We all know we should eat more healthfully, exercise more, reduce stress and generally take better care of ourselves. But not this week, please. You’ve got two projects due at work, appointments to keep at the vet and the orthodontist, plus you’ve been meaning to schedule a checkup for yourself, and maybe the car, too, but not until you ice those two dozen cupcakes for your favorite charity’s bake sale.
Who has time to go wall climbing, pause for tai chi classes, whip up an herb-enhanced meal or whatever else the Martha Stewarts of the health and fitness world are telling us to do this week? Life simply seems too full to take the time to revamp our daily routines.
The good news is that even one small change can make a difference. Though good health is in many ways a blessing unearned, aspects of it are also the result of cumulative effort. A handful of day-in, day-out good habits can add up to a healthier you over time.
A habit is something you do routinely, almost without thinking, like brushing your teeth. If you’ve created old habits, you can create new ones.
“There are some fundamental steps to changing behavior,” said Edwin Fisher, director of health behavior research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “The first step is to spend some time thinking about why you want to make a specific change: What are the pros and cons of this new behavior, what are your motivations and what are the things that get in your way?”
The next step is to record what you’re already doing. “If you write down what and where you eat, for instance, you might discover that you’re great with your diet except when you dine out,” Fisher said. “This helps with the next step: making concrete plans for coping with your personal barriers. For example, you might plan to meet friends for a walk in the park instead of for dinner out.”
Small changes make a difference. “People should think in terms of moderate results,” Fisher said. “Even if you lose only a few pounds or add just a little more exercise to your day, you’re better off health-wise.”
To incorporate new health-minded behaviors, focus on how you move, what you eat, and how you deal with stress. Adding just one positive habit in these three areas can improve your overall well-being.
How you move
Move more, health professionals advise, because even small amounts of exercise yield big health results.
Increased physical activity protects against the risk of many diseases, including coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, colon cancer, osteoporosis, high cholesterol levels and depression.
Luckily, an exercise habit doesn’t have to be time consuming or difficult to score health gains. The American College of Sports Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend short bouts of activity — from gardening to walking the dog — throughout the day to accumulate 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise.
“You can reap health benefits simply by integrating three 10-minute walks into your day if you’re too busy for a half-hour block of exercise,” said John Duncan, professor of clinical research at the Institute for Women’s Health, Texas Woman’s University and author of a study at the Cooper Institute of Aerobics Research on the effects of moderate exercise on fitness.
“With exercise, a little ends up being a lot,” he said.
Plug activity breaks into your routine by turning a sedentary or passive habit into an active one.
“Add steps to your day,” said Ken Turley, assistant professor of kinesiology and director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Harding University in Arkansas. “I make a habit of parking a few spaces farther away so I can walk an extra distance. The more calories we expend the better, and it doesn’t matter when or how.
“It all counts because it all adds up,” Turley said. “For example, if a 165-pound man put down his remote and changed the TV channel manually four times a day, 300 days a year, he’d burn 11.6 calories a day walking up and back to the television, and mathematically would lose a pound a year. Walking two memos a day to the office down the hall instead of sending them by e-mail produces similar results.”
Trading the elevator for the stairs is another relatively simple change that can make a difference.
“I walk up and down three flights of steps to my office several times a day and only take the elevator in the morning when I’m carrying books,” said Barb Hoogenboom, professor of physical therapy and athletic trainer at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. “Stair climbing is a weight-bearing, anaerobic exercise that’s beneficial, especially to women, as long as there are no known health problems like heart or knee pathologies.”
Garry Miller, assistant professor and program director for athletic training at Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio, changed his activity level a little at a time. Two years ago the 48-year-old parked his riding mower and began using a push mower on his 2-acre lawn. A year later, he had lost 50 pounds and was competing in triathlons for the first time in his life.
“I progressed from cutting grass to running two miles, then three and gradually began biking and swimming,” Miller said. “I began to realize how much is possible as long as you ease into an activity.”
What you eat
If most of us substituted an apple for every Big Mac we scarfed down, we’d soon be poster children for good health.
“The most significant change most people can make in their food intake is to include five servings of fruits and vegetables every day,” said Melanie Polk, director of nutrition education for the American Institute for Cancer Research. “In fact, this one change could decrease cancer incidents by 20 percent.”
Fruits and vegetables can also protect against other conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease and obesity. And recent research on phytochemicals (protective substances in plant-based foods) indicates that fruits and vegetables have health benefits beyond their long-known nutritional value.
How to make a habit of these do-good, taste-good foods? One serving is only half a cup of veggies or one piece of fruit. Not so much. But not so convenient as an order of fries or a candy bar.
To turn healthy foods into fast foods, routinely pick up prewashed, precut ingredients at your supermarket, Polk said. Or follow the example of Phyllis Stumbo, research dietitian in the Clinical Research Center of the University of Iowa’s College of Medicine, who makes a habit of washing and chopping all her salad ingredients once a week during the evening news.
“The easiest way to reach the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables is to habitually incorporate one or two at every meal and afternoon snack,” said Joan Salge Blake, professor of nutrition at Boston University and nutrition expert at Thriveonline, a health information Web site for Oxygen.com. For example, adding extra tomatoes and lettuce to a sandwich equals one serving, she said. Other habit-forming serving suggestions from Blake include topping breakfast cereal with blueberries and tossing mandarin oranges and raisins into rice at dinner.
It also helps to make a list of your favorites and keep a supply of them on hand. It’s a lot easier to reach for a pear or handful of carrot sticks if they are foods that tickle your taste buds and if they’re ready and waiting in your fridge or desk.
Sidney Schneider, associate professor of health sciences at Salisbury State University in Maryland, requires his students to eat a healthy daily snack they prepare themselves.
“This is something I do routinely myself, whether it’s making a simple fruit shake or baking my own whole grain muffins,” he said. “The assignment makes my students aware of what ingredients are nutritious and, by putting energy into preparing the snack, they validate their self-worth. You nourish the soul as well as the body when you take time to invest in your own health.”
How you deal with stress
A little stress can keep us alert and energized, but prolonged stress takes a toll. Health professionals estimate that at least 60 percent of disease, including high blood pressure, stroke, cancer and asthma, is stress-related.
“Although no one is free of it, the less stress, the healthier you will be and the longer you will live,” said Leonard Pearlin, director of the University of Maryland’s Stress and Health Program.
One way to reduce stress is to make a habit of balancing time with others and time alone.
According to Pearlin, social support can be an effective way to deal with chronic stressors.
“The sheer ability to talk about the stressful situation is very helpful and gives people strategies for coping,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be a formal group, but a trusted friend or family member who listens, understands and provides positive emotional support.”
A growing body of research shows that social relationships are a key ingredient to good health and longevity.
“Social bonds are critical at every age, and the ones we develop in adulthood will help prevent poor health as we age,” said Carlos Mendes de Leon, associate professor of preventive medicine at Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center and director of a recent study revealing how social contacts decrease risk for disease in older adults. “It’s important to take social relationships seriously when planning leisure time, and to pay attention to developing social ties.”
In addition, creating a regular time out for yourself, even for 15 minutes a day, is another part of the stress-reducing equation. Meditation, deep breathing and other relaxation techniques are often recommended by health professionals.
“I urge patients to keep a journal of the positive things they do each day, because those with a good self-image do better with lifestyle changes,” said Nicole Obradovich, registered dietitian at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield. “One woman in our weight-loss program felt like a failure in caring for her grandchildren because her husband complained about the noise. After less than two months of keeping a journal, she had built up her own self-esteem and stopped overeating as much.”
Roberta Nutt, professor of psychology at Texas Woman’s University, encourages her clients to add a positive daily ritual that focuses on beauty and calm. “One woman starts the day by drinking a special coffee brew from an elegant cup,” Nutt said. “This kind of ritual slows you down, creates a break from external pressures, builds beauty into your life, and says `I am special.'”
“Research overwhelmingly indicates that people need to incorporate some form of stress management along with proper diet and exercise,” Schneider said. “I take an afternoon nap to release tension, which I recommend because everyone knows how to lie down.”
THREE HEALTH-BOOSTING HABITS
HABIT NO. 1
Add three 10-minute activity breaks to your day.
Choose activities you enjoy, from dancing to playing with the kids, or those that blend seamlessly into your life, like trading the escalator for the stairs or the leaf blower for a rake.
HABIT NO. 2
Add some vegetables or fruit to each meal and snack.
This isn’t supposed to be a punishment, so make a list of your favorites and keep them on hand to help you reach the recommended five servings a day. (We already asked: Ketchup and candy orange slices don’t count.)
HABIT NO. 3
Make time for other people and take time for yourself.
A balance of regular social interaction and time alone can make your life happier and healthier. Silence is golden, and so are friendships and community activities when it comes to your well-being.
