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8 Healthy Habit Hacks

Episode 131

Are you ready to change?  I mean, are you really ready to make a change? Sidney Harris says, “Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it all at the same time. And what we really want is for things to remain the same, but get better.”

We want to call apple pie, a serving of fruit and be thin. We want to dump salt on our food and have normal blood pressure. 

We want to watch TV and have big muscles, and we want to scroll through Instagram reels for an hour before bed and then sleep good and feel rested. We want to let our minds spin with anxiety and have peace. We want to wave a magic wand and poof, all of our stress disappears. We want to have several drinks and not feel hung over. We want to nurse a grudge and be included with our friends. We want to live long, healthy, and happy, but we also want to have our cake and eat it too.  So again, the question is, do you really want to change?  Tony Robbins says, “Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.”

Change is painful.

Today in mini medical school, we’re going to a short class in psychology and it actually starts with a test to figure out if you’re ready to make a change, to get healthier and change your lifestyle. So, which of these statements describes you?  

1. Nope. I’m not doing it.  

This means you’re just not really ready to make a change in your life now. And if this is the stage you’re in. That’s okay. What you mainly need is more information because you need to understand the consequences of changing versus not changing. So keep listening to this podcast so you can learn more about the impact of lifestyle medicine on your health.. Now we call this the pre-contemplative stage. You’re not planning to make any changes in the next six months. 

2. Yes, I want to change.

You’re the type of person who knows that you’re going to make a change within the next few months. And you understand it’s not going to be easy, but you don’t really have a specific plan yet. You’re just kind of gearing up. We call this the contemplative stage. You’re thinking about making a change soon.  

3. My mind is made up.

You’re determined you’re going to make a change and you’re planning to start soon. You believe you need to make a change. And so you’re taking small steps to prepare. We call this the preparation stage. You’re going to take action in the next 30 days. 

4. I’m doing it.

You’ve recently taken those first steps and made some changes. It’s all still new to you, but you’re gaining ground. We call this the action stage. It’s where you’re taking small steps in a new direction.

5. I did it.

You succeeded at making a change, but you’re guarding against going back to your old ways. You understand you’re vulnerable to relapse. We call this the maintenance stage.  This is where you’ve sustained change for at least six months.

6. Stick a fork in me. You’re done.

You’re confident that the change you made will last. And the temptation to go back to your old ways doesn’t pull you in anymore. We called this the termination stage. Where you have no desire to return to your old ways.

The problem is sometimes we want to change on the one hand, but on the other hand, there are some benefits to staying put. That’s called ambivalence. And it’s important to work through that. So let’s get it out in the open so you can deal with it.   In order to do that. I think you should think about all of the positive reasons for staying the same. I mean, we all probably enjoy things that are not good for us. For example, if you love a bowl of ice cream after dinner, watching shows on TV, drinking a cocktail, being alone and staying up late.  There are some benefits of staying the same because you obviously enjoy those things.  So list them out. Let’s put them out in the open. 

Maybe what you really need is a reason to change. Your core values affect your choices in life.  Let’s explore your why? Why do you want to change? 

Maybe it’s because you’ve seen the parent grow old and not be able to get up out of a chair. And you don’t want to be like that. Or maybe you looked in the mirror and said, who is that? I don’t want to be that person. Or maybe you’re going to the pharmacy and picking up a sack full of medications and they’re expensive and they have side effects. And you’re wondering if you made some changes,

if maybe you could get off of some of that stuff.  Or maybe you look outside and you see your kids or grandkids playing. And you wish you could participate. Or go on a hike with your family. Explore what matters most to you? And that will help you identify your pain point. And think about your, why. What gets you up every morning? I mean, we all need purpose in our lives and purpose often drives us.  It may be meaningful relationships or a fulfilling job or a calling to serve others. You need to explore your strengths values, and maybe even write out a personal mission statement, then you can tap into your gifts and strengths and determine your reasons for making a change. Good reasons to change include better health because it’s a valuable asset. 

If you lose your health, you lose your ability to do anything else. 

Until you identify a specific problem, it’s hard to tap into that pain point that drives successful change. And most of us just have this vague idea when it comes to health, we want to be healthy, but that’s really an abstract concept. It’s not a fully formed plan.

And that is why most attempts fail.

 Maybe it would help if you filled in these blanks because I have______. I am at risk for _____, or if I don’t change _______. I can’t do ______. 

Okay, this is a little hard on a podcast. 

I actually have a course called seven day prescriptions for change. It’s completely free. It has a downloadable workbook where you can fill in these blanks on paper. If that’s easier for you, I’ll put a link in the show notes seven day prescription for change, or you can find it on my website. 

But let’s get started with those eight healthy habit hacks.

1. Identify your goals and you need to be specific. And on top of a specific goal, you need a specific plan. Make SMART goals. Write it down.

2. Start small, think big.

I don’t think we necessarily have to start small. We just have to identify what the steps are that move us from point A to point B. But we could start big in one department and that’s our identity. Start viewing yourself as a healthy person.

3. Create a routine. 

4. Use associations and do habit stacking. I recommend James Clear’s book, “Atomic Habits.”

5. Track your progress.

6. Have an accountability partner. 

7. Learn from your mistakes when you relapse. Don’t let failure define you. 

8. Celebrate milestones because I know you’re going to get there. It won’t be easy, but you’re getting the tools you need to make changes that make a difference.

Say goodbye to quick fixes and embrace a personalized plan for longterm health. Because healthy looks great on you. 

RESOURCES (may contain affiliate links)

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7-Day Prescription for Change – sign up to receive podcasts by email

Workbook for 7 Day Prescription for change

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Equilibrium Telehealth for residents of Arkansas and Tennessee

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The Secret to Staying on a Diet

Episode 130

Here’s how to fool proof your diet.

Have you ever started a diet only to be derailed by the feeling that you’re going to starve? Hunger will sideline the best diet plans and willpower usually isn’t enough to overcome it. So, what is the secret? I’ll give you a hint. It’s not drinking more water. Stay tuned. So you can learn how to stick to a diet and not get hungry.

Whatever diet you decide is right for you. Hunger is your worst enemy. If only you could eat until you feel full and stay feeling full. Wait. You can. I’ll let you in on a little secret. The key is fiber.  Every year 45 million Americans go on a diet, whether it’s to lose weight or get healthy, most people are lucky to last six months.  And if it’s a strict diet, it’s even less than that.  There are a lot of good reasons to diet besides losing weight. Like managing high blood pressure, controlling diabetes, lowering cholesterol, and preventing dementia and cancer.

Not only does fiber keep your belly feeling full. 

It keeps your bowels regular and promotes a healthy gut microbiome which can influence auto-immune and allergic responses as well as help maintain a healthy weight.

Soluble means it’s going to dissolve in liquid, either water or bodily fluids. And this type of fiber  is found in foods like fruit, oats, and beans. It’s made up of carbohydrates, but your body can’t digest it. On the other hand, insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water and other bodily fluids. It’s found in the cell walls of plants like wheat and other grains think bran. And your body can’t digest it either. 

Instead it stays in the colon and does its job. 

since one of the biggest things that will derail your efforts to stick to a diet is hunger. I have some great news for you. If you’re hungry, you should eat. That’s right. Starving yourself. It’s not necessary. 

RESOURCES (may contain affiliate links)

The Power Foods Diet

Equilibrium Medical Telehealth

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Episode 129 Keep moving to maintain flexiblity as you age with Brian Murphy, Doctor of Physical Therapy and owner of Pinnacle Physical Therapy

Physical therapists are capable of really helping patients avoid surgery, avoid the need for medication. We are going to discuss the need to invest in the body’s ability to move and to be strong and to allow people to do the things they really enjoy. 

People are on devices and social media so much now that positions where your head is forward and rounding of your upper back. What’s interesting about the human body is that there are alternating patterns of joints that are supposed to be very mobile. And joints that are supposed to be very stable. So when you think about your back, your neck is a mobile joint. It’s supposed to be able to rotate. a lot. In those circumstances with those prolonged positions, unfortunately we we lose the mobility because we’re only working in one plane of motion.

We’re working in the sagittal plane. Our head stays still. We don’t ever work in the frontal plane and we don’t ever work in the transverse plane  we don’t have to.  That is a particular area that I see a lot of patients who are having neck pain complications with neck pain, headaches. And then also low back is another great example. The low back is a very stable joint. It’s only meant to bend forward and extend,  but the areas above it, the thoracic spine and your hips are both very mobile joints, or at least they should be.  I have seen clinically numerous times patients will come in complaining of pain in their low back. But the problem is arising from the stiffness in their hips and in their thoracic spine, from base of your neck, kind of down to the lower back. If you lose mobility in those two areas,  your low back has to do a lot more work. It’s doing some things that it’s not meant to do. So Instead of just treating where the pain is located, we’ve got to get those ball and socket joints moving again.

Motion is lotion.

We’ve got to keep mobility in our hips. We’ve got to keep rotation in our thoracic spine.  got to get out of these rounded postures  flexed postures and work on the opposite motions. A lot of times we have to work on extension.  So  some of this stuff isn’t rocket science, but unfortunately patients just don’t realize that. Once again, the human body is meant to have this beauty of variety of movement, and when we relegate ourselves to very stringent movements,  we lose those capabilities that are inherent,  that is going to be problematic.

Learn more about Pinnacle Physical Therapy

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