Joey Wahler (Host): Well, they're often planned, but sometimes not met. So we're discussing Health Resolutions and Goal Setting. Our guest, Deanna Shuler. She's Director of Community Health and Wellness for Memorial Health System, Ohio. This is Memorial Health Radio with Memorial Health System, Ohio. Thanks for joining us. I'm Joey Wahler.

Hi there, Deanna. Welcome.

Deanna Shuler, MS, CSCS, CHC: Thank you. Good morning.

Host: Yes, we appreciate the time. And as you well know, around the New Year, so many people pick that as the time to start anew when it comes to many things, including their health. What are some of the most common health New Year's resolutions and goals that people set?

Deanna Shuler, MS, CSCS, CHC: Well, probably first on the list is weight loss. Some people also decide, you know, to quit doing things that they've been doing, for example, smoking or drinking alcohol. A lot of people just kind of decide, you know, I want to start fresh on everything. And so they aim to do a complete overhaul of nutrition and diet, exercise, sleep routine, a little bit of everything we see this time of year.

Host: Yeah, they always say on the news that the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday and New Year's Day, the day after New Year's Eve, of course, that those are two big days for people to head back to the gym if they've been away, right?

Deanna Shuler, MS, CSCS, CHC: Yes, we definitely see an uptick in attendance at our fitness centers, across the nation, on those days, for sure.

Host: So to make these health resolutions and set some goals, for people who wonder, I've got a lot of things in mind in that regard. How do I start? What's the first step would you say?

Deanna Shuler, MS, CSCS, CHC: I encourage people to consider what they feel is actually the healthiest version of themselves. We consider it creating a wellness vision. It really helps to think about what do I actually want from my health? You know, if I were to wake up tomorrow and be that healthiest person, what does that look like?

What does it feel like? What is that person doing? You know, would you wake up and say, you know, I'm strong, I feel energetic, or I have great joint mobility, you know, whatever it is, but really have that understanding of a year from now, far out, what do you actually want that healthy self to be like? And that really helps kind of paint the picture and keep you motivated towards goal setting.

Host: And you know, when you say that, it makes me think back to something one of my doctors once told me, he said, "I know you feel okay, but I'd like you to feel great." Only, as you well know, some of us don't shoot for that, correct? We settle.

Deanna Shuler, MS, CSCS, CHC: Right, right. I think some people don't realize that they can feel better. Some people also don't understand that it's okay to want to feel better. A phrase that I actually use quite often is "you have permission to make yourself feel better." Just allowing people to go, you know, I can pause. I have a lot going on, but I do need to concentrate on what's going on with me and how I feel.

Host: So how do we go about having a realistic time frame for these resolutions and goals and improving some things in small increments so you don't get discouraged and you're done with it by January the 2nd, right?

Deanna Shuler, MS, CSCS, CHC: Most people last a little longer than two days, but I will say, I think it's important to understand that true health and wellness is not a 30-day challenge. You know, it's not something to set out to start January 1st and be accomplished by January 30th. It doesn't really happen that way. And, everybody is at a different place in their health journey.

And so, you know, it's really important to understand that my timeframe is going to be different from your timeframe. And it's an ongoing process. You know, the example that you gave with your doctor saying he'd like you to be better, when we get to, even when we've accomplished that wellness vision, which is maybe a year out, we might get there and go, well, now what? I want to continue to feel better. So it's important to remember though that we didn't get here in a day, in a week, overnight. And so you have to understand that it is a long term process, quite honestly, and most of the time we're looking for some quick fixes and that doesn't really allow us the consistency of you know, sustained behavior change.

Host: So it's interesting because it's a long term process, as you say; but made up of typically shorter term goals. So what would be some examples of those?

Deanna Shuler, MS, CSCS, CHC: One of the best ways I think to meet your long term goals or to really achieve, you know, that wellness vision is looking at it in very short increments. So one week, two week. Create what we call an action plan where you pick out one thing that you want to do to make yourself healthier or work towards your goal just this week. So, for example, that might be, maybe your ultimate goal or your wellness vision includes being able to run five miles. So today though, you're going to set an action plan that says for the next week or two weeks, what am I going to do? How often am I going to do it? How long, and where, and things like that. So that way you can really set it out and go, well three days this week, I'm going to walk for 15 minutes and it's going to be around the track at my kid's school. And I'm going to do it, after work. Really having those very specific, measurable, ideas of here is what I'm doing every day.

And then the next week you can go, you know, did I accomplish that? And if so, great. And you can keep going, but those little week or two week action plans are really, really helpful.

Host: How about when it comes to exercise? Again, it's so important, isn't it, to not overdo it in the beginning, especially if you've never worked out regularly or if you've been away from it for a while, because that's the best way not just to get discouraged and possibly give up, but also to hurt yourself, especially as we get older, right?

Deanna Shuler, MS, CSCS, CHC: I'm glad that you added as we get older, because we kind of get amnesia. We're at a certain age. We think, oh, well, when I was 16, I could do X, Y, and Z. You can't do X, Y, and Z right now. Maybe you can eventually, but taking baby steps, I think is really the best way to get back into or start an exercise routine without running the risk of, as you said, being discouraged, being burnt out, injuring yourself.

I always tell people, be more conservative than you think you should be. You can always add more the next day or two days later or a week later, but start with much less, much less time, much less resistance, fewer days a week. You know, if we, we get overzealous, we get really excited and it's easy to go, I'm going to exercise four days this week and I'm going to go to the gym every one of those days, but it gets to be a lot.

So, sticking with something, and this kind of goes back to those action plans, making sure that whatever you're setting out to do, you are very confident that you can accomplish that. So looking at your action plans and your short term goals with regard to exercise in particular, on a zero to 10 scale with your confidence, zero means I'm not doing this at all, 10 means I am 100 percent sure that I can do this. If your confidence level isn't at least a 7, we probably want to look at what you can do to boost your confidence level. So, again, going back to the exercise example, maybe running two miles five days a week, you're not really confident at that, but maybe walking 20 minutes, three days a week, you can bring your confidence level up to seven or eight. Oh yeah, that's really reasonable for me. And again, that allows you to feel as if you have attained your goal and you have been successful, but you're not overdoing it.

Host: Absolutely. Now switching gears a little bit, being healthier may also mean addressing something we've not paid proper attention to from a medical standpoint, right? It might be a screening that we've put off because we've never had it done and maybe we're leery for some reason. It might be a blood test, something routine, that nowadays could really go a long way in being preventative and ward off something more serious. We hear all the time, don't we, about how X, Y, or Z would have been less dangerous to a patient had they only had it caught earlier. And that's on them.

Deanna Shuler, MS, CSCS, CHC: Right, absolutely. This, if you're going to choose a resolution and a goal, and maybe you're not interested in weight loss or exercise, maybe it's just doing some of that preventive care, whether it's your annual wellness exam with your doctor. Whether it's some routine blood work to take a look at numbers like our blood sugar or A1C, or our cholesterol, all of those things that our providers really like to see, you know, so that way we can determine, you know, like you said, if there's something going on, we really want to try to catch it sooner rather than later.

Your outcome, treatment, all of those things are going to be improved if you catch those things early.

Host: A few other things. One thing that you touched on that I want to come back to is the importance of consistency here, no matter what your goals are. Because I think personally, it's important to always keep in mind that everyone that sets these goals goes off track at some point, right? No one says starting January 1st, I'm going to do X, Y, and Z and they do it forever. The end. So that way, if you're mindful of such a thing, it's important, isn't it? Because you'll realize that if you overeat for one or two days, or if you don't exercise for a week or two, okay, tomorrow we start over. It doesn't mean just throw the whole thing out the window, right?

Deanna Shuler, MS, CSCS, CHC: Right. So, consistency really is the foundation for sustained behavior change. And, I think it was James Clear in his book, Atomic Habits, mentioned the concept of being boring. But you have to kind of accept that consistency can feel boring. You have to be willing and able to do the same things over and over again.

You got to get up and go for your walk. You got to get your veggies in. You've got to do those things on a consistent basis in order for them to be effective. And a great analogy is a blood pressure medication that your doctor gives you. They're going to say, take it one or two times a day, every day.

And if you take it Tuesday morning, but then you skip it, forget it, Wednesday, Thursday, You go back to it on Friday, maybe you're good, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, you're consistent and then Monday comes and it's Monday and so you didn't take it again, that medication is not going to be effective at lowering your blood pressure. And so, habit change is the exact same thing. You've got to do it consistently in order for it to be effective. But, as you mentioned, that doesn't mean it's 100 percent of the time. A lot of people like to follow the 80-20 rule where 80 percent of the time you're doing the right thing and you're really getting after it with all of those goals that you're setting with nutrition, with exercise, et cetera, and 20 percent of the time, you can forgive yourself and, you know, you can forget an exercise day or, you know, you don't get your water in on a Monday or whatever, but aim for that 80%, maybe a little higher, but, you know, be forgiving and understand that consistency does not mean perfection 100 percent of the time.

Joey Wahler (Host): And when you mention 80-20, it makes me think of a quote Woody Allen once said, "85 percent of genius is just showing up." So I think that's a big part of the message here, right? Just stick with it as best you can and don't give up. Real quick, what about a support system? Who and what should we look for to help us to make these changes in our lives? Because again, we really shouldn't be in it alone, right?

Deanna Shuler, MS, CSCS, CHC: Right. Having a support system, hands down is one of the, it can kind of make or break you. Hopefully it is one of the best things that you can do for yourself. And so sometimes that support system, of course, comes from the people that we are around. Maybe it is your spouse, your family, the people that are under the same roof as you.

Oftentimes it is your co-workers. Are they also trying to eat healthy, exercise, quit smoking, et cetera, or are they creating or contributing to your bad habits. So surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals who have similar goals, especially with regard to healthy habits is really, really important.

But I also like to think of your support system can also be your environment and your surroundings. So, for example, someone who wants to start cooking healthier meals at home, we really have to look at how does their kitchen support them? What tools do they have at their disposal to create healthy meals?

Do they have only a microwave to use? Or do they have all the appliances that they could ever want. So looking at what do they have available to them and again, who is saying yes, I'm going to try this new recipe with you. Yes, I'll go for a walk with you. Let's fix our nighttime routine so that we're getting in bed a little bit earlier, et cetera. Those are definitely important when you're looking at habit change.

Host: All right. Well, we've discussed it. Now, hopefully people will go out and do it, right?

Deanna Shuler, MS, CSCS, CHC: Right. That's the key. Getting started is difficult.

Host: Indeed it is. Well, folks, we trust you're now more familiar with Health Resolutions and Goal Setting. Great advice, indeed. Deanna Shuler, good luck with your resolutions and goals for the New Year. And thanks so much again.

Deanna Shuler, MS, CSCS, CHC: Thanks for having me.

Host: A pleasure. And for more information or to connect with a provider, please visit mhsystem.org/community/health-wellness. Now, please remember as well to subscribe, rate and review this podcast and all the other Memorial Health System podcasts as well. If you found this podcast helpful, please do share it on your social media. I'm Joey Wahler, and thanks again for being part of Memorial Health Radio from Memorial Health System, Ohio.