Live Healthy Hartsville: Out with the Old and In with the New

By: Kimberly Alton, RD, CSSD, LD, Director of Food and Nutrition Services at Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center 

As one year exits and a new one enters, it is not uncommon to sit back and take stock of what happened in the old year and what we would like to happen in the new. This has been a coming out of the pandemic year. We have been able to open businesses back up. Most of the rules and regulations that we have had to follow have loosened. After 31 years of being a Registered Dietitian, I wanted to share a few lessons that may help you formulate your plan to make this next year a great one.

Lesson Number One: Don’t Get Caught in the All or Nothing Trap.

I often share this with my patients. When we only apply an all or nothing mindset to the things that we do, we set ourselves up for failure. Life is not without roadblocks and obstacles. Whether you are trying to eat healthier, exercise more, organize your life, or any other number of goals that you have in mind, you are likely going to have some setbacks. The truth is success often comes after many failures. Failure does not mean stop – it simply means back up and figure out your next step. Successful people fail and fail often. The difference is they do not give up!

Lesson Number Two: Start Where You Are.

You ever see a newborn baby just pop up and start walking? I know the answer is no to that unicorn. Just like a newborn must learn to crawl before it can learn to walk, it is important for you to evaluate where you are in the present moment? Do you eat junk food 24/7? Probably not going to switch all of that to healthy food in one day. If you haven’t exercised in the past year, guess what? You are not going to run a marathon (successfully) tomorrow. You need to start where you are and grow and develop from that point.

Lesson Number Three. Don’t Live Life Through A Social Media Filter.

Misinformation is the name of the game in the social media world. Be careful about how much stock you put into what you read and verify that what you are reading is coming from a reliable source. By the same token do not be mis-lead by all the pictures of perfection. I’ll be the first to tell you I have seriously laughed until I have cried with some of those crazy filters that you can use on social media. However, none of us are as perfect as some of those make us look. We do not all have even, pore less skin tones. Equally, we do not all have these perfect, sculpted bodies. Beyond the use of filters, it becomes even worse when you compare yourselves to your friends on social media. Sometimes you come away feeling less than from this comparison. STOP!!! Remember that sometimes smiling faces hide hurting hearts and beautiful can be broken too. You are your biggest competitor. The only one that you have to get better than is the you that was not healthy. So, stop the comparison and be you.

Lesson Number Four. There Is Power in Positivity.

 Life is not without struggles and battles but at the end of the day, we are still blessed. It is okay to have a bad day, bad week, bad month – just do not unpack your bags and live there. Having a positive mindset has a powerful impact on health outcomes. Your power lies in how you react to situations. When you react negatively, and everything is doom and gloom – you feel the exact same way – with a little dark cloud hanging over you. If we spend a little more time thinking about the reasons we have to be grateful, we will find more to be grateful for – the blessings in the storm.

Lesson Number Five. Everyone Needs a Tribe.

Community – everybody needs somebody. Coming out of the pandemic, we have enjoyed more time together than we have been allowed in the past two years. What a difference it makes. In Blue Zone regions – regions across the world where people live long lives (we can talk about this one in a future article) – one of the tenets of the people in these regions is to have a tribe. They have a group of people that they can rely on, and others can rely on them. If you have not discovered your tribe yet, I encourage you to explore that in this new year.

Lesson Number Six. Don’t Overthink It!

I tell patients all the time, “Don’t overthink it, it’s just food.” Now that does not mean that you can just eat whatever, whenever. What it does mean is that we do not have to create some gourmet level dish to have a healthy plate. Same rules apply with everything else in life. Should we do our research and plan for some things? Absolutely! What we should not do, is never go further than the thinking about it stage. We waste a lot of moments of our life standing at the edge of the water just dipping our toes in. Take the plunge! Life is short.

2022 is closing out and 2023 is just over the horizon. Now is a great time to think along what you would like to carry into the new year and what you are willing to let go of from the past year. Another 365 days is calling your name. I hope you respond with a grateful heart and a thirst for all the good this new year can offer. Wishing nothing but health and happiness to you and yours in the new year. Until next time…Live Healthy!