If you were one of the millions of Americans who made a New Year's resolution to get fit, it's been more than a month since you swore off fat grams and vowed to become a gym rat. It happens every January. People resolve to shape up.
People tend to be too rigid and have too many absolutes.
They can't keep up that pace for too long. And they give up. Indeed, the American Council on Exercise estimates that by March more than 60 percent of people who joined a gym the first week in January will have dropped out by month's end, with at least another 20 percent quitting by March. Dannhauser and co-author Sandra Michaelson Warren say before you abandon your resolve, you may simply need to tweak your goals to create a fitness plan that's more realistic for your interests and lifestyle. And then they beat themselves up because it didn't happen.