What I've Observed

In our office, we strive to provide strategies for peoples’ health goals in addition to relief of symptoms and physical complaints.  What I’ve seen is that most people haven’t developed any formal health goals, but when they consider this for even a few minutes most peoples’ intentions and aspirations are the same.  Around 80% of those asked state that they’d like to lose weight and begin exercising more.  If so many agree that this is what they want, why are so few getting it done?   Likewise with several years’ experience providing a Wellness program to our customers, we’ve seen many get absolutely amazing results, but we’ve also had some who failed to get the lasting results we desire.  What’s the difference in these two groups of people?  Those who have success with our Wellness program and those who succeed in meeting their goal of weight loss and achieving regular exercise all have a couple things in common.  They plan and they develop a routine. 

We are all creatures of habit and our success is determined by our ability to develop good habits into a routine.  Just as we all likely know what time we will brush our teeth tomorrow, people who are healthy and fit know what time they will be exercising every day this week and very likely next month and next year – it’s a routine for them.  So how do we create this type of routine?  In my experience, everyone out there knows 4-5 things they could or should be doing for better health.  Once these are identified, it’s merely a matter of planning.  Look at water intake.  Most people should drink more water.  I got in the habit by leaving the same glass in the middle of a counter and planning to have two glasses first thing in the morning and two more as soon as I got home.  Now it’s a routine.  How much do you hope to exercise?  If you’re not doing any exercise right now, let’s shoot for 30 minutes, three times per week to start.  Where can you find 30 minutes preferably at the same time on three different days?  It may require getting up 30 minutes earlier or getting home 30 minutes later.  The point is to try to make it at the same times each day and the same days each week.  Diet seems tougher, but it’s really just the same.  Pick a time each week when you can plan your meals for the whole week and then go get what you need from the grocery.  You’ll likely want to reserve some cooking time to cook some things in advance.  You’ll also want to take 5-10 minutes each evening making sure you’ve got the meals ready for the next day.  This habit will not only save your waistline, but your wallet as well.  Cooking healthy food at home and taking it for lunch is almost always cheaper than eating out.  Don’t get me wrong, you’re going to have cheat meals.  I just want you to plan ahead for those cheat meals so that every day is not a cheat day!  You should even be planning your sleep.  We need on average 6 ½ to 7 ½ hours of sleep each night.  You know what time you need to get up.  So do the math and go to bed at a time that allows for this much sleep. 

This may seem mundane, but if you look at your life, you’re very likely in some kind of a routine already.  If you want to make changes in your health for a better life, I’m just asking you to plan a little at a time and adjust your routine accordingly.