RESOLUTIONS PAY OFF FOR MOTIVATED TRIO; POSITIVE CHANGES MARK YEAR AFTER VOWS TO IMPROVE.

Byline: Heesun Wee Daily News Staff Writer

Nearly a year ago, we decided to test the mettle of three San Fernando Valley residents who vowed to make healthful changes. One promised to quit smoking, another lose weight and the third reduce stress.

It has been 12 months, and our trio - with mighty willpower - has stuck to its New Year's resolutions. Dion Hatch of Van Nuys hasn't lit up a Marlboro since last Super Bowl Sunday. Robert Montgomery III, formerly of Glendale, has dropped 65 pounds and counting. And Beth Milroy of Sherman Oaks has tamed her stress by, among other things, investing in weekly maid service.

Despite their success, the three are anomalies among resolution-makers. Mainly due to lack of motivation, about half of all fitness promises made in a year's beginning peter out three to six months later, according to the American Council on Exercise in San Diego.

Here's how Hatch, Montgomery and Milroy beat the odds well after the half-year benchmark. If you made a resolution this year, how did you fare?

Smoke-free

Hatch, 46, said the key to kicking his habit was avoiding situations in which smoking was likely to be prevalent. For example, Hatch stopped visiting smoke-filled bars and other hangouts with colleagues and friends for after-work drinks and smokes. He instead made arrangements to socialize and unwind in smoke-free environments. ``I just started to go to different places,'' said Hatch, who creates computer-generated special effects for films.

But clean air wasn't enough to prevent occasional urges for a puff or two. When those cravings hit, he looked for something besides a cigarette to occupy his jittery hands, such as a glass of water or a cup of coffee. After a few months, the urges became less frequent and not as potent, he said.

And to his surprise, Hatch regained a keen sense of smell after several months of not smoking. ``An extrasensory nose kicks in,'' he said. Hatch, who once thought smoking wouldn't bother people around him, can smell someone smoking a cigarette across the street, or several cars ahead of him in traffic.

Fighting allergies and asthma, Hatch said it was this year or never to stop puffing. ``The hardest part was in the beginning,'' he said. ``But you get into a new groove.''

Fewer pounds

Montgomery, 55, weighed 315 pounds when he made his resolution to slim down last year. Today, he's 250 pounds. That's the good news.

The bad news for everyone trying to lose weight is he did it the old-fashioned way - a healthy diet and regular exercise. No instantly slimming powder drinks. No eat-all-you-want fad diets. No magic pills.

A graduate student at the Gemological Institute of America in Santa Monica and the father of three girls, ages 3 to 7, Montgomery makes time to work out at least five times a week. He swims, uses a cross-country ski machine and does aerobics and abdominal exercises. Even the stress of moving early in the year to a better home in Vista, near Oceanside, didn't deter Montgomery from sticking to his resolution.

In addition to retooling his body, Montgomery has revamped his diet. Instead of pizza and other fattening foods, he now eats lots of fruits and vegetables, seafood, chicken, beans, pasta and potatoes.

But healthy eating hasn't meant a lack of treats. He occasionally indulges in favorites - ice cream, movie theater popcorn (hold the butter) and Chinese food, all in moderation.

Montgomery said breaking old habits also became keys to his success. Now, he thinks ahead and plans his meals instead of eating whatever is readily available, usually junk food. And he doesn't play cleanup anymore at the dinner table, eating his daughters' leftovers.

Montgomery did err once, munching on one too many slices of pizza. But he didn't let the slip snowball. ``Get back on track if you mess up,'' he advised.

Weight loss has sparked many changes for Montgomery. Two months ago, he shaved off his beard. With his body lighter, his joints, which continue to suffer from osteoarthritis and edema, have been less painful.

Like Hatch, Montgomery's pre-existing medical conditions forced him to reassess his health. ``My final goal: I want to wear my spandex!'' Montgomery said. ``I want to look like Eddie Murphy'' in ``The Nutty Professor.''

Less stress

Among our three brave resolution makers, we worried the most about Milroy, 35. A workers' compensation claims examiner for a company in Thousand Oaks, she was also pursuing a master's degree in psychology. Previously, her stress drove her toward a prolonged flu that wouldn't go away for weeks.

We telephoned Milroy. We left messages. No responses. We imagined Milroy surrounded by unwashed dishes, schoolbooks to be read, claims paperwork to be completed.

But don't fret. She stuck to her guns and showed her stress who's boss.

Although Milroy completed her degree in May, her busy schedule didn't let up. In addition to her full-time job, she's now in training as a counselor and therapist in Northridge. And houses never clean themselves.

Milroy said one of her most important breakthroughs came in April, when she came to the conclusion that she is not ``Superwoman.'' She plunked down $65 a week for maid service. Milroy calls it a worthwhile extravagance. ``I cannot do everything,'' she said.

She also learned to snatch a few hours a week for herself, if possible. During her private time, she goes shopping or keeps her promise to herself to occasionally splurge on a relaxing massage.

Milroy said she's discovered that successful stress management should include a tough examination of personal priorities. ``I've learned to pull back as much as possible so that I can be more available to my family, because they are the most important part of my life,'' she said.

For the record, two of our three participants said publicly pursuing resolutions encouraged them to stay on track. Having their picture in a newspaper created a sense of accountability, Hatch and Montgomery said. But Milroy said that after the honeymoon phase of the new year wore off - for her, a couple of months - it was her and her daunting resolution. ``Initially it was a motivator. But after a while, it was a survival thing I needed to do for myself,'' she said.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1) Dion Hatch, who works in the digital imaging area at Digiscope, is now a nonsmoker.

David R. Crane/Daily News

(2) Robert Montgomery III is 85 pounds slimmer.

David R. Crane/Daily News

(3) Beth Milroy finds stress dissolves with a massage at the hands of Judy Shenale at the Gauthier Total Image Spa.

David R. Crane/Daily News