Have you broken your New Year's resolutions yet?

Notebook and pen with handwritten New Year's resolutions header.
Photo credit Natalie Board/Getty Images

KYW Newsradio’s Medical Reports are sponsored by Independence Blue Cross. 

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Have you made your New Year's resolution or resolutions? Have you already broken one or two? 

I am here to tell you that if you have already broken a resolution or two, you are not alone.

For many people the new year is viewed as a new chance to start over, hence the symbolism of the old man or woman at midnight welcoming the newborn baby after the clock strikes twelve. 

The key to success of a resolution—or perhaps better put, a lifestyle change—is a well-thought and realistic plan for success. The keys to success are a reasonable goal and a strategy to make it work. 

Perhaps most important, don't be discouraged if a resolution fails. You don't have to wait a year to start again.