When Fitness is a Lifestyle

This month's newsletter is dedicated to our habits...

Habit (hbt) n.

1. A recurrent, often unconscious, pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition.  2. Physical constitution.  3. An addiction, especially to a narcotic drug.  Source: The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

We each have our own unique and different habits.  Some habits are bad, and others are good.  I strongly believe that human beings are pleasure seekers, and pain avoiders. 

As an example, let’s look at the habit of brushing your teeth.  You do not brush your teeth because you enjoy it.  You brush your teeth to avoid having your teeth drilled by the dentist!!  How about smoking cigarettes?  People smoke because nicotine is a feel good drug.  People do not smoke to avoid pain.  How many people do you see with one foot in the grave with oxygen, a hole in their throat, and they're puffing away?  The pleasure of smoking outweighs the thoughts associated with dying from smoking related illness.

Now, let's look at how our eating habits shape the way we look and feel.  I laugh when people tell me they hardly eat any food, but are very overweight.  I know that when they begin keeping track of their calories, they are shocked to realize how much they really had been eating.  Are you eating because you are hungry, or because it is a habit? 

My youngest daughter, Audra, loves desert.  When we are at a restaurant she is the one who will want to order the dessert.  She has gotten into the habit of having something sweet after dinner.  If she does not get her way she gets very upset. Are we adults the same way?  If we do not get dessert, do we get mad?  Do we view dessert as a treat, or as a right of passage for eating your dinner?

So, how do we develop healthy habits? First, I think we need to look at the long term.  How will our bodies look and feel one year from now?  Five years from now?  Twenty years from now?  Do we want to lose our independence, and rely on prescription drugs?  Or rely on our children to take care of us?  What have your habits done to your body and mind for the last year? The last five years? If we just do some type of activity for 20 to 30 minutes most days of the week, we can expect to reap the rewards of a stronger, healthier body.  You do not have to sweat for hours and hours at the gym to be healthy.

Start by doing an activity that you enjoy.  If you hate to take aerobic classes than don't go!  I love to ride my bicycle.  When I am riding my bicycle it does not even seem like I am exercising.  My wife Christine hates traditional exercise, which is a little frustrating for me, the personal trainer of the house.  Christine is slim and had viewed exercise as a chore.  So as a means of getting some exercise, she just finished taking tennis lessons this summer.  She loved the lessons!  She learned how to make exercise fun.  What do you like to do?  Remember as a kid how much fun it was to go outside and play?  What got you excited?  When did we decide that growing up was going to be so uneventful?  Sign up for a dance class, spend some time outside in the garden, dust off your bicycle, take your dog for a walk, take your kids roller skating, play basketball, go on a hike.  Do an activity because you WANT to do it, not because you feel that you HAVE to.

The next habit to consider is the that of food.  Do you order the same thing each time you go out to a restaurant?  Do you eat the same foods all the time?  Do you insist on having ice cream after dinner?  Make a habit of eating healthy foods.  I classify healthy foods as lots of fruits, vegetables, starchy carbohydrates, lean proteins, and healthy fats.  Try different items at the grocery store, and while eating out.  Instead of having ice cream or candy for dessert, try some fresh fruit. Once you start eating a more healthy diet, those foods we usually eat out of habit (chips, popcorn, sweets etc.) no longer taste as good as we once thought they did.

Life is short and full of surprises.  Take care of yourself and the ones you love. Your physical body is the only one you will ever have.  How much will you regret taking years of quality time from your friends, and family because you had unhealthy habits?

So get off the couch, and enjoy all that life has to offer.

Client of the month

Regina Lehman

Regina has worked with me for over a year now.  She comes in one time per week for one-on-one training sessions.  She has lost 26 pounds of fat, dropping her percentage of body fat over 10%.  Regina has increased her strength and endurance, and has improved her cardiovascular performance dramatically. Regina also goes to the gym, and has developed healthy habits that will last her a lifetime.  I am very proud of Regina, and look forward to seeing her make even more progress.