Photo by Bruno Nascimento on Unsplash
A baby learns to sit, then crawl, stand, then walk. A child goes to kindergarten and then to grade school. We pass through adolescence before adulthood.
Transitions. These are an important part of growth and of each learning process. This new year, if you have decided to get healthier, give yourself a substantial amount of transition. It will protect you from shock–emotionally getting overwhelmed by your goals, physical over-fatigue –leading to frustration.
Some people learn very quickly, and spend little or no time with the basics. Some have to go cold-turkey to push them to start. And it can work for them. Fitness gurus would however remind us that the longer time (and harder work) it takes for us to change to healthy habits, the longer the wanted change remains. Dr. Joel Fuhrman, a nutritional medicine expert who supervised Joe Cross from an obese, sick wealthy businessman to a healthy, happy individual in the popular documentary “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” had this to say in the film: “Permanent results only come from permanent change of lifestyle and diet style. You don’t get permanently well unless you permanently change how you live.”
The longer-range your goal is, the longer time you will have to give yourself to achieve it. In the same way, expect that crash diets and hurried ways of achieving goals can mean going back to your old ways and health condition fast and easily too.
For a lot of us, getting into the groove of things needs some kindness towards self. It’s that yawning, and stretching you give yourself in bed, before getting up.
Set realistic, measurable goals that cover not just a change in diet and increase in exercise, but better sleeping hours and a less stressful lifestyle. Take some steps to improve your mental and spiritual health too for all these affect one another. Set a timetable with these transition tricks. It may not be easy as 1, 2, 3, but you can always have a fresh start:
ONE: Take ONE step at a time. Avoid skipping steps, or expecting to advance immediately.
Take ONE day at a time. Deal with what currently faces you, and be assured that tomorrow will take care of the rest of your concerns.
Go for ONE change or improvement at a time.1 This will greatly reduce the pressure to see a difference in your life. You will also more likely manage to stick to your routine.
“Improve ONE thing, by ONE percent. Do it again tomorrow.”2
TWO: Choose TWO activities that you enjoy most to reach a goal. Take up one, and if it doesn’t work, you’ve got the second one to resort to. You can also alternate these two to prevent monotony. You can alternate walking with a friend and going to the gym or playing a sport. If you are planning to have a plant-based diet, you can try giving up one kind of meat a month, before totally giving up being carnivorous. (See side bar for more suggestions on gradual diet change and substitutions.)
Be accountable to at least TWO work-out buddies, better yet to at least ONE fitness or medical professional PLUS ONE who has inspired you with his own changed life. Ask them to check on you, and always keep them posted. There are work-out apps that have a “Share” button, so in one click you can let your buddies know how you are doing.
Surround yourself with healthy and caring friends. Avoid stress that comes from hanging out with health-conscious but haughty people, those who constantly complain, criticize others, and are in addictive behaviors. Try to regularly meet up with those who lift your spirit, are prayerful, supportive and optimistic.
A friend’s nephew did not really intend to be healthy, but because his closest friends were, and vegan options were accessible where he lived, it was easier for him to make healthier choices. Your environment and community play a big role in your adjustment.
THREE: Marissa Bracke, a digital marketing specialist in her article on the THREE Day Rule of Effective Habits says: “One day is a breather. Two days is a break. Three days is a new pattern…So goes the power of the three day rule: If you don’t want it as a habit, don’t do it for three days straight. And if you do want it as a habit, don’t skip it for three days straight.”3
James Clear, a weightlifter and author of Transform Your Habits, tackled “How Long Does it Actually Take to Form a New Habit? (Backed by Science)”.4 He traced how the idea that “it takes 21 days to form a new habit” got popular and shared the results of a research conducted by the team of behavioral psychologist Philippi Laly, published in 2009.5 Based on the study’s results that it takes more than two months to form a new habit, J. Clear pointed out three interesting notions:
ONE: No need to judge yourself if you can’t master a behavior in 21 short days. It takes longer than that.
TWO: You don’t have to be perfect. Give yourself permission to make mistakes and develop strategies to get back on track.
THREE: Embracing longer timelines can help us realize that habits are a process and not an event…You have to embrace the process…commit to the system.
Impatience seems to be our greatest enemy in transitions. Remember the Marshmallow Experiment conducted by the team of Mischel W. Ebbesen (1972)?6 The study followed the growth into adulthood of children who were able to resist the marshmallow, to get two pieces if they manage to wait. As adults, those who delayed gratification had better scores in life measures such as academic test results, stress and weight management.
When does transition end? Transition is not static. It dynamically progresses until you reach the goal you have set. You may also be surprised at how you are able to do even beyond that, or skewed to a goal more apt for you. You take steps forward, a few back, but there always is motion. Even a pause can be “active recovery”. So in essence, to transition is already to achieve, as you draw closer to the finish line.
The finish line is not necessarily the fulfillment of your goal. It can be being able to know yourself more, having explored your capacities and having discovered both your potentials and your limitations. Based on these lessons, you can adjust your transitions, or transition to your adjustments. Delay gratification. You’re in for a double, even, triple treat.
Some Tips on Transitioning to a Healthier Diet
- Reduce intake of artificially flavored, processed foods, one serving at a time daily. Use brown sugar instead of white, gradually aiming for muscovado (molasses), honey and stevia.
- From one cup of white rice, go for ½ cup; then mixing it with brown, red or black rice, until you totally eliminate rice or other harmful carbs like pasta, pastries and bread.
- Increase your servings of fiber-rich veggies as you reduce amount of carbohydrates and meat on your plate.
- Mix in mushrooms (prefer fresh) and tofu into your meat dishes to slowly decrease meat and fat content.
- Substitute coffee and soda with rice or corn coffee, ginger and herbal tea every other day to help reduce caffeine and sugar intake.
- Whenever you are tempted to eat junk food, reach for a glass of water, or your favorite fruit. Experiment on fresh juicing: combine pineapple with cucumber and some ampalaya; green apple with sayote, green pepper and celery; and red apples with carrots and beets. Drink this for snack time.
- To make salads more interesting, concoct your favorite dressing, or add strips of grilled chicken, smoked salmon, tuna and sprinkle with nuts.
- Opt for organic grains, fruits, eggs, dairy, and meat which are now available in the market. Choose locally-grown produce from your community market over canned or imported food.
1 https://www.blendtec.com/blog/transitioning-to-a-healthy-lifestyle/
2 https://jamesclear.com/delayed-gratification
3 http://marissabracke.com/three-day-rule-effective-habits
4 https://jamesclear.com/new-habit
5 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.674/abstract
More into numbers than words, Richelle Joson-Ligot grew up writing merely in her head and in her heart, making up stories and characters, mixing up syllables to mean a new idea, and recording these all on diaries and in cassette. A voice talent, homeschooler, creative consultant, and choreographer, she is gifted in many ways, but considers the best gifts in her life to be the people the Giver has blessed her with – husband Tot, and children Mishka, Nikita, Miro and Yakob.
