If you’re one of hundreds of thousands of people who set a New Year’s resolution to lose weight in 2021 and have been struggling with staying on track, it’s normal.

Guthrie County Hospital Dietician Carol Laughery says there’s a wide range of time it can take to really settle into a new diet routine.

“It looks at changing a habit as you’re adjusting to a new diet. That can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days to change those habits. The average length of time is about 66 days. Building better habits is not an all-or-nothing process and messing up one time doesn’t automatically mean that this habit can no longer be formed.”

Laughery urges people trying to get healthy in 2021 to set realistic and attainable short-term goals versus a large long-term goal.