Habits

In our society we have become creatures of habit. We rarely try to maneuver outside of our rigid patterns of behavior. In doing so, we miss opportunities and even worse, we don't believe we are capable of change.

Unfortunately, a lot of our habits impact negatively on a healthy lifestyle.

We have the same routine in the morning. We get up and have a quick breakfast. For many, breakfast means stopping at a Tim Hortons for coffee and a muffin. We get to work, have a snack mid-morning then lunch. We work all afternoon and then come home, have dinner and relax. We recline on the couch watching T.V. or Netflix, or we sit at the computer. Maybe we read a book and go to bed, usually too late as we spend a little more time on our smartphones or tablets.

This is the same for a lot of us, and this lifestyle is not a healthy one. There are many parts of the day we could change, if only slightly, to make us healthier. Let's start in the morning. First off, do we need breakfast? Especially if we wake and truly aren't hungry. There is little evidence we do. Could we just do a short burst of exercise lasting 2 to 3 minutes? Depending on your level of strength and fitness, could you do a few squats, pushups, maybe hold a one minute plank? Just to get your heart rate up a bit. If you tend to stop at Tim's, don't get a muffin, maybe just have coffee with cream or milk, better yet black.

Mid-morning, could you walk for a minute around your office, or if you're lucky enough, walk around your building? Just get in a little movement. Lunch might be hit or miss for a lot of us, but we could be sure that if we buy from a food court, we try to avoid simple carbs and have a salad with some protein. Again, maybe you could do 2 minutes of calf raises, upright push-ups, stretch, try to balance for 1 minute on each leg? Something!

When we arrive home from work, it is so tempting to again, just sit, even after we have been sitting all day. We are mentally tired, but our bodies need movement, not food, not more sitting or lying. If you are lucky enough to have equipment, could you walk on treadmill or get on the stationary bike, even for 15 minutes to improve your mood and decrease the tendency to snack?

Evenings are tough for everyone. Snacking should not be an option. Steel yourself that after dinner, you will have no food till morning time. Also, minimize screen time, especially at bedtime. We need sleep, and should try our best to not go to bed with tablets or phones.

We lose many things as we age, especially strength, but also balance and flexibility. It may not seem like much, but before bed, could you again practice some balancing, and do some simple stretches of arms, back, quads and hamstrings.

What I'm looking for, is the awareness that we need movement, and we need to break habits of sitting and eating. If you aren't going regularly to the gym or walking daily (and maybe even if you are), could you commit yourself to 3 or 4 minutes of some sort of movement (strength, stretching or flexibility exercises) 3 or 4 times per day?

Eliminate night snacks. We do this out of habit, not hunger. We eat out of boredom, or stress, or pain. Food soothes only temporarily.

Think outside your daily routine. Change something, anything. Move more. Skip a meal. Something.

You can do it. Don't stay in a rut. Don't put off exercise. Small moves. Big gains!

Dr. Doug