A recent report from Sharp Health News highlights this pattern, noting that enthusiasm is high in early January but adherence often collapses within weeks.
Daily pressures, work schedules, childcare and financial strain, frequently derail even the most carefully crafted routines.
Against that backdrop, diabetes counselor Nicole Santana of Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Centers urged readers to rethink how they approach weight management.
According to the report, Nicole Santana told Sharp Health News that the sense of being boxed in by rigid rules tends to create tension and frustration.
Also read: The back pain myths many people still believe
Many people, she said, end up “rebounding” precisely because the boundaries feel too tight to live with.
Rather than viewing foods as off-limits or morally charged, Nicole Santana suggested focusing on patterns that can be maintained from one ordinary day to the next.
Shifting attention to sustainable habits
Nicole Santana pointed to long-established eating frameworks, including the DASH and Mediterranean styles, not as shortcuts to fast weight loss but as examples of approaches built around disease prevention and gradual change.
She emphasized that these models only work when they can blend into familiar routines, such as choosing higher-fiber meals or cutting back on saturated fat when possible.
Also read: A 34-year-old mother learned that her seemingly ordinary symptoms were part of a serious illness
People who maintain their weight over time tend to rely on incremental adjustments rather than dramatic restrictions.
Researchers note that minor, repeatable changes like consistent breakfast habits, slightly more movement each week or swapping certain foods without eliminating entire categories, often outperform strict dieting in the long term.
What she recommends instead
Rather than launching into a weight-loss program at the start of the year, Nicole Santana told Sharp Health News that she encourages patients to build steadier patterns.
Eating at regular intervals, diversifying the types of foods they rely on and incorporating physical activity in ways that feel manageable.
Also read: Everyday foods linked to unwanted body odour
Results vary widely, she added, but routines grounded in everyday life tend to hold up better than ambitious resolutions.
She summarized her stance with a message: "People don’t fail a diet; the diet fails them".
Source: Sharp Health News, and Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Centers.
Also read: Single-pill shows promise for high blood pressure
Also read: 24-year-old hospitalised with myocarditis after covid-19 vaccination