goals

Let’s Chat: Goal-Getter, Kick Start Your Health Journey in 2025

Have you already started to fall out of the routine of habits you set for a New Year’s resolution? Maintaining habits can be difficult; life gets busy, and our unrealistic expectations for ourselves can become overwhelming. Whether you’re setting wellness goals, considering weight loss solutions, or planning for upcoming events like spring break, there are practical steps to help you reach and maintain your goals! This month on Let’s Chat, Dr. Bitner is joined by Dr. Egan and Dr. Mueller to help reframe your health goals and apply lifestyle habits to prevent, manage, and reverse chronic disease. 

Setting Realistic Goals With true. 

Often, when individuals create New Year’s resolutions, they make their goals too vague. For example, “lose weight,” “drink more water,” or “eat healthy.” Generalized goals aren’t attainable because they feel too big and do not provide actionable ways to achieve the goal. An important first step to setting realistic goals is reflecting on tangible results. At true., we use the phrase picture of self (POS), which encompasses your overall dream of how you want to feel on the inside and what you want to accomplish on the outside. Your picture of self can reflect what you want to look like, and how you want to feel. It can even be about your sexual health and having better or more sex. Everyone’s picture of self is different. By identifying your POS, you can better visualize your goals, determine which measurable outcomes you’d like to achieve (i.e., drink 80 net oz. of water per day), and set meaningful objectives.

Care That Reflects Your Goals

At true., we understand that women connecting and establishing their own goals is more impactful than a physician telling them what they need. We believe in a collaborative approach, where the patient leads the conversation and drives the direction of their care.

After defining your POS, true. utilizes a process called W*A*I* Pointes®. It keeps patients’ health information, health goals, and progress front and center to guarantee the proper support. By discussing each area and choosing to focus on the ones that align with your picture of self, you can better understand where you are at now, and where you’d like to be in the future. Ask yourself: “Is there a gap between now and my goals?” and “What steps do I need to implement to close that gap?” 

The ten areas of wellness:

  1. Ability to be active 
  2. Obesity 
  3. Cancer 
  4. Diabetes 
  5. Ease of coping 
  6. Phase of ovarian function 
  7. Good bones 
  8. Heart disease 
  9. Income security
  10. Sexual health 

It’s essential to reflect on, clearly define, and be specific about our desires for our future health to achieve realistic and rewarding goals. Whether your goal is to keep up with your grandchildren or feel more confident in your body, POS and W*A*I* Pointes® provide an intentional approach to establishing the right steps for sustainable health. 

Weight Loss Goals

Weight loss is multifaceted, involving more than just diet and exercise. Menopause, mindset, sleep, and metabolic health all play a crucial role in our body’s ability to lose weight. true. uses the weight loss pyramid to highlight key fundamentals:

Mindset

Your relationships with food, work, and personal connections impact your ability to reach your goals. These don’t have to be perfect, but by nurturing areas like connection and managing stress, you can foster a healthy mindset, resulting in a more sustainable weight loss.

Nutrition

Finding a sustainable and enjoyable meal plan can make all the difference in your journey. Start by prioritizing whole foods, vegetables, and high-protein meals while reducing ultra-processed foods.

Medications

New medications can be transformative for weight loss in people with obesity or other metabolic diseases. These new medications mimic GIA tract hormones to support the body’s natural weight loss processes. Talk with your provider to see if medication is right for you. 

Other Fundamentals:

  • Exercise to nurture a healthy heart and build muscle mass.
  • Prioritizing quality sleep.
  • Learning healthy coping strategies for stress. 

Fight Your Cravings

A major barrier that individuals face when trying to make the right choice is having intense cravings. Hunger and cravings are different; hunger is when our body needs food, and cravings are the “I wants.” The first step to curbing your craving is acknowledging the feeling of having a craving. It can feel uncomfortable to resist giving in, but there are steps to help you ride out the craving wave depending on its intensity and size:

0- Nothing.

Do nothing and be grateful for your body.

1-2 – Pause.

Note the craving and move on with your day.

2-3 – Distract.

Try to come up with another satisfying activity.

3-4 – Replace.

Look for a healthy option.

5- Some. 

Have some, but less. Try a snack-size pack. 

Cravings start small and build momentum as they ramp up. Then, they hit a peak and gradually fall. Just like a wave, the urge will rise and then fall. You just have to let it! Like anything, managing cravings takes practice, but you can learn to experience a craving without acting on it.

Six Pillars Of Lifestyle Medicine

Establishing habits that focus on the six pillars of lifestyle medicine can help prevent chronic disease and even result in disease regression. Lifestyle medicine can look like eliminating a current medication from your routine, or practicing better sleep hygiene. By building sustainable habits to nurture our bodies, we can continue to age well. Try thinking of a habit you can implement in your daily routine that focuses on one of these six pillars:

  1. Nutrition 
  2. Physical activity 
  3. Sleep
  4. Stress management
  5. Healthy relationships
  6. Avoiding risky substance 

Start Building Habits Today

Our true. providers care about the goals you care about. That’s why we challenge you to reflect on your picture of self and identify the areas of wellness and lifestyle medicine that align with your goals. When you have a clear picture, you can begin taking steps to reach your goals. If you have questions about weight loss medication, what strength training exercises to do, or just want to take a step towards healthy aging, true. is ready to support you. 

Five Questions for your HCP

  1. What is my phase of ovarian function?
  2. How will you support me in my goals?
  3. Am I a candidate for weight loss medications?
  4. What resources do you recommend that will help me reach my health goals (,e.g., weight loss, increased energy, lower cancer risk)?
  5. Do you have a recommendation about who I can see for lifestyle medicine?

Five Takeaway Tips

  • Use true.’s Picture Of Self concept to get started with healthy aging.
  • Understand your metabolic health and risk factors for diseases. If you want to lose weight, know which ways will work best for you.
  • Know that true. has a physician on staff with specialized training in lifestyle medicine 
  • Menopause hormone medicine is safer than you may think.
  • Make a list of your health support team and add true. providers and resources to that list. 

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