February 16, 2023

Goals & Consultations, Invite Health Podcast, Episode 623

Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.

GOALS & CONSULTATIONS, INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 623

Hosted by Allie Might, FMC, INHC, ATT

*Intro Music*

InViteⓇ Health Podcast Intro: [00:00:04] Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast where our degreed health care professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that Invite Health has to offer, at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code podcast at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started. † [00:00:34]

*Intro Music*

Allie Might, FMC, INHC, ATT: [00:00:41] Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast, where today we’ll talk about goals and resolutions. I’m Allie Might, Integrative Nutrition health coach and functional medicine coach, here to share all my tips and tricks to help you keep those New Year’s resolutions. Well, it’s that time of year again when so many reflect on the past year and start setting goals or resolutions for the new year that has started. It also seems like so many get caught in what I like to call the resolution rut. We all seem to make the same goals year after year, but rarely accomplish them. I thought this would be a great time for a check in and offer some fun tips, tricks and strategies. So how can we change that pattern and reach our goals for 2023? Let’s begin with how to set our resolutions or goals. The key here is to make realistic goals. This helps to set you up for success as well as a good way to keep you motivated. For instance, I’ve said way too many times that I would like to run a marathon. I think it would be such an amazing thing to accomplish. However, I’m not a runner. The mere idea of running makes me want to cry. It’s clearly not my choice of exercise. So running a marathon isn’t a good goal for me. A more realistic goal in this case may look like this. This year, I will start incorporating light jogging into my cardio program. By doing so, I will sign up and complete a 5k over the summer, as you can see, that small shift in mindset along with the realistic goal, can make anything attainable. Once you’ve set your realistic goals, I recommend anywhere from 1 to 5 goals, devise a plan for each one. Let’s go through some of these common goals and motivations and I’ll show you how I would break down a plan as if I was setting this for myself. Let’s begin with one that I hear all the time, and it’s always seems to get everyone excited. Save money. So how would I go about my plan to save money in 2023? First, I set the goal, I will save $2,000 in 2023. So how would I do this? I would form different steps so that I know how I will be reaching this goal. The first step may be to download a weekly savings chart to my phone and create an envelope or special account. This guides me to put away the dollar amount that coordinates with that week. For instance, week one I put aside $1, week two, I put aside $2 and so on and so forth, until the last week of the year where I put aside $52 at the end of the year. If you’ve been completely consistent, you should have saved $1378. You’re definitely well on your way to reaching that $2,000 goal. Next, I mean, make the commitment to reducing the amount of times I buy breakfast and/or lunch on the go. Make the commitment to sit down and have breakfast at home before leaving for the day. Then bring a healthy lunch with you instead of going out every day to buy something. Take the leftover money you save by preparing these meals and set it aside. Bonus tip here is, you may find that you are more likely to have healthier meals this way as opposed to grabbing something on the go. Plus, if you’re anything like me, eating on the go always causes me to eat too fast, which can cause me to experience digestive problems. And lastly, go through your monthly subscriptions. I’m actually in the process of doing this now. In this day and age, we all have those subscription boxes and multiple streaming services, we are automatically charged for every month. It’s so easy to forget about them as they are auto charged and we don’t have to go in and do the charge ourselves. Take some time to list out all of these services you’re paying for and how much each is costing. Decide which you’re really using and how many you’ve probably forgotten about. Cancel any that you aren’t using and set aside each of those fees every month. At the end of the year, reward yourself for a job well done. Do something that will make you excited to keep this up every year. Maybe you’ll pay off a debt, buy a new wardrobe, treat yourself to a new TV or housewares, pay cash for end of the year. Holiday gifts, parties and events. Or maybe invest it into your 401 k IRA or start saving for a down payment to purchase a home. I know I’ll be using mine for a nice vacation, but will you use yours for? The possibilities are endless. † [00:05:52]

[00:05:54] Another fun thing to do to stay motivated is to make a vision board. I like these to use as a reminder of what I want to accomplish for the year. I find it to be extremely helpful when I’m having a bad day and want to give up on my goals. I’ll go over my vision board and refocus. So, what exactly is a vision board? It’s a collage of pictures representing goals, for instance, the following may be found on one’s vision board. Money to represent saving and investing, the new car or home you want to buy, vegetables to remind you to eat healthy, an airplane to represent travel, a pillow for sleep, a cup of tea to represent relaxation, an inspirational word such as love, happy, family or friends. As you can see, anything can be put onto a vision board when making the vision board. The traditional way has been to go through old magazines, cut out any pictures, words and phrases that keep you focused and motivated and attach them to post board. Now, many people, including myself, make a digital version and keep it on their phone or computer. Each year always seems to get everyone thinking about their health, whether it be a health issue they’ve been struggling with, how they can eat better, de-stress, sleep better, or everyone’s favorite, losing weight. † [00:07:24]

ICYMI: A LITTLE COCOA GOES A LONG WAY, INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 622>>LISTEN NOW!

[00:07:26] Well, this is where we at Invite Health can be the most helpful. So how can we be an intricate part of you accomplishing your personal health and wellness goals? Simple. By encouraging you to come in and have a consultation with one of our nutritionists such as myself, when having a consultation here at Invite Health, the more information you can share, the more we can help you to create a plan to reach your goal. There are even different ways for you to have a consultation. We offer in-person consultations at one of our locations, over the phone or by video. While our nutritionists have a variety of educational backgrounds, I’m going to walk you through how a consultation may look like with me. Let’s go over your typical in-person consultation. I like to recommend bringing in the following for the most complete consultation. The first is a copy of your most recent bloodwork, if you happen to have the most recent as well as the previous one, even better. Even if everything is in the normal range, both copies can be helpful in establishing things to watch. This would be, if there is any up or down swing and a number but still normal. Reviewing your current bloodwork could help guide us to meal adjustments or supplement suggestions. I always, at the very least like to look at such areas like vitamin D, TSH, which is a thyroid marker, CRP, which can indicate which can indicate levels of inflammation, A1C for blood sugar, and LDL, HDL and triglycerides to get a picture of the cholesterol and heart health. I might also review red and white blood cell counts, creatinine levels, which is important for kidney health and the PSA level, which is important for prostate health. † [00:09:25]

[00:09:27] Next, have a list of any and all supplements you are taking for any reason, including a multivitamin. This is important to go over to make sure you are taking what you need for optimum health. This also lets us know if there are any adjustments, we may want to go over with you. Along with your supplements, you should also bring a list of medications that your doctor has prescribed you. Reviewing this list can help guide us as far as how to supplement any possible depletions as well as to help you adjust any supplements they may interact. Thirdly, bring a three- day food diary, log everything you eat and drink, and at what time, day by day. Be as detailed as possible, we don’t judge. If you are having soda, juice, popcorn, meal bars, bagels, fast food and cookies, let us know. Don’t tell us what you think we want to hear out of fear of being judged. Knowing your true diet allows us to help you make adjustments that you will be able to incorporate as well as to stick to in the long run. Lastly, what are your health concerns and or goals? Once we’ve reviewed the previous steps, we will help guide you to creating a plan through proper food choices and supplementation to get you set up on the right track. I also recommend periodic check ins about every three months to discuss how you’re doing and go over any questions that may have arose. As you can see, regular care from your doctor, as well as partnering with an Invite Health nutritionist such as myself can help you with your healthy lifestyle specific for your individual needs. I hope all of these tips and tricks have been helpful. Remember, New Year’s resolutions are for the year, and sometimes adjustments need to be made along the way. For more tips and tricks or to chat with me, you can contact me, Allie Might at our Uptown location in Manhattan on Second Avenue and 71st Street, by phone at 212-249-2036 or by email, at [email protected]. I want to thank you for tuning in to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. Remember, you can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting invitehealth.com/podcast. Please make sure you subscribe and leave us a review. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health. And we will see you next time for another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. Until then, stay healthy. † [00:09:27]