Making and Keeping Healthy Living Resolutions

We recently asked our Facebook community, “What are your healthy living resolutions for the new year?” Responses included goals to lose weight, exercise regularly, and eat healthy. Others noted they wanted to “be happy and thankful” and strengthen connections with children and grandchildren. How can we keep our resolutions?

Resolutions work best when you have support. The American Psychological Association notes, “Share your experiences with family and friends. Consider joining a support group to reach your goals, such as a workout class at your gym or a group of coworkers quitting smoking. Having someone to share your struggles and successes with makes your journey to a healthier lifestyle that much easier and less intimidating.”

Your home health care team from Premier Home Health Care Services, Inc. can offer that support to help you achieve your goals this year.

Resolving to be More Socially Active

Resolutions to connect with friends and family, to get out more and to be more active socially can not only make the new year more fun, but can help improve our health. Doctors Nicole Anderson, Kelly Murphy and Angela Troyer write in Psychology Today, that people with social networks “tend to live longer than those who are more isolated, and this is true even after accounting for your overall level of health.”

Additionally, socializing can boost immunity, decrease feelings of depression, and keep your brain sharper. They indicate, “People who connect with others generally perform better on tests of memory and other cognitive skills. And, in the long run, people with active social lives are less likely to develop dementia than those who are more socially isolated.”

Home health care can play a critical role in helping to keep resolutions to socialize more. Premier Home Health Care aides can offer companionship and enable our clients to connect with neighbors, assisting on walks in the neighborhood. Our escort service not only can ensure clients have safe transportation to medical appointments, but can also bring clients to visit family or to senior centers and adult dare care where clients can take classes and engage in activities with friends.

Resolving to Exercise More

Exercise is critical for health. It can be challenging to stay motivated to work out with busy schedules, weather, or while also managing health issues. Making a point to arrange workout time with others can help form a network of support, motivation and encouragement.

Premier Home Health Care clients can take advantage of our care management services to consult with physicians about exercise plans and manage physical therapy appointments in or outside of the home; our escort services to exercise classes; and our home health aides to help with activities like going for walks. Our team is also trained to monitor any changes in clients’ condition following a workout.

And with so many options, there’s a fun exercise choice for virtually everyone. “Watercize,” like water walking, water aerobics and strength training in a pool, for example, cam help create low impact workouts that reduce stress on joints while improving circulation and building muscle.

Dance therapy, for example, can benefit Alzheimer’s patients, who are encouraged to connect with fellow participants, which helps to build social bonds through non-verbal communication. Dance can also help Parkinson’s patients as it encourages exercise of gross motor skills and improves mood. It can also help cardiac patients and those with pulmonary disease.

Resolving to Eat Healthier

Changing your diet can seem daunting, but with help shopping, prepping and cooking nutritious meals from Premier’s team, sticking to a nutrition plan that your doctor recommends is easier. Our team can help you enjoy healthy fresh food even during the winter.

At gatherings of family and friends for parties and holidays like Valentine’s Day, sporting events, birthdays and anniversaries, it can be hard to stick to healthy eating resolutions. But having a healthy snack before dinner can help limit portion size and making some simple ingredient swaps can help too.

You and your Premier team can work together to create a menu or prepare a dish to bring that has the classic flavor you love, but with a twist. For example, choose rosemary, garlic and pepper instead of salt to flavor dishes, or use fresh fruit when baking with nutmeg, cinnamon and citrus juice and zest instead of sugar.

For more nutrition tips, check out our recent blog, 5 Nutrition Tips for Overall Health.

Learn more about how Premier Home Health Care Services, Inc. can help you keep your healthy living resolutions this year. Call us today at 1-866-668-4429.