Experts advise: Focus on ‘slow, permanent change’
As a nutritionist, Patti Kuniak has heard many people say they want to lose weight, especially when a new year rolls around.
She said having an end goal is only the start of the process, and people should instead think of changes they can make that will result in them living a healthier lifestyle.
“You need time to make changes; it doesn't happen overnight,” Kuniak said. “Everything that you do for weight management needs to be slow, permanent change.”
Kuniak is the lifestyle coaching program manager at Butler Health System, a program that began in 2015 through grant funding. The program continues to provide free services to anyone in need, including virtual classes on self-care, lifestyle coaching for different conditions and volumetrics weight management.
According to Kuniak, the wide reach of the program has helped people move toward their goals.
“They needed education on evidence-based lifestyle management of diseases,” Kuniak said. “There was a lot of need for reducing barriers for education, but physicians got good feedback from patients. They saw people make improvements in different markers. We had good outcomes for patients.”
Brittni Troyan, a national board certified health and wellness coach at BHS, said people should take time to consider what they want to get out of a New Year’s resolution. Many people have health-related goals in a new year, so Troyan said a person should think about how they can make that goal fit their lifestyle.
“The first thing I always like to tell people is start with the motivation and the why behind why you want to set this resolution,” Troyan said. “Really being able to integrate your personal values and why it's important to you will make it that much more doable or attainable, because it's important to you.”
A survey conducted by Statista in December 2021 showed that 23% of 1,500 respondents had a new year’s resolution of “living healthier,” while 21% said “personal improvement or happiness and 20% said losing weight, the top three responses during that time.
Troyan said many people fail to follow through with their New Year’s resolutions because their goals are too big of a change to make all at once. She said people should not focus only on making one adjustment at a time, but they should also find ways to make the process fun.
“Instead of stating an outcome-based goal like ‘I am going to lose weight,’ focus on a behavior-based goal,” Troyan said. “It's about kind of falling in love with the process of it, so finding a way to make whatever process based on your behavior-change goal more enjoyable.”
Heidi Nicholls Bowser, membership director at the Butler YMCA, said she notices an increase in membership sign-ups at the beginning of every new year, the “January effect.” While not everyone will want to participate in group exercise classes, Nicholls Bowser said she engages people who are new to exercise or just getting back into it to help them find sessions that work for them.
“At the Y, we try to connect them with programs that will help fulfill their resolutions,” Nicholls Bowser said. “I'm looking for a new person to just help them find the joy of just moving their body.”
Even after taking steps toward a new year’s goal, sticking with it and the changes made to attain it is a challenge in itself. Troyan said goal-setters should try to form habits that will help them in the long run, and not worry about setbacks.
“A lot of people get frustrated when they have setbacks,” Troyan said. “You can tap in to your personal strengths to help accomplish your goals.”
The lifestyle coaching program at Butler Health System provides videos that clients can watch on-demand in line with the specific health support they want to be involved in. Kuniak said the big three conditions the program helps with are diabetes, heart disease and weight.
She also said anyone can get involved for free through BHS.
“You don't need any referrals,” Kuniak said. “Anybody can come. You don't even have to be a patient; you could just sign up.”
Troyan, who is a recent hire at BHS and works mainly at Clarion Hospital, said people have found the lifestyle coaches helpful, because they keep them on track with their goals.
“You have the accountability factor where, 'We'll be following up with you and seeing how this is going for you, also a nonjudgmental approach with it',” Troyan said. “It's all about honoring the autonomy of the person coming to you, because if they don't have that autonomy, they are less likely to make the changes.”
Even while helping other people reach their resolutions, Kuniak and Troyan each have their own as well. Troyan said she wants to improve her skills on the cello, and plans to start on that resolution by practicing for at least an hour a week.
Even she needs to take small steps to attain her goals.
“What is one thing you can change that you're confident in your ability to change, and then start with that,” Troyan said. “It's really about what kind of change do they envision, and building on that.”
As for people pledging to lose weight in the new year, Kuniak said she hopes to see people simply make healthy choices that fit the lifestyle they want to live.
“The diet that will work for you is the one that you can stick to,” Kuniak said.
