New Habits and a Healthier Life

"Old Habits Die Hard." That adage clearly comes from centuries of anecdotal evidence, and I can personally attest to its veracity. "Been there, done that" is another chestnut that sums up many of my experiences, and putting those two quotes together you have some idea of how I've managed to successfully lose significant amounts of weight on sensible programs such as Weight Watchers, only to have them hopelessly creep back.

When you couple entrenched bad habits with increasing problems from a chronic health problem (mine is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Hypermobility), it's not hard to see why a diet does not ensure lasting results. When you add the defeatist attitude as I did, you basically succumb to the bad habits and give up the pleasures of good health.

It's funny what can trigger change. For me, it was the birth of my sweet little granddaughter, Lola. Holding her for the first time at 2 weeks and seeing her again at 4 months of age, it suddenly dawned on me: I wanted to live a long time and watch Lola grow up! Fortunately, husband Bill supports and encourages me in all my endeavors. It was Bill who first got me to start doing water aerobics twice a week at the local city pool, and it was Bill who suggested I up the ante and use the Group Health Silver Sneakers program to add another day of exercises at the Olympic Athletic Club's pool.

Sadly, my first time at OAC was my last for several months: I slipped on a slick step getting in to the pool and wrenched my arm, torso, and knee quite severely. Thankfully, nothing was permanently damaged. I did eventually go back.

I knew I needed to do more than just go to water exercises, however, since I knew the key to any lasting success would be to truly rid myself of some extremely dangerous decades-old bad habits and to develop healthy, sane new ones. I could NOT go on a diet, but instead I had to create a new lifestyle for myself.

Group Health offered an online 6 week class called "Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions." I signed on to begin in October, 2011 and even bought the materials, knowing full well that I would not really "learn" anything new. The old saying, "If you want to know how to diet, ask a fat person," is quite true. Remember: been there, done that! Something about the set-up of the class clicked with me. Members in the forum set their own weekly goals and focused on that crucial concept of forming NEW habits. The 6-week timeframe was no accident. I decided to take baby steps and to use an additive approach.

My first goal was to do water aerobics three times a week for at least 30 minutes each time. That meant returning to OAC. I recorded my efforts via the class website and began a journal (the more successful participants in our group of about a dozen people were the most interactive ones). I succeeded in the first week and kept that as a primary goal throughout the 6 weeks.

In week two, I added a new goal: NO food after 8 PM, at least 5 days a week, except fresh fruit or vegetables. Someone once said, "You aren't really hungry if you aren't hungry for an apple." This was probably the most important lifestyle change I could make. I have addictive eating behaviors, very similar to the behaviors of a drug addict or an alcoholic. My brain alone does not tell me to stop (my stomach certainly doesn't), and it is totally irrational behavior. This is why the online class was important for me. I was setting the goals, I was monitoring my behaviors, but it was within a community of support that WASN'T focused on food and success WASN'T measured by weight loss. The program was to help me learn how to live a healthy life within the confines of my disabilities.

It wasn't until the 4th week of the class that I decided to begin looking at the rest of my daily food intake. I had become comfortable with the nighttime no food policy and it seemed to be a habit. I was doing water aerobics three times a week habitually. I realized, though, that in two weeks I'd be losing the use of the online data bases and trackers supplied by the class, so I searched for an alternative. I debated rejoining Weight Watchers online, but I truly wanted a change and didn't want to measure success by the scale. I found Sparkpeople.com. I won't go into its history or credentials, but it is a web site that offers free record-keeping spreadsheets for all sorts of activities for good health. Whether you are training for an Iron Man contest or simply trying to build up strength to walk a mile, whether you are trying to lose or gain weight, whether you are 25 or 95, you can find free resources on Sparkpeople.com.

I now keep track of my cardio workouts daily (I do water aerobics 3-5 times a week and have started adding walking miles into the mix). I eat healthy meals (following the recommendations of a GHC nutritionist with whom I consulted), and I happily embrace my new habits and do not miss my old ones.  I have learned to live with Ehlers-Danlos and accept its limitations and pain by using better coping skills. In the process, my lifestyle changes have caused a significant weight loss for me, and my doctor and I are quite pleased. I learned a neat trick for me: regardless of what the scale says each time I get on it, I only record weight LOSSES, never gains. That allows me to see positive progress and keeps me from second-guessing what I know is a successful approach to good health and more importantly, a longer life (barring any trucks bowling me over). I intend to see Lola graduate from college someday.