File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Jill Sperling

New Year's Resolutions

How to set realistic health goals for 2020

Dec 31, 2019 | 3:08 PM

KAMLOOPS — At the start of every New Year, people set out to become happier and healthier versions of themselves.

While some will succeed in their efforts, others will struggle to commit to their resolutions.

“Make a New Year’s resolution that’s going to last for the long term,” said Mark Nendick, owner/operator of PFN Coaching. “A lot of people get excited, get a gym membership, try some new program, last two weeks and then they quit. So, I always talk about my ‘whys,’ why you want to make this change.”

Nendick encourages people to begin working towards a healthier lifestyle by tracking their food.

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“Sometimes it’s not over-eating, it’s actually under-eating,” Nendick said. “People are trying to lose weight so they eat less. Your body goes into starvation mode and holds on to everything, so you’re not actually losing weight. So it’s actually a counter-intuitive thing that happens to your body where you’re holding on to it, instead of when you eat smaller meals throughout the day then your body feels comfortable, you’re not going to die, so it will release the weight.”

For some, it might be useful to focus less on weight loss and more on how an active life will improve overall health.

“Diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, and kind of that western diet lifestyle, most of that, if we catch it early enough, can be fixed by increasing our activity levels and watching what we eat and being more conscious about taking care of our bodies to prevent that stuff from happening to us in the future,” said Signy Frank, resident doctor with the UBC Family Medicine Program at Royal Inland Hospital.

Resolutions require a desire to change. Tobacco Reduction Coordinator Jeff Conners says goals like quitting smoking need to be a personal choice in order to succeed.

“75 per cent of people who smoke currently want to quit, but 25 per cent don’t. If you don’t, it’s going to be a frustrating adventure for you,” he said. “But if you are thinking about it, any change process, it’s going to take a while, so don’t think about it as one event. We expect relapse to happen. So, if you go back and you have a cigarette periodically, step back and get back on your game.”

No matter the goal, it helps to have a community of support to keep you accountable.

“Don’t do it on your own,” Nendick said. “Find like-minded people that you can do it with.”