Why March is Not Too Late for Your New Year’s Resolution

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NOTE: This article was originally posted on December 26, 2018, and was updated and reposted on February 26, 2026. 

Introduction

When I first wrote this article in 2018, the most data available at the time showed that of those who made New Year’s Resolutions for losing weight, exercising, and eating healthier, 50% gave up on the resolution only one week into the new year[1], and 83% gave up by the end of January[1].

Since it is the end of February, I was curious whether current research finds that percentage has changed.

New Year’s Resolutions

A January 2024 report from the Pew Research Center [2] based on a survey of 5,140 adults between 18 and 65+, 3 in 10 Americans made at least one New Year’s resolution, with half of those making more than one.

Across all age groups (18-65+) ~79% made New Year’s resolutions that focused on health, exercise, or diet [2].

  • 79% of people aged 18-29 years
  • 80% of people aged 30-49 years
  • 79% of people aged 50-64 years
  • 76% of people aged 65 years and older

Of those polled, by the end of January

  • 59% of adults who made at least one resolution kept all of them by the end of January [2]
  • 28% of adults said that they kept at least some of their resolutions [2]
  • 13% of adults reported that they kept none of their resolutions [2]

Interestingly, there were very few differences when it came to who had broken resolutions and who had stuck with them based on age [2].

Of the 70% of Americans who didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions this year, 56% say their main reason was they didn’t like making them [2].

How Long for a Goal to Become a Habit

In 2018, the literature indicated that it took approximately 66 days, more than 2 months, to create a new healthy habit [3].

A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis involving 20 studies and over 2,600 participants found that it can take between 2 months and 5 months for a health-related goal to become a truly automatic habit [4].

Most people abandon their New Year’s Resolution to lose weight, eat healthier, or exercise more long before it ever becomes a habit!

A Resolution versus a Goal

Of the almost 80% of people who made health-related New Year’s Resolutions this year, I would guess from my clinical experience that a fair number of those were to “lose weight” or “eat healthier” this year.

But how many of those had an actual plan about how much weight they would lose, in what period of time, and by what means, or what “eating healthier” looked like, and how they would implement it? From experience, I would say very few.

A square, high-contrast image of a yellow sticky note taped to a white background with the text reading "A GOAL WITHOUT A PLAN IS JUST A WISH" in bold, black capital letters.Without a plan, it’s not a goal, but a wish. It’s expressing a desire without a commitment.

If someone told us, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” but had no plans to move to the same city as us, how much confidence would we have in what they said?

We may want to lose weight, we may want to be more consistent with sleep, we may want to eat healthier, but all the “wanting” in the world won’t move us closer to those goals becoming a habit without a plan. We are only wishing.

Since it takes between 2 and 5 months for healthy eating to become an ingrained habit, the end of February is by no means “too late” to achieve your goal.

Getting started now means that by this summer, your health goals will be your lifestyle.

More Info

Wondering how I can help? Learn about me and my experience helping people restore their weight and their health, and look at the Comprehensive Dietary Package or Initial Consultation to get started.

To your good health!

Joy

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References

  1. Norcross, J.C., et al, Auld lang syne: success predictors, change processes, and self-reported outcomes of New Year’s resolvers and nonresolvers. J Clin Psychol. 2002 Apr;58(4):397-405
  2. Pew Research Centre, New Year’s resolutions: Who makes them and why, January 29, 2024, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/01/29/new-years-resolutions-who-makes-them-and-why/
  3. Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W. and Wardle, J. (2010), How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol., 40: 998—1009.
  4. Singh B, Murphy A, Maher C, Smith AE. Time to Form a Habit: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Health Behaviour Habit Formation and Its Determinants. Healthcare (Basel). 2024 Dec 9;12(23):2488. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12232488. PMID: 39685110; PMCID: PMC11641623.