New Year's resolutions hold strong in Y-S

If you made a New Year's resolution, chances are about six out of 10 you are still going strong by now.

A December study by the University of Scranton's Journal of Clinical Psychology, with data listed on the website StatisticBrain.com, indicates that 75 percent of resolutions are followed during the first week of the year. It drops to 64 percent after only a month, slides to 46 percent after six months and only 8 percent are successful in achieving resolutions, according to the study.

If you are not one of the six out of 10 or feel yourself leaning toward the 8 percent, it's not too late to get back on the right track — whether your resolution was to be fitter, lose weight, give up smoking or cut back on stress.

Yuba-Sutter residents whose jobs are in the wellness field say the rewards come easy with a little self-discipline and will power.

Gyms around Yuba-Sutter have witnessed an increase in membership since the beginning of the year, thanks to people making resolutions to get in shape and lose weight.

Pole fitness instructor Natalie Haskell has witnessed an increase in participants since the beginning of the year, with her maximum class size — 10 people — attending her Wednesday and Friday night classes at the Yuba-Sutter Training Zone Fitness Club in Marysville.

"There's all shapes and sizes of men and women who do pole fitness," Haskell said. "About half in my classes now are people who were brought in by friends who heard about it."

Haskell said since she gave birth eight months ago, she has lost 50 pounds by eating right and doing pole fitness.

Marysville resident Tiffany Frey, 38, is doing well on her resolution of "40 by 40," meaning 40 pounds of weight loss by the time she's 40 years old. Frey's working out three or four days a week and started on the Paleo Diet, also known as the hunter-gatherer diet.

"I eat quite a bit of lean meats — beef, turkey, and chicken. I eat salmon and tilapia," said Frey. "All types of veggies. Limited fruits. Eggs. Almond milk and coconut milk. Changed my cooking oil from canola to coconut oil. I avoid carbs, sugars, processed foods, dairy, gluten and legumes."

"Best thing is I do have one cheat day a week," she said.

Meanwhile, the owner of Future Fitness Health Club in Yuba City said the gym has seen its best signup period in two years, with about 100 to 200 new members.

Dennis Dahle, also a personal trainer, advises people wanting to get in shape to set reasonable goals and make small changes when it comes to exercise.

Amanda Juetten, manager at Lord's Gym in Linda, said since the facility opened in September, it averaged about 120 new members per month. That number was more than 165 for January — about a 30 percent increase.

On a recent Monday morning, Juetten said all but one of the 12 cardiovascular fitness machines were being used.

"If you get a partner, someone who's going to be consistent, that's going to be your best motivator," Juetten said.

Logan Center, front desk manager at Yuba-Sutter Training Zone Fitness Club, said people with fitness goals should have a positive mental outlook, a good diet and be using supplements.

"The hardest part of achieving those (fitness) goals is making time to come to the gym. As soon as you walk through the doors, you're essentially halfway done with your workout," Center said.

Healthy selves, healthy families

"I think in general there's a whole lot of stress going on out there, with families dealing with economic situations," said Jackie Stanfill, program manager of Children's System of Care at Bi-County Mental Health.

A good way to start stress reduction is with a conversation about the nature of the stress.

"Try and understand what the problems are, and find out if there's any solutions," Stanfill said.

For general stress reduction, Stanfill said people should get a good night's sleep and eat well. Other avenues are to pursue classes in yoga and meditation.

The Family Stress Management Packet distributed by Sutter-Yuba Mental Health said good coping mechanisms include doing hobbies, hanging out with friends, listening to music and participating in religious activities.

Anne Westlake, health education and promotion coordinator for the Sutter County Health Department, suggests people in the workforce should drink some water, take deep breaths and take a 15-minute walk if they're feeling stressed on the job.

"When people hear yoga, they freak out. We're all about deep breathing, and we encourage walking breaks," Westlake said.

To improve relations at home, Stanfill said the best thing is to take time to be together with your family members and recognize significant moments.

"Sharing a meal is a really important thing, having it become more of a family activity," Stanfill said. "There's always special things, like celebrating successes, like how kids do in school."

Resolving to quit cigarettes

Bob Norton teaches the "Clean Break: Stop Using Tobacco" free, four-part class offered by Rideout Health. The ex-smoker has been teaching tobacco cessation programs for about 21 years.

Norton said he has seen just a couple new people taking the class since the beginning of the year, and that usually it's a larger increase.

However, Norton said, the number of attendees has dropped throughout the years.

"I've seen more than 6,000 people over the years at my class," Norton said.

Norton, who calls smoking a "deadly, fun thing to do," said because of his former habit, he is down to about 45 percent of his lung capacity.

"First of all, have your mind set. Tell yourself, convince yourself, you're going to quit this time. Pick a date and get prepared for it," Norton said. "Use a substitute, like something you can put in your mouth."