Making Healthful New Year's Resolutions That Stick

Friday, Dec. 30, 2011

MAKING A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION THAT STICKS

By Stephen Blakesley

Clatsop County Health Promotion Specialist

I read this morning on breaking MTV news that the rapper “50 Cent” publically declared that one of his New Year’s resolutions was to quit smoking – “... it's a very dirty, filthy habit," he said. "But not [only] is it my New Year's resolution to quit, but it's also my New Year's resolution to get my friends to quit as well."

I’m sure it’s no surprise to any of us that quitting smoking makes it onto the lists of the top ten most popular New Year’s resolutions year after year. And it should. The hard-to-break addiction remains the number one thing a person can do to improve his or her health. Also no strangers to those top ten lists are: losing weight, eating better, and exercise. These too are excellent ideas because poor choice of diet mixed with physical inactivity is the number two killer behind tobacco in America, Oregon, and not surprisingly in Clatsop County.

So if we are, in fact, focusing on the right lifestyle choices to change, why aren’t those changes sticking? When resolutions are too big or to broad we can easily get discouraged and give up on them, often before we ever even get started. So here’s what we can do to make them stick:

Motivation – Your motivation must come from within you, this must be something YOU want to do.

Start small – Instead of “eating better” start by adding a serving of fresh vegetables three days a week

Map out your steps – If losing weight is your thing, plan the steps it will take to lose the 30 pounds, don’t just focus on the thirty pounds. You have to have a plan to get there.

Change your habits – If quitting smoking is your goal and you have a cigarette every morning when you rise, change it to a glass of water, or brushing your teeth. Be prepared that it takes repeating something 200-300 times to make it a habit, so be intentional about it and stick with it.

Seek a supportive environment – My wife’s got me doing push-ups again. My straining helps her stay motivated with her own exercises…and gets me off the couch. Fifty Cent understands this. He’s going to change his environment by getting his friends to quit with him.

Announce your resolution publically – Fifty Cent’s fans will now help hold him accountable. We all want to do what we say we will do. Tell the world, make it public, you’ll be more likely to stick it out and do it!

Get help- We don’t have to do this alone. There are organizations and classes can help us.

In Clatsop County, tobacco users can turn to the Oregon Tobacco Quit Line

The Oregon Tobacco Quit Line is a free program offered over the phone and on the Web that helps Oregonians quit tobacco by offering confidential, evidence-based coaching. Contact the Quit Line at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (800-784-8669); 1-877-2NO-FUME (877-266-3863, Spanish version); or www.quitnow.net/oregon/. Callers may also be eligible for free nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches or gum.

If you want to learn more about taking charge of your health, setting goals, and making changes that address chronic conditions like heart disease, asthma, arthritis, diabetes, and other chronic health concerns, then “Living Well with Chronic Conditions” might be for you. This is a free six-week class that will get you moving towards a healthier you. To sign up call the Columbia Memorial Education Department at (503) 338-7564.

Released by:

Tom Bennett

Community Relations Coordinator

(503) 338-3622

Port Of Astoria Facing-Off With Newport Again In Possible Bid For Tillamook Air Museum Relocation?

File Photo

By:LORI TOBIAS - Associated Press/Washington Examiner
12/25/11 4:36 PM

Inside the Tillamook Air Museum, water drips from the rafters, the floor is damp and it's cold enough to make not only a coat, but hat and gloves, feel like a really good idea — even on days when you wouldn't bother with them outside.

That's the price you pay for a setting inside a World War II-era blimp hangar, billed as the largest free span wooden structure in the world, a building so big you could almost simultaneously hold six football games inside. Still, it may be a small price to pay for a tour of what the museum says is one of the "top five privately owned aircraft collections in the nation."............Read Full Article

The Daily Astorian: Clatsop Care Mill Pond Village Assisted Living Facility Clears DHS Hurdle!!

DHS to pay Clatsop Care in Mill Pond Village issue

The Daily Astorian

Posted: Thursday, December 22, 2011 10:19 am

The Oregon Department of Human Services and Clatsop Care Center Health District have reached an agreement that resolves ongoing claims by Clatsop Care over the management of funds provided through the federal Money Follows the Person grant program.DHS will pay $125,000 to Clatsop Care, including attorney fees and costs over the Mill Pond Village development project. You must be logged in with the proper services to print this article. Prior to the settlement, which was agreed upon Monday, concerns surfaced in September 2010 over proposed funding for Clatsop Care's Mill Pond Village development project using state and federal dollars from Oregon's Money Follows The Person (MFP) program, On the Move.The On The Move (OTM) program was suspended pending an internal audit to review the overall management and operation of the program.On The Move was designed to provide community options for individuals transitioning out of institutions. The MFP project, which was administered in Oregon through the OTM program and funded by a federal grant under Medicaid, assisted in providing necessary supplemental services to ensure that individuals had the support, equipment and services to thrive in the community through a person-centered approach.Up until September 2010, Clatsop Care had been working on the development of an innovative proposal under the OTM program to serve seniors and people with disabilities with challenging needs in small community settings. Based upon representations from the OTM program on the availability of OTM funding, Clatsop Care incurred certain architectural and other development expenditures in order to secure financing for the project.Following the internal audit, DHS determined that use of MFP grant funding was not appropriate for the Clatsop Care Mill Pond development project and DHS halted disbursement of funding under the MFP program for this project. As a result, Clatsop Care was unable to proceed with the development of the Mill Pond Village as originally proposed.The settlement agreement reached Monday between DHS and Clatsop Care settles existing and potential claims by Clatsop Care against DHS and the State of Oregon, including those set forth in a May 26 Tort Claim Notice, three personal service contracts and an incompletely executed grant agreement arising from the Mill Pond Site proposal for an assisted living facility.