Is Health and Wellness on Your New Year’s Resolution List?
Turning the page on the new year is a chance to wipe the slate clean (a welcome step after a chaotic 2020) – and to be better versions of ourselves. And when it comes to what we want to improve, goals that fall in the health and wellness arena top all other New Year’s resolutions.
In fact, three of the top resolutions in a recent survey were health-related: eat healthier, get more exercise and focus on self-care, such as getting more sleep.
There are three types of people who choose a goal from the health and wellness category as a New Year’s resolution: the resolution newbie, the resolution master and the resolution flunkee. Let’s see which category you most identify with – and how focusing on the right strategy can help you get healthier in the new year.
Resolution newbie
Maybe this is your first time making a commitment to your health and wellness. Good for you! What’s your motivation?:
· Did a recent event like a health scare or loss of a loved one make you see the light?
· Or perhaps you want to be more active to enjoy activities with your grandchildren?
· Or to carry your own bag on the golf course?
Whatever your goals are, taking that first step is a big one, so you’ll want to be sure that you’re prepared for the challenge. Particularly when exercising for the first time or returning to an active lifestyle after a long hiatus, it’s important to have the proper information and tools to be successful.
That means tapping the health care resources available to you: Clinicians such as nutritionists and physical therapists can make sure that your body is prepared to take on new challenges and work with you to a design a program that will help you achieve your goals.
Resolution master
Perhaps you fall into a different camp: You vowed to get healthy last year and you achieved it! For 2021, your resolution is to continue the work you’ve begun. After all, living a healthy lifestyle is a lifelong commitment. It’s not something you do for a while and then revert back to your former habits. Here are some tips to help:
· As you prepare to embrace the new year, are there any small tweaks you can make to advance your goals?
· For example, maybe you’re thinking about training for and running a half marathon, but don’t know where to begin.
· A physical therapy evaluation is a great place to start – physical therapists are trained to assess your movement patterns and identify any limitations or weaknesses.
· Based on that information, the physical therapist can design a personalized exercise program to help you safely and effectively prepare for the grueling half marathon course.
Resolution flunkee
Let’s say your plan for 2019 is to get in better shape and improve your
overall health, but this isn’t your first rodeo. Your 2020 resolution was pretty similar but it’s one year later, and you’re in the same place you were on New Year’s Eve 2019. If so, it’s likely one or more of these stood in your way:
· Time
· Affordable options
· Access to healthy choices and activities
If any of these barriers sound familiar, then along with your New Year’s resolution, you need an action plan. Without planning ahead, you’ll find yourself staring down the year 2020 with the same goal in mind.
But let’s not focus only on the negative. What went right last year? Maybe you made sleep a priority, which in turn helped you to make better food choices at breakfast. But by afternoon, you found yourself choosing to energize with a soda and candy bar when all you probably needed was an apple and a 15-minute walk.
No matter what New Year’s resolution type you’ve been in the past, take some time to think about the previous year (good and bad), take with you what you need and leave the rest behind. After all, you can’t plan where you’re going without understanding where you’ve been.
