When it comes time to flip the calendar, Jana Davis guides her clients to achieve their New Year’s resolutions for a nourishing and nutritional lifestyle.

The most popular resolutions for Americans every year include eating healthier and being more active yet nearly 80% of New Year’s resolutions are not followed through by the end of the year. 

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist Jana Davis knew at an early age she wanted to pursue a helpful career to help guide people into a healthier lifestyle.  

“I always had an interest even when I was in middle and high school. I was always very interested in nutrition and I always had a real passion for helping people. I felt like that was an area when I could use my knowledge to further someone’s help and further benefit,” Davis said. 

Towards the end of the year, Davis notices that clients reach out for her help to start their resolutions around December.

“I notice it at the end of the year. I think people are already starting to think of the new year. I tend to have a lot of people reach out in December and certainly I think January is always a time where people are starting to reflect on things they like to improve. ” Davis said.

Davis gives her advice for those who started 2023 with the goal to start pursuing a healthful lifestyle.

“I discourage people from making resolutions in regard to weight loss as far as ‘I want to lose so many pounds’. I think people need to focus on overall health rather than make it as specific as weight loss, it could be ‘I’m going to try to improve my health by adding three servings of fruits and vegetables every day or I’m going to try to walk 30 minutes a day’,” Davis said. 

Along with physical health, Davis says it is extremely important to fixate meals by incorporating nourishing foods to sustain energy. 

“I always encourage people to add in, so adding in fruits and vegetables rather than take out. Emphasizing healthy behaviors and it automatically leaves less room for those unhealthy behaviors or eating patterns,” Davis said. 

For students who feel they have limited time due to school or after-school activities, there are ways to prepare for eventful days to keep consistency. 

“My recommendation would be to plan ahead as much as possible because your schedule is busy,” Davis said. 

Junior Sophia Villacres has recently been working on changing her habits to fulfill a healthier lifestyle. 

“The way I’ve been changing my lifestyle is by going to the gym and eating healthier and doing more stuff for myself and focusing on school and grades,” Villacres said. 

Although she is fully supportive of those who believe in New Year’s resolutions, Villacres thinks without self-discipline then the goal of a resolution does not work. 

“I think that New Year’s resolutions are a great idea but there is no point if you aren’t going to be consistent with your resolution,” Villacres said. 

As the new semester is set into motion, it can get overwhelming with new classes and makes it hard to focus on the consistency to achieve the resolution. 

“Balancing the gym and school hasn’t been too hard yet considering it’s the new semester. I’m not really sure how that’s gonna end up going for me,” Villacres said. 

In order to beat the odds of achieving a New Year’s resolution, it helps to keep in mind the smaller steps to take to get to the goal. 

“Every small change adds up and that’s how most people get success versus setting a goal and they reach the goal, but they never thought of what they accomplished along the way,” Davis said. 

Physical education and health teacher Shannon Champ teaches students how to live and practice a salubrious life every day.

“We cover wellness…nutrition…being physically active… mental health, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, healthy sexuality, and then safety and injury prevention. So every unit that we cover, it applies to all areas of their life,” Champ said.

Within the curriculum that Champ teaches is the underlying theme of maintaining a wholesome way of life. 

When it comes to resolutions, Champ believes it is more attainable when one has a distinct objective they are aiming for. 

“The more specific they are in their goal, the more they can hold themselves accountable, and the more realistic it’s going to be that they’re actually going to achieve it,” Champ said. 

Altogether, a specific and consistent process that follows a New Year’s resolution will help one achieve their goal.

“Think about the outcome. What’s going to give me long lasting energy, make me feel nourished overall, and focus on that. I think we want to emphasize every little one percent matters. That’s what I teach and that’s what I’ve always taught,” Davis said.