By Heuga Center Nurse Educator Pat Kennedy, RN, CNP, MSCN

Summertime sometimes makes living a challenge. Many of us live by our routines that often take a hiatus in the summer months. Others find summer more difficult due to the heat so we spend far too much time indoors in our homes to escape the summer’s heat. This, however, is a great time of year to try new things or ways to do the old things.

Here are ways to stay active in the heat:

By Baldwin Sanders, MS, RD, Heuga Center Program Staff Member 

What does your snacking behavior look like? Are you a vending-machine junkie? Does your co-worker bring in tempting sweets made especially for you? Does your snacking generate a guilty feeling?

By Pat Kennedy, RN, CNP, MSCN, Heuga Center Nurse Educator

Being diagnosed with MS or being told your loved one is diagnosed is like being told a secret. You can keep the information to yourself or share it with everyone you meet. Neither of these are good long-term solutions to help you live a quality life. You’ll need time to decide who you want to tell, who you don’t want to tell and how much information you want to share with people.

By:  Pat Kennedy, RN, CNP, MSCN, Nurse Educator - Bio

What is the most important part of the upcoming holidays to you?  While some “love it all”, few of us can “do it all”. 

Many of us face the challenge of maintaining balance in our lives.  One of those challenges is being able to maintain motivation for your exercise program.  With our busy lives, many times it is difficult to ‘find motivation’ for exercise.  However, if you approach your exercise in a ‘mindful way’ you can be successful in maintaining your motivation during the holiday season.  These strategies can also be applied to those who are starting an exercise program and have found difficulty ‘getting started’.

Everyone sets goals in their lives. Goals are set for many reasons and usually with noble intentions. The New Year is a time when many people set ‘resolutions’ or goals for the coming year. Often these ‘resolutions’ are broken before the beginning of February. The main reason for ‘falling off the wagon’ is that most people do not set goals that are either specific, measurable, achievable, relevant or time based or SMART goals. These are particular important parameters when setting lifestyle goals (i.e. exercise, nutrition, recreation, etc.).