few scheduled activities, get right back on track. This is key! Making changes often takes more than one effort. Just persist after every setback and eventually, you’ll get to where you want to be. But, if you just quit, you won’t.

4—Review your progress regularly. Pick a day every week to make sure your logs or charts are up to date, and a date every month to make a few notes on your progress. This will help ensure that you don’t just “drop it” when you miss a couple of steps. Make sure it’s “in your face” on a regular basis so you don’t forget what you hope to achieve.

5—Once you meet your goal, celebrate! Reward yourself with something healthy or fun. And, relish your success. Tell your friends, family and your doctor! Congratulate yourself and take some time to really enjoy the great feelings you get when you achieve a goal. Then, set another one. Maybe pick a different area or progress farther along the same one. It’s all up to you, and you know, anything is possible.

Here are some recommended resources to help you with your '08 health goals:

YOU: On a Walk is a cd program by Drs. Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen. Includes a slower walk and faster walk, both with music and great info.

I've only been able to see a couple of episodes, but the results are incredible! Read the book and learn how they do it: The Biggest Loser: The Weight Loss Program to Transform Your Body, Health, and Life--Adapted from NBC's Hit Show!