Who hasn't set a New Year's resolution to lose weight - year after year? Losing weight and getting more fit is always the most common resolution. You'd think people would get bored with the same old resoltuion, but it keeps coming back.

Obesity is now the number one health risk, with two-thirds of adults inthe US overweight, and one-third obese. We know we're fat and should lose weight, and so we set a New Year's resolution around weight loss. But then we break that resolution.

Why? Probably because most people fail at weight loss. Statistics show that 66% of people who lose weight regain everything they lost - and more. We start a new diet on Monday, fall off the wagon when faced with donuts at work on Tuesday, and by Wednesday we're sick to death of chewing on celery. Wednesday night we decide we'll start another diet - on Monday. We take the weekend to prepare ourselves by overeating.

In addition, the vast majority of people have unrealistic weight loss expepctations. Why not? We're bombarded with advertisements that proise we'll lose weight effortlessly, without exercising or changing our eating habits. Nobody's happy losing a measly 5% of their body weight (9 pounds for a 180 pound woman), yet a 5% weight loss is considered medically significant and will improve blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels.

Here's what I recommend:

Instead of a New Year's resolution to lose a certain number of pounds, set a goal for specific activities that will result in weight loss: walking 30 minutes most days of the week, eating more fruits and vegetables (and less snacks and sweets), and drinking water instead of sugary beverages.Avoid "diets" and instead focus on lifestyle changes.

Eat breakfast at home instead of cruising through the fast food drive-through, pick up an active hobby instead of watching TV every evening, or order small portions of foods instead of large. Diets fail, but small lifestyle changes lead to lasting weight loss.