Overloaded with holiday dinners, many decide to be healthier in the new year. But healthy habits may not last, local experts say, without reasonable goals.

“If you can’t maintain something, the chances of long-term success are minimal,” said Brittany Thorpe, MultiCare’s registered dietitian. “I see so many people make a big New Year’s resolution and then give up. I don’t want to see that.

Setting a goal to go to the gym every day isn’t realistic for most people. When people set a goal and don’t achieve it, it can often “feel pointless” to continue, Thorpe said of his practice.

For gyms across the country, New Year’s is often the time when they see the most new customers. According to Jessi Thompson, owner of Re Fitness Studio, fitness newcomers often struggle with “absolutes.”

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be healthy and make positive changes,” she said, “but taking on extreme dietary challenges or dietary restrictions often leads to short-term gains that are not sustainable.”

The feeling of failure from not meeting expectations often leads to depression and can cause the onset of an eating disorder, Thompson said. For the North Spokane fitness instructor, being perfect should never be the goal: it’s about “small, quiet choices made every day to honor the body.”

Thorpe’s clients, whom she helps lose weight, often feel intense guilt over enjoying a holiday meal.

“That all-or-nothing mentality feels good when you’re on the right track. But then you feel like you’re doing nothing when you make a mistake at all,” Thorpe said.

Even fitness instructors indulge in it during vacations.

“It’s important to show grace and let yourself be a normal person,” said Nathaniel Rawley, fitness director for the Spokane Club. “Because even in the fitness industry, personal trainers love to eat delicious food and desserts on vacation. This is part of it, and I would never discourage anyone from participating in these traditions.

Exercising at the Spokane Club just two days after Christmas, Ken Roberts said he wasn’t worried about cooking a big holiday meal — even though he had just had one.

“That’s not the right way to look at it. You don’t work on a meal. Your body is smarter than that,” he said.

If big holiday meals are still on the horizon before the New Year, Thorpe recommends avoiding excess food between holiday meals, such as cookies or extra sweets that might be lying around. Holiday meals usually contain a lot of starchy foods, like mashed potatoes, cornbread, or macaroni and cheese. These foods are usually digested quickly by the body and do not keep you full for very long.

While enjoying a holiday meal, Thorpe recommends focusing on foods with protein and fiber, which take longer to digest. This still gives a feeling of fullness during a festive meal – but without feeling hungry again a few hours later. She also recommends limiting sugary drinks and alcohol.

But the Spokane dietitian stressed that it’s normal to eat a lot this time of year. What’s important is not to let your holiday diet become the new normal.

“If you have a vacation day where you eat too much, it’s no big deal. But let’s not extend this to the whole month. We keep it for that day, reset it during the week, and then go back to what you were doing before.

Thorpe recommends New Year’s resolutions, but only for small, achievable changes.

“If we don’t eat balanced meals, we can often feel a lot of guilt. Society tells you to eat less and move more and all your problems will be solved,” she said. “But if you’re paralyzed by guilt, you can’t move forward. New Year’s resolutions can be beneficial. Just make sure they’re realistic.