Dietitian: Recall earlier resolutions before making new one

Dec. 26—ANDERSON — Making a resolution is easy; keeping it is hard. About 41% of Americans make New Year's resolution, but only 9% remain committed, according to an article from Inc., an American business magazine.

Quitting something is so common on New Year's resolutions that researchers have determined the date most people are likely to stop — Jan. 19.

An article from the Daily Mirror, a publication based in the United Kingdom, said researchers have dubbed that date "Quitter's Day."

Such news could discourage folks from making New Year's resolutions. However, Annie McFarland, a registered dietitian for Community Hospital Anderson, provided some tips for making the upcoming year a success.

"I think the biggest thing for setting New Year's resolutions is we really, really, have to take time to reflect," McFarland said.

Such reflection, she said, would consist of thinking about successes and failures with past resolutions to come up with a plan for success.

Losing weight is a common resolution and with that, McFarland encouraged folks to exercise caution; not all health goals are healthy.

"I see a lot of (instances) where people want to jump on to something they've heard of like a 30-day fix. They say that it has worked for them in the past, but really what that means is you saw a small result but it wasn't sustainable," McFarland said.

Diets commonly remove food groups, she said, which could deprive the body of necessary nutrients or cause cravings. Both would make the diet unsustainable.

Carbs are often on the dietary chopping block.

Weight can be lost by cutting out carbs; however, it's mostly water, instead of fat, that is lost. McFarland said the carbs let the body better retain water. Whether through a ketogenic (keto) or other diet, cutting carbs can be a problem. Carbs are the body's preferred source of energy and are part of a healthy diet.

As far as the evidence in favor of keto, McFarland said this:

"There's too many unknown factors to give hard evidence for the everyday person to cut back on carbs that much. The evidence really comes down to some scientific (studies regarding) patients dealing with epilepsy and seizures."

A review published Dec. 14 in Nutrients, a peer-reviewed nutrition journal, cited evidence that suggests a keto diet with a 4-1 ratio of fat to carbs for those with epilepsy resulted in cutting seizures by more than 50% within two to three months of starting the keto diet.

The review concluded that more research was needed into a keto diet's effects among the different types of seizures as well as the precise mechanism by which such benefits occur.

Those with diabetes, research suggests, also could reap benefits from a keto diet.

A 2021 article from the journal Medical Principles and Practice suggested a keto diet can help with Type 2 diabetes, especially in reducing the amount of insulin and oral antidiabetic medications, among other benefits.

Despite such benefits, the study's authors recommend diabetic individuals on a keto diet be monitored regularly by a medical professional to prevent extremely low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and other possible complications.

A keto diet was ranked by dietitians among worst diets for sustained weight loss, according to a 2022 article from Everyday Health, a medically reviewed online publication.

The article also suggests evidence is lacking regarding the long-term safety and effectiveness of a keto diet for weight loss. Sharing the bottom of the barrel were Whole 30 and the carnivore (mostly meat) diet.

Making better nutrition-related choices consists of more than cutting certain foods, McFarland said. A closer look is needed, which would require the assistance of a healthcare professional.

"If you're taking a new prescription or if you're trying a new workout regimen, you go to the experts to figure out what do you do with this. The experts aren't Google," she said.

Having the support of a dietitian or other healthcare provider could be key to long-term success, McFarland said.

Follow Caleb Amick on Twitter @AmickCaleb. Contact him at caleb.amick@heraldbulletin.com or 765-648-4254.