Healthier 901: New year’s resolutions

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - The countdown to 2024 is on, and for many people that means New Year’s resolutions.

That’s true for one Memphis man who says Methodist Le Bonheur’s “Healthier 901″ challenge helped him accomplish his goals in 2023.

Jimmy Scott is walking into the new year with a new perspective.

“Your body, to me, is your biggest ownership and to try to take control of your body has been great for me,” Scott said.

The Memphis-native made a New Year’s resolution at the beginning of 2023 to lose 20 pounds, but struggled.

“I was 6 months into the new year and I had only lost 3 pounds,” he said.

He then came across Methodist Le Bonheur HealthCare’s Healthier 901 initiative which encourages the Mid-South community to collectively lose 1 million pounds in 3 years.

He says Healthier 901 re-ignited his goal.

“I was like – this will help me out because I can show what I’m doing and also show the greater Mid-South what I’m doing.”

Dr. Laura Shultz, licensed Clinical Psychologist with Methodist Le Bonheur, says goals for the new year should be specific, measurable, relevant and time bound.

“Instead of saying ‘I want to make healthier choices...you can think of a very specific thing that you could do to make a healthier choice,” Shultz said.

For Scott that choice included going to the YMCA 3-4 times a week to walk or jog.

Now, he’s only 5 pounds away from reaching his goal.

“Staying the same is easy, but change is just hard. So if you’re getting stuck or maybe you’ve fallen off…go back and look at that goal with a fresh perspective,” Shultz said.

No matter your goals for the new year, both Dr. Shultz and Jimmy Scott encourage you to have patience with yourself.

“It’s not going to happen overnight, and you didn’t gain all the weight overnight. You’re not going to lose all of it overnight,” Scott said.

If you’re looking to kick start your health journey in the new year, you can go to Healthier901.com and sign up for free!

There’s an app to help you track activity, calories - participate in challenges with other Memphians - or watch workout videos to get you moving.

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