R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press In the fitness center of the Northern Lights YMCA Delta Program Center in Escanaba, Traci Lancour — fitness specialist and personal trainer — guides Tiffany Kleiman in a workout.

ESCANABA — Striving for good health in 2024 is about more than shedding extra pounds.

According to national polls, about a third of Americans had planned to set New Year’s resolutions for 2024. Among Delta County residents polled last week who said they were resolving to make changes for the better, the majority of goals were health-related. Weight loss seems to be a perpetual dream for many, while others aim to simply eat better. Overall well-being, mindfulness and mental health also made the list.

Some would argue that all go hand-in-hand.

“Fitness is about recovery. It is about rest. It is mental health,” said Jayne Szukalowski of Anytime Fitness. “It’s a process and it’s a lifestyle. Lifestyle is key.”

At Northern Lights YMCA in Escanaba, Health and Wellness Coordinator Jeannine Barna said that overall health and wellness plays a significant role in acheiving physical fitness, mentioning that sufficient sleep is necessary for heart health. Similarly, other habits — good or bad — can determine the level of success in the pursuit of a health goal.

“Those little things can actually make a huge difference in how your body functions,” said Barna.

The YMCA recommends that people set what they refer to as “SMART goals,” which means that the target should be “specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound,” Barna explained. “So something like 50 pounds within a month — something like that’s not really realistic and attainable,” she said.

When people recieve personal training, they sit down and agree upon “a goal that’s actually achievable, and not one that’s like, too far out of reach,” Barna said. From there, Barna said, it’s best to “break it down into manageable tasks, and then we basically make a plan to try to meet those breakdowns of the actual goal itself.”

It also helps to prioritize. As an example, Barna suggested focusing on getting seven to nine hours of sleep first, “then prioritizing another task once you’ve built that momentum. Because once you start a habit and you’re able to see yourself building that habit, it makes it easier to start to add other wellness habits in.”

Exercising can help to acheive proper sleep and vice versa. Many other elements factor in, too.

“Getting outdoor sunlight in the morning has been shown to be beneficial for mental health and resetting circadian rhythms, which assist with sleep, especially in the winter months,” said Elizabeth Case, LMSW, with Shoreline Supportive Counseling.

For many people, stress is a major obstacle to both physical and mental well-being. In addition to exercise and sunlight, Case recommended combating stress by connecting with supportive friends and family, setting boundaries and finding coping mechanisms like journaling, deep breathing and positive thinking.

Behavioral Health Specialist Kara Hurst, APSW, from Bellin Health said that the first consideration when someone is overly stressed should be to figure out which factors are within their control. Things that are controllable may be changed to alleviate pressure. If forces beyond control are causing stress, Hurst said a person can work on accepting them or changing their perception around them, perhaps by looking at them from someone else’s point of view.

This time of year can be difficult because of the shorter days and the crash that follows the holiday season.

“We’re getting done with Thanksgiving and Christmas and now we’re losing, you know, some of that special family time and those pretty lights are coming down,” said Hurst. “A lot of people, they wake up, they don’t get to see the sun. They go to work. They’re in a building. They go home, and the sun’s like basically gone. And that’s hard for a lot of people to deal with.”

Breaks during the day — whether it’s walking outdoors or even standing near a window — might help, said Hurst. In lieu of the real thing, artificial sun lamps have become a popular and affordable way to treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD), characterized by loss of energy, depression and weight gain.

Although it helps to have a measurable metric if weight loss is the goal, obsessing over a number isn’t healthy, either.

“It’s not uncommon to gain a few pounds when you start working out,” said Szukalowski, who is proud to share that the high-tech scale at Anytime Fitness measures more than just weight — visceral fat, water retention, metabolic rate and body fat percentage all appear on the printout.

“It helps them better understand what a lifestyle can do,” said Szukalowski.

Everyone has to start somewhere, and whether the first step is to drink more water, get on a treadmill or cut out junk food, professionals encourage keeping goals in sight and not to get demoralized by setbacks.