The easiest part about New Year’s resolution is coming up with one. It’s the doing part that trips most of us up after the calendar flips.

For most Americans, that means vowing to stay longer in the gym while spending less time with Little Debbie and her delectable temptations. According to the University of Scranton’s Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, two of the top ten most common New Year’s resolutions are to lose weight and stay healthy and fit, with losing weight topping the list at No. 1.

“I think one thing that really helps is working out in a group or with a partner because it holds you more accountable,” YMCA program director Allison East said. “If one person doesn’t feel like (working out), at least the other person will be like ‘OK, keeping going.’”

That’s exactly what Vicksburg resident Shannon Sylvester plans to do to complete her resolution of getting down to 160 pounds. Sylvester, who was hoping to join Wyatt’s gym Tuesday, said she plans to have a friend hold her liable for her goals in the New Year.

“Me and (my friend) are trying to lose it together. We decided we wanted to get fit together,” Sylvester said. “He’s going to motivate me, and I’m going to motivate him.”

The University of Scranton also noted that only 8 percent of people who make resolutions for the New Year actually see them through, which is why it’s important to build a solid base of friends and family to keep you accountable for your health goals in 2015.

Keith Phillips is proof positive that goals like the ones made on New Year’s can be, not only beneficial, but life-changing. Phillips, a Vicksburg native and current Southern Miss student, resolved to permanently lose weight after ballooning to over 300 pounds last year.

“I stepped on the scale one day. I was 353 pounds. I knew I needed to just drop it and I had a little free time, so I started out light at first,” he said. “I started on the elliptical, about 400 calories a day I burned, and then about a month later I bumped it up to 800. As of today, I burn about 2,000 calories a day.”

Phillips’ has lost more than 140 pounds since February, and his New Year’s resolution this year is to maintain his unbelievable progress.

“Just go past your goal. That’s what I say to everybody,” he said. “Just go past your goal. Just keep it moving. Don’t stop at all.”

People like Phillips and Sylvester view the New Year as a blank page — one they hope will be filled with good choices and met goals when 2016 approaches.

“It’s a new year, new goals, new situations,” Sylvester said. “It’s a new lease on life.”