After an appointment with her family doctor, Sophie decided that she wanted to lose weight, and join the gym. During our first few chats, she talked about having difficulty doing the exercises she planned for the week. She contacted a Health Coach because she needed support to increase her motivation to achieve her goal of exercising. Sophie was hoping for good news at her next doctor's appointment, and that her blood tests to go back to normal. Even though Sophie was trying, she felt like she was running in circles. While talking with Sophie, I was able to see that she had an external motivator, which is a motivation that comes from outside of the person. An example in Sophie’s case would be, fear of illness and shame in facing her doctor. For her, she needed to find a positive external motivation. That would be getting encouragement from a friend, and/or having positive experiences with her doctor. Sophie was going to the gym with her husband but realized that their schedule didn't line up. So, she created a more flexible schedule for herself, instead of going with her husband, she went on her own. This way, she was able to adjust her schedule to her energy level during the day. She now goes to the gym on a regular basis, and says she has more energy. Sophie finds that the gym helps her relax, and she’s able to clear her head. She feels more empowered by going to the gym now, because she can do it on her own terms. Because Sophie felt energetic from going to the gym consistently, that external motivation turned into internal motivation. Now that Sophie wants to go to the gym, she needs less encouragement from family and friends, and she is now able to motivate herself. Sophie’s exercise is no longer fueled by the fear and shame of a doctor’s appointment, but now it’s simply because she enjoys it! Written by: Martine Hache

For someone to go from not exercising to running a 5km race, or from only eating takeout to cooking most of their meals at home. How does this happen? What motivates a person to make changes in their life? There are two different types of motivation that can drive us to perform and make changes: Internal and External motivation. External motivation -          Anything outside of ourselves -          Anything we are doing for someone or something outside of our inner world. -          Duties and deadlines -          Includes health care team, friends, family etc. Some examples of external motivation include: -          Pressure from health care team or loved ones to make change. -          Competing for an award -          Doing something to receive compliments. External motivation can work in the short term, but typically does not lead to long-lasting change.   Internal motivation -          Values, feelings and goals -          The things that are important to you and personally rewarding -          Anything internal that’s driving you. Some examples of internal motivation include: -          Wanting to make changes so you can live a long and fulfilling life. -          Motivated to compete in a 5k race for personal growth. -          Wanting to better manage your chronic condition to improve quality of life. Internal motivation tends to provide us with long-lasting behaviour change that we can maintain throughout our life. This is the type of motivation we want to have and work towards. The science of behaviour change tells us that external motivation helps us get started with our goals, but internal motivation is what helps us maintain our long term goals. When applying the theory of motivation to our own goals, there are some questions we can ask ourselves. These questions will allow us to explore where our motivation is coming from (internal or external). Some questions we can ask ourselves include: What am I passionate about? What am I interested in trying? What do I enjoy doing in my free time? Why do I want to achieve my goal? Once we identify our own internal motivators, we can use them as tools to help us achieve any goal! Working with a Live Well/Bien Vivre Health Coach can provide you with the support and guidance in identifying your internal motivators and using them to create meaningful change.     Written by: Courtni Soucy

As he laid wedged between his garage and deck, all Dave MacIntosh could do was yell for help, hoping a neighbour or passerby would hear him. It was the middle of May, and a great day to be out working on his deck. While he was suspended on his ladder, his hand suddenly felt like it had “dropped off”. Then he thought “I’m in trouble,” and swiftly started to make his way down the ladder. On the way down he slipped and fell, wedging him between his deck and garage. After 45 minutes, a neighbour finally heard the cries for help, and found Dave. Thankfully, his neighbour knew the signs of stroke and immediately called 9-1-1. He spent a week in the hospital before he was sent for rehabilitation. Dave, the occupational therapy, and physical therapy staff worked together to help him regain the motor skills he had lost.  The small things we take for granted like frying an egg, he had to learn all over again. Even on the days Dave was doubtful in himself, the hospital staff focused on the skills he possessed before stroke. As he was a mechanic for several years, the Occupational Therapist came up with the unique idea of putting wheels back onto a wheelchair, which to Dave’s surprise he managed to do successfully. The hospital staff knew what he was capable of and pushed him each day. “I worked hard, and they worker harder,” he said. Even though he had an abundance of support from his family, Dave was determined to adjust to life at home after stroke on his own. Upon his return home, it was clear that his lifestyle needed to be adjusted to help prevent future stroke. These changes consisted of eating habits, and he started looking for foods that contained less sodium and sugar. As well as learning to listen to his body and not overexert himself, taking breaks when needed. The after math of his stroke is still present, but its Dave’s positive mind set and determination that gets him through it. “I have so many things to be thankful for, just being alive is one.” He said that though he hopes he never has to identify the signs of stroke again, FAST will forever be engraved in his memory.

During the initial coaching sessions, the primary focus is learning the client’s goals, habits, and health journey. Throughout the conversation, the Health Coach assists the client in identifying their priorities. This serves as the foundation for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals.   During the first few meetings, Stephanie expressed her desire to incorporate physical activity into her life. She currently leads a sedentary lifestyle due to lower body mobility issues, and experiences low energy levels.   Stephanie also shared feeling unmotivated. She explained that her lack of success with exercise does not stem from a lack of effort, but because every exercise routine she tried made her pain worse. This made those physical goals unrealistic and unsuitable for her. Stephanie aspires to embrace a healthy lifestyle, encourage movement within her family, and engage in activities without experiencing physical discomfort or breathlessness as limitations.   The Health Coach listened to Stephanie’s past experiences and objectives. Upon understanding her desires, the Health Coach asked insightful follow-up questions to refine Stephanie’s vision and goals. They began working on her vision, which included brainstorming actionable behaviors and strategies to create her action plan.   By using the SMART goal tool, they developed a plan for her first week.    Goal : Include exercise in her weekly routine.   S pecific -       Walking and contacting a physiotherapist to book an appointment for her lower body pain. M easurable -       Minimum of 3x/week. for 20 min. (Monday, Wednesday and Saturday). -       She will schedule the walking reminders in her phone and use a calendar to track her weekly walks. A chievable -       Walking doesn’t increase her lower body discomfort. -       Stephanie can walk outdoors and has access to an indoor walking track. -       Appointment with a physiotherapist to assess her lower body discomfort. R elevant -       Adding weekly exercise will increase her energy. Allowing her to include exercise with her family without feeling like she must miss out on opportunities. T imely -       In one week, she would like to see consistency. -       As she moves forward, she wants to see growth in that consistency (over the course of the next 3 months). -       She would like to be consistent with walking 3-4x/week and have lowered her lower body discomfort in order to incorporate strengthening exercises in her weekly schedule.   In the future sessions with the Health Coach, they established a weekly schedule to facilitate consistent progress. During these sessions, they reviewed Stephanie’s action plan, and addressed barriers. This included her “all or nothing mindset”, low motivation, and reduced confidence. She faced these challenges while working on maintaining her goal of walking three times a week. The Health Coach provided feedback, support, and expert guidance, helping Stephanie cultivate a solution-oriented mindset. Together, they collaboratively devised strategies to overcome potential challenges, empowering Stephanie to navigate her health journey with resilience and determination.   As the sessions progressed, Stephanie changed her perspective, and learned to embrace setbacks as valuable opportunities for growth and progress. Guided by the Health Coach’s support, Stephanie quickly learned that her ability to bounce back from a setback is a powerful tool that helps her stay consistent. She was able to progress towards her objectives and achieve meaningful success in her health journey.   By: Gabrielle Babineau

A day where Nicole Richards described herself as feeling in “top shape”, quickly turned into a race against the clock to save her life. It was an ordinary day; Nicole was home making toast when suddenly she felt her arm “drop”. Though she didn’t remember all the signs, she did remember that this was an indicator of stroke and instantly called 9-1-1. When she arrived at the hospital the Cardiologist found a large blood clot and was amazed that she had made it to the hospital. After conversations with several doctors, they all concluded there was nothing that could be done about the clot. Nicole spent five days in the Intensive Care Unit. The stroke left her paralyzed from elbow to hand on one side of her body, she considered herself lucky that the paralysis didn’t travel further throughout her body. The aftermath of the stroke lingered, as the left side of her mouth still felt paralyzed. Just as she was starting to acclimatize to life back home, the paralysis presented itself a week later, except this time, on the other side of her body. Nicole immediately went back to the hospital, where she stayed for the next five weeks. Starring at the same paper-thin hospital curtains soon grew to be boring for Nicole and other patients she shared a room with. So, she and another stroke patient passed the time in between occupational and physical therapy sessions by playing cards everyday. Nicole and hospital staff worked on small exercises daily to ensure that she could do day-to-day tasks. The toughest part of her rehabilitation was learning to walk again, but the hospital staff were extremely supportive and made sure she was confident in her abilities before going home. After being discharged from the hospital for the second time, they gave her a walker. When the walker was no longer needed, a cane became useful, and eventually it was not needed either.  “That makes me happy,” she said. Nicole was hesitant to go home as she lives alone “When something like this happens, you become anxious and don’t understand,” she said. Luckily, her siblings and neighbor were more than supportive when it came to helping with transitioning to life back home. In hopes to prevent future stroke, Nicole made several lifestyle changes. Such as being more conscious about her diet, and cutting out majority of meat, and sugar. Well, except for Christmas she had to indulge in a sweet treat or two. Before Nicole’s stroke she couldn’t remember all the signs. Now, her and family are aware of how knowing the signs could save a life.

35-year-old Sarah has struggled with physical fitness for most of her adult life. As a child, Sarah stayed physically active by playing sports. Now she is struggling to find new ways to achieve her fitness goals. She doesn’t enjoy the gym, and finds she gets bored on walks. Sarah mentioned her struggles to her registered dietician and they recommend the Live Well /Bien Vivre program. Sarah contacted her local Health Coach and was immediately drawn to the fundamentals of the program. Over the course of a few sessions, Sarah and her health coach explored what a physical activity goal would look like for her. Together they uncovered the reasons why this goal was important to Sarah, and explored various types of physical activities that inspired her. Sarah came to the realization that she felt most motivated in a group environment. With this discovery Sarah’s Health Coach assisted her in crafting a goal tailored to her preferences and needs. Sarah’s Health Coach was able to use community resources to help Sarah find a group exercise class that she loves. Sarah and her health coach were then able to set a physical activity goal surrounding group fitness. Sarah is excited knowing that she is on her way to meeting her fitness goals with the support of her newfound fitness community. With this momentum Sarah is looking forward to embracing new challenges and achieving even greater milestones.  Written by: Stephanie Melanson

Setting goals is an essential step that instills direction and purpose in our lives, whether it be in our careers, finances, personal growth or health. Goal setting can look different depending on your lifestyle and values. It’s common to have multiple health goals or to get excited envisioning new possibilities. Often having ideas comes naturally but the true challenge is bringing them to life. Putting plans into action, creating a clear roadmap and maintaining consistency can present challenges, often leading to the familiar expression “Oops, I’ve fallen off the wagon again.” Of course, “falling off the wagon” doesn’t typically involve a sudden loss of interest in your health. Your long-term goal remains unchanged, but the transformation occurs within your day-to-day choices and actions. When contemplating a health transformation, it’s common to feel overwhelmed, uncertain about where to begin, and experience lack of motivation or structure. If you feel unsure on how to connect or create your vision, check out this blog explaining how to identify your goals. Goals are useful for setting direction. However, planning the process with SMART goals is a great tool as it offers a well-defined, and effective framework to initiate action, make steady progress and ultimately achieve our objectives. Follow the steps below to bring clarity and focus to your vision. Extra tips you can use when setting SMART goals: -       What is the minimum amount of time you would like to do the action weekly? What is the maximum? -       Keep your goals simple (small is best for building momentum). -       Learn to accept flexibility with your SMART goals, thinking of your goals as “experiments” might help to create more strategies to achieve your objective. -       Using a tracking method is not necessarily about the result, use it to understand your patterns and see if you’re showing up. By integrating SMART goals into your goal-setting process, you significantly enhance your chances of success. As you resume your commitment toward improving your well-being, remember that health is often cultivated through your lifestyle - a journey made of many small decisions along the way. Written by: Gabrielle Babineau

As we all know, life can get busy and as a result it can be easy to neglect our health. However, by defining clear health goals we can start on the road towards a happier, healthier life. Setting specific, measurable goals for our overall well-being is a powerful tool that can provide us with focus, motivation, and a sense of purpose. Change isn’t something that is natural to human behaviour. What’s in rest likes to stay at rest. However, what’s in motion also likes to stay in motion. Goal setting promotes change and makes the process easier as it’s not something we naturally do. Having structured goals in a set plan will help promote behaviour change. Since change doesn’t happen naturally, writing down our goals will ensure a sense of continuity and consistency with the behaviours we are trying to put in place. A Health Coach can help with this process. Not only can they help us create structured goals, but they can provide support and accountability as we work through change. There are many strategies that a Health Coach can use, one of them is going through the exercise of writing down and defining our goals. We can begin to define our goals by determining our why. Your why is the deep-rooted reason for making healthy behaviour changes. It therefore allows you to align your goals with your values, passions, and purpose. Finding our why is a very important part in the goal setting process. In addition to creating focus and motivation, our why can give us clarity and assist us with building resilience. Once you’ve identified your why, the next core step in effective goal setting is to start small and build on your success. Starting small will help individuals achieve long-term success by building momentum and motivation. We start small because our confidence increases by creating a sense of accomplishment. In addition, when we start with small goals, we have a better chance of making healthy behaviour change a habit. When our goals become integrated into our daily routine, we can begin to build on them and create more positive changes in our life. Starting with short-term goals also allows us to see our success sooner! The more short-term goals that are implemented at the beginning of our behaviour change process, the easier it will be to have positive momentum. As you dive into your own process with goal setting, it’s important to identify your values and start small! Change can be a difficult process for many of us and having a Health Coach in your corner can make all the difference. A Live Well/Bien Vivre Health Coach can provide the support, guidance, and accountability to make your goals a reality. Written by: Stephanie Melanson

In a world where we’re constantly under pressure to keep up, and with an increasing amount of over stimulation, our nervous system starts to tap out. We begin to recognize that our mind is fatigued. We become easily agitated and eventually hit a level of burnout. It’s become normal to suffer from anxiety and depression. We tend to over schedule and keep saying yes when our body says no. Most people end up reaching out for support when they have tapped out or have received a diagnosis from their health care professional. As a Health Coach, when I sit down with you to explore mental fitness I will ask you, “what are your current relief and refuel strategies?” -  A relief strategy is something that we use that instantly stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system and calms the body and mind (deep breathing). - A refuel strategy  is something we do to fill our cup back up and re-energize, for example reading or making a nourishing meal. We will begin exploring what tools you have for stress management and start recognizing which activities deplete you and which give you energy. Building stress resilience is our goal, by having a nervous system that can bounce back to a natural rhythm after being stimulated. Time management is a key piece to mental fitness. Creating time for your aspirations and carving out a few minutes throughout the day to connect with your breath. Little resets for the nervous system can do wonders for your mental health. Setting realistic goals for self-care was a great starting point for 53-year-old Mary. Mary has a full-time career, three active children, has been recently diagnosed with anxiety and has an unsupportive partner. Her family physician sent a referral over to the Live Well/Bien Vivre program. The doctor wanted her to have access to a Health Coach as part of Mary’s multi-disciplinary team for her wellness. After completing a partnership agreement and intake assessment, we were ready to dive into finding a good place to begin. I asked Mary what worked well before, the pros and cons of working on her mental fitness and what her aspirations were. Mary’s aspiration to why she wanted to work on her mental fitness was the key to meeting her goals each day. We started by working on three self-care activities a day to explore what tools Mary had in her toolbox for relief and refuel strategies. It also gave her an opportunity to explore new tools that she had been wanting to add. Making herself a priority gave Mary more energy and confidence in her life. Friends, coworkers, and most importantly her children saw the shift in Mary. The takeaway from working on your mental fitness is that something is better than nothing, and a little goes a long way. Be gentle on yourself, and do your best by asking yourself each day what do you need to nourish yourself? Utilizing a Health Coach to walk beside you for accountability, support, and finding your rhythm, can make all the difference in your mental health. Written by: Shauna Ferguson

Lori Kamphorst has been a volunteer with Heart & Stroke New Brunswick for eight years. Her journey with the foundation began at the annual NAPA Hockey Heroes Weekend in 2016 and she hasn’t missed an event since. “Heart & Stroke is kind of close to my heart, because I lost my dad when I was 16 to a heart attack,” she said. Lori was recognized for her exceptional service as a volunteer following an incident at last year’s event. After a collision on the ice left one player with a concussion and possible back/neck injuries, medical staff had to cut their jersey off. What they didn’t realize is that the jersey held sentimental value for the injured player as it was signed by their father’s hockey hero, Darryl Sittler. When Lori heard about the incident, she knew she had the skills to help. “Of course, for me and my situation with my dad, that just hit me right there,” Lori said. “I was like I don't know if I can fix it, but I'm going to certainly try.” An avid seamstress, Lori took the jersey home that afternoon and began working to repair it. Though sewing the jersey back to its original state proved to be tricky, Lori spent hours working her crafting magic. The result was a fully restored jersey, ready to be worn in the player’s next game. Little did Lori know, months later her sewing skills would once again help the foundation and its first aid and CPR training program. Heart & Stroke NB reached out Lori to help turn training manikins into Womanikins. Research shows bystanders are less likely to perform CPR on women due to misconceptions about gender-specific techniques. When Heart & Stroke NB tackled this issue by introducing the Womanikin—a specially designed vest with padded breasts added to some CPR training dummies, Lori was instrumental. She used an open-source pattern to sew these innovative training tools. “I just couldn’t believe that statistic, and knew I had to help,” Lori said. With some determination and a few alterations, within six weeks Lori had whipped up the Womanikin vests and they were being used in training classes. “I made four in total-two in light flesh tone and two in a brown flesh, so that it matched the dummies they had,” she said.  “It was a bit of a challenge, but I think they’re working well.” When asked why she continues to volunteer for Heart & Stroke NB Lori explained that it’s a combination of the cause and the people. “The staff do an awesome job, and they just make it fun for everybody.”

Fredericton, New Brunswick – The Heart & Stroke Foundation of New Brunswick is proud to announce Expedition Heart, a groundbreaking fundraising campaign that will help support programs that lead to better outcomes for New Brunswickers. Led by adventure enthusiast Brian Jones, Expedition Heart will follow his epic journey as he endeavors to climb Mount Everest to raise funds, and awareness, for the Foundation. The goal of Expedition Heart is to document Brian Jones' awe-inspiring journey to the top of Mount Everest as his builds awareness and attempts to raise $100,000 for Foundation programming like Heart Healthy Schools, Automated External Defibrillator (AED) placements and CPR Training. As an investment advisor with T.D. Wealth in Fredericton by day, Brian has already conquered challenging terrains like the Sahara Desert and the North and South Poles helping raise more than $2 million for local charities. Now, he's taking on the world's tallest peak to inspire others and promote heart health awareness. Brian lives with Atrial Fibrillation (AFib), a condition characterized by a quivering or irregular heartbeat, known as arrhythmia. This condition can increase the risk of blood clots, stroke, heart failure, and other related complications. "In New Brunswick, people root for each other to do great things," Jones says. "Expedition Heart is not just about scaling a mountain - it's about rallying together to make a difference. My goal is to support Heart & Stroke NB, by spreading awareness and saving lives in our local communities." "We're so thankful that Brian Jones has chosen to support our Foundation in this incredibly unique and exciting way,” explains Kurtis Sisk, CEO of Heart & Stroke NB. “His journey embodies the resilience and determination needed to tackle heart disease and stroke in New Brunswick. We are proud to offer programs that have a real impact on the lives of New Brunswickers, and this campaign ensures that we can continue to deliver life-changing programs.” To learn more about Expedition Heart, click here. Together, we can climb to new heights for heart health in New Brunswick. For media inquiries, please contact: Geoff Walsh Director, Marketing & Communications gwalsh@hsf.nb.ca 506-639-1425

Susan is a determined 52-year-old on a mission to improve her health. After undergoing knee surgery, she's been diligently working on rehabilitation to boost her mobility and overall function. Despite her progress, exercising leaves her struggling for breath due to her smoking habit. Eager to kick the habit but unsure how to begin, Susan finds herself at a crossroads. Enter the Health Coach – Susan's beacon of guidance within the Live Well/Bien Vivre program. Right from their initial meeting, Susan sensed she had found a supportive ally to help her achieve her wellness goals. Together, they pinpointed smoking cessation as Susan's primary focus for behavior change, closely followed by managing stress. In their sessions, Susan and her Health Coach delved into her motivation, confidence, and understanding of quitting smoking. They explored her routines, needs, and strengths, with the Health Coach steering Susan toward valuable community resources specializing in smoking cessation. Susan tapped into the regional Smoking Cessation Clinic and gleaned insights from Smoke & Vape Free NB (SVFNB) website. Not only did Susan learn what steps to take for quitting, but she also discovered how to integrate these changes seamlessly into her daily life. Essentially, she needed to acquire the skills to make lasting lifestyle adjustments that suited her. Collaborating with her Health Coach, they identified hurdles and strategies for action, aided by an action plan tool that helped her track progress. Each success bolstered her confidence. As Susan progressed, her rapport with her clinical team flourished. She proudly updated them on achieving small, realistic goals and became more engaged in following their treatment plan. Her internal drive to succeed surged. Delving deeper, Susan gained insight into why smoking had become her go-to coping mechanism. Together with her Health Coach, she uncovered her stressors, learned to gauge stress levels, and crafted a plan to adopt healthier stress management techniques in her daily routine. Gradually, these strategies replaced the impulse to reach for a cigarette, becoming ingrained habits. Not only did Susan triumph in quitting smoking, but she also mastered healthier stress management. Consequently, her physiotherapy sessions became more manageable as her breathing improved. Though not flawless, Susan's progress was undeniably headed in the right direction. Grateful for the support from the Live Well/Bien Vivre