Want to make health changes that will stick? Make them slowly. Don’t expect to change your eating or activity habits overnight. Changing too much too fast can hurt your chances of success. Here’s your to-do list for maximum success:
- Look at ways to make your eating and physical-activity habits healthier. Use a food/activity journal for a week. Write down everything you eat, your activities, and your emotions. Review your journal. Do you skip breakfast? Are you physically active most days of the week? Do you eat when you’re stressed?
- Know what’s holding you back. Are there unhealthy snack foods at home that are too tempting? Is the food at your cafeteria too high in fat and added sugar? Do you find it hard to resist drinking several sweetened sodas a day?
- Set a few realistic goals. For example, try replacing a couple of the sodas you drink with unsweetened beverages. Once you are drinking less soda, try cutting out all soda. Then, set a few more goals, like drinking low-fat or fat-free milk, eating more fruits, or getting more physical activity each day. You can do it!
—Source: National Institutes of Health
Good Neighbor Pharmacy Health Connection, February 2014
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