|
Making Healthy Lifestyle Changes that Last - A New Look at New Year's Resolutions
By: Marsha J. Hudnall
Would you run out of fingers, and maybe even toes, if you used them to count your tries at adopting a healthy lifestyle? Many of us would. The reason? Often it’s that we need to change how we try to make changes. How we make the journey, not whether we always reach our exact goals, determines our success. And how we make the journey is really about our ability to support ourselves along the way, instead of falling back into judgmental and self-defeating ways of thinking and doing. If you're thinking about making another run at a healthy lifestyle, consider these steps along the way. Get realWhether we're trying to start eating healthier or become more physically active, the first step is to be clear about our goals...and clear whether they are something we can achieve. For example, if you currently walk once a week, and you begin to strive for five, what's the chance you'll get there regularly? Immediately trying to fit four extra workouts into your busy week may leave you struggling. Instead, think about an initial goal of walking twice a week. Small increases --'baby steps' -- build on success. As you feel good about your ability to do one extra walk, you'll see your motivation ratchet up for another, 'til you reach that higher goal. Get committedWe're talking about energy and dedication to find healthy behaviors that work for you. Which of these statements sounds like you? "I'll try to walk twice a week," or "I'm committed to walking twice a week." It's much easier to shrug off the former promise to yourself. If it doesn't feel right to say you're committed to something, explore why. Is the goal you've set really right for you? Give up 'shoulds'A tangle of beliefs and thoughts about what we 'should' do or where we 'should' be with our fitness and health can threaten our ability to find what's right for us. Refuse to follow the latest and greatest new diet. Make peace with your body size, and buy a flattering outfit for that important event rather than trying to lose weight to fit into an old favorite. You may still be able to improve your fitness, but you don't have to put feeling good on hold until you do. Get assertiveDoes everyone around you have opinions about what's best for you? Exercise your right to make your own choices. That also means putting yourself first. If you don't make it a priority to care for yourself, you won't be at your best in caring for others either. Reward yourselfBuild your self image as a winner by acknowledging and celebrating your small successes with ways that are meaningful to you. It's all about feeling good and keeping yourself going. Remind yourselfWhether it's remembering to eat lunch, or getting in that two-mile walk, add your new behaviors to your 'to do' list. When you check them off as done, you'll also give yourself an extra boost of satisfaction. Seek supportSupport is one of the key predictors of success at lifestyle change. Buddy up with friends or family to accomplish your goals, read inspirational books or success stories. Join support groups, or seek the help of a qualified therapist or counselor if needed. Remember: While it may seem to take a lot of work when we first start making healthy lifestyle changes, they become second nature after a while. So hang in there with your new positive behaviors. Soon, they'll just be the way you do things. ©2004 Green Mountain at Fox Run, Ludlow, Vermont. Marsha J. Hudnall, MS, RD, CD is director of health communications and senior nutritionist at Green Mountain at Fox Run. For over 32 years, Green Mountain at Fox Run has developed and refined a life-changing program exclusively for women seeking permanent strategies from a healthy weight loss program. weight loss progam. Based on a combination of proven science and what works in the real world, our innovative 'non-diet' lifestyle program offers an integrated curriculum of practical, liveable techniques that helps women take charge of their eating, their bodies and their health. Our approach is not focused on just losing weight but on how to keep it off for a lifetime. Our participants' long-term weight loss results are among the highest of any program, as documented in peer-reviewed scientific literature. Learn more about our fitness and healthy Weight Loss Spa Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
Return to Index
email this
page
Still haven't found what you are
looking for?
Try this search:
Free Email
List Reveals health,
fitness and wellness
tips - secrets and information - delivered directly to
your inbox
How to Benefit from the Mind-Body Connection
(excerpt)
You are about to gain insight into the
mind-body connection. The number of
people who truly understand these principles on our
planet are relatively few.
There is an undeniable connection between our minds and
bodies, you can learn
to use this fact to your benefit.
Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of "Love, Medicine and
Miracles" was once a
distraught cancer surgeon until he
began to understand the greater principles
of the mind-
body connection. He felt dragged down by the artificial
barriers
that existed between patient and doctor, and the
helplessness he often felt as
a result of his inability
to effectively serve those patients. Eventually, those
barriers
were disintegrated by Dr. Siegel's recognition
and growing understanding of the
mind-body connection and
how it could serve his patients and himself.
Dr. Siegel, or Bernie as he began to have his patients
refer to him, had some
startling realizations as a cancer surgeon. He found that
there were actually
quite a few people in the world that successfully beat
the statistics on cancer
survival. He began to recognize that a patient's ability
to defeat something as
serious as cancer had to do with the patient's mind and
attitude about their
disease.
If you would like to see the rest of
this article, please go here:
http://www.tobeinformed.com/repository/mind-body.html
copyright 2004 - David Snape
|