This morning I drove down a suburban street
on the way home from dropping off my teenager
at school. On this one street
alone, there were about a half dozen people
out walking. Some had dogs
with them; some had a partner; some were alone.
These people were different sizes, shapes
and ages. I couldn't help
but wonder how many of these individuals made
walking a regular part of their life.
We are an educated society. We
know what a healthy lifestyle looks like.
But yet there are more and more new diets
popping up all the time. Health
clubs make a fortune on cancelled and unfulfilled
memberships. The medical
and psychological industries are treating more
patients with stress related health problems.
Our health and how we feel about ourselves
physically directly affects our quality of life.
It's not always easy adapting a healthy lifestyle,
but by following these tips, you can be on your
way to lasting change.
Connect to Your Desire
What do you truly desire when it comes to
your physical health? Forget
about what your partner wants or what you think
you "should" want. If you
hear yourself saying "I should lose 10 pounds",
ask yourself if that is what you really want?
Why do you want to make health changes?
Why now? When I look
at my own health choices, exercise is something
I truly want to do. Drinking
64 ounces of water, on the other hand, it not
a true desire. All my friends
tell me I need to drink more water, but until
it becomes my own desire, it's probably not
going to happen.
What Does Health Mean to You?
In order to adopt a healthy lifestyle, it
needs to fit who you are and your current phase
in life. For instance, if
you find exercise boring, then you will need
to incorporate some type of movement in your
life that is fun. Consider
dancing or walking and talking with a friend.
You would be amazed at the number of activities
that the average person would not consider exercise,
but actually, in reality burns calories. Sometimes
a busy lifestyle means you will need to find
healthy foods that are convenient. Or
you may need to consider a 15 minute workout
everyday instead of four one-hour workouts every
week. Good health does not
have to look like what the magazines suggest.
Aim for a lifestyle and a physical body
that makes you feel good.
Make a Realistic Commitment
Once you've connected to your desire, and
you have a clear picture of what good health
means to you, then make a realistic commitment
to live in this manner. Take
baby steps towards your overall goal.
If you currently do not have an exercise
plan, but you want to work out five times per
week, start small. Shoot
for working out two times per week, and do that
consistently for several weeks.
Then slowly add a day until you reach
your goal. So many diets
fail because they deprive you of any "yummy
foods". Let's get real.
Do you honestly think you will go through
your entire life never eating pizza or cookies?
Isn't it more realistic to allow yourself
some non-diet foods in moderation every once
in awhile? Remember your
goal is to maintain good physical health, not
achieve it and then lose it.
Manage Stress in Your Life
So often it's stress in our lives that leads
us off the healthy path. When
we are stressed, our defenses get weak.
We seek comfort, and that often means
unhealthy and excessive eating, vegetating in
front of the TV, or other lifestyle choices
that do not support good health.
Simplify your life. Try
slowing down your schedule. Identify
your stressors and develop solutions to conquer
stress. One of the stressors
in my life is sibling rivalry. If
I plan to have a peaceful evening, then I need
to get very clear with my boys about what is
expected of them. There will
be no fighting, or they will both go to their
rooms. This is an example
of taking a proactive approach to controlling
stress in life.
Get Support and Celebrate
Success in making lifestyle changes depends
on the support of others. Why
do you think Weight Watchers is so popular?
Weight Watchers is a diet plan just like
the rest of them. However,
it is helpful to have the accountability and
the camaraderie of other individuals that are
trying to make changes in their lives.
Join forces with friends and family members
that want to develop a healthy lifestyle.
Exercise together. Support
each other by sharing healthy recipes.
Encourage one another when you're struggling.
And most important, celebrate your successes
together. The other night
I had dinner with a dear friend.
A good portion of our dinner conversation
focused on our efforts and successes with maintaining
a healthy lifestyle. I celebrated
her recent commitment to working out daily,
and she expressed genuine happiness for my current
success with preventing migraine headaches in
my life.
While making some of these healthy changes
can sometimes be difficult, if you keep at it
and don't give up, your new health program will
become a way of life. It
is then that you know you've adopted a healthy
lifestyle. This new lifestyle
will become as automatic as tying your shoes.
