And why do we have to wait until New Year's Day to kick unhealthy habits?
To get you started, here are some common resolutions:
I WILL STOP PROCRASTINATING
US professor Piers Steel knows a thing or two about putting things off. He took a decade to finish a study on procrastination.
In his new book, The Procrastination Equation (Pier 9, rrp$32.99), Steel says about 95 per cent of Americans admit to procrastinating with about 25 per cent indicating it's a chronic, defining characteristic.
The University of Calgary professor's study shows that despite procrastination making us poorer, fatter and unhappier, we are putting things off like never before.
Procrastinators have messy rooms and messy desks, says Steel.
They are also more likely to use Facebook in business hours, mindlessly check emails or text trivial messages to avoid issues at hand.
People who eat moderately and exercise regularly tend to procrastinate less.
Those who keep their weight under control see the process as a journey of small positive increments - not a huge project with dramatic negative statements such as telling themselves what not to eat.
Instead they tell themselves what they can eat and the positive benefits of doing so.
They approach goals with positive statements rather than avoidance statements which use negative words such as "do not" and "don't", he says.
I WILL LOSE 5 KILOS
Losing the Last 5 Kilos: Your Kick-Arse Guide to Looking and Feeling Fantastic by Michelle Bridge (Viking, rrp$29.95) is a good example of small increments contributing to long-term positive changes.
Bridges is probably one of the best-known personal trainers in the country, thanks to her work with co-trainer Shannan Ponton on The Biggest Loser.
Bridges keeps it nice and simple. Whether you have a lot more than 5kg to lose, or only that amount, this book ticks all the right boxes.
"Losing weight will always come down to what you have put in your mouth, end of story," she writes.
"It's the amount of lean muscle we carry that will have the most profound effect on our metabolism.
"Add some muscle, drop some fat, and our metabolic rate goes up. It isn't that complicated. Our metabolic rates are largely determined by our lifestyles."
Bridges tackles procrastination too - such as the excuses we make to ourselves for not getting our butts into regular exercise: I'm really busy, I'm too tired, the gym is too expensive and boring, I'll start my eating plan on Monday.
Each time you challenge excuses, you are building willpower muscle, she says.
Apart from the psychology and physiology behind weight gain and loss, Bridges offers exercise, menu and recipe plans.
I WILL STOP EATING JUNK
In The Fast Food Detox by Andrew Cate (ABC Books, rrp$19.99), the author offers a 14-day kickstart to better habits.
Cate used to be a junk-food addict who is now a personal trainer.
He has a weighty list of previous books, including The Tight Ar$e Diet, Throw Out Your Scales and Lighten Up.
The obesity figures don't lie, he says.
Australians spend a third of their food budget on junk food, he says, and Australia has the highest rate of fast-food franchises per head of population in the world.
Over 4.5 million fast-food meals are consumed in Australia every day, over two-thirds of Australian adults and one in five children are overweight or obese.
Cate's tips include a cold turkey approach to fast food, loading up on water-rich vegetables, drinking only water, no alcohol, no carb-loading at night, eating more lean protein and modifying caffeine intake.
Fast foods also include anything white - white sugar, white flour, white rice and white pasta "are all high in kilojoules and low in vitamins, minerals and fibre".
Cate recommends child-friendly food strategies including weaning youngsters off fast food slowly, making sure they start the day with a good breakfast, encouraging them to cook and and be physically active.
Physical activity for children should be incorporated into being active as a family, Cate says.
He suggests playing games at the local park, visiting the beach, family bushwalks and walking your children to school - all the stuff we used to do before technology started to overtake our lives.
I WILL GET FIT (AND HAVE BETTER SEX)
If you're after a quantum leap, try The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss (Vermilion, rrp$29.95).
Multi-lingual US entrepreneur Ferriss claims you can reach your genetic potential in three to six months with a commitment of less than four hours a week.
His previous book, The 4-Hour Work Week, topped the New York Times bestseller list and has been published in 35 countries.
Ferriss' new book is chock full of graphs, diagrams, figures and tables and over 500 scientific citations. Get through one chapter and you feel as though you've just run a marathon, but probably without the runner's high.
He has used scientists, athletes and just plain old curious people to shore up evidence for a more satisfying life.
His book is sub-titled An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat Loss, Incredible Sex and Becoming Superhuman.
In the chapter titled The 15-Minute Orgasm, Ferris details better sex for women in precise, clinical terms and somewhat disconcerting diagrams.
They show a fully-clothed man stradling a partially-clothed woman, and he's working on her clitoris with all the efficiency and intimacy of the local plumber fiddling with your kitchen sink.
Ferriss also offers the following tips for wellbeing:
*Bathe in iced water one hour before bedtime to help you sleep
*For better sex, men should eat lots of the right fats the night before because testosterone is derived from cholesterol
*Crunches will not give you a six-pack, but targeting deeper abdominal muscles six minutes a day, will do the job
*Load up with a paleo diet of nuts, fruits, veges and meat, not modern-day carbs, to sustain energy before a major sports event
*Have a buddy to train with for fitness, weight loss and learning more about sex. Keep the latex gloves handy if this is purely a practical exercise.
By HEATHER TYLER
