Jan 28

If you're going to be consistent with keeping your resolutions concerning health, here's a simple but very powerful strategy: make your resolutions easy to do (but resolve to do easy actions that will lead to doing more).

Here's an example: When I go walking, my goal is to simply walk 10 minutes at any speed every day. I give myself permission to quit after 10 minutes. Almost always, after 10 minutes, I want to keep walking. About once every month or two, after 10 minutes, I don't want to keep going (I may be fatigued or have a pressing matter I want to take care of or I may just not be having fun). But if I want to quit, I quit after 10 minutes.

If I continue to walk, my goal is to simply go for 3 miles at any speed that feels comfortable to me that day. I don't carry weights, I don't keep track of time, I don't count my pulse. My goal is to simply enjoy the 3 miles as best I can by calling a friend, listening to a book, thinking through a problem, singing, or just being quiet. Sometimes I find myself running like a wild man, but most of the time, I simply walk...if I run, it's because I want to run that day.

I've seen many people go from hardly any exercise at all to exercising vigorously almost daily when they resolve to do less...resolving to simply walk 10 minutes every day.

Here's an easy win when it comes to diet: Just resolve to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables that you eat. Most people when they think "diet", think restriction of food (which feels difficult). Make the resolution easy. Decide to eat more of the foods that curb appetite without causing weight gain. Eat a minimum of 5 fruits or vegetables every day (one serving is one cup, or one medium piece of fruit, exception is salad which takes 3 cups to make a serving). If you increased the amount of food you eat, this would be easier than walking around hungry, but if you increased the amount of fruits and vegetables it would decrease your appetite for richer foods and lead to weight loss.

Five fruits or vegetables is the amount proven to decrease the risk of breast cancer, colon cancer, and heart disease, lead to weight loss, and lower cholesterol. The best way to easily get five per day, is to make a morning smoothie and a bedtime smoothie with a piece of fruit in each. Have 2 servings with supper and one serving as a snack or with lunch.

As you try to move forward every day to find better health (remember that health is like a bicycle...if you're not trying to move forward, you fall over), look for an easy win on a daily basis that will help your progress. Hopefully you'll find an easy win in these Daily Strategies.

Health Strategy #28: Make an "easy win"