How to get healthy, in five easy steps. Step 5, evaluate and retune.

We’re working our way through a simple plan to good health this week, finishing up with step 5, evaluate and retune.

I think this step was the hardest for me to understand.  As I added more and more healthy habits to my life I found that some were simply not working.  Unfortunately, I kept trying them over and over and then blamed myself for failing.  The truth is that some things just don’t work for some people.  Everyone is different and what works for me may not work for you.  If you find that you just keep failing at something, take a look at it and see what’s going on.  Is there a way to fix it?  Is there a way to change it?  Is it possible to substitute something else for it?

Here are some examples:

Bad Goals

Goals are frequently a problem.  We tend to set them too high.  We want to lose 40lbs in one month, we want to run a marathon in under 2 hours.  These are great goals but are they realistic?   Another problem goal is BMI.  BMI stands for body mass index.  It’s a measure that many people use for obesity.  However, if you work out a lot, your BMI might be in the obese category even though your body fat % is just fine.  For all of these goals, if you get to a point where it just doesn’t seem like you’re going to meet them, stop and do the following:

1.  Examine the goal, is it realistic?  Be honest with yourself here.

2.  Is the goal smart?  The BMI example shows a goal which is not smart.  Perhaps you should talk to your doctor or look for a different health measurement that’s more suitable and accurate.

3.  Examine the reason for failing at this goal.  Did you follow your plan?  Was the plan flawed?  Are you still seeing improvement but not as fast as you expected?  Perhaps you just need to delay your goal slightly.  This is fine as long as you are still improving, but don’t use this as a way to indefinitely delay something.  If you’re no longer seeing improvement and have not yet met your goal then something needs to change.

No Fun 

This is another problem with a lot of health plans.  We tend to try and stick with them but we keep complaining that we’re having no fun.  We’re not eating the food we like, we’re not enjoying the activities we’re doing, we hate going to the gym, we despise our workout and so on.  This is a problem since it will cause you to eventually abandon your plan and go back to your previous, unhealthy life.  So try some of the following:

1.  Switch activities.  There are a thousand and one possibilities for you to choose from so why get stuck with one you don’t like?  Don’t like jogging?  So try swimming.  Not enjoying weight lifting?  Try yoga.  Not enjoying your jazzercise class?  Try a martial arts one like kick boxing.

2.  Get other people involved.  Anything is more fun if you do it with friends.  So get them involved and make it into a social activity.  Not liking your daily walks?  How about asking your friend to walk with you and spend some time chatting while you walk.  Not enjoying the gym?  I bet it would feel better with a workout partner.

3.  Switch times.  Maybe you’re not a morning person.  So try working out in the evening instead.

4.  Live a little.  This is especially important when it comes to eating.  Face it, bad food tastes good!  There’s no way around that.  Sure, there are plenty of healthy foods that taste great but sometimes you just get a craving for a candy bar or that double cheese burger.  Don’t punish yourself for these cravings, use them by using these foods as a reward.  Had a great week where you worked out, ate healthy and lived well?  Reward yourself with a candy bar.

Painful

This one is especially true for workouts.  Some people just can’t do certain exercises.  I have a friend who’s fine with just about anything at the gym except shoulder presses.  Something in his shoulder just gives out and it hurts.  Instead of trying to work through that pain, just pick a different exercise.  Remember, you’re here to improve your body, not punish it.

Summary

The tips and advice we offer here on 60 in 3 are just guidelines.  Read them, learn from them and continue educating yourself.  However, feel free to adapt or even ignore them.  The best health plan is the one that works for you.

Series Navigation

«How to get healthy, in five easy steps. Step 4, the activity plan.

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