About 52 per cent of Autralians failed to stick to their New Year resolution of improving their diet. It is March and people have failed to keep the resolution, says a research commissioned by McCain Foods.

Out of all those who promised themselves to eat healthy only 30 per cent have kept it.

The most commonly cited reason for not following their resolution was lack of time to prepare meals, other challenges included cost of fresh food, and working for long hours.

Sharon Natoli, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Founding Director of Food & Nutrition Australia said, “Many people fail to keep New Year’s resolutions once they return to work because of the demands of family and work commitments.”

She added that it is not that difficult to follow. “There are many ways to pull a healthy dinner together quickly, it simply requires a little planning,” she added.

Some handy tips to ensure that you do not leave eating healthy offered by Natoli are buying frozen foods from your supermarket as these foods have almost the same nutrition as fresh veggies have, controlling portion was also important, have a glass of water when you feel hungry, at times it is plain thirst which is mistaken for hunger.

Controlling sodium was important and flavoring food with herbs and spices rater than salt was good.

Getting your heart pumping was a must to ensure a healthy body and a 30-minute workout four times a week was a must.