It’s that time of the year when we evaluate and set our goals for a new year. The most popular New Year’s resolutions revolve around improving health and wellness. How are you doing with yours? While most people start strong, the momentum typically doesn’t last. Mid-February is the peak time for resolution abandonment. We give up on goals when we don’t establish a plan for success. So, don’t give up on yours – Try something different this year by rethinking your resolution by following a goal preparation process and turning it into a SMART goal! 

We kick off each new year with fireworks and the promise of a fresh start. We use the annual tradition of New Year resolution setting to focus on our health, make better choices, and change our habits, behaviors, and routines. However, 80 percent of people give up on their resolutions by mid-February. What is the reason for this abysmal success rate?

Behavior change is hard! It often requires time, patience, and a plan to accomplish. Identifying your stated resolution or health goal is just the first step in the process. To reach your goal successfully, you must also determine a plan for the habits and systems that are counterproductive to your end goal and a realistic time frame for completion. SMART goals offer a more descriptive framework than traditional goal setting, increasing your chance of success.

The Basics of Behavior Change

It’s time to begin your goal preparation. Thinking your goal or resolution is just a statement such as “I want to eat healthily or exercise more.” is a recipe for disappointment. Instead, you need a plan of execution! By adding these extra details around your goal, you can set the intention and direction for your behavior change. The basics of behavior change involve crafting your new identity around your goal and pinpointing which habits and systems you need to change to reach it.

Building Your Identity-Based Goals

The key to making change is to make sure your goal is to focus on who you want to become and then create your processes and outcomes around that identity. 

1. First, let’s define our new identity. What beliefs do you feel deep in your core, such as your worldview, self-image, and judgments about yourself and others? People who tie their goals to their identity see more success because you have more motivation to prove your identity to yourself than a random task or behavior. For example, do you want to be a person who prioritizes exercise? Someone who likes vegetables? 
2. Next, what are the outcomes you are looking to achieve? For example, do you want to lose weight? Reduce your risk of heart disease? 
3. And finally, what systems, habits, and processes do you need to change to be successful at your goal and be true to your new identity? Is that spending more time in the gym? Meal-prepping every week so you can guarantee your plate will be two-thirds vegetables at dinner? 

Change Your Habits, Change Your Life

Now it’s time for the execution piece. To be successful, you’ll need to change the habits no longer serving you. In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear defines habits as “the small decisions you make and actions you perform every day.” Changing your habits is the key to changing your life. 

Some habits are unhealthy, such as smoking cigarettes, not leaving your desk for lunch, or driving too fast. Other habits are good for us, such as always wearing your seatbelt, brushing your teeth twice a day, or always saying “thank you or I love you.” We do most of these things without even thinking. When thinking about your goal, what are the habits that are barriers to you being successful? It’s a fair assumption that you won’t become someone who prioritizes exercise if you only go on a run once. It has to become a repeated performance. What keeps you from going on that run? 

Habit stacking  is the practice of pairing a new habit with an existing automatic one to make it “stickier.” If you aren’t going for a run because you can’t find the energy to get off the couch once you get home, you have to change this habit to make progress. To practice habit stacking, you would pair a new habit with an existing one to help keep you off the couch. For example, you could pack your gym clothes and take them to work to change into, or you turn on a workout video first instead of your favorite TV show.  

Build Your SMART Goal

Now that you’ve completed your goal preparation, it’s time to create your SMART goal.  Instead of a vague sentence, you end up with a path to success in a SMART goal. SMART is an acronym for:

• Specific: Describe your main objective. Clearly explain what you want to accomplish.
• Measurable: How will you measure your progress? Making it quantifiable will help you hold yourself accountable.
• Achievable: Make a list of what tools, time, people, and resources you’ll need to reach your goal. Evaluate if you have access to everything you need.
• Realistic: Can your goal be accomplished in your desired timeframe? (For example, healthy weight loss is losing one to two pounds per week, so losing 20 pounds in a month may not be realistic)
• Time-Bound– determine the time frame to achieve results. Define your start date, end date, and frequency of tasks and habits that make up your goal.​

With this new framework in mind, what is your new SMART goal?

A Goal Prep and SMART Goal Example

Let’s put all the pieces together in this example of  SMART goal preparation and setting.

• My New Identity: I want to become a person who prioritizes their health so that I can live a long, happy, and healthy life. I plan to do that by moving more and eating healthier.
• Processes and Systems: Exercise routine, logging in the Preventive plan, meal-prepping
• Outcomes: Increase my physical activity & lose 10lbs
• My SMART Goal: Starting on Monday, my first goal is to increase my physical activity by walking for 30 minutes per day, five times per week. I know I will be progressing by increasing my workouts by one day each week. I will log my activity in the Preventive Plan mobile app for the next five weeks to hold myself accountable.  In two months, once exercising has become a regular part of my routine, I will begin my second goal to lose two pounds per week over five weeks. I will maintain my exercise plan of 30 minutes to an hour of exercise five days a week while also sticking to a calorie budget. I plan to reduce my calorie intake by 1000 through -500 calories in my diet and -500 calories in exercise per day. A new habit will be to meal-prep and grocery shop for the week every Sunday. I will log all meals and calories in my food diary and exercise in the Preventive Plan mobile app.

You can see this example is more detailed than your typical New Year’s resolution, but this is a recipe for success. Unfortunately, there is an enormous chasm between defining your goal and achieving it

Your Next Steps for Goal-Setting Success

You are ready to get started on your revamped New Year’s resolution turned SMART goal! Remember to:

• Think about what you’d like to change​
• Set one small SMART goal to get started​
• Identify the supporting habits you need to be successful​
• Get to stacking to create new, healthy habits.
• Watch your systems do the work for you!​
• Prove your new identity to yourself every day! 
• Adjust as needed and turn to your health coaches for support​

 You have all the tools you need to avoid the disappointment and frustration of traditional resolution setting this year. Bridge the gap between talking about a New Year’s resolution and succeeding with a new identity and defined SMART goals. Cheers to a commitment to year-long goals with new healthy habits as a foundation. 

Need additional support? 

Watch our New Year, New Habits webinar

The holidays are a special time of year to celebrate life, reflect on all the things we are thankful for, spend time with loved ones, and re-focus on what’s important. It is also a time to appreciate and protect the sacred gift of our health. So implement these four healthy holiday habits to stay on track.

If better health is the gift you want to give yourself this holiday season, try these four tips to add more movement to your day, healthy foods to your plate, and have better health this winter.

Healthy Holiday Eating Habits

The key principles of balance and moderation are fundamental to healthy eating, and it is important to practice both during the holidays when temptations are everywhere.

The benefits of eating well include:

• Support for your muscles and bones
• Boosting your immunity
• Helping your digestive system function
• Weight management.

Choosing to eat healthily doesn’t mean all your indulgent holiday favorite foods are on the naughty list. Instead, include these tips into your holiday eating plan to stay on track: 

• Offer to bring a low-fat main dish, a side dish of vegetables or salad, or a modified dessert so you know you’ll have something healthy to eat. 
• Start with fruits and vegetables to take the edge off your appetite.
• Choose small portions of the dishes you really love and can’t get any other time of year
• Eat slowly and take small bites. Savor the bites you are indulging in. It takes at least 20 minutes for your brain to realize you’re full.
• If you have a sweet treat, cut back on other carbs (like potatoes and bread) during the meal.
• If you do have an alcoholic drink, have it with food. Otherwise stay hydrated with plenty of water or choose unsweetened coffee or tea, or other sugar-free beverages.

You can’t always control what is being served at get-togethers, but you can make intelligent decisions about what foods and how much ends up on your plate. If you decide to indulge, make sure to incorporate physical activity into your day to balance out the extra calories.

Stay Active

Staying active can have many benefits during the holiday season, but it can be hard to follow through. It gets darker earlier, the weather isn’t as nice, and our schedules fill up more quickly than usual.

So look for opportunities to work physical activities into your holiday season routine: 

• Go for a stroll together after a family meal. 
• Take two laps around the mall or shopping center before you go into a store to shop.
• Take the stairs at every opportunity.
• Have a dance party to your favorite holiday music.
• Incorporate light resistance exercises (Lunges, jumping jacks, squats, planks, counter push-ups) while cooking or watching tv. 
• Park and walk a neighborhood to look at Christmas lights.
• Try a seasonal activity such as ice skating or winter hiking.
• You can also make a new annual tradition and participate in a holiday-themed run or walk for charity. 

CDC guidance recommends 150-minutes of exercise per week. Break up your physical activity into smaller 10-minute chunks throughout the day, so it’s easier to schedule. Still, even just a few minutes a day of moderate-intensity physical activity can achieve health benefits, reduce your stress and anxiety, and lead to better sleep. 

Make Sleep a Priority

According to the CDC, more than a third of Americans are sleep deprived, and the holidays can disrupt your sleep patterns even more. In addition, the extra activities and social gatherings and eating later, and indulging in foods high in fat, sugar, or caffeine can keep you awake later. So focusing on your sleep hygiene during the holidays is even more critical than usual.

Here are some tips for getting better sleep:

• Do your best to stick to regular bed and wake-up times.
• Avoid caffeine and other late-night stimulants.
• Follow the stay active tips to burn extra energy and improve your sleep quality.
• Avoid carbs, sugar, high fat, and spicy foods before bed and replace them with sleep-friendly foods, such as serving popcorn, whole-grain crackers with cheese, your favorite fruits, nuts, hummus with veggies, or fruit with cheese.
• Whether you are at home or traveling, keep your bedroom quiet, cool, and dark. 
• Use sleep masks, earplugs, a white noise machine or fan, or music for better sleep.
• Take a nap if you feel sleepy, but try to keep it short (20-30 minutes).

 You should aim for seven to eight hours of sleep per night to guard against mindless eating, boost your immune system, and leave you feeling rested.

Winter Wellness

The change of seasons really can bring on “winter blues.” The colder temps, combined with fewer hours of daylight and increased stress around work, family, finances, and more, can increase the risk of depression, anxiety, and lethargy. These cold, dark days coincide with cold and flu season. Germs are more active during the winter and more easily spread between people when they spend most of their time inside, in close contact. Take these precautions to stay well over the holidays:

• Soak up as much sunlight as possible. Go outside between noon and 2 pm. 
• Increase your folic acid intake, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, and decrease your sugar intake.
• Use a humidifier or saline nasal spray to reduce sinus dryness.
• Talk to your doctor if you think you are experiencing symptoms of seasonal depression.
• Get your Influenza (flu) or COVID-19 vaccine. Both illnesses can result in serious health complications like pneumonia, bacterial infections, hospitalization, or death— flu activity peaks between December and February.

Read More: Health Coach Article on Flu Facts You Should Know

Remember, handwashing is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs, especially during the winter months. Evidence shows handwashing can help prevent 1 in 5 respiratory illnesses like the cold or flu.

Don’t Wait on the New Year

Many of us enter this time of year with the mindset that it’s a free pass to indulge a little too much. We make plans to refocus our health goals on January 1. But the reality is it’s difficult to regain the fitness ground we’ve lost or drop the weight we’ve added. If you commit to following the four healthy holiday habits of using balance and moderation for healthy eating, making time to stay active, committing to sleep, and prioritizing staying well this winter, you’ll set yourself up to maintain your health goals through the holidays and beyond.

Most of us will be diagnosed with chronic lifestyle diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, chronic lung disease, and cardiovascular disease, by the time we reach middle age. This is because we live our lives coping with stress through unhealthy diets, a sedentary lifestyle, and tobacco and alcohol use. But studies show an increased success rate in making lifestyle changes and reversing bad health habits by engaging with a lifestyle health coach.

Making lifestyle changes takes time to implement, requires support, and often lacks the instant gratification we have grown accustomed to in the digital age. However, if someone told you that you could prevent your premature death from a chronic lifestyle disease, would you do something about it? I think most of us would want to. To undo the bad habits we’ve developed over time, we must decide that our current behavior doesn’t support the way we want to live. Consider some of these statistics from the CDC on healthy living, or lack thereof:

• More than 60 percent of adults don’t get the recommended 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity
• Only one out of 10 adults are eating enough fruits and vegetables
• More than 42.4 percent of adults are overweight or obese

It is estimated that we can prevent 20-40% of premature deaths before age 75 with lifestyle changes. So why aren’t more of us motivated to make them? Unfortunately, it isn’t lack of motivation but rather lack of support that keeps most of us from addressing lifestyle changes.

Committing to Lifestyle Changes

The National Prevention Council found that healthy students are better prepared to learn, employees that take care of their mental and physical health are more productive, and the elderly who remain physically and mentally active are more likely to live independently.

Most of us want to take a more active role in our health to experience these benefits. Every January 1st, we make New Year’s resolutions. For a few weeks, gyms are packed, and salad kits fly off grocery shelves. Yet by February, more than 80% of us have abandoned our goals. Common challenges to lifestyle change include:

• Lack of time
• Lack of accountability 
• Lack of motivation 
• Stress, mental, and physical exhaustion 

We all know we need to do better. Most of us attempt to make changes and fail. What are we missing? New research suggests a health coach!

What is a Health Coach?

A ‘health coach‘ is a trained professional who partners with you over a specific time (anywhere from 90 days to a year or more) to help you achieve a particular health outcome. They don’t prescribe, diagnose, analyze, or treat health conditions. Instead, they are behavior change teachers, guiding their clients on how to successfully adopt and sustain healthy habits that prevent, ease, and even reverse chronic lifestyle diseases. 

A health coach is a non-judgmental accountability partner. Let’s be honest; sometimes, you can’t even get that from your spouse, parents, or siblings. You should be able to establish a trusting relationship with your health coach that allows you to be honest, ask questions, and express doubts. By providing this support, health coaches offer options and suggestions, but taking action is still your responsibility.

“[My health coach] is always calm, kind, and proactive. Her approach makes me feel motivated even though I know I have a lot of action items, and many times, [struggle] to stay on track health-wise.” – Preventive Plan Member Survey Response

A health coach is also a teacher passing along relevant health education. The coach can bridge the gap between the patient and their primary care providers. Many people experience anxiety around attending doctor appointments. Your health coach can help translate what the doctor says into layman’s terms, help you improve communication with your doctor, identify questions to ask at your next visit, and support you on lifestyle or medication changes between visits.

They may have a health science degree, specialty certifications, or be a clinician. Regardless of their educational background, your health coach will be a caring individual invested in helping you achieve the best version of yourself.

Identifying Your “Why” for Behavior Change

Just hiring a health coach will not make you successful. You still have to be committed to making lifestyle changes and executing your goal plan.  To do this, you must name your problem and decide that the hard work of changing outweighs the cons of staying the same. 

Models of Change

According to the transtheoretical model of change, there are five primary stages you’ll pass through before creating a difference in your life: 

1. Precontemplation: You deny having a problem, but other people may be concerned for your health.
2. Contemplation: You are thinking about the pros and cons of changing your lifestyle.
3. Preparation: You have a goal and are taking steps to get ready to make a change.
4. Action: You are actively working on changing your behavior.
5. Maintenance: You figure out how to stick to your change over the long term.

 And while it doesn’t have a number, we need to mention relapse. Being human means mistakes happen! The key is making sure you get back on track as quickly as possible.

Tools of the Trade

It is important for your health coach to identify which stage of change you are in. They use principles of active listening, motivational interviewing, and goal-setting as powerful tools to help you take charge of your health. When you meet with a health coach, you aren’t getting another lecture about how you need to lose weight from the doctor or an intense instructor berating you for not running fast enough. Instead, you get a supportive professional who wants to help you figure out your “why” for making change.

For example, if you are in the Precontemplation stage, they may need to deploy motivational interviewing to help you determine your “why.” We all balk when authority figures tell us what to do. Instead of saying “You need to lose weight,” rather your health coach may say, “How might your life be different if you lost the weight?” Designed to get to the root of why you want to make the change, these open-ended questions uncover your core motivation for changing yourself and lead to a higher chance of success than doing something because someone told you to.

Making a Healthy Habit Plan

Once you identify your primary health goal, it’s time to enter the preparation stage and talk about health plans and habits. Unfortunately, this is typically the step we skip on our own. Instead, we try to bend our habits as if we were bending metal with our bare hands. Then we are disappointed when it doesn’t move.

Your health coach will want to talk through your core habits. The more you do something, the more robust and efficient the connections in your brain are. You probably have solid practices and neural connections that you take for granted each day. We all have preferences on what time we wake up in the morning, eat our meals, and when we shower or brush our teeth.

Once your health coach understands your unique core habits, they can deploy a practice called habit stacking. Instead of creating new patterns from scratch, something our adult brains will struggle with, you pair a new habit with a current one. Here are a few examples:

• After I turn my alarm off in the morning, I will drink 8 ounces of cold water.
• While my morning coffee is brewing, I’ll pack a healthy lunch/snacks, so I don’t eat out.
• After eating my lunch, I’ll go on a 15-20 minute walk around the parking lot.
• When my family eats dinner, I’ll turn off the tv and ask everyone about their day.
• When I watch my favorite show, I’ll get on the stationary bike/treadmill.
• After I brush my teeth, I will meditate or journal for 10 minutes before going to bed.

It isn’t glamorous, but habit stacking works because you are linking a new habit to existing behaviors that already have a strong connection in your brain. This makes the new behavior more likely to stick. And, once you’ve mastered one habit, you can continue to stack on new practices, leading to a healthier routine.

Why You Need a Health Coach

Yes, you can decide to make a lifestyle change or create a health plan without a health coach. Let’s talk about why you need one.

The American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) did a study on accountability. There are two stats that are really important. The first part is that if you commit to someone your intention or goal, you have a 65% of completing that goal. That is decent odds. But, if you commit to someone AND add in a specific accountability appointment with that person, you increase your chance of success to 95 percent.

Did you read that last statistic? A person who sets a goal and keeps a regular session with their health coach on their progress, challenges, and wins will most likely reach their goal. By definition, the term ‘coach’ is a person who invests their time instructing or educating someone to improve their performance.

Health coaches have a variety of healthcare experience and education that they want to pass along to you. They guide you through the stages of change and will serve as your cheerleader, accountability partner, teacher, confidante, and healthcare resource all in one. Their number one goal is to help you improve your health and enhance your overall wellbeing.

Expectations for a Health Coach Call

Committing to meet with a health coach is a big step, so congratulations if you’ve already put something on the calendar. However, if you aren’t sure where to start on your health journey, that’s ok too! First, let’s set some expectations for your call with a health coach.

Pre-Call Plan

Your initial call will last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. If you have time constraints, make sure that is communicated upfront. It is important to spend a few minutes planning for your call. Ensure you’ve documented any questions or health topics and essential information relating to the specific type of coaching call you scheduled. This information could include a meal plan, food diary, exercise log, list of current habits, or recent lab values or health diagnoses.

Connect with Your Health Coach

You can utilize video or have a regular phone call. The choice is up to you; however, our health coaches love when they can see and connect with you, so don’t be afraid to turn on your video camera!

“The virtual experience was more personalized, feels like an informal and candid conversation.” – Preventive Plan Member Survey Response

The first question your coach will likely ask is, “Why did you schedule this call? or “Do you have specific topics or questions you’d like to address?” This is where that pre-call planning will be helpful! We all can freeze or have our brains go blank when put on the spot. Once you establish your main goal, you’ll collaborate with your health coach to formulate a health plan to help you reach it.

For example, our health coach, Christina, believes mental health is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. If you’ve depleted your mental and emotional resources, keeping up with meal planning or going to the gym could be daunting. She might recommend a plan to reduce your stress and focus on self-care before suggesting a diet or exercise plan.

Routine Health Coach Follow-Ups

Now you are off and running, maybe literally. Your health coach is going to want to hear about your progress. Follow-up call cadence will depend on your specific health plan and how much accountability you require. Follow-up calls last 15 minutes to an hour and can happen once a week or as little as once a month.

In a follow-up call, your health coach will want to hear about your health plan progress. Sharing wins with you is the reason they do this job! However, don’t be afraid to share your challenges too. Your coach can help identify ways to get over these hurdles. They are an unbiased sounding board for you to utilize.

The Preventive Plan Care Team

The Preventive Plan’s health coaches are available Monday through Friday from 8 am to 6 pm Eastern Standard Time. Each coach has their personal availability that may differ slightly from this schedule.

This year we created a follow-up survey that is emailed to everyone who completes a health coaching session. The results validate what we already knew; our Preventive Plan mobile app users love our health coaches! They’ve rated their experience with our Care Team with a 4.9 out of 5 average rating. Our members also see the value in our approach to be more than just an app. More than 45 percent of respondents said their coach “significantly exceeded their expectations” during their coaching call.

“I learned so much in a very short period. I have almost all the [health] information I never knew before. I’m grateful for this as I think it will change my lifestyle.” – Preventive Plan Member Survey Response

In summary, while you can’t control your genetics, you can control how often you exercise, the amount of sleep, your tobacco and alcohol use, and your diet. While implementing lifestyle changes isn’t easy, no matter which area of your life you want to improve, utilizing a health coach increases your chance of success at implementing new healthy habits. So you can drop the bad habits and reach your health goals – for good.

And if you don’t believe me, just read some of our testimonials

Did you know more than 34 million Americans live with diabetes, which is the seventh leading cause of death? The costs, both medical and economical, for those with this disease are astronomical. Learning more about prediabetes and type 2 diabetes and then taking steps to prevent it can help save your life and wallet.

The number of adults diagnosed with diabetes has more than doubled as the baby boomer generation ages, and the United States population becomes more overweight. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney dialysis, and non-traumatic foot amputation in the United States. In addition, diabetes isn’t just a physical condition. It can wreak mental havoc due to its chronic nature, daily maintenance routine, and social stigma.

Despite these bleak statistics, there is hope in the form of prevention. Diabetes education is the key to reducing these numbers by preventing those at risk from developing it and helping people diagnosed with diabetes live a longer, healthier life. On this page, you’ll find a complete overview of what diabetes is, the different types of diabetes, risk factors, and tips to manage and prevent diabetes.

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) disease that affects how your body turns food into energy. As we eat, food is broken down into sugar (glucose) and releases into the bloodstream. When blood sugar rises, your pancreas releases a hormone called insulin to help regulate it. Insulin acts as a key to unlock cells to use glucose for energy, and when you have diabetes or prediabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough or is unable to use insulin. As a result, too much glucose stays in your bloodstream, resulting in high blood sugar. Over time, high blood sugar damages your body and can cause heart disease, vision loss, kidney disease, and other serious health problems.

The Different Types of Diabetes

The term diabetes may sound familiar, but it is a complicated disease. Common myths include that overeating sugar causes it, and it can only affect people who are morbidly obese. There are also multiple types of diabetes. There is no shame in having diabetes, and it can strike anyone regardless of age, gender, race, or socioeconomic status.

Type 1 Diabetes – An Autoimmune Disorder

Type 1 diabetes, previously called insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes, is usually diagnosed in children, teens, and young adults, but it can develop at any age. Approximately five to 10 percent of people with diabetes have type 1, making it less common than type 2 diabetes. When you have type 1 diabetes, the body produces an autoimmune reaction where the body destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. 

Gestational Diabetes – Diabetes During Pregnancy

Gestational diabetes develops in pregnant women who don’t already have diabetes. Between two and 10 percent of pregnancies will result in gestational diabetes. As a pregnant woman gains weight and her hormones change, the body cannot make or use enough insulin, resulting in insulin resistance.

Most pregnancies will face insulin resistance toward the end, but a diagnosis of gestational diabetes typically happens during the 24th to 28th week of pregnancy during blood or glucose challenge tests. Gestational diabetes normally goes away after your baby is born, but having it increases both your and your baby’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future. If you are already overweight, you can reduce your risk of gestational diabetes by participating in regular physical activity and losing weight before you get pregnant.

Type 2 Diabetes – The Silent Disease

Type 2 diabetes, also called adult-onset diabetes, is the most common diabetes condition, accounting for approximately 90 to 95 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. With type 2 diabetes, your body cannot produce enough insulin to regulate and use glucose in your blood, resulting in high blood sugar levels. While there is no cure for type 2 diabetes, it can be prevented or delayed with healthy lifestyle changes such as losing weight, eating healthy food, and being active. 

Signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes often develop slowly, causing many people to live with it unchecked for years, with high blood sugar damaging their bodies over time. Common symptoms include:

• Increased thirst
• Frequent urination
• Increased hunger
• Unintended weight loss
• Fatigue
• Blurred vision
• Slow-healing sores
• Frequent infections
• Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
• Areas of darkened skin, usually in the armpits and neck

While it is a serious medical condition, with proper management and lifestyle changes, you can feel better, stay healthier, and have an improved quality of life than if you leave diabetes unchecked.

Prediabetes -Time to Rewind Your Risk

Don’t let the “pre” in prediabetes fool you into thinking it is something you can put off addressing. Over a third of U.S. adults, approximately 88 million, have prediabetes, and more than 84 percent of them don’t know they have it. This critical phase is the only time you can reverse and prevent diabetes. This condition is the precursor to diabetes because your blood glucose (sugar) levels are higher than normal but are not high enough to be called diabetes. You can have prediabetes for years but have no apparent symptoms, which is why it often goes undiagnosed.

If you know you have prediabetes or have a high risk of developing diabetes, you have two choices – ignore it and end up with diabetes or take action now to reduce your risk. But what happens if you don’t know you have it? It’s important to talk to your doctor about testing if you have any of the nine risk factors of diabetes.

9 Diabetes Risk Factors

Your chance of developing diabetes is a combination of your genes and your lifestyle. To determine if you are at risk for type 2 diabetes, complete the Type 2 Diabetes Risk Test. The most common risk factors for type 2 diabetes are:

1. Age: As we age, we are more at risk for developing diabetes. Specifically, being over the age of 45 puts you at higher risk.
2. Weight: Being overweight can put you at risk for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. The more fat we have in our bodies, the more resistant our cells are to insulin.
3. Family History: You are at an increased risk if anyone in your immediate family (mother, father, sister, or brother) has a diabetes diagnosis.
4. Race: Diabetes occurs more often in individuals who are African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic/Latino-American, and Pacific Islander backgrounds.
5. Physical Inactivity: Exercising less than three days a week can put you at risk. You can easily change this risk factor by increasing your activity levels.
6. Sex: Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome, those diagnosed with gestational diabetes during pregnancy, and those who delivered a baby weighing nine pounds or more are at an increased risk.
7. High Blood Pressure: If you’ve ever had a blood pressure reading of 140/90 or higher or have a diagnosis of high blood pressure, you are at increased risk.
8. Low HDL Cholesterol: You’re at an increased risk if your “good” cholesterol is less than 35 mg/dL.
9. Abnormal Triglyceride Levels: Triglycerides are a type of fat in the bloodstream. Unhealthy levels of triglycerides above 250 mg/dL increase your risk.

If you have multiple risk factors or currently have prediabetes, you can do things to rewind your risk factors.

Tools to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

While you can’t control your genes, you can change your lifestyle. You can do three things to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes – eat right, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy weight. You don’t have to make significant changes in your routine to rewind your risk of diabetes. Adding in small steps can add up to big results over time. Even losing 10 percent of your total body weight can improve blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugars and lower your risk of type 2 diabetes by 58 percent. 

Lifestyle changes can seem challenging at first, but you can be successful by utilizing tools available to you and leaning into support from your family, friends, and health care team. 

Increase Your Daily Exercise

Physical activity is just one part of your journey to preventing or delaying the impact of type 2 diabetes.

Just 30 minutes a day will get you over the recommended 150-minute-per-week mark. Regular activity throughout the day that gets your heart pumping can take off weight, make you feel better, and lower your blood sugar. Getting fit is a commitment you make to yourself, your family, and your health.

You can start small by using some creative thinking to incorporate small bursts of activity throughout the day.

• Park further away when working or shopping. 
• Take the stairs at work or when running errands. 
• Go for a walk during your break or at lunchtime. 
• Try a new hobby such as biking, yoga, hiking, kayaking, swimming, or something else.

If you leave exercise to chance, you probably won’t do it. You have to make adding in exercise a way of life. You don’t have to spend an hour at the gym each day. Simple tweaks can quickly add up to serious activity that makes a significant impact over time.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

What does a healthy weight look like for you? Your answer will depend on your age, activity level, and overall health. The goal of a healthy weight is to feel your best and reduce any health risks. To get started, you could use BMI and waist circumference as references to gauge where you are now and help you pinpoint a goal number. 

If there were an easy way to lose weight and keep it off, everyone would be doing it. Setting your goal is step one. Next, you need to make small changes to your lifestyle over time to increase your chances of success. They call it a health journey for a reason. It is going to take time and effort on your part to be successful. You’ll need to learn new eating and physical activity habits, but losing 10 to 20 pounds can make a big difference in your overall health and self-esteem. 

Watch What You Eat

Healthy eating habits can help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight, support your nutrient needs, and reduce your risk for chronic diseases. Try to release the inner cringe you feel when you hear the word “diet.” Eating fewer calories doesn’t necessarily mean eating less food. It is all about balancing the calories you consume with the calories your body uses.

When deciding what to eat or drink, choose options that are filling and full of nutrients. These foods include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, seafood, eggs, beans and peas, unsalted nuts and seeds, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, and lean meats and poultry. Also, make sure your choices contain little or no saturated fat, sodium, or added sugars.

Follow these guidelines when creating a healthy eating plan:

• Identify your appropriate calorie level based on whether you need to lose, gain, or maintain your weight.
  
• Create a diet low in added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium.
• Meal plan before you go to the grocery store. 
• Read nutrition labels to make the best food choices.
• Watch your portion size at meals.
• Add in fiber to keep you full, regulate your GI system, and control your blood sugar and cholesterol levels. 
• Enjoy comfort foods and sweets in moderation or try lower-calorie versions.
• Don’t drink your calories! Water is the best choice to wet your whistle.

Typically you have more control over your food choices and meal preparation when eating at home. Healthy eating starts at the grocery store and ends on your plate. Commit to weekly meal preparation and cooking healthy meals at home at first. Use an app or food diary to track what you eat and the calories you are consuming. 

Ease into a healthy eating lifestyle by adding in a salad at the beginning of each dinner. Leafy greens provide nutrients and fill you up faster. Quickly eliminate extra calories by switching from soda to water or unsweet tea or coffee. If you need help creating or sticking to a meal plan, consider meeting with a dietitian about the best strategies for your lifestyle and food palate. 

Increase Your Physical Activity Level

Physical activity is one way to control blood sugar levels and help your body process insulin. An active lifestyle is the key to maintaining a healthy weight. Physical activity can be brisk walks, housework, yard work, dancing, swimming, or bicycling. Anything that gets your heart beating faster or makes your muscles work counts. The CDC recommends getting 150 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity per week, with two days dedicated to muscle-strengthening activities. 

Don’t let the triple-digit number make you sweat. You can break this up into smaller amounts of about 25 minutes a day or one hour three days a week. In addition, you can try a yoga class or add small hand weights to your walk to incorporate muscle work.

To make sure you stick with it, start with activities, locations, and times you enjoy. For example, don’t commit to a 5:00 AM run if you aren’t a morning person! Instead, schedule a lunch or evening walk every day. Start slowly and work your way up to more physically challenging activities. 

National Diabetes Prevention Program

Making these lifestyle changes isn’t easy, and you don’t have to do it alone. One tool available to use is a CDC-recognized lifestyle change program that is proven to aid in healthy changes through habit formation necessary to prevent diabetes. The Diabetes Prevention Program is delivered by CDC-recognized providers around the United States, including USPM. All lifestyle change programs are one year in duration. As new habits are established, participants see benefits, such as more energy, more stable blood sugar levels, and less stress as they enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

How Can I Manage My Type 2 Diabetes?

Diabetes is a high-maintenance, chronic illness that requires daily management to keep it in check. People with diabetes need to make healthy food choices, maintain a healthy weight, move more every day, and take their medicine even when they feel good. If you keep your condition under control, you can still live a full and healthy life.

Diabetes Care Checklist

Taking care of yourself is so important once you have a diabetes diagnosis. You will have more energy, be less tired and thirsty, make fewer trips to the bathroom, and have fewer complications.

• Blood sugar checks: Check up to several times a day as directed by your doctor. Keep a record of your numbers and share them with your health care team.
• Foot check: Use a mirror if you can’t see the bottom of your feet or ask a family member for help. Immediately let your doctor know if you have any cuts, redness, swelling, sores, blisters, corns, calluses, or other changes to the skin or nails.
• Diabetes medicines: Take the amount prescribed by your doctor, even when you feel good.
• Physical activity: Get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking or riding a bike, each week.
• Healthy eating: Eat healthy foods that give you the nutrition you need and help your blood sugar stay in your target range.
• Doctor visits and lab tests: At each visit, your doctor will review your blood pressure, weight, self-care plan, and medicines. The doctor will also monitor your blood sugar and A1C levels. You may also need to get flu, pneumonia, or hepatitis b shots, complete kidney and cholesterol tests, and schedule regular eye exams.
• Dental visits: Get your teeth and gums cleaned at least once a year (more often if your doctor recommends), and let your dentist know you have diabetes.

If you need help, your doctor can refer you to Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) services. This program includes a health care team that will teach you how to stay healthy and incorporate what you learn into your routine.

Type 2 Diabetes Medication Management

If losing weight and healthy eating isn’t enough to manage your blood sugar levels, your doctor may prescribe a medication regimen to reduce your glucose levels. Take your medications as directed, and never change a dose or stop taking them without consulting your doctor.

There are common medications people diagnosed with diabetes use to keep their condition controlled:

• Metformin is an oral diabetes medicine that helps control blood sugar levels. 
• A Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist helps release insulin when you need it and lower the amount of glucose made by your liver.
• Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors prevent glucose from being reabsorbed in your kidney.
• Insulin is used to regulate blood glucose and comes in various forms that are injected or inhaled.

You may also require blood pressure medication, cholesterol medication, or aspirin therapy, depending on your health and symptoms. Keep a list of all of the medicine you’re taking, including vitamins and herbal supplements, so you can review it with your doctor. Make sure to discuss the best timing for each dose and what you should do if you miss one. It can be difficult to keep up with, but you can build an effective medication routine with some organization and planning. 

Mental Health and Diabetes

Mental health affects every part of our daily lives. It can impact how we handle stress, navigate our relationships, make decisions, and feel. Once you have diabetes, it is something you must manage every day of your life. That is hard and can lead to feeling as if diabetes is controlling you and your life instead of the other way around. During a given 18-month timespan, 33 to 50 percent of people with diabetes experience diabetes distress, or feelings of stress, guilt, or denial that arise from living with diabetes and the burden of self-management. 

If you are struggling with your mental health, sticking to your diabetes care plan can be even more challenging. People with diabetes are two to three times more likely to have depression than people without diabetes. Unfortunately, only 25 to 50 percent of people with diabetes and depression get diagnosed and treated. Anxiety, or feelings of worry, fear, or being on edge, can also mimic the symptoms of low blood sugar. So if you’re feeling anxious, try checking your blood sugar and treat it if it’s too low. 

It is vital to establish a health care team that includes an endocrinologist, primary care, mental health counselor, a diabetes educator, and a diabetes support group to help you navigate the day-to-day maintenance and highs and lows you may experience. You are never alone; help is always a phone call or Google search away.

June is Men’s Health Month, a time to bring awareness to disease prevention and longer, healthier lives for men. You may be wondering why women should care about men’s health awareness at all. The fact is men live shorter and sicker lives than women. Our fathers, brothers, husbands, and sons are all impacted by this cycle of not taking care of themselves. Women can save lives by looking for signs of common health problems, encouraging men to get a primary care provider, and establishing healthy habits in the home through proper nutrition and exercise.

While women have their own health challenges, it is equally important for them to participate in Men’s Health Month if they want their husbands to be around for the long haul. Current life expectancy calculates on average men live five years less than women. According to Census.gov, 58 percent of women age 75 or older had experienced the death of their spouse, compared to just 28 percent of men. Most of the men in this age bracket were still married. On top of this, elderly widows are more likely to live in poverty even if they weren’t poor before their husbands’ deaths. These stats paint a bleak picture of what is supposed to be your “golden years.”

What causes this shorter lifespan for men? According to Men’s Health Network, men often:

• are more likely to engage in unhealthy behavior such as smoking and drinking alcohol
• don’t seek medical attention when they need it
• are less likely to have health insurance
• are more likely to work in dangerous occupations
• are less likely to adopt preventive health habits

As kids, boys are often taught not to complain. How often do you hear the phrases, “walk it off,” “toughen up,” or “big boys don’t cry?” We joke that adult men don’t like to ask for directions and would rather get lost than ask for help. When they don’t seek medical care and aren’t open and honest about aches, pains, and embarrassing symptoms with their doctor, tragic outcomes can occur. To change those statistics, women must become more involved in men’s health for their husbands and sons.

3 Ways Women Can Improve Men’s Health

In general, women often pay better attention to their health. From their teens through childbearing years, women typically have at least a gynecologist they see once a year, and women are often more candid with doctors, too. You can be role models and cheerleaders for the men in your life to help change current men’s health outcomes.

This Men’s Health Month, take these three steps to make a difference in the lives of the men you love:

1. Learn more about the health risks men face and early signs and symptoms of common health problems.
2. Encourage men to choose a primary care provider and get regular screenings to reduce premature death.
3. Work together to set a good example of healthy living for their children with proper nutrition and exercise.

Women have a strong influence in creating healthier habits throughout the family through meals and exercise activities. Here is an action plan for encouraging men to take control of their health.

Step 1: Learn About Men’s Health Problems

In a race you don’t want to be leading, men die at higher rates for nine out of the top 10 causes of death. It’s worth noting that most of these causes, including heart disease, diabetes, lung cancer, and even depression, can be prevented and extend not just to men, but to the whole family. Learning more about these diseases, how to prevent them, and signs and symptoms to look for, and then passing that information onto the men you love, is the first step in bringing awareness to men’s health.

Heart Disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men in the United States, causing about one in four male deaths. Half of the men who die suddenly of coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms. Having hypertension (high blood pressure) is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Men can reduce their risk of heart disease by knowing their blood pressure and being checked in-office by their doctor every year. Reducing the risk of heart disease starts with a healthy diet and exercise. You should also quit smoking and reduce your alcohol intake.

Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects how your body turns food into energy. It accounted for three percent of total deaths in 2020, a 15 percent increase over 2019. Type 2 diabetes typically develops in people over the age of 45. This condition wreaks havoc on the body, increasing your risk of blindness, amputations, kidney failure, heart attack, and stroke. Before developing type 2 diabetes, most people experience a period when their blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough for a diabetes diagnosis. This pivotal time is called prediabetes. If you take action with healthy eating and exercise during this small window, you can reverse this diagnosis and prevent type 2 diabetes.

Cancer

The three most common cancers among men in the United States are prostate, lung, and colorectal.

1. Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men and often occurs without any symptoms. If he is straining to pass urine, leaking urine, has bloody urine, and experiences bone pain, he should see a doctor immediately. Fortunately, if caught early, prostate cancer is often treated successfully. Men should have a rectal exam every year and speak to their doctor about screenings once they hit the age of 40.
2. Lung cancer remains the number one cause of cancer deaths in men. You can have lung cancer before symptoms develop. When they do appear, they include shortness of breath, cough, a change in sputum, chest pain, noisy breathing, hoarseness, and coughing up blood. The best way to prevent lung cancer is to not smoke and to avoid secondhand smoke.
3. Colorectal cancer (cancer of the colon or rectum) is the third most common cancer in men. Most colorectal cancers start as polyps on the inner lining. Over time, certain types of polyps can turn into cancer and can easily spread throughout the body once cancer has access to blood vessels. If you experience symptoms, such as a change in bowel habits, rectal bleeding, belly pain, weakness, and weight loss, see a doctor immediately.

You can reduce your risk for most cancers by maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise, quitting smoking, and reducing your alcohol intake.

Step 2: Become Partners in Health

Women should encourage men to take even the smallest symptoms seriously and discuss them with their doctors, even if that takes an extra nudge to get them in the doctor’s office. Ultimately, men should become more comfortable talking about and taking action on their health. Here are some ways you can influence men to take better care of their health by doing tasks together.

Do Self-Exams Together

Self-exams are the first line of defense when it comes to taking care of your health. Women are encouraged to do monthly breast exams to detect breast cancer early. Men have breast tissue too and are susceptible to breast cancer. They should also be doing monthly testicle exams looking for lumps, enlargement, or pain that could be symptoms of testicular cancer. Be on the lookout for new or persistent symptoms that can be indicators of a chronic condition that should be evaluated by a doctor:

• Persistent backaches
• Nagging cough
• Recurrent chest pains or headaches
• Unexplained weight loss
• Extreme fatigue
• Depression
• Obvious changes in warts or moles
• Unusual lumps
• Changes in the color of urine or stool
• Changes in bowel or bladder habits
• Blood in urine
• Bleeding that won’t stop
• Impotence or erectile dysfunction

Turn self-exams into something fun to do together. Doing self-exams together can increase intimacy and help you both better understand your bodies. Watch for abnormal moles or changes in your skin in places you can’t check yourself. Women get most of their skin cancers in places where they can see them, such as their hands and face and below the hemline, but men get most of theirs on their back. By encouraging men to take changes in their bodies seriously, you’ll be helping them take control of their healthcare.

Choosing a Primary Care Provider

Not all health problems have symptoms that will be noticeable to a man’s partner. Even men who are the picture of health can be battling cancer, diabetes, or other silent killers. The best way to detect these kinds of illnesses is by getting regular checkups with a primary care provider.

Cleveland Clinic found 72 percent of men would rather do household chores than go to the doctor. Motivations include embarrassment, lack of convenience, not wanting to hear a bad diagnosis, and not wanting to quit bad habits. Research suggests people with a strong relationship with their PCP have better care outcomes and enjoy a healthier life.

How do you overcome these challenges and get them into the doctor’s office? See if you can pinpoint the main reasons he is avoiding the doctor. If time off from work is a problem, find health providers who have weekend and evening appointments or have offices close to his work. Ask if he would prefer to see a male or female health provider. You can also schedule same-day appointments for both of you and plan a date or fun activity afterward. Take the preparation part off his plate by learning about and compiling notes on his family history, symptoms you’ve noticed, and questions he should ask while at his appointment.

Step 3: Implement Healthy Routines

It is so important for men and women to eat a nutritious, well-balanced diet because, everything you consume influences your health. We eat portions that are too large, and our meals include too much fat, sugar, and salt. Good nutrition, physical activity, and healthy body weight are essential parts of a person’s overall health and well-being. Women tend to take on the tasks of grocery shopping, meal prep, and cooking. By taking control of diet and exercise, you can decrease the risk of everyone in your family developing serious health conditions.

Healthy Eating for the Whole Family

When a woman eats healthily, everyone in her household is more likely to eat healthily. When making a plan for feeding your whole family, you’ll want to consider the key components for a healthy diet:

• Include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products.
• Include a variety of protein foods such as seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes (beans and peas), soy products, nuts, and seeds.
• Reduce the number of saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars consumed.
• Enjoy balanced food and beverage choices to reflect your personal preferences while staying within your daily calorie needs.

You can still eat well even when dining out. Encourage smart swaps, such as salads instead of fries or water instead of soda, when you go out to eat. Making sure your husband is packing a lunch from home with leftovers, salads, and healthy snacks will also prevent him from making bad choices while at work.

Get the Family Moving

Any activity that gets your heart beating faster can improve your health. It is recommended to get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week. This goal can be broken into smaller amounts such as 30 minutes a day, five days a week. The best exercise is one everyone looks forward to doing. Remember to incorporate various types of activities that can be fun for the whole family:

• Recruit male friends and relatives with good health habits to participate and help with ideas.
• Decide on an exercise routine that involves and is enjoyable to everyone.
• Exercise doesn’t have to be a workout – join a sports league, go on a hike, bicycle trail, or other outdoor activity.
• Housework, yard work, and playing with kids and grandkids count.
• Try something new with online workout videos, no gym membership required.

Physical activity has immediate health benefits, such as better sleep and reduced stress and anxiety, on top of reducing the risk of all of the health conditions we’ve already discussed.

Women Can Impact Men’s Health

Many of the issues we’ve discussed are sometimes difficult for men to discuss. By learning more about common men’s health issues, becoming a partner in their health, and implementing a healthy diet and exercise routine, women can have a huge impact on the lives of their fathers, uncles, brothers, husbands, and sons.

“The role of women in keeping the men in their life healthy is invaluable. While it may pain you to nag your husband, do it anyway. If you recognize any unusual symptoms in your loved one, do whatever it takes to get him the help he needs. It may save his life.“ – Theresa Morrow, Women Against Prostate Cancer

Ultimately, the goal of Men’s Health Month is to improve men’s health outcomes and that process starts at home.

A primary care provider (PCP) plays a crucial role in your preventive care. Being your first resource for non-emergency healthcare, your primary care provider is key to your health care outcomes. In addition to routine check-ups, vaccinations, and treating minor illnesses and injuries, a PCP can help prevent, diagnose, and manage chronic diseases – and even increase your life expectancy. Finding a primary care provider you trust is the first step toward receiving less expensive, quality care to keep you healthy.

A primary care provider is your first line of defense in healthcare. They’re your go-to resource when your kid needs a physical to participate in team sports. When you wake up with a scratch in your throat and you suspect strep, it’s time to head to your primary care provider. When you’re running a fever, when you have questions about a mystery rash, or when you’re experiencing a flare-up of a chronic condition, your PCP is your first call. Here, we cover everything you need to know about primary care providers — from why you need one to what they can and can’t do for you.

Primary Care Provider Meaning

A PCP is a health care practitioner who can diagnose, treat, and prevent many conditions and illnesses for your physical and mental health. In addition to preventive health care services, a PCP can manage long-term care for chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. The PCP is skilled at connecting the dots — ensuring your treatment is managed properly, checking for any prescription interactions, and addressing overlapping concerns. It’s important to take the time to find the right primary care physician. Research suggests people with a strong relationship with their PCP have better care outcomes and enjoy a healthier life.

A primary care provider is typically a medical doctor but can be a physician assistant or a nurse practitioner specializing in different areas such as:

• Family practice
• Internal medicine
• Pediatrics
• Geriatrics
• Obstetrics
• Gynecology

As a general guideline, you should see your PCP at least once a year; however, if you live with a chronic condition, you may need to see your PCP more often to manage your illness.

Why Should I Have Primary Care Provider?

To maintain your health and ward off disease as you age, your primary care provider will recommend routine check-ups and health screenings based on your age and gender. Having a PCP can improve your health and care outcomes — and even save you money! Recent studies show adults with a primary care provider:

• Have 19% lower odds of premature death than those who only see a specialist
• Save 33% on health care compared with people who only see a specialist
• Are hospitalized less often and make fewer emergency room visits

Usually, your PCP is involved in your care for an extended period and, therefore, becomes a trusted resource for your ongoing preventive health needs. Further research has found fewer premature deaths in communities with more primary care providers, which suggests people with a PCP experience longer and healthier lives.

4 Benefits of Having a Primary Care Provider

If you saw a doctor for heart problems (a cardiologist) and another for a skin rash (a dermatologist), these two doctors may not know about each other. There could, however, be a connection between the skin rash and your heart problems. Your PCP is skilled at seeing the bigger picture and piecing together symptoms and conditions that could otherwise go unnoticed.

Some of the benefits of working with a PCP include receiving:

1. Individualized care based on your unique medical history, gender, and age
2. Preventive care through routine check-ups, screenings, and vaccinations
3. Help to monitor and manage chronic diseases and prevent unnecessary complications
4. Continuity of care to manage and improve your overall health

Your PCP can discuss various health issues, ranging from physical to mental health. Developing a long-term relationship with your PCP will establish an invaluable support system for self-managing your health for a better quality of life. In the United States, studies have found an increase in life expectancy in areas with 10 more primary care physicians per 100,000 people. The benefits of having a primary care provider are endless, which is why finding the right one for you is so important.

When to See a Primary Care Provider

Your primary care doctor will be able to treat most of your health care needs. As a general rule, visit your PCP for any non-emergency illnesses, injuries, and chronic disease management, including:

• Follow-ups
• Physicals
• Immunizations
• Screenings
• Prescription refills
• Common illnesses such as colds, cough, flu, or fever
• Minor burns, cuts, and other injuries

If your needs exceed the limitations of your PCP, you may be referred to a specialist or another doctor. Your PCP can help coordinate your medical treatment with any specialists.

When Not to See a Primary Care Provider

While it’s not always easy to know the difference, there are times when you should visit your PCP and other times that may require a trip to the emergency room. Skip the primary care provider and go straight to the ER for:

• Emergencies and/or life-or-death situations
• Symptoms of heart attack, stroke, or severe allergic reactions
• Injuries that may require stitches

Don’t gamble with your health. If you feel your health issue cannot wait, seek urgent care. And, when in doubt, call 9-1-1.

Find the Best Primary Care Provider Near You

If you don’t already have a primary care provider, don’t wait to get sick to find one. Choosing the right PCP can take time and careful research. Get referrals from friends, family, and other health professionals. Call around, and check online reviews to find a doctor you are comfortable with and who meets your healthcare needs. The relationship you develop over time will help your PCP get to know you better; this results in quality personalized care – at a lower cost – for a happier, longer, healthier life.

Learning how to be healthy is hard even without a pandemic going on in the background. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many of us went into survival mode. Suddenly, exercise, food choices, and prioritizing emotional health felt not just challenging but unrealistic. People were dying; jobs were lost without warning. How was anyone supposed to find time to exercise or pay organic food prices? But living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be physically or financially draining. I personally used three tricks to lose weight and feel better in the midst of a government shutdown and global pandemic — and they didn’t cost more time or money than I was already spending prior to COVID-19.

Years from now, people will probably ask, “Where were you the day the world shut down?” And they’ll be referring to the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll all have our answers memorized, along with anecdotes about our last social outing prior to the government-mandated stay-at-home order or our first adventure out into the real world once restrictions were slowly lifted. With more than 161 million reported cases and a staggering impact on our healthcare system, the global economy, and the way we operate as a society, the COVID-19 pandemic will no doubt live in infamy for years to come.

As scientists and the clinical community have learned and rapidly responded to their new understanding of the coronavirus disease, every other industry and individual has had to adapt in lockstep. Parents became school teachers; a vacuum manufacturer started making ventilators; and, at one point, as much as 70 percent of American adults were working from home. As a society, we’ve had to rethink the way we do nearly everything. How we care for our bodies is no different.

Myth: Exercise and eating healthy is expensive. By incorporating these three healthy habits into my life, I was able to lose five pounds and gain more energy during the pandemic shutdown, and you can, too.

1. Walk Your Commute to Work (from Home)

In early 2020, I was spending 40 minutes on the road every morning and again every evening, Monday through Friday. My commute to work was my time to think, call family, or jam to my favorite Spotify playlist, but it was hardly a productive use of my time. When the Governor issued a statewide stay-at-home order for all of Florida, I became a full-time work-from-home employee. Suddenly, I was gifted 80 minutes of my weekday.

And I wasn’t alone. After the pandemic sent the US into lockdown, more than 40 percent of the American workforce was remote. According to the Census Bureau, the average American has a 26-minute commute to work, or they did pre-shutdown.

If you’re one of the many who make up the newly remote workforce, consider reallocating your morning drive to a morning workout. By walking around my neighborhood, circling back to my home office, I turned my morning commute into a new healthy habit.

Going for a weekday morning bike ride, walk, or jog would total 130 minutes of weekly physical activity for the average American worker. If you have recently found yourself working from home, consider converting your old driving commute time into a walk-to-work (from home) habit. Even if you always worked from home or are still heading into an office every day, you can still reap the benefits. Use the national average commute time as your starting point. A morning and evening walking commute of 26 minutes would add up to 260 minutes for the week — which experts say is ideal for weight loss!

2. Work Out While You Prepare to Dine In

With my new walk-to-work-from-home routine in place, I found myself naturally in a better mood and mental state. I slept better at night, and I had more energy throughout the day. Meanwhile, thousands of restaurants were shutting down, or closing their dining rooms, left and right. As someone who previously spent roughly $500 each month on food and dining out, I needed to adjust.

After several weeks of exorbitant bills from restaurant to-go orders and meal-delivery services (more on that next), my body missed quality food. Jaded by the same old menus and the same old post-meal energy drain, I decided to try cooking at home for a change. But, I added a twist: Using my 40 minutes previously allocated to my drive home from work, I would prep dinner and squeeze in a workout.

Below are examples of opportunities to work out while you’re making dinner:

• While the oven is preheating
• While you’re waiting for water to boil
• As you’re monitoring a pot on the stovetop, stirring occasionally
• During the bake time (20 minutes to an hour or more, depending on what you’re cooking!)

Here are my favorite exercises to incorporate into a meal-prep workout:

• Squats and lunges
• Push-ups against the counter
• Bicep curls and tricep curls (Tip: Use canned goods as weights for added strength training!)
• Jump rope in place (no rope required)

And I often finish off with a plank! Fun fact: By planking consistently, you’ll see marked improvements in posture, balance, flexibility, and metabolism — and you’ll prevent injury by working your arms, legs, and core.

Here’s an example of how one might work out while making a roasted chicken breast and a side of their choice:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. During this time, alternate 60 seconds of squats and 60 seconds of push-ups against the counter. Use the oven timer as your workout timer. If you’re new to exercise, start with 15 seconds, and work your way up!
2. Place the chicken in a baking pan, brush with oil, and top with your desired seasoning.
3. Cook for about 45 minutes: Your cook-time workout should consist of a mix of cardio and strength training. Because this recipe calls for a longer bake time, you can also fit in some flexibility and balance training.
   • Air jump rope in place for 60 seconds.
   • Do 30 bicycle crunches.
   • Do walking lunges across your living room and back
   • Use cans to do 10 bicep curls, then 10 overhead tricep curls
   • Repeat the steps above at least three times! Then, prepare your side dish such as broccoli or sweet potatoes.
4. Let the chicken cool for five minutes: Now is your time to plank until exhaustion and reap the benefits.

You’re now ready to wash up and serve. Enjoy your yummy meal and post-workout vibes.

A Mediterranean diet is recommended for individuals who are at risk for or already have type 2 diabetes; however, the anti-inflammatory foods are beneficial for anyone who wants less joint pain, better heart health, or weight loss. Find more recipe ideas at the American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes Food Hub. Lastly, try the MyFitnessPal blog for exercise inspiration.

3. Dine In More Nights Than You Dine Out

The first few weeks of the shutdown, I frequented virtually every nearby restaurant that offered carry-out service. I jokingly said I was single-handedly keeping the hospitality industry economy alive; but the element of truth to that wise-crack — the significant spike in my monthly food spending — stung. I was eating more calories, spending more, and putting more hidden chemicals into my body by eating out almost every day.

Fortunately, once I started my other two healthy habits, I was hooked on the energy boost. I loved the way my body felt, and I wanted more of that natural high. I resigned myself to eat out no more than three nights per week. That left me with four home-cooked, healthy dinners and my accompanying meal-prep workout routine.

The formula is simple: Make the healthy choice more often than you make the unhealthy choice (e.g., four nights of dining in versus three nights of dining out). However, if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself slowly turning up the frequency on those healthy choices. The cost savings, calorie savings, and overall return on investment (e.g., improved skin, mood, sleep, etc.) is addicting.

Keep Healthy Habits For Life Post-COVID

During a time when, according to the internet (or the memes shared there), all of America was hiding from gyms and binging Netflix with a side of junk food, I lost five percent of my body weight. I didn’t slave away in a gym, starve myself, or even deprive my body of its favorite treats. I used the same minutes I had previously allocated to my work schedule, and I actually came away spending less money. The key was to find small opportunities to swap less-than-stellar habits with healthy ones. And you too can adopt similar habits and reap the benefits — through COVID-19 and beyond!