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May 2006 Issue
By Steve Tracy, MA NAFP MFT
Question: We are a good family but need to help everyone get healthy. While we do everything we are supposed to I worry about the amount of sitting we do between home, school, TV, games, and the types of food we eat. We have tried in the past to eat and exercise regularly but it never seems to last. Do you have some suggestions for helping us make it work this time?
Answer: You have described one of the biggest problems encountered when we desire to alter out behaviors. Too often the ‘two week wonder’ sets in with each new goal; you set the goals, do wonderful for two weeks, and then wonder what happened to them.
The new goals are set aside for old, less desirable, patterns of behavior. It happens so consistently that the inconsistency becomes the consistent pattern that we and our families expect and accomplish time after time. Then, any attempts at change are given up as impossible (also called learned helplessness). Discouragement, frustration, depression, and other similar emotions and behaviors result similar to the person given one talent, in the parable of the talents.
To counteract this disarming process follow the SUCCESS formula:
Start by writing out all the things you would like a part of your life
Underline the most important one
Chart it out in simple to-do steps (no more than 5) and mark a daily time you will do them (taking no more than 15-30 minutes to start).
Convince yourself you will follow it for 30 days, talk positive about how “I can see myself doing it.” Talking positively makes it easier to happen even if you make a mistake; “OK, I didn’t do it today at the right time but tomorrow I will.”
Engage encouragement of others by asking them to do it along with you and give verbal encouragement. Telling your goals to others provides primary motivation.
Smile at yourself and say “good job, I did it” and draw a smiley face daily on the calendar so you can see your success.
Start on the second item on the list that you would like to do after 45-60 days following the exact same process.
This formula has been known to help people start and make new behaviors or end undesirable ones. It is a simple formula and yet very difficult to follow. Too often our goals are set too high and go from one extreme to the next. Diets and exercise are classic examples as people will make a radical change and then give it up as unmanageable. The catch-phrases we learn also undermine our efforts; “No-pain, no gain” can denote too much is needed in order to make a difference. Correctly used the phrase reminds us that effort is always needed for any type of growth.
In the Medscape article, “Moderate Exercise: No Pain, Big Gains,” Harvey Simon, MD (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/524377) gives a better catch-phrase and workable system for helping people of all ages get healthy. Simple, moderate exercises and activities and their impact were observed in 22 different studies around the world, involving 320,000 people, By:
• walking from 1 hour to 10 miles weekly
• walking up 55 flights of stairs weekly
• gardening for 1 hour weekly
• leisure activity for 43 minutes daily to 2.2 hours weekly
• biking for at least 1 hour weekly
The incidences of heart attack, hypertension, stroke, coronary artery disease, and overall mortality were drastically reduced – from between 29% to 73% reduction compared to their peers.
Share these activities with your family as you employ the SUCCESS system. Then you will be able to make a permanent and healthy change.
Steve Tracy’s office can be reached at 702-258-2648, or reach him by email at therapy_business@msn.com.
