A new year means time for renewal. Some of us think big when making our new year’s resolutions: exercise more, eat healthier, stick to a budget. These resolutions are great but they are too broad and so oftentimes they get abandoned.
The secret to putting your 2022 resolutions into practice? Take smaller steps.
The THRiVE program, part of UHN’s Health eUniversity Cardiac College, can help you start making those small lifestyle changes for better health. THRiVE is a program you can manage on your own, with a friend or family member, and it allows you to participate in 10 weekly challenges that promote exercise, healthier eating and personal wellness.
Here are six ways THRiVE can help you to create a plan for change to start a healthier lifestyle.
1. Learn what small changes you can make
Before you start THRiVE, think about what your goals are and changes you want to make to your lifestyle. Is it get active, eat healthy or focus on wellness? Whatever your goal may be, you are in the right place to start your THRiVE journey. Choose a weekly challenge that aligns with your goal and start learning what changes you can start making. Learn how to use THRiVE here.
2. Create an action plan
Careful planning is an important step in achieving any goal you wish to accomplish. With THRiVE, you can build a weekly action plan outlining when, where, how often and how much you will practise this healthy habit over the next seven days. Start your weekly action plan here.
3. Get active
THRiVE has three weekly challenges focused on specific exercise programs: aerobics, resistance training and “sit less move more”. Each weekly challenge will coach you through each exercise program, outline the benefits of each form of exercise and how easily they can be incorporated into your lifestyle. Learn how to get active with THRiVE.
4. Eat healthy
THRiVE’s weekly challenges on healthy eating look at how to choose healthy foods, develop a healthy relationship with food and how to eat the Mediterranean way. These weekly challenges focus on helping you to choose the right foods and make healthy choices for your diet. These healthy eating challenges also focus on helping you choose foods that can reduce cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar and risk of developing other health problems. Learn how to eat healthy with THRiVE.
5. Feel well
THRiVE’s final three weekly challenges focus on improving the way you feel through managing depression, stress and burnout, sleeping well and strengthening your social relationships. Each challenge provides you with valuables resources and useful techniques to improve your health and take control of your personal wellness. Learn how to feel well with THRiVE.
6. Take time to reflect
Putting time aside to reflect on the progress of your goals is key. In reflecting on your weekly progress you can assess what went well with your plan, what didn’t go as planned, and what challenges you faced in achieving your goal for the week. It’s important to be honest with yourself if a goal needs to be modified or if something is just not working for you. It’s an important skill to learn how to problem-solve so you can continue towards your goal as you progress through your weekly challenges. Reflect on your weekly action plan here.
What weekly challenge are you working on? Upload a picture of you participating in one of your challenges to social media and tag us @uhnfoundation.