​Have you tried to lose weight on your own, but have not had success? Trying to lose weight can feel overwhelming and discouraging when you try to do it alone.

Using a weight loss accountability plan can make all the difference! Weight loss accountability can come from the encouragement and support of another person or group of people. Accountability can also come from a system you set up to check if you are taking the steps necessary to achieve your goal.

The first step? Create SMART goals. No accountability system will work unless you have SMART goals. SMART weight loss goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. SMART goals turn your goal of “losing weight” into steps you can be held accountable to like “walk 30 minutes five times a week” and “eat seven vegetable servings a day.”
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Once you have created SMART goals, then you are ready to set up a system of accountability. 

Where can you find accountability for weight loss management?

• Ask a friend or family member to keep you accountable.  Pick a friend or family member who is firm, dependable, and committed to keeping you on track.
• Participate in group weight loss meetings. The most effective group weight loss meetings are hosted by someone with medical or nutritional training. 
• Meet with a health coach. Not only can she provide you with accountability, but she can help you create SMART goals that are personalized for your weight loss needs.
• Use a food diary to keep track of your calorie intake. Plan ahead of time what you will eat so it is easier to stay on track with your goals.
• Keep your goals visible like posting a chart to mark off your exercise. A visual representation of how you are meeting your goals is motivating!
• Use apps like MyFitness Pal, Lose It!, and SparkPeople to keep your accountability with you on the go.
• If your SMART goals include a particular number of steps per day, a pedometer can measure your progress.
• Set your own challenge and reward incentives. For example, when you exercise for 30 days, take a trip to a new store or watch a movie you’ve been waiting to see.

Why does accountability work for weight loss?

• When you choose a health coach or group weight loss meeting as your accountability system, you know that you are not alone. Listening to other weight loss successes empowers you for your own. You also have the opportunity to build long term friendships.

 

• Knowing that you will be reporting your actions to either a person or recording it in an app or diary will keep your daily decisions in check. It will make you think: “do I really want to report that I chose this?”

 

• Having an accountability system provides motivation. Having a visual representation of how far you have come propels you to press on towards your goal when the work gets hard.

If you are in need of accountability for your weight loss goal or any other healthy lifestyle goal, schedule your free first session with Dr. Mehri. If you live in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, you may want to meet in person. If not, or if you live anywhere else in the world, you can meet with Dr. Mehri online or by phone. Schedule your session by clicking the "schedule now" button to the right.

Sometimes I hear from patients a defeated attitude about heart disease because of their family history.

“My grandmother died of a heart attack and my mother has trouble, too. I know my genetics are against me. There is no point in living a healthy life style.”

On the contrary, a recent study looked at 55,000 people and examined both their genetics and their lifestyle to determine which contributed greater to heart disease.

What did they find?

The study showed that while having a genetic risk for heart disease can double the chances of getting the disease, a healthy lifestyle can cut your chances in half. If you have an exceedingly unhealthy lifestyle, the benefits of your good genes are cut in half.

The bottom line: lifestyle matters for preventing heart disease no matter your genetic makeup.

What kind of lifestyle will prevent heart disease?

​Here are seven scientifically-proven courses of action to do your part in preventing heart disease.

Healthy diet
A healthy diet in regards to heart disease means:

• Lower your salt intake
• Feast on fresh fruits and veggies (5-10 servings a day), fewer processed foods, whole grains, beans, lean meats and fish
• Limit saturated fat and avoid all trans-fat (seeing the terms “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” on a food label is a clue that the food includes trans-fat)
• Limit sweets and sweetened drink

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Manage weight
Take a look at a BMI calculator or ask your doctor or health coach to calculate it for you. The BMI isn’t an absolute indication of healthy weight, but it can help. 

Be active
Health professionals recommend 30 minutes of physical activity for most days of the week. Brisk walking is an excellent exercise. Gardening or yard work can be exercise as well. If you have trouble with your knees or have other issues, a health coach can recommend an appropriate physical activity.
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No smoking
Smoking is tied to the constriction of the blood vessels and chemical plaque buildup from tobacco. This can lead to a heart attack. 
The sooner you quit, the better! Although this may be difficult to do, a health coach can provide accountability for you as you quit. You can do it!

Limit alcohol
The Mayo Clinic recommends no more than one drink per day for women and men over 65; two per day for men under 65. One drink is defined as 12 oz of beer, 5 oz of wine, and 1.5 oz of spirits. Although you may have heard that some alcohol can be good for your heart, it is not recommended that you begin drinking if you do not already do so.
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Get enough sleep
Adults need 7-9 hours. You can tell you have had enough sleep when you can wake up easily without an alarm clock. Make it easier on your body by picking a routine and sticking to it.

Manage stress
Overwhelming stress is often managed with unhealthy habits like overeating and smoking. A health coach can help you find healthy ways to manage the stress you have in your life.
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Do you have a family history of heart disease? Are you ready to make lifestyle changes?
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Schedule your free 30 minutes of health coaching today for a healthier tomorrow. Let’s do this!

​Every December and several times throughout the year, Mark decides that he will lose weight. It usually comes after he has been to the doctor and both the doctor and he notice that the scale shows he is heavier. He knows about diet and exercise, but isn’t really sure what is best for him. His resolution? Lose weight.

Sandy wants to eat well. She knows she should be eating regularly and not just bits here and there. She wants to eat fruits and vegetables, but the task seems overwhelming. Her resolution? Eat healthy food.

Giana just doesn’t feel well. She is tired of being tired and run down and she is sure that if she changed some things in her life she would feel better, but she isn’t really sure what to change or how to do it. Her resolution for this year? Be more healthy.

Rob is stressed at work. There is a lot to deal with because of his boss. Home is stressful, too, because of the kid’s busy schedules and managing things at home between his full time job and his wife’s full time job. He wants to live less stressed, but isn’t sure what to change. He doesn’t want to end up drinking too much like he used to. His resolution? Live less stressed.

Each of these resolutions is commendable. Each person has pinpointed what needs to change in their lives. The trouble comes in knowing exactly how to meet these goals.
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Each resolution will fail unless the person creates a plan. Not just any plan, but a SMART plan. 

​That’s where a health coach comes in. A health coach can help you make a SMART plan for your health and wellness related goals.

A SMART plan has five different aspects:

1. Specific- There has to be a narrow focus so there can be intense focus on the real issue at hand. To eat healthy is not specific enough. But to eat at least one serving of a leafy green vegetable every day and to drink the recommended adequate intake of water each day (13 cups per day for men; 9 cups for women; recommended by The Institute of Medicine) gives clear instructions on what to actually do in order to be healthy.
2. Measurable- The steps created in a SMART plan will have some way for you to measure whether or not you have accomplished the goal. To lose weight is not measurable. But to say you want to lose 20 pounds is measurable.
3. Attainable- A goal needs to be what you are willing and able to work towards. If you want to be less stressed, but stubbornly refuse to quit anything in your schedule, you will not be able to achieve the goal.
4. Realistic- If you are currently inactive and 100 pounds overweight, it is not attainable to have a goal of running three marathons this year. This is setting yourself up to be defeated before you even begin. At the same time, the goal cannot be so easy that there is no effort required.
5. Timely- There needs to be a deadline for your goal. When there is no deadline, there is no pressure or urgency to complete the goal.

What resolutions are you thinking of for the New Year?

How will you break down those resolutions into SMART goals?

Ask your family or friends to help you word the goals and write them down so that you have a visual reminder. Typing them and printing them out is even better since it looks authoritative.

If your goals are more complex or you don’t have support for your goals, Dr. Mehri is here to help you formulate your SMART goals so they can be achieved.

A health coach not only helps you formulate the plans, but also holds you accountable while you are working to achieve the goals and helps tweak the plan if need be.

If your health related goals are complicated because of your medical issues, Dr, Mehri is the health coach you need. Because she is also a medical doctor, she understands the complexities of medical issues and uses scientifically-based research to inform your plan.
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Contact Dr. Mehri Ulas today for your free 15 minute introductory session so you can begin the New Year with specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, and timely goals.
 

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“I tried to live differently for years, but all of my efforts only led me to exhaustion,” said one of my patients who was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. From the changes that she was trying to make, I could tell that she knew the importance of adopting healthier behaviors to keep her blood glucose level under control.

Unfortunately, as with many of my clients, she did not know where to begin and how to proceed.

Today, on World Diabetes Day, there is a fresh focus on the challenges of living with Type 2 diabetes. 
 
Here are 5 tips that I share with diabetics to help them manage their diabetes:

1. Be sure to include low-sugar foods in your diet. Stay away from refined sugar and simple carbohydrates like candy or potato chips. A good rule of thumb for meal time is half of your plate filled with vegetables, one quarter with lean protein, and one quarter with whole grains.
2. Fat can be a problem for diabetics, too. Make sure you plan to eat the healthy fats that are found in olive oil, avocados, fish, and nuts.
3. Add exercise to your daily routine. If you are currently inactive, start small like a 10 minute walk each day. You can increase your active time as you get stronger. Weight training is as important if not more important according to this study. Prevent injuries while weight training by using proper form.  Keeping proper form is more important than the amount of weight you lift. 
4. Keep your meal times and snack times consistent to prevent low blood sugar.
5. Don’t do it alone: let a health coach walk with you!  Health coaches can help create a vision for wellness, devise a plan to reach these goals, and, if necessary, increase your readiness to change with motivational assessments. The goals set by a health coach are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time oriented (SMART). Along with creating an effective action plan, coaches also help you identify barriers, use problem solving, and develop strategies for success.

 
A study has shown that adding health coaching services to current diabetes management led to additional benefits: reduced stress, increased exercise, and significantly reduced HbA1c levels (marker for improved blood glucose control).
 
Integrative health coaching is like a missing piece of the puzzle in diabetes management. Undoubtedly, we need to use every worthwhile support to improve quality of life and to decrease medical costs over time. There is no need to wait for the perfect moment. Now is the time to take the first step towards change! Contact me, Dr. Mehri Ulas, and we will meet together to come up with a plan for your life. The first introductory session is free, so you have nothing to lose!  I look forward to meeting you.
 
Mehri Ulas MD, CHC
Wonder Health and Wellness