Living a healthier life style has not been easy for many people. This is because so many people are solely focused on the results. When starting their exercise routines, they are focused on losing weight, working off calories or achieving a certain amount of time in the gym. While all of these things are very important, they are rarely the things that will keep a person motivated for the rest of their life to stick with these changes.
The Key Ingredient to Lasting Changes
The single most important ingredient to making lasting changes in your health and life style is pleasure. Think about this, the very reason that a person gets out of shape, gains weight, and doesn't exercise much is because they view inactivity and overeating as more pleasurable than exercise and healthy nutrition. The pleasure factor is your most important key to making a lasting change.
Instead of simply focusing on the result of a certain work out program or nutritional diet, focus on the process or the journey. If you're sixty pounds overweight, it may take you a year to really get in shape. (Remember, you can naturally only lose about one to two pounds of fat a week. Any more is not fat and may be water and even muscle tissue.) A year can seem like an eternity if you're constantly focused on how much you weigh and constantly weighing yourself on the scale. Instead, focus on enjoying the actual process and experience the journey to a healthier body and mind.
2 Ways to Enjoy the Process
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" explains that happiness is the result of being in the "flow" or in the "zone". This is a highly relaxed, but focused state. Athletes, musicians, and artists are prime examples of people who get into this state on a regular basis. He details the formula for getting into the "flow", which is a combination of doing a moderately challenging activity that enables you to experience joy and pleasure on some level, on a regular basis. For example, if you're a music lover, you could begin to learn to play the bass guitar. By actually enjoying the very act of practicing and learning, you begin to lose track of time and begin to naturally have the urge to practice, because it is your time for fun and experiencing the "flow".
By being in the "flow", you enjoy the actual process of making permanent life style changes in your health. There are keys to applying the "flow" formula.
1. Flow with exercise - if treadmills and stationary bikes bore you, then try walking or running in your local area. By jogging and running in your community you get to see all kinds of interesting people and this stimulation can be very pleasurable. If you do not like jogging or running, you can put on your favorite tunes and just dance in the privacy of your own home. You don't know how to be a dancer, just move your body in your own way to your favorite songs. If you like gardening and landscaping, you could work in the yard, cutting grass, raking leaves, trimming bushes, sweeping the sidewalk. Use these activities as a time of joy and fun. Never pressure yourself and always stop if you feel uncomfortable.
2. Flow with your food - if you've developed a taste for sweets, cakes, fast food, processed foods then there is a way to change that. It requires letting you get a little hungrier than usual. Remember, you won't be doing this permanently, but skipping a meal or two for a couple of days during the week, in order to change your taste buds can be a very powerful way to begin to experience pleasure in eating healthy foods. If a person is hungry enough, any food will begin to taste good to them. This is a physiological phenomenon.
In conclusion, living a healthier life style doesn't have to be super difficult. The key is to gradually acclimate yourself for healthier habits, healthier choices and healthier changes. Avoid rushing and trying to hurry results. Instead, enjoy the process of making permanent changes in a gentle and gradual way.
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