7 steps to Lasting Change (Health, Body Transformation, etc.) – by Dr. Nick Araza

Water always wins in the long run.

“there’s something i need your help with.  call me when you get up.  I am ready to change my life.”

That was the first email in my in-box on Saturday.

It was from one of my best friends on the planet, so I immediately picked up the phone.  In the past, my buddy has viewed his health the way many Americans do – “I know I’m a bit overweight, but I feel pretty good and I know I can get healthy whenever, so what’s the rush?”  In reality, yes, anybody can begin getting healthy at any time and will enjoy the benefits of that health gained; however, there is such a thing as damage that cannot be undone.  You will get to a point where the maximum amount of health gained is less and less than if you started earlier (to be clear, when I write less and less, I mean less years and less quality of the life you live – not so scary if you were guaranteed more than one life, but you aren’t).

Now, I love my buddy dearly, but in reality, he has really never stopped living the college lifestyle.  Now, I can’t say that I didn’t love college (I did), and I can’t say that I never act like I’m still in college from time to time (I do), but the key here is “staple.”  Not the store chain or the paper fastener, but the life inclusion/occurrence of these habits.  I revisit my college lifestyle from time to time, but it is in no way a staple in my current lifestyle.  I know this because my college self would have panicked hard if he had to follow me along through even one Thursday, let alone a whole week.  There weren’t a whole heck of a lot of pre-6 a.m. mornings back in college, and there was a lot more beer.

Now, because I love and care about him, I have been nagging my buddy for years.  Knowing that someday he will come around and clean up his act, I just hoped it would be before some real damage has been done.  Dr. Jesse once told me, “You have to be the water on the rock,” and I absolutely love that quote because it is so true.  The rock can resist for a while, sometimes a long while, but eventually the constant flowing of water wins out.  Not convinced?  See Wikipedia’s explanation about the tiny canyon above    :-p.

As I wrote above, after receiving the email, I immediately called my buddy and gave him  the 7 steps to lasting change.  These are the things I asked him to do, and he agreed.

Here they are for all of you:  THE SEVEN STEPS TO LASTING CHANGE:

1.  Read a minimum of 3 blogs entries each day (5-15 minutes/day) from a combination of the following:  The Blog of Franson Chiropractic, Innate Wellness Solutions, and Mark’s Daily Apple (the Beautifully Strong Project is pretty good too ;-p)  *** But start with How to make a Smoothie  and Health (by Dr. Byron Jackson)…after those two, you have free reign – now get reading!

• The purpose of the reading is continuous information.  Repetition is learning, and learning allows people to own the real, life-ending consequences of choosing the bad or not choosing the good.  With that info, change is much easier.

2.  Drink a smoothie every day (6 days minimum/week).

• This ensures you are getting the good stuff in, and this is why you have to start with that blog first.

3.  Move more.

• This does not mean get a gym membership.  Many people are not ready for that kind of step (I’m not trying to deter you from that, but these steps are being put in place forever, so pick things that don’t add much stress to your life.  I told my buddy to start by adding 5 extra flights of stairs each day – you may be adding less than this or more…do as much as you feel comfortable with, as long as it is something that gets you moving, sweating and panting.

4.  Eat Fresh Fiber at every meal.

• This means eating a fruit or a vegetable before any other food or food-like product goes in your mouth.  This ensures you are getting the good stuff in, and it also fills you up a bit so it is harder to eat as much bad stuff – but we are not removing anything from the diet!  Only adding.  Our bodies and minds handle addition easily; subtraction equals stress – only stop eating something if you feel no stress along with that.

5.  Acquire a Success Journal and write at least one positive choice you made each day regarding your health (an extra flight of stairs, parking further away, eating a carrot before a cheesecake, deep breathing exercises, or choosing a salad instead of french bread, for example).

• This will help you keep positive even on the hard days and will become addictive especially when 5 flights of stairs turns to 7 and then to 10 without feeling like more work!

6.  Call a buddy and report to him/her each week.

• Mostly go over the Success Journal and anything you wish to speak of regarding your health.  No complaining, but problem solving is okay.  This step seals the deal by holding you accountable to someone else other than yourself.  The more people you tell about your quest toward health, the easier it will be to make workouts, eat veggies, and think positively about your experience.  We are social creatures and need encouragement – please show your buddy this blog at the beginning of your transformation so that he or she helps and encourages you and doesn’t rain on your parade (if you are a buddy of someone showing you this, for God’s sake help them, love them and fight for them – we all need a buddy with our best interests in mind!  I thank you personally for being theirs).

7.  Take a picture of yourself (front and side), and write how you feel at the beginning of this experience.  Place it in the December portion of your planner, because a year from now, you will be blown away with the health you have gained.

The longer you live this way by adding the good, the easier it will be to make some subtractions later, when you feel ready – but don’t worry about that now.  Today, focus only on today – this lifestyle is day-by-day, small steps to sustainable long-lasting change, and it won’t feel like you are missing out because it is so gradual.   Always keep in mind that HEALTH is the goal!  Healthy people are slimmer, stronger, smarter, have far fewer (if any) symptoms, and are happier (annoyingly so at times!).   

I believe in you!

Now go Fight 4 YOUR Health!

Dr. Nicholas Araza DC CCWP