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# Now the hard part — sticking to resolutions
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/now-the-hard-part-sticking-to-resolutions/
- Published: 2007-01-04T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T23:36:29.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: local, Santa Monica, #archive-import

Quitting smoking and losing weight are two of the most popular New Year’s resolutions, along with staying fit, consuming less alcohol, volunteering, finding a better job and paying off debt.

The New Year’s resolution is popular because it gives people the opportunity to start fresh at a time when everyone else is also seeking improvement in their lives, said Licia Ginne, a marriage and family therapist on Wilshire Boulevard. The New Year’s resolution includes an element of community moral support that makes it a popular holiday tradition.

“But the resolutions usually die after a few weeks, mainly because people become discouraged quickly when they don’t see results right away, especially in terms of weight,” said Ginne.

Body Makeover Systems in West LA near the Santa Monica border has been inundated with new customers over the past few days. The high volume of calls is a rarity even for the cosmetic fitness studio ran by Michael Thurmond of ABC’s “Extreme Makeover.”

“This year, for some reason, is starting with a bang,”Thurmond said on Wednesday. “I think having seen me on four seasons of ‘Extreme Makeover’ has helped.”

The pricey studio, which charges anywhere between $1,500 to $2,200 for a 12-week program, specializes in improving appearance through healthy means. For example, the business does not recommend using the no-carb Atkins Diet, said Thurmond.

> “People are concerned that after they give up smoking, they’re going to gain weight,”

> “\[Exercising\] becomes very boring and unattractive.” — Nabat said

> “Everyone wants to quit smoking and lose weight and change life for the better.”

“Our primary concern is being healthy,” he said. “This is not about starvation.”

As people head back to work following a nice holiday break from the office, workplace stress soon returns to the fore. That is where the popular stress-relieving method of yoga comes into the picture.

Though it’s been a slow few days at Yoga Works on Montana Avenue, Mia Hanson, who works the front desk, anticipates the post-New Year’s crowd will wake up at any time and head to their nearest yoga studio.

“Last year, we were flooded with new people,” Hanson said on Wednesday. “You can kind of tell \[they’re here as result of a resolution\] because they say they’ve never done yoga before.”

Hospitals also have a hand in the New Year’s resolution business. Saint John’s Health Center has received approximately 110 inquires for weight management and smoke-free clinics that are scheduled to begin within the next few weeks.

Saint John’s advertises the classes, which focus on kicking the nicotine habit and losing weight through behavior modification, around January because “people are seeking these kinds of programs,” said Wendy Lade Merritt, director of community and senior education at Saint John’s.

“The new year represents new beginnings,” Merritt said.“They’re hopeful this time of year.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 4, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/010407.pdf?ref=smdp.com)