1. Kevin Thomas, RD

2.  Typical call to action and what works best  Is there “something” different about those who maintain change?  Applications and lessons learned from the weight loss field  Action Steps (10)

3.  Institute of Medicine (IOM) compared the United States to 16 other comparable developed countries ◦ Mortality rates (highest) ◦ Life expectancy rates (lowest for males, 2 nd lowest for women) ◦ Tobacco use (2 nd lowest! ) ◦ Calorie consumption. In the US, we average 3770kcals per day, the highest of all 17 countries in the study

4.  Between 1950 and 2000, annual per capita food consumption in the United States: ◦ Increased by 20% for fruits and vegetables ◦ Increased by 29% for grains (by 44.5 pounds)  ◦ Increased by 41% for meats (by 57 pounds)  ◦ Increased by 287% for cheese (by 22 pounds)   ◦ Increases by 39% for caloric sweeteners (by 42.8 pounds)  ◦ High-fructose corn syrup consumption per capita rose from zero in 1950 to 85.3 pounds by 2000. ◦ Increase in dining out, which increased from 18 percent of total food energy consumption in 1977-1978 to 32 percent in 1994-1996 (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2012).

5.  45% of Americans who usually make New Year's resolutions  33-50%: Number of people who ditch their vows by the end of January. Top reasons include being too busy or not being committed to their goals in the first place.  66% of resolvers set fitness goals as part of their resolutions.  73% of those who gave up before meeting their goal (27% did not give up…but not all succeeded) 8% ◦ University of Scranton research suggests that just 8% of people achieve their New Year’s goals.  38% of people who don't make resolutions in the first place.

6.  21% Weight loss  14% Improve finances  14% Exercise  10% Get a new job  7% Healthier eating

8.  Change can come from many paths, but normally fall into just two categories: ◦ Inspiration ◦ Desperation

9.  Needs to be very specific  Needs to have an emotion pulling you to your goal

10.  One needs to continually ask themselves, “why?” ◦ Ex: I need to lose weight. Why? Because my healthy is failing. Why? Because of bad food habits. Why? Because I don’t like to cook. Why? Because I’ve never taken the time to learn. Why? Because I’ve always been busy on “other” tasks. Why? Because being busy distracts me from the more important tasks on life…

12. Bad SMART GoalsGood SMART Goals Lose WeightLose 5lbs of fat by March 1 st, 2016 Get Fit-Be able to run a 5k in 25 minutes by the end of the year -Be able to perform 50 push-ups by July 1 st, 2016 Read moreI will read 1 book (at least 200 pages) each month Finish my degreeComplete at least 4 credits each semester, starting with _______ the next semester. Maintain at least a B average on all classes. Relax more and enjoy lifePractice a daily meditation routine for 15 minutes and track this on a calendar Be a better parentI will attend and be “active” at every sporting practice. I will help my child with homework at least once per week. I will tell my child “I love you,” at least once per day.

13.  It is important for any health related goal to not focus too much on the long-term goals but instead give continual (and not maximal and exhaustive) effort in 6-12 week blocks of time.  WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS

14.  Must account for the time it takes to become healthy  Are there any habits that can be removed?  Any habits that are NOT contributing to pushing you closer to your goal/s that are also time wasters?

15.  Employ others in your environment to assist with managing your time (spouse, kids, etc) ◦ Getting groceries, picking kids up from school/sports, various errands  Focus primarily on essential tasks (working out for 20 minutes vs talking for 60 minutes with 20 minutes of exercise mixed-in)  DO NOT BECOME TOO BUSY TO EAT HEALTHY ◦ THIS IS A VERY COMMON MISTAKE! ◦ Plan your meals before the week starts ◦ Grocery lists are helpful

16.  Logging food intake is the single best predictor of weight loss ◦ Diet Snaps, at: http://www.dietsnaps.com ◦ Food journals ◦ Phone applications  Log your workouts ◦ Creates a record of success

17.  Focus on objective changes ◦ Inches lost, fat %, muscle %, scale

18.  Accountability of a health professional is better associated with resolution success than accountability of friends/family ◦ Less enabling  Accountability needs to be objective (hitting goal? Yes. No.) and focused with achievement not relating to one’s struggles

19.  Puts added pressure and stress on pushing you to your goal/s  Shines the light on those who support your resolution…and those who do not

20.  It is important to track your journey. This information will be vital in reviewing whether or not you are aiming in the right direction towards your goals  Typically works best if it is structured (weekly) and not done in haste  Best if done before the week gets going (Sunday is best for M-F workers)  Time to reflect on how much effort you are or are not putting towards your goal  THOSE WHO FAIL THEIR RESOLUTIONS MOST OFTEN FAIL TO REVIEW THEIR PROGRESS

21.  Is your environment supporting your health?  Environment trumps motivation. Change your environment, change your habits, change your health

22.  Motivation and inspiration does help!

23.  What worked in the past with creating change? What did not work in the past?  Who was helpful? Who wasn’t?  Why did you “fail”?  Did you specify what you wanted?  Did you consider your health? (orthopedic concerns, knowledge in nutrition)  Did you work with a health professional?  Were you too busy? What’s changed?  WHY ARE YOU GOING TO BE SUCCESSFUL? BE SPECIFIC!

24. add  New habits add extra stress, at first  Get adequate sleep and develop a sleep routine. Fantastic video on the importance of sleep, available at: ◦ https://youtu.be/7s9C_8-OoxI  Sprinting towards one’s goal leads to physical and mental fatigue ◦ Gauge where you are at (physically and mentally) and judge accordingly great  Meditation is a great stress reducer ◦ 10 minutes of meditation, 10 days in a row

25.  If you want to change your health and be “healthy” you must behave differently than most people.  Significant changes come with significant effort…over time. Don’t exhaust yourself.  65%+ Americans are overweight and obese, your lifestyle has to be different than most Americans  Most people lack a plan for what they want. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN.

27.  BEST ARTICLE OF GOAL SETTING:  BEST ARTICLE OF GOAL SETTING: https://experiencelife.com/article/you- inc-a-practical-guide-for-setting-fitness-goals/https://experiencelife.com/article/you- inc-a-practical-guide-for-setting-fitness-goals/ ◦ This article comes from Experience Life magazine. FANTASIC REFERENCE FOR ANYONE WANTING TO CHANGE THEIR LIFE/ESTABLISH GOOD HABITS.  Habits 101: How to Create Habits that Can Change Your Life, at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXYAEtht4_w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXYAEtht4_w ◦ Very insightful information. I found this very useful for setting up habits.  Podcast Interview with Joe Cross, Director of “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs36n9Hh4TA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs36n9Hh4TA ◦ Interview is fantastic; Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead is also a great documentary.  Food journaling apps/programs, list:  http://authoritynutrition.com/5-best-calorie-counters/ http://authoritynutrition.com/5-best-calorie-counters/  Body Tape Measurer, at: http://www.amazon.com/AccuFitness-MT05- MyoTape-Body-Measure/dp/B000G7YW7Yhttp://www.amazon.com/AccuFitness-MT05- MyoTape-Body-Measure/dp/B000G7YW7Y  Fantastic video on the importance of sleep, available at: https://youtu.be/7s9C_8-OoxI https://youtu.be/7s9C_8-OoxI  Headspace app, available at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.getsomeheadspace.and roid&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.getsomeheadspace.and roid&hl=en  Fitness logging and apps, at: ◦ iPhone users: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-health-and-fitness- apps-for-iphone/http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-health-and-fitness- apps-for-iphone/ ◦ Android users: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-fitness-apps-for- android/http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-fitness-apps-for- android/

28.  U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health. Available at: http://nap.edu/13497  http://www.details.com/story/new-years- resolutions-by-the-numbers