A New Year's Resolution to Create Healthy Habits That Stick
An ounce of prevention, as the saying goes, is worth a pound of cure. This year, 48% of people who made New Year's resolutions wanted to lose weight. But a study found that two-thirds tend to make the same resolutions year after year and abandon them within a month. The key to making healthy habits stick is understanding that being healthy is not just about losing weight, it's about sustainable lifestyle changes that prevent disease ? like prediabetes.
One in three American adults ? over 88 million?are living with prediabetes, but 84% are unaware of their condition. Yet prediabetes is proven to be reversible if you follow the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
"It's never too late to improve your health and change your future. You can start by taking the free prediabetes risk test on the CDC website," says Karl Ronn, founder and CEO of First Mile Care, a preventative chronic care company.
Here are some tips for managing nutrition, exercise, sleep, mindfulness, and goal setting to successfully live a healthier life.
- Shift your mindset. Being healthier does not mean a new diet. It means a lifestyle change.
- Focus on nutrition by eating a varied diet of whole, unprocessed foods and creating realistic eating habits that you can stick with for the long-term, not just short-term meal plans.
- Listen to your body's hunger signals by eating mindfully instead of emotionally. Logging your daily intake in a food journal can help.
- Make movement a priority multiple times a day. The CDC recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate movement a week.
- Find a movement you enjoy to break the link between stress and unhealthy eating. Try bowling, gardening, volleyball, basketball, walking, or swimming ? whatever gets you off the couch and moving.
- Quality sleep is essential for optimal mental health, energy to exercise, and managing sugar cravings. Seven hours is the recommended minimum for adults over age 18.
- Set personal goals to hold yourself accountable and track your progress. Hitting those milestones week after week will have positive effects on your psyche.
- Create an action plan to understand the specifics of how you will achieve each goal.
- Don't be afraid to iterate! The road to success is paved with challenges. Adapt your plans as you learn what works (or doesn't) for you.
- Be patient and don't give up. Sustainable lifestyle change will start small and grow incrementally as habits form over time.
Ronn added, "Ask your doctor if you qualify for a Diabetes Prevention Program with certified DPP coaches in your ZIP code. When you're trying to build healthy habits, qualified guidance and peer support from neighbors facing the same challenges are invaluable to maintaining your motivation to reach your goals."
About First Mile Care
First Mile Care is a preventative chronic care company developing affordable, scalable, and sustainable solutions to reverse health conditions like prediabetes. The First Mile Diabetes Prevention Program enables personalized support and guidance at the community level, giving people access to the hyper-local coaching, tools, and resources they need to live better, healthier lives. First Mile Care is a spin out company of Health2047, the Silicon Valley-based innovation subsidiary of the American Medical Association. For more information, please visit www.firstmilecare.com.
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