The majority of us know what lifestyle changes we need to make to be healthier, but finding the motivation to make those changes can be tough.
Often these healthy changes include cutting out favorite foods or dropping habits that we find stress relieving – this makes it extra hard to want to quit.
When the health benefits aren’t enough of a motivation, find out what you can be done to make the changes necessary to be a healthier you.
Karen Prieto, MSN is here to discuss just how to stay motivated to make a healthier you.
Selected Podcast
Change: How to Motivate Yourself
Featured Speaker:
Karen Prieto, MSN, APRN-CNS – Advanced Practice Nurse
Karen Prieto, MSN, APRN-CNS is an advance practice nurse who is board certified as a clinical nurse specialist in adult health. Her focus is in the area of preventative health, providing physical assessment, risk factor identification, and lifestyle management planning to support healthy living. She is also a certified wellness coach who supports patients in addressing barriers and making changes to promote better health. Transcription:
Melanie Cole (Host): The majority of us know what lifestyle changes we need to be healthier, but finding that motivation to make those changes is really going to be one of the toughest parts. My guest today is Karen Prieto. She’s an advanced practice nurse who is board certified as a clinical nurse specialist in adult health at Allina Health Penny George Institute for Health and Healing. Welcome to the show, Karen. Tell us a little bit about really why you think people have such a hard time making those changes after New Year’s. People don’t always stick with it. What’s so hard about making those changes?
Karen Prieto (Guest): Well, for a lot of people, they set their sights too high. Actually, we work with people that help identify what they want for their future of their life that create a little bit of a wellness vision and then focus around behavior change through that.
Melanie: Are there certain habits as we want to change our behaviors, whether it’s dieting, getting active, quitting smoking, any of these things that are harder than others?
Karen: Well, behaviors that have become habits, habits you have a tendency to do without thinking, like the brain on autopilot. To help people quit, there are certain ways we can go about that. For us and for people, there are cravings that can occur in certain behaviors, like the desire to smoke. When people smoke, the nicotine gets in their bloodstream and goes up to their brain and releases these feel-good chemicals, which then re-support the behavior to become more of a habit.
Melanie: How do you help people to change these habits?
Karen: Well, I work as a certified wellness coach, and what we do with people is they’ll come in to the Penny George Institute, and then we work with them to identify what they want out of their life. What is their wellness vision? Then we work with them as a wellness coach to use techniques such as what we call motivational interviewing, and that is just working with the client and helping them uncover motivation, their strength to make behavior change. Once they’ve figured out what their wellness vision is, then we can create some goals that are realistic. Oftentimes, people will set up goals that are just not achievable, and then when they can’t complete them, they get disappointed. The negative self-talk steps in. So if we can work with them to create realistic goals that are measureable -- oftentimes, we start out with what we call baby steps, creating a little bit of an achievable goal so that they can accomplish that. They build up self-confidence and then they can move forward to continue on with creating a positive behavior.
Melanie: That’s true that positive behaviors and results build upon themselves and give you that motivation to keep going, but you mentioned negative self-talk, and I find that so interesting because that is one of our biggest detrimental things, especially women, Karen, that we do. We tell ourselves, “You’re fat,” or, “You’re ugly,” or, “You’ve got wrinkles,” or, “You look terrible.” We do this to ourselves every day. How can we stop that negative self-talk?
Karen: Well, if the negative self-talk comes in, tell it in your brain, just say stop. Then work on a little bit of self-compassion. We find that people that stop the negative thinking and the negative discussion with themselves and actually work on “I am happy in my own skin, I’m going to move forward to make myself healthier,” if they work on a little bit of self-compassion, it’s likely they’re going to actually maintain that behavior change.
Melanie: If people do get this motivation and they get up a real good behavior change but they’re terrified, as people who lose weight often are, that they’re going to fall backwards or start smoking again, what do you tell them about not having those relapses?
Karen: Well, first of all, I’d let them know that relapse is not uncommon. We all fall off the wagon from time to time. But first of all, just recognize that negative self-talk. Like I said, try some of that self-compassion when you get triggered. So to participate in the behavior you don’t want to, stop and take a look, practice some mindfulness is what we call it, being aware of where you’re at in the situation. If there’s something that triggered me to want to eat this bag of potato chips or smoke a cigarette and if it’s, for example, a stress-related issue, then we help figure out a way next time to avoid that situation by substituting a healthier behavior, thereby limiting the triggers to want to either smoke or do something unhealthy.
Melanie: Is it true that it takes 21 days to break a bad habit, whether it’s quitting smoking or eating more healthy or really taking up an exercise program?
Karen: Well, usually I often don’t focus on the 21-day timeframe because every situation is different. If you set a timeframe on it and people get to that 21-day and, “Oh, I haven’t broken this habit,” they set themselves up for failure. Rather, again, we work with them on small behavioral changes, easy ones that they can change. And then once they gain confidence in that, they can move forward. An example is that something basic as when people want to lose weight or become more aware of healthy eating, I often will just start out with questioning them, “Do you drink a can of sugar pop?” Yes. “Well, how about would it work for you to substitute a bottle of water instead of that pop?” They can eventually do one a day and then add on more till eventually, they don’t desire the pop, the water has become a new habit, they’re confident they can make a change, and then we address something else.
Melanie: What about some supplemental services that can help people make these changes people try? Hypnosis to quit smoking or lose weight, they join programs; they try massage to relax and get rid of some of that stress. What are some other services that can help them?
Karen: Well, it is commonly seen that people that find support systems or identify with support programs often do better with behavior change. For example, with smoking cessation, I work with a lot of people on smoking cessation. We create a lifestyle management plan that works for them. But then I also say as an adjunct to that, acupuncture and Chinese medicine has a lot of benefits to helping support quitting smoking. Massage services, for example, can help support relaxation, so that if you’re more relaxed, you can work on behavior change, and it works all together. At Penny George, too, we also have classes that work with mindful-based stress reduction if stress management is an issue. There’s resiliency training, which commonly works with people with a history of anxiety and depression to learn how to respond to situations in a healthier way rather than getting distressed. There are a lot of programs that can help support behavior change. As well, we also have the Live Well Fitness Center, which works people one-on-one with nutritional choices and exercise prescription.
Melanie: In just the last minute or so, if people take away one thing from this segment, what is the most important thing and best advice for people that want to make a health or wellness change in their lives?
Karen: Well, first of all, rather than saying, for example, “I want to lose 10 pounds,” actually take a look at your life. Take a look at what you value, and then create a behavior change around something you value. For example, for people that want to quit smoking, it’s challenging to quit smoking. It’s highly addictive, and it can be hard. But if you can identify your motivators—“Boy, I’d really like to quit smoking so my children are not around secondhand smoke,” which can be detrimental to their health—that is something that you value. And oftentimes, you’re going to be able to have that intrinsic drive or to actually stick with the behavior change, they get successful. Then lastly, again, as I stated before, trying some self-compassion. I think the number one thing that helps sabotage behavior change is that negative self-talk. “I’m a loser, I’m a failure, I can’t do it.” Compliment yourself for trying. Say, “Today is a new day, and I’m going to make the best day and move forward the best I can with the new behavior changes and living healthy.”
Melanie: Thank you so much, Karen. It’s great information. You are listening to the WELLcast with Allina Health. For more information, you can go to allinahealth.org. That’s allinahealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
Melanie Cole (Host): The majority of us know what lifestyle changes we need to be healthier, but finding that motivation to make those changes is really going to be one of the toughest parts. My guest today is Karen Prieto. She’s an advanced practice nurse who is board certified as a clinical nurse specialist in adult health at Allina Health Penny George Institute for Health and Healing. Welcome to the show, Karen. Tell us a little bit about really why you think people have such a hard time making those changes after New Year’s. People don’t always stick with it. What’s so hard about making those changes?
Karen Prieto (Guest): Well, for a lot of people, they set their sights too high. Actually, we work with people that help identify what they want for their future of their life that create a little bit of a wellness vision and then focus around behavior change through that.
Melanie: Are there certain habits as we want to change our behaviors, whether it’s dieting, getting active, quitting smoking, any of these things that are harder than others?
Karen: Well, behaviors that have become habits, habits you have a tendency to do without thinking, like the brain on autopilot. To help people quit, there are certain ways we can go about that. For us and for people, there are cravings that can occur in certain behaviors, like the desire to smoke. When people smoke, the nicotine gets in their bloodstream and goes up to their brain and releases these feel-good chemicals, which then re-support the behavior to become more of a habit.
Melanie: How do you help people to change these habits?
Karen: Well, I work as a certified wellness coach, and what we do with people is they’ll come in to the Penny George Institute, and then we work with them to identify what they want out of their life. What is their wellness vision? Then we work with them as a wellness coach to use techniques such as what we call motivational interviewing, and that is just working with the client and helping them uncover motivation, their strength to make behavior change. Once they’ve figured out what their wellness vision is, then we can create some goals that are realistic. Oftentimes, people will set up goals that are just not achievable, and then when they can’t complete them, they get disappointed. The negative self-talk steps in. So if we can work with them to create realistic goals that are measureable -- oftentimes, we start out with what we call baby steps, creating a little bit of an achievable goal so that they can accomplish that. They build up self-confidence and then they can move forward to continue on with creating a positive behavior.
Melanie: That’s true that positive behaviors and results build upon themselves and give you that motivation to keep going, but you mentioned negative self-talk, and I find that so interesting because that is one of our biggest detrimental things, especially women, Karen, that we do. We tell ourselves, “You’re fat,” or, “You’re ugly,” or, “You’ve got wrinkles,” or, “You look terrible.” We do this to ourselves every day. How can we stop that negative self-talk?
Karen: Well, if the negative self-talk comes in, tell it in your brain, just say stop. Then work on a little bit of self-compassion. We find that people that stop the negative thinking and the negative discussion with themselves and actually work on “I am happy in my own skin, I’m going to move forward to make myself healthier,” if they work on a little bit of self-compassion, it’s likely they’re going to actually maintain that behavior change.
Melanie: If people do get this motivation and they get up a real good behavior change but they’re terrified, as people who lose weight often are, that they’re going to fall backwards or start smoking again, what do you tell them about not having those relapses?
Karen: Well, first of all, I’d let them know that relapse is not uncommon. We all fall off the wagon from time to time. But first of all, just recognize that negative self-talk. Like I said, try some of that self-compassion when you get triggered. So to participate in the behavior you don’t want to, stop and take a look, practice some mindfulness is what we call it, being aware of where you’re at in the situation. If there’s something that triggered me to want to eat this bag of potato chips or smoke a cigarette and if it’s, for example, a stress-related issue, then we help figure out a way next time to avoid that situation by substituting a healthier behavior, thereby limiting the triggers to want to either smoke or do something unhealthy.
Melanie: Is it true that it takes 21 days to break a bad habit, whether it’s quitting smoking or eating more healthy or really taking up an exercise program?
Karen: Well, usually I often don’t focus on the 21-day timeframe because every situation is different. If you set a timeframe on it and people get to that 21-day and, “Oh, I haven’t broken this habit,” they set themselves up for failure. Rather, again, we work with them on small behavioral changes, easy ones that they can change. And then once they gain confidence in that, they can move forward. An example is that something basic as when people want to lose weight or become more aware of healthy eating, I often will just start out with questioning them, “Do you drink a can of sugar pop?” Yes. “Well, how about would it work for you to substitute a bottle of water instead of that pop?” They can eventually do one a day and then add on more till eventually, they don’t desire the pop, the water has become a new habit, they’re confident they can make a change, and then we address something else.
Melanie: What about some supplemental services that can help people make these changes people try? Hypnosis to quit smoking or lose weight, they join programs; they try massage to relax and get rid of some of that stress. What are some other services that can help them?
Karen: Well, it is commonly seen that people that find support systems or identify with support programs often do better with behavior change. For example, with smoking cessation, I work with a lot of people on smoking cessation. We create a lifestyle management plan that works for them. But then I also say as an adjunct to that, acupuncture and Chinese medicine has a lot of benefits to helping support quitting smoking. Massage services, for example, can help support relaxation, so that if you’re more relaxed, you can work on behavior change, and it works all together. At Penny George, too, we also have classes that work with mindful-based stress reduction if stress management is an issue. There’s resiliency training, which commonly works with people with a history of anxiety and depression to learn how to respond to situations in a healthier way rather than getting distressed. There are a lot of programs that can help support behavior change. As well, we also have the Live Well Fitness Center, which works people one-on-one with nutritional choices and exercise prescription.
Melanie: In just the last minute or so, if people take away one thing from this segment, what is the most important thing and best advice for people that want to make a health or wellness change in their lives?
Karen: Well, first of all, rather than saying, for example, “I want to lose 10 pounds,” actually take a look at your life. Take a look at what you value, and then create a behavior change around something you value. For example, for people that want to quit smoking, it’s challenging to quit smoking. It’s highly addictive, and it can be hard. But if you can identify your motivators—“Boy, I’d really like to quit smoking so my children are not around secondhand smoke,” which can be detrimental to their health—that is something that you value. And oftentimes, you’re going to be able to have that intrinsic drive or to actually stick with the behavior change, they get successful. Then lastly, again, as I stated before, trying some self-compassion. I think the number one thing that helps sabotage behavior change is that negative self-talk. “I’m a loser, I’m a failure, I can’t do it.” Compliment yourself for trying. Say, “Today is a new day, and I’m going to make the best day and move forward the best I can with the new behavior changes and living healthy.”
Melanie: Thank you so much, Karen. It’s great information. You are listening to the WELLcast with Allina Health. For more information, you can go to allinahealth.org. That’s allinahealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.