Newsmakers: Hy-Vee Dietitian Shares Goal-Setting Tips for New Year
The start of a new year can spark motivation for healthier living.
“I’m always so excited to meet with clients in the new year because we have all this extra motivation,” said Melissa Jaeger, registered dietitian with Hy-Vee. “We can actually create small lifestyle changes and steps to help you reach broader, overarching goals.”
Jaeger says develop SMART goals that Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. This helps with accountability and adjusting the plan if you are not reaching your desired outcome.
“So I would look at a goal where I’m going to eat more fruits and vegetables and look at how many am I eating now? What w can we do in the next days, weeks, or months, so you can reach that goal?” said Jaeger. “If you ate an extra serving of fruits and vegetables at breakfast three times over the last week, maybe we can bump it to four times or we can make these smaller lifestyle changes that allow us to build toward a greater goal.”
Dietitian Tips to Tackle New Year Goals
If you are considering getting started on your New Year’s goals with a dietitian, Jaeger says your first step is to come in for a discovery session. This free session allows the dietitian to get to know the client’s concerns and determine goals and a nutrition service that is best for you.
Jaeger says you might be surprised to know that Hy-Vee offers a few options to help people plan meals. There’s a four-week program called Healthy Habits that includes balanced meal plans, simple recipes and grocery lists as well as discussions with a dietitian to track progress. There’s also 60-minute Freezer Meal Prep Workshops where participants can prepare five meals in 60 minutes that would feed a family.
“I find that in the New Year so many of us have the best intentions to plan out our meals and plans to get back on track with previous dietary habits that we’ve had, but at the end of the day, that takes extra time and that’s something we don’t have,” said Jaeger. “[Meal-planning] is always hard, so any help we can get in that category is great.”
Besides meal-planning and nutrition services, there are also several screening options offered at Hy-Vee. A free Vitamin-D screening is coming up in January. Learn more here.
See also: Newsmakers: Hy-Vee Shares Hydration Tips and Tricks
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