CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WV News) With New Years Day right around the corner, many people are contemplating and committing to resolutions that help promote healthier lifestyles while they put 2020 behind them.

Getting in shape and weight loss remain among the most popular resolutions, and Dr. Elizabeth H. Hess, MD, United Hospital Center Family Medicine Residency Associate Program director and Integrative Medicine director, said its important to take some things into account in order to be successful.

I think its important when you think about a New Year/New You theme that its not limited to resolutions about a specific weight loss goal. We often focus on numbers on the scale but a new you should start with a mindset and emphasize how you accept yourself and choose to take steps that will help you feel better and stronger and more empowered as you reduce your risk of many chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes and heart disease, she said.

When setting goals, its important to be realistic and not set them too out of reach in the beginning. Smaller goals can help people stick to their plans, she said.

I recommend starting with small steps, but at the same time celebrate milestones along the way. This strategy is proven to be successful, yet simple, as it focuses on small, practical changes that add up to a healthy lifestyle over time, she said.

Hess said regular physical activity is essential for good health. Incorporating it into a new routine early can aid in weight loss, and in the future, can help keep it off.

Regular physical activity is an essential part of this wellness journey, and, yes, it can aid with weight loss and more specifically help maintain weight loss but the benefits of physical activity go way beyond the waist line. Specifically, regular physical activity helps elevate your mood and has shown to be an effective treatment or add-on treatment for anxiety and depression. It also plays a role in healthy sleep patterns. Finally, it gives our immune system a natural boost, which is so essential during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

For adults, Hess said its recommended they get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise a week, like fast walking, casual biking or light yard work, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity a week, like jogging or swimming. Adults should also add two days of resistance training to their routine, as well as explore activities that improve flexibility, she said.

To get in those minutes, North Central West Virginia is home to several area gyms and facilities for people to pursue their resolutions, such as the Harrison County YMCA, which aside from the exercise equipment, offers several classes to keep members engaged and healthy.

Healthy eating habits, Hess said, are another important aspect when losing weight.

Most of us have developed habits of how, when and why we eat. When we want to make changes in our diet and nutrition, I think its very important to also reflect on our attitudes toward food and our relationship with food. How, when and why we eat can often have deep-seated emotional triggers and if these issues are not addressed, it can be difficult to make lasting changes to how we see and use food to nourish ourselves. A lot of patients often want to adopt a radical change or a so-called fad diet and hope to see rapid changes in weight.

Weight loss management experts often dont recommend just one way of eating or prescribed diet plan. Its important that all the nutrients and micronutrients our body requires are included or supplemented in our eating pattern, but for a starting point, I would suggest starting with a mindfulness-based eating program, she said.

Mindful eating is about using mindfulness or our full attention to learn to recognize the difference between true hunger and non-hunger triggers and to really pay attention to our experience of eating, she said.

Mindful eating involves eating slowly without distraction, learning to distinguish between true hunger or emotional or habit-eating cues and only eating until full, she said.

It also stresses engaging all the senses in the act of eating and noticing how food affects your feelings. It makes eating intentional and not automatic. This mindful act of eating will lend to any nutrition program you adopt for weight management but most importantly it will build a healthy relationship and appreciation for the food you eat, she said.

Permanently improving eating habits requires a person to reflect on their habits, replacing unhealthy habits on healthier ones and reinforcing those habits.

For those trying to improve their overall wallet health, Edward Jones financial adviser Larry Cann offered several pointers.

Sit down and create a budget, and more importantly follow it. For most folks, actually seeing, paying attention to what they are spending on a more regular basis often times helps curve some of that frivolous spending, he said.

With 2020 being a trying year for everyone, filled with job losses, cut hours and parents teaching children at home while working on their own careers, Cann said being prepared is an important focus heading into the new year.

As part of that budget, work towards having an emergency fund. Id define an emergency fund as having somewhere in the neighborhood of approximately six months worth of living expenses. That gives you that cushion for the unexpected, including the loss of a job, cutting of hours, losing overtime pay, (etc.). Having that emergency fund gives you a cushion and time to react when something bad does happen, he said.

For those paying down debt, Cann said putting focus on paying the highest interest debts is impactful, and for folks who have already started planning financially in any way, remember to establish goals, create a plan to follow and dont overreact.

For those curious, unsure or even frightened about finances, seeking the help of a financial adviser can be very beneficial, as they can help you create a plan, lay out the goals an individual would like to accomplish and help achieve them.

You dont have to have a million dollars to talk to us. Thats simply not the case. ... If you are in a position where you are confused, worried and not quite sure, if you have a goal and you dont have a plan in place to help achieve that goal, reach out to somebody. Let somebody help you create that plan, he said.

{span}Staff writer Steven Baublitz can be reached at (304)626-1404 or sbaublitz@theet.com.{/span}

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North Central West Virginia experts give tips on sticking to popular New Year's resolutions - WV News