It's easy to dismiss the little things we do well. But whether it's choosing a whole-grain breakfast cereal or walking your dog after work, the little things are at the heart of healthy living. Keep the following key tips in mind to stay the course on your journey to heart-healthy living.
- Inevitably, you'll hit a patch where you fall off course. If you anticipate this, it won't destroy your motivation to get back on track. Decide now that when you see your waistline expanding or your blood pressure starting to rise, you'll take three 10-minute walks a day or eat fruit with every meal to get back on track. It'll help you to get back on track before you drift too far off course.
- Everyone knows someone who dropped four dress sizes or stopped smoking and took up tennis after a heart scare. See these people as role models: if they can do it, so can you. If you need inspiration, talk to them; most people are happy to share their stories.
- Before you light that cigarette or eat that second slice of chocolate cake, stop and force yourself to think about why you're doing something you know is bad for your heart. Think what else you could do, drink or eat that might make you feel almost as good, then do that. Before you know it, thinking before you act will become second nature — and so will making healthier choices.
- If you can't stay motivated to exercise for your own good, do it for someone else. Find a charity group that organizes walks to raise money to support it. These not only give you a reason to keep moving, they give you the satisfaction of working hard to help others.
- Let's be honest: if what we eat and how we behave were nothing more than practical matters of fuelling our bodies and taking care of ourselves, far fewer people would have weight problems or heart disease. We don't plow through a bag of chips or drink one too many glasses of wine because we need the potatoes or grape products. We do it because we're bored, frustrated, anxious or angry. Since those emotions aren't going to go away, you need to find other outlets for those feelings, such as exercise, keeping a diary or pursuing a hobby, or you need to confront them directly rather than masking the underlying problem with bad habits.
- If you ever seriously consider giving up, take a couple of minutes, draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper and list the pros and cons of your decision. This will help to remind you why you started in the first place and the consequences of turning back.
- Even if you love your job, you still need a break from its rigours now and then. The same is true of healthy lifestyle changes. Every now and then, spend a long weekend indulging yourself: relax and eat and drink what you want to.
Remember these key tips and you'll be better able to stay the course on your journey to heart-healthy living.
