The new year is here and most of us have the obligatory New Year’s resolutions.

Mine are always to lose weight, be more kind, more organized, more efficient, more of everything.

Within a few weeks, heck a few days, the resolutions have gone out the window and I’m not any thinner, not any kinder — well, you get the picture.

Last year, I decided to lose weight. I joined a group of other women with the same goal, or the same New Year’s resolutions, and did lose weight. To lose weight, I was eating a lot of salads and raw vegetables. Within a couple of weeks, I was in the emergency room — twice — thinking I was having a heart attack.

A heart cath, treadmill stress test, EGD (endoscope that looked at my esophagus and stomach), and a colonoscopy (this needs no explanation), and more than $10,000 later (thank goodness for insurance), it was determined I had ulcers in my esophagus. And guess what irritated them? Raw vegetables — my method of losing weight!

Other things weren’t helping the irritated area — especially caffeine, soda, chocolate, and, of course, stress.

So, I did what anyone would do — I gave up caffeine, drink very little soda, and do not eat certain raw vegetables. I do have occasional chocolate and I’m still working on the stress thing. I can’t give up EVERYTHING. The symptoms have become minimal so I assume the ulcers are healed or are at least not as angry.

This year I’m going to have a different attitude. (I say that every year, too.)

My New Year’s resolution is simple. I am going to keep my ulcers away. I’m going for more massages, weekend-getaways with my better half, and learn how to better relax.

Maybe I’ll take up meditation or maybe yoga. I know — those can be my New Year’s resolutions.

Oops, here I go again …

— Susan berg