Happy 2024!
How are you feeling heading into the new year? If you’re like many people, you may be thinking about resolutions or goals for the year ahead. For many, it feels good to think of the new year as a fresh start. I certainly like the idea of a fresh start as an opportunity to get organized and reflect on the previous year as well as the one ahead. If you’re thinking about making a change in any way this upcoming year, consider making it SMART - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-oriented. For example, if you want to get more sleep, instead of setting a vague goal of “getting to bed earlier,” a SMART goal might be “In order to get 8 hours of sleep each night, I’ll start my wind-down routine at 9:30pm and be in bed with a book by 10pm on weekdays.” SMART goals help you create specificity and a plan.
You’re also likely being inundated with weight loss ads. Unfortunately, many companies really capitalize on the human tendency toward starting the year with new intentions. If it’s not an ad, it’s a friend or relative, a catchy commercial, a news segment, or even a clinician suggesting that we shrink our bodies, often in the name of health. But, beware! The reason each new year starts with a fresh diet and wellness campaign is because all of the previous year’s diet promises were just plain false. And it’s not just that diets don’t work, but in fact, research now finds that the weight cycling (repeated periods of weight loss and gain) that results from dieting is actually dangerous! Evidence suggests that emphasizing weight and weight loss is associated with worse health outcomes and that programs within this paradigm don’t result in long-term weight loss for most individuals. In fact, weight cycling is nearly guaranteed to occur with weight loss interventions and is associated with adverse psychological, medical, and metabolic health outcomes, including insulin resistance.
So maybe you’re thinking, “if not weight loss and diets, then what?” Let’s talk! Schedule a complimentary 15 minute call to discuss how we can work together to implement health-promoting strategies.
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