The New Year is upon us, and that means making resolutions. Whether you want to make a new career move, clean out the garage, or start on a new diet and fitness regime, you aim to accomplish some goals, which is fantastic! But how do you do it, and maintain your dedication past a few weeks?

We all start out with good intentions, but often as the year progresses, we find ourselves going back to our bad habits, giving in to sweets, carbs and other treats that might not be so healthy. Or maybe we talk ourselves out of getting up early to go to the gym. Not to mention – sometimes it feels impossible to lose the weight gained during holiday season, which can really be de-motivating!

So what can you do in the New Year to confidently move forward and stick to a new diet regime, so you can really lose the weight and feel healthier in the process? It’s all about accountability – and seeing your progress.

There are so many tools available online to help you maintain your diet and stick to a regular workout schedule, whether it’s helping to count calories, measuring your carb or sugar intake, or just keeping you on track to lose those pounds! The scale is not telling the whole story – it’s important to get a clear picture of exactly what you are putting in your body, and what nutrients you are getting in the process.

The goal is to keep the weight off for the long-term, and online diet programs can help you do that. You can use an app like My Fitness Pal to enter in the food you eat each day, so you can see your carb and sugar intake and make adjustments. Most of us don’t even realize the amount of sugar we consume on a daily basis – it’s in almost all processed foods, and if you drink soda or sweetened teas and waters likely you are consuming far beyond your recommended daily allowance, which could be messing with your low-carb diet. These apps also provide calorie and nutrition information for ready-to-eat foods as well as your basic homemade salads, so you don’t have to look it up.

Other diet programs help you track your fitness, too. Jawbone and Fitbit both offer the ability for you to count your steps, and provide you with daily fitness goals and motivational bits of research. There’s nothing like hitting that 10,000 steps per day, knowing you have improved your health just by moving a little more than you have in the past.

For the New Year, do some research and play around with 3 or 4 different online diet and fitness programs. If you love apps, there are plenty of resources. If you would rather hire an online nutritionist or fitness coach, that is also an option. See what works best for you, and what you would enjoy using. The best part about online fitness programs is that you have instant access to all of your health information.