Happy 2025! Each new year is a symbol of renewal and a time when many people decide to make positive changes in their lives. These can include eating better, exercising more, cutting back on alcohol or cigarette consumption or managing our weight. 

New year’s resolutions often focus on healthy lifestyle habits, which can have a positive effect before or after a breast cancer diagnosis. See our article on breast cancer prevention.   

Despite all these benefits, it can be difficult to adopt healthy habits and maintain them over the long term. That’s why new year’s resolutions tend to fail shortly after we make them.   

Here are a few tips to help you achieve and maintain your new year’s resolutions. 

Setting S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound) goals is key to sustainable resolutions. This means setting goals that are: 

Specific

Set specific goals. Avoid resolutions that are too general.  

For example, instead of resolving to “eat better,” resolve to “drink less soda” or to “eat at least one fruit or vegetable with each meal.” 

Measurable

Have clear indicators in mind. This helps to better track the resolutions you set and break down a big goal into several steps to better monitor your progress.

For example, the goal of doing at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day can be broken down into several steps:

• Week 1. Walk at least 10 minutes every day.  
• Week 2. Walk at least 15 minutes every day. And so on. 

Dividing a big goal into small steps that are easier and quicker to accomplish helps you stay motivated over the long term. 

ACHIEVABLE

To succeed, it’s important to set realistic goals. Think about your abilities, your energy, your experience and the time available. Asking questions is key to finding solutions and anticipating potential obstacles. 

For example, if your resolution is to cook more meals at home, the questions might be:  

• On what days will you have the time and energy to cook?   
• On what days will you go grocery shopping?   
• What has kept you from cooking at home in the past (e.g., dislike of cooking, lack of recipe ideas, no grocery store nearby)?  
• And so on. 

This can also be an opportunity to identify the resources available to help and support you. 

For example, if your resolution is to cook more meals but you lack recipe ideas, the solution might be to consult a dietitian or buy a recipe book.  

This is also an opportunity to ask the people around you to help you achieve your resolution, even if you are experiencing fatigue during treatments, for example.  

Realistic

Choosing realistic goals also includes planning for more challenging times or sometimes even a relapse. Take the time to get to know yourself better, identify what is holding you back and what helps you to move forward. Adapt your strategies to progress at your pace. This will also help you to identify triggers that might be linked to your emotions or environment.  

For example, stress or fatigue can lead to a relapse to comforting behaviours (e.g., smoking, eating fatty or sugary foods).  

Furthermore, the people around you can also be a trigger (e.g., drinking alcohol socially or over the Holidays).  

Knowing that something is good for you is not enough to implement it. If you are feeling unmotivated, remind yourself why you want to adopt these healthy habits.  

REWARD

Take time to celebrate the small victories, because this will increase your chances of maintaining changes over the long term.    

Take the time to observe the positive impact of these changes on how you feel. Maybe you notice that you have more energy, strength or endurance. Maybe you feel a sense of pride or accomplishment. This can be a source of motivation to maintain this new habit.  

You could also identify a reward to celebrate your effort such as:

• taking a photo of a meal you cooked,
• taking a selfie after a workout,
• taking a self-care day each month (e.g., taking a bath, getting a massage, going to a movie).   

TIME-BOUND (SET A SCHEDULE)

For example, if your resolution is to exercise more regularly, it could be broken down into several parts, each of which has its own schedule.  

• Weeks 1 to 4: Swim at least 30 minutes a week.  
• Weeks 5 to 8: Swim at least 30 minutes twice a week.  
• Weeks 9 to 12: Swim 30 minutes twice a week and walk at least 15 minutes once a week.   

Note: you can adjust your schedules if they are not realistic or achievable.  

If you struggle with the changes or they take longer than anticipated, don’t get discouraged. Instead, adjust your goals as you go and, above all, be patient with yourself. Implementing healthy lifestyle habits takes time. 

You’re not alone in this process. The Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation offers services to support you in adopting healthy lifestyle habits.    

Getting support from professionals, such as kinesiologists, dietitians or psychologists can also make it easier to integrate new habits. 

Sources

• Association canadienne pour la santé mentale, Montréal. (2022). Parlons résolutions
• Bonjour-santé. (2024). Santé et bien-être en 2024 : comment adopter des résolutions du Nouvel An durables
• Équipe Nutrition. Manger ses émotions : causes et solutions
• Psychomédia. (2017). Les 5 conditions de l’acronyme S. M. A. R. T. pour des résolutions qui peuvent être tenues
• Psychomédia. (2019). Résolutions : oui, vous pouvez créer de nouvelles habitudes (7 conseils issus de la psychologie)
• Ricardo (écrit par Bernard Lavallée, Dt.P). Les 10 principes de l’alimentation intuitive