Resolution road

You haven’t broken your New Year’s resolution yet? Congrats! (You’re only a week in, so don’t overdo the celebrating.) Whether you plan on sticking with it for the long haul or dropping it like an F-bomb in a federally wiretapped conversation, we’ve got some suggestions on what to do.

Eat better
Keep it: Healthful options abound at Loop lunch spot Freshii, which opened in August with a menu of customizable eats such as wraps, salads and rice bowls. If you’re a hard-core calorie counter, Freshii has your number—you can even hit up the Web site and use an online nutritional calculator to add up the damage before you go astray.
Break it: If you’re going to break it, break it big. Skip that cupcake altogether and go straight for the real prize: the frosting. Just-opened cupcake boutique Sugar Bliss sells frosting “shots,” little paper cups of the sugary stuff designed to go directly from the cup to your mouth, for a buck a pop.

Work out more
Keep it: Enough with this laziness. Pumping iron is no sweat at the new PhysioLife Studios (712 N. Dearborn St. 3rd Floor, 312-255-8308) in River North, where the emphasis is on fast transitions between slow-motion movements on specialized, resistance-free machines. (In other words: You work out super-slowly but take no breaks.) The spot promises results in only two 30-minute workouts a week ($59/workout), and a preliminary consultation and mini-workout are free. By appointment only.
Break it: Eh, who wants to do things like "move" and "lift" and "try." Pretend like you’re dining post-workout at Maxwell's at the Club  the newly revamped contemporary American restaurant at the East Bank Club that, for the first time, is now open to non-members. If you're concerned with things like “nutrition,” the menu includes calorie and carb info for selected items.

Drink less
Keep it: Polished sports bar Theory served a group of 14 vegan non-boozers with ease this past weekend, so they can certainly handle your new no-alcohol mantra. Off-menu mocktails ($4-$6) include The Miami Mist (a virgin mojito) and The Chicago River, a blend of ginger ale, lemonade and tea.
Break it: Who can swear off drinking with an (allegedly) corrupt governor still in office? Head to Sola and sip on Da Governor, a dirty martini garnished with a mini-hairbrush ($10). In fact, you may feel the need to drink one every day till Blago’s impeached.

Stress less
Keep it: Don’t stress over long and chilly outdoor waits at trendy no-reservation restaurants, and call ahead for a seat at Province, chef Randy Zweiban’s new green-minded spot in the West Loop. Need a nightcap? Reserve a table at Powerhouse for a couple of Bird of Paradise tropical martinis ($9) and a slice of vanilla bean cheesecake ($9).   
Break it: Who says spontaneity doesn't count as a resolution of its own? Throw caution to the wind and squeeze into the bustling, beer-friendly confines of Hopleaf … on Saturday night. Toss your name on the pages-long waitlist in the name of Hopleaf’s beer-steamed mussels ($11-$20) and hunker down for the hour-plus wait with a goblet of Unibroue Maudite ($5).

Spend less
Keep it: Spending less doesn’t mean spending nothing. Deleece Grill Pub, the three-month-old comfort-food sibling to the original Deleece Restaurant, offers a $20 three-course menu on Wednesdays and Sundays. The menu changes weekly, but you can always count on a choice of soup or salad appetizer, a steak, chicken, fish or veggie entrée, and a selection of pies for dessert.  
Break it: Who’s kidding who? Your bank account and questionable job security wouldn’t let you break this resolution if you tried. Head to Chickpea, a new delicious Middle Eastern spot with a hipster edge that’s quickly become a Metromix staff favorite. There’s no booze (money saver) and they won’t let you BYOB (another money saver), and you’ll be hard pressed to spend more than $20 a head.