Coming back to school less than two weeks into January, many students are focused on keeping their New Year's resolutions. They’re planning on eating healthier, exercising more and losing weight — at least for the first week or two that is.
Not sure how to keep your resolution? Not sure how to even come up with a resolution in the first place? Michael Crowley, Campus Wellness’ program coordinator for students, is confident Student Health Services can help.
Campus Wellness helps students, faculty and staff maintain their fitness-related goals, and according to the website, resources deals with stress management, nutrition, physical activity, sexual health education, ending tobacco use and weight management.
They can help members of the USC community through programs such as basic workout plans, one-on-one stress management consults and tobacco treatment. They work with dietitians to help individuals eat healthy and the Counseling Center to ensure that individuals don’t become overwhelmed or frustrated by their goals.
Crowley said it is key for students, faculty and staff to set SMART goals, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused and time-bound. Walking 10,000 steps for 14 days is a SMART goal, according to Crowley. He recommends that students set goals like this, rather than weight loss goals.
“We don’t set weight loss goals. We’ll set a physical activity and healthy eating goal and we’ll get to go after those goals so they can make shorter and more precise goals that way and then they can build momentum off of reaching those goals,” Crowley said. “And ultimately, what’s going to happen is that they start losing weight by hitting these other goals.”
With SMART New Year's resolutions, individuals Campus Wellness usually works with typically have an easier time of persevering their work ethic.
“A lot of people go after weight, and because it takes a little bit longer to get those goals, they get frustrated. With physical activity and healthy eating goals, you have direct control,” Crowley said. “If someone’s just chasing that weight goal for a month and they’re not seeing any progress, they’ll get fed up with it. We take a stepping stone to build up momentum, so once they get that momentum going and once they start getting the thing they originally were chasing, now they have a behavioral change in place.”
Crowley also hopes that individuals focused on completing their New Year's resolutions remember all aspects of their wellness.
“Don’t be so focused on your goal that you get tunnel vision and don’t see the other aspects,” he said.