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A New Year, New You: January's Health Month

  • Published
  • By Kevin Hymel
  • Air Force Surgeon General Public Affairs
The new year is a perfect time to work on a new you. While people know that healthier eating, tobacco free living and physical exercise contribute to a better life, many do not know how to get started.

Some of the best methods for achieving personal performance goals include goal setting, self-monitoring, and problem solving to reach goals based on personal values and beliefs about health. The Air Force calls this a human performance goal. One size, however, fits none.

For those ready to take the next step, try these pointers to help you out:

     1. Start somewhere;
     2. Choose the goal that motivates you most;
     3. Don’t go it alone

“You can make healthy choices the default choice by selecting healthier options at the grocery store, for instance, so there are fewer temptations at home when you start snacking,” recommends Lt. Col. Lori Diseati with the Air Force Medical Service’s Health Promotion team. She also recommends aiming for life balance as reflected through Comprehensive Airmen Fitness and its four pillars that sustain a thriving and resilient Air Force community.

The four pillars of Comprehensive Airmen Fitness include:

Mental: Approaching life's challenges in a positive way by demonstrating self-control, stamina and good character with choices and actions; seeking help and offering help.

Physical: Performing and excelling in physical activities that require aerobic fitness, endurance, strength, flexibility and body composition derived through exercise, nutrition and training.

Social: Developing and maintaining trusted, valued friendships that are personally fulfilling and foster good communication, including exchange of ideas, views and experiences.

Spiritual: Strengthening a set of beliefs, principles or values that sustain an individual's sense of well-being and purpose. Spiritual fitness is about having a sense of purpose and meaning in your life. It's essential to an individual's resiliency as esprit de corps is vital to a unit's mission accomplishment. It includes but not limited to worldviews, religious faith, sense of purpose, sense of connectedness, values, ethics and morals.

“In choosing an approach to improving the physical pillar of CAF, some people do best when they change only one habit at a time, or just slightly modify things they already do, like parking a little farther away when they go to the grocery store,” Diseati said. “Other people want to change everything at once because every good habit makes the other habit easier. For example, quitting smoking makes it easier to increase activity, so they aim to quit smoking, lose weight, and change jobs or lifestyle all at once for that big change.” If choosing to make small, incremental changes, pick the one bad habit that you are most likely to implement and then add on as you succeed.

As for not going it alone, Diseati recommends using family members, friends and the community for support. “It always helps to do things as a community,” she said. “Community-wide competitions, social groups, and establishing family rules are all ways to get support from others to meet your goals.”

The Air Force is ready to help. Every base has a health promotion office and at least one health promotion officer who can assist you with your goals for tobacco cessation, weight loss or weight maintenance, and proper sleep habits. Health promotion also collaborates year round with commanders, services leaders, and the community to provide multiple opportunities to improve your health.

Throughout the year, the AFMS will post exercise and nutrition tips on our website and through social media. Be sure to follow us throughout 2016. Happy New Year! And Happy New You!