Thinking about healthier choices this September? You may need a plan A and a plan B

Just as New Year’s is known as a time to set personal goals, September can be a tempting time to set new professional objectives. However, one Ottawa wellness expert said giving into any sort of hype isn’t a good way to create sustainable lifestyle changes. 

Just as New Year’s is known as a time to set personal goals, September can be a tempting time to set new professional objectives. However, one Ottawa wellness expert said giving into any sort of hype isn’t a good way to create sustainable lifestyle changes.  “I hate New Year’s resolutions,” said Katie Faloon-Drew, an Ottawa-based health and confidence coach and author. “They fail 90 per cent of the time. So my message, especially in September, is to avoid the trap of these all-or-nothing goals.” The problem with “fresh start” periods, she said, is that many people set their ambitions too high, gunning to achieve more than they can reasonably fit into their current lifestyle.  Much like January, September brings with it new responsibilities before wellness habits can even be considered. Work gets busier, routines change and, for parents, kids are back to school, meaning homework, lunches and extracurricular activities can start to pile up.  According to Faloon-Drew, trying to add new wellness resolutions on top of that is a recipe for failure.  “That is actually what’s overwhelming people,” she said. “They completely stick to it for a few weeks, then they feel overwhelmed, they feel full of shame, they feel guilt for not doing it. Then they quit.” Still, health is something Faloon-Drew said professionals should be finding ways to focus on when life gets busy. While she doesn’t recommend running a marathon or changing your entire diet, she said there are ways to prioritize health and wellness sustainability.  That starts with taking your current lifestyle into consideration. “For people who are going back to work, they’re in this mind frame of, ‘What did I do 10 years ago? What did I do when I had no kids? What is society telling me I should be doing?’” she said. “Really take a step back. We’ve got enough pressure on us. We’ve got a lot to do. Now is not the time to add more pressure to yourself.” She added that pressure can make habits less enjoyable, which can make it harder to sustain them long term.  “People, especially women, are building their health goals out of a place of shame,” she added. “When we get busy, the thing that falls off our to-do list is the thing that doesn’t make us feel good. When you build health out of shame, like, ‘I need to lose weight, I should work out, or I have to be healthy,’ of course you’re not going to do it. We want to feel comfortable.” To set achievable goals, Faloon-Drew recommends creating a plan A and plan B for every habit, to take some of the shame out of the practice.  If plan A is to go to the gym for an hour three times a week, she said plan B should be a shorter, less energy-intensive activity that can be done instead of doing nothing when life gets busy. It could be a stretching routine or a 15-minute walk around the neighbourhood.  “So many people don’t create a plan B,” she said. “This is what saves people. When your kid gets sick or you have a deadline at work, cut down on time or frequency, but don't completely give up. It’s not a sprint. Life is a marathon. Give yourself grace to know it’s okay and the plan is going to ebb and flow.”

Employers can lead by example when it comes to nutrition

All busy professionals know the importance of a balanced diet, but Veronica Rouse, an Ottawa registered dietician who specializes in heart disease, said many find it challenging to keep up with their body’s needs.  According to Rouse, food plays an essential role not only in overall health, but in work performance as well. 

“A lot of individuals report a midday slump around 2 p.m., and eating the right nutrients can help to increase energy around that time,” she said. “You create productivity, focus and creativity. Food also helps with immunity, so enhancing it can reduce absenteeism. Dietary habits and eating the right foods is important but … poor dietary habits like too much sugar or relying on processed or fast foods can lead to energy crashes or irritability.” Because of these knock-on effects, Rouse said finding ways to encourage employees to pursue healthy eating habits is a smart investment for businesses.  But unlike children heading back to classrooms this week, adult professionals don’t tend to need much help when it comes to nutrition education. Knowledge, she said, isn’t typically the thing standing in their way.  “A lot of people know what to do,” she said. “It’s how to do it that is the biggest challenge.”  So how to promote healthy habits in the workplace? Rouse said there are simple options, such as having nutritious snacks like a bowl of fruit by the water cooler, that can make healthy choices easier to achieve.  Most of all, she said employers can lead by example and set up initiatives that encourage collaboration and accountability.  “There’s a social aspect to eating,” she said. “Have management take their breaks, set a positive tone for the workplace. They can also organize group activities like wellness challenges, healthy lunches, or have different companies supply pop-up lunches. Things like that really get people engaged and actually doing the things they know they should be doing.” While clients are often intimidated by diet, Rouse said it doesn’t take much to start seeing improvements.  Rather than a diet overhaul or cutting out entire food groups, Rouse recommends small changes, like finding simple swaps and trying new recipes to incorporate more whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats.  Eating more colour is one common starting point she gives clients. Ensuring you’re eating a colourful plate often means incorporating more fruits and vegetables and the visual interest can also make the dish more enjoyable to consume.  Packing lunches and healthy snacks for work the night before may also help beat the temptation to peruse the vending machine when energy slumps.  She added that the importance of hydration shouldn’t be overlooked either. Carrying a reusable water bottle and setting a challenge for how much water to drink in a day can make it fun and easier to meet the body’s needs.