A healthy lifestyle is made of many components. To live your healthiest life, each of these components should be taken care of and, as life changes, adjustments will need to be made. Sometimes, we won't have the opportunity, time or skill to fine-tune one given area. Rather than worrying about being perfect, we encourage you to enhance each area to the best of your ability and understand that perfection isn't necessary (nor always possible!).

If you are experiencing any symptoms of poor lifestyle choices, come see our team for a more thorough assessment and guidance.

 

Healthy Lifestyle Topics

The information below is provided by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Click on any pillar to open a more comprehensive PDF on that subject.

 

Nutrition

Activity

Sleep

Substance Use

Stress

Social Relationships

 

 

 

Making Plans and Committing to Change

If you've identified an area of your lifestyle to change, do you know how to get started? We recommend meeting with our nutrition team first to identify the steps to get to your goals but we also encourage patients to think deeply about the changes they are wanting. Spending time really considering the change can help you commit to it for the long term. First, consider what the change will do for you, positively. Perhaps focus on things to be gained like energy, confidence or ability. These things tend to work better because we WANT them. Working to avoid things (like the risk of a disease) is always an excellent goal, as well, but avoiding disease doesn't have quite the same inspirational tone to it. We want to reinvigorate our life and passion so focus on the passionate things you will be building!

Once you have identified your goals and feel committed to the process, we recommend breaking the steps to that goal into S.M.A.R.T. goals. This format keeps things manageable and increases the likelihood of success. We've broken down what a S.M.A.R.T. goal is below. 

S stands for Specific: Focus on 1 or 2 actions that will work towards the larger goal. Ask the 5 W questions: Who, What, Where, Why, When. Example: change exercise into 'walking for 30 minutes after dinner with my roommate around Lullwater'.   

M stands for Measurable: How much, how many, or how will we know it’s accomplished?  Example: Add a number of times or days, i.e. we will walk every weeknight (Mon through Friday) for the next 5 weeks. 

A stands for Achievable: Consider the limitations or barriers; have you ever walked for longer than 30 minutes before? Is your roommate available and supportive? 

R stands for Realistic: Is this action relevant to your goal?

T stands for Time-Bound: When will this start and when will it end?

 

Whether you have a support team cheering you on already or are looking to build one, we can help support you throughout your lifestyle change, providing ongoing feedback and guidance. We can also connect you with community resources that will support your efforts. All enrolled students are eligible for 15 visits per year - plenty of one-on-one time to make big change. 

Student Health Services

Emory University Student Health Services (EUSHS) provides outpatient care for enrolled Emory students with a valid Emory ID card. International student's spouses, Domestic Partners and unmarried children over 18 years of age are also eligible for primary medical care if they are currently enrolled in the Emory/Aetna Student Health Insurance Plan.

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404-727-7551

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1525 Clifton Road
Atlanta, Georgia 30322

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