Make those healthy habits stick in 2016

IT’S TIME to make your healthy habits stick. Whether it’s establishing an exercise routine or making healthier food choices, you’ll have a better chance of succeeding if you train your mind. Anyone can start a new fitness routine and eat healthier meals for a month or two, but it’s exponentially more difficult to stick to those habits for a lifetime.
Here’s how to do it. Whatever your goal is, whether it’s aiming for a promotion at work, running a new personal-record time, performing burpees with ease or maintaining a calorie count to lose weight, the why factor is paramount. Michelle Densmore, who is a certified personal trainer and licensed clinical social worker, wrote an online article in Runner’s World detailing the five things to ask yourself when developing a new goal.
1. Why do I want to achieve this goal?
2. Why now?
3. What will it mean for me if I succeed?
4. What will it mean for me if I don’t?
5. What am I willing to sacrifice to achieve this goal?
In the article, Densmore wrote: “If you have honest and detailed answers to all five questions, your success rate (for your goal) will be high. If your answers are vague or missing, it’s a sign this goal isn’t good for you.” Her point was you need to have a deep grasp and understanding on the significance of a particular goal.
In other words, make the goal personal and establish a deep connection. Exactly two years ago to this month, I was in the early stages of recovering from a ruptured appendix and ensuing infection. I had surgery on May 30, 2013, and it took a solid six months before I felt 100-percent normal again.
In the process, I lost 25 pounds, going from 170 pounds to 145. Before this scary health episode, I was actively involved in power lifting—think bench press, deadlifts and squats—driving 30 minutes to a gym a couple of times a week to train with men who could literally push cars city blocks. But my interest in power lifting had already waned before my hospitalization, and once I was out of the hospital I asked myself, ‘How am I going to turn this setback into a comeback?’ That’s when I started running again. Even before my appendix blew up, I was always grateful and thankful for my health.
After all, I could run, jump, throw and catch like a normal person, things I didn’t take for granted. Now I had an even greater appreciation for my health, knowing things could be taken away in an instant. Since October 2013, I’ve gone through six pairs of shoes—I replace a pair after every 500 miles, as recommended—and barring unforeseen events, I’ll continue to wear out running shoes at a rapid-fire pace.
Once a recreational runner, I’m a die-hard long-distance fanatic, running anywhere from 14 to 20 miles on a given Saturday even when I’m not in marathon training. That’s because even before suffering a ruptured appendix, I had a deep emotional goal with running and cycling, and that was to suffer through any type of hard workout—pain be damned—to achieve my physical best.
Having a deep and emotional connection to a goal means quitting is not an option. Contrast that to a person who starts up an activity because his or her friends are doing it. In terms of running, hundreds of thousands of people in this country sign up for a race—whether it’s a 5K, 10K or half-marathon—every year for that very reason.
There’s nothing wrong with signing up for a race because your friends are doing it. But as Densmore wrote: “At some point along the way, chances are she will fall off her training plan and not hit her goal. The reason behind the goal (because her friends are doing it) isn’t strong enough to justify the commitment needed to complete a half (marathon).”
But if you sign up for a race to run for those who can’t, or to raise money for cancer survivors, the emotional connection means other people are depending on your commitment. You’re not just running for yourself—you’re running for a higher purpose. In my next column, I’ll focus on implementing practical steps to make a new habit last.