Living a healthy lifestyle is fairly easy. Making the change to living healthy is the hard part. That’s why so many New Year’s resolutions fail, the resolver doesn’t make the full commitment of time to changing behaviors. Changing is a difficult thing for all of us to do. We are accustomed to doing certain things in our daily routine, and changing means becoming comfortable with a new routine.

When I was growing up there was a country comedian named Brother Dave Gardner. In one of his routines he said, “We do something once, twice, and the third time is addiction.” That is true in some cases, particularly bad habits. But, in a study conducted by Phillippa Lally and others for the European Journal of Social Psychology in 2010, it was shown that it takes an average of 66 days for new habits to become routine.

How many times do we actually give ourselves 66 days of changing eating, exercise and getting rid of other unhealthy behaviors before we slide back in to our old, comfortable routines. It takes time for new routines and habits to take hold and become the norm. The trick is to hang in there and become dedicated to making the change for the better.

There are many programs and aids to help you make the change. Some are good, some not so good. The important thing, though, is to set your mind and be diligent about following YOUR plan. Any plan can work if you work the plan.

This blog is intended for information purposes only and should not be considered Medical Advice. Discuss with your doctor any personal medical conditions, dietary changes or exercise programs before making any lifestyle changes.

©2014 – Guy A. Crawford – All Rights Reserved