5 New Year’s Resolutions That Will Actually Help Your Patients Lose Weight

5 New Year’s Resolutions That Will Actually Help Your Patients Lose Weight

It’s that time of year again — when millions of Americans begin working on New Year’s resolutions that most likely include losing weight and adopting a healthier lifestyle. But unless your patients have planned and prepared carefully, the chances of them meeting their goals may be pretty slim.

According to an article recently published in Men’s Health, it’s not about the goals patients set, it’s about their approach and how they plan on accomplishing these goals. Here are five ways the article suggests you frame common weight loss goals when talking to patients in order to help them achieve a healthier 2018.

Be Specific
Stress the importance of setting specific goals. If a patient says they plan to “workout more this year,” ask them exactly how they plan on doing that. By asking them to make a tangible plan, such as working out four times a week for 30 minutes a day, will allow them to take specific actions that will help them achieve their goals.

Break Down a Big Goal into Steps
Many patients forget how important sleep is when it comes to losing weight. If some of your patients are hoping to get more sleep to help them achieve this year’s resolutions, recommend they take steps, such as setting a bedtime reminder at least 15 minutes prior to going to sleep instead of trying to remember to get a decent amount of sleep on their own.

Set Realistic Goals
Unrealistic goals, like eliminating all sugars from one’s diet, are likely to fail. Instead, suggest making sensible changes like eliminating added sugars such as sugary drinks and processed foods, which will help patients keep their resolutions and meet weight loss goals.

Make a Plan to Eat Healthy
If your patients are looking to clean up their diet and eat healthier foods, suggest making a plan that includes eating fruits and vegetables with every meal, aiming for at least five total servings per day. Remind them that loading up on produce and fruit is a great way to reduce calories and feel full.

Weekly Meal Plans
Encourage your patients to cook at home and plan their weekly meals on Sunday so they know what they’re going to eat for dinner every night. Remind them that cooking at home allows them to have 100 percent control of what they eat. Studies show that people who eat five or more home-cooked meals per week are actually 28 percent less likely to have an overweight body mass index and 24 percent less likely to have excess body fat that people who eat less than three home-cooked meals per week.

The beginning of the year is a great opportunity to offer your patients a proven, non-surgical weight loss procedure that will help them achieve life-changing weight loss and lifestyle changes that will assist them in keeping it off for good.

With the ReShape Balloon™ weight loss program, patients receive a non-surgical gastric balloon that helps jump start weight loss, plus 12 months of aftercare that includes personalized coaching, education, and support from your medical team. In addition to the intragastric balloon, patients will also have access to the exclusive ReShape Balloon Patient Portal to track their weight, activity, and data, as well as yearlong support and accountability that will help them achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

To support your aftercare program, ReShape has developed a comprehensive set of tools and resources to optimize patient weight loss goals, adopt healthy, long-term weight management behaviors, and achieve success. After all, successful patients spreading the word about their great experiences can drive a steady stream of new patients for your practice in the New Year.

To learn more about how the ReShape weight loss balloon can help overweight patients with a BMI of 30-40 achieve their weight loss goals, click here.