It’s the time of year where many of us shift our focus to sticking with our health and fitness goals.
Adam Ballenger fromIntermountain Healthcare’s Live Well Center in Park City, Utah, says we’re most likely to succeed when our New Year’s resolutions are manageable and positive.
Ballenger says things that improve our mood or help us de-stress are often overlooked when we talk about health and wellness. He says the key to sticking to health and fitness goals is to focus on feeling better, physically and emotionally.
“Whatever you can do to be happier, or even to be less sad. I know there's nothing wrong with being sad, but do it really well. So, getting out in nature is a great way to just feel better,” said Ballenger.
That last comment was aimed at me and my ankle after a traumatic injury in May. I’m limited to a relatively slow walk these days, so that’s what I’ve been doing on the way to work. It’s something I enjoy doing, and we’ve turned it into some on-air fun. "It almost excites me a little bit to think about these things."
He's excited because he’s encouraging me to see my slow steps to recovery in positive terms. For Ballenger, that’s key. Your goals are for you…stop comparing yourself to others.
“If you're looking to be a happier, healthier person, a lot, and maybe even the majority of the things that if we did measure would show you're getting healthier, have nothing to do with a scale. If you're tied to that number, and you're not going to be happier until that number changes, you've got an anchor tied onto you.”
Even so, Ballenger says you can’t out-exercise poor eating habits.
“Lots of yoga students and clients have heard me talk about pecan pie. How much I love it. So I'm not changing what I love, but my behavior in relation to those. I'm kind of double dating - dating my pecan pie on special events and not as a snack food.”
Finally, goals are easiest when you have support.
“A lot of our behaviors are supported, when other people around us are either behaving well, in a similar fashion is a great way to think about it. And so, if we can find a group of people who are endeavoring in the same thing, an outdoor walk, even to walk to a place outside and meet up there, and then you know, you walk your different ways. That's a wonderful reinforcement,” said Ballenger.
