Take
Control of Your Health
Written by Dianne Ronnow
In
large part, you're in control of your health, not your doctor.
And taking control of your health doesn't really depend on whether
or not you have medical conditions.
Taking
control means developing habits and discipline.
The
most important thing you can do is educate yourself. Learn about
your health problems and how you can take care of your body. What
do the latest studies say? The Internet is an excellent place
to research health issues. Sometimes just finding different ways
of doing things can help.
Now,
take the time to decide what your health goals for the next year
will be. Write the goal(s) down. Some examples of goals might
be:
- to
stop yo-yo dieting and focus on get healthier.
- to
start exercising regularly.
- to
move toward my perfect weight.
- to
find alternative ways to control diabetes.
Then
list specific ways you can accomplish these goals. For instance,
try a new healthy dinner recipe once a week, go to the gym five
days a week, or research nutrition on the Internet 10 minutes
a day.
Work
on your mind and thought patterns. You have to believe that you
can become healthy and reach your ideal weight before you will
be able to do so. Learning to accept what you can't change, but
striving to change what you can, is key. A large part of succeeding
in health improvement is being comfortable with yourself to begin
with.
Find
time to do something good to reward yourself for making this commitment
to improve your health. Reward yourself each week as you find
yourself accomplishing your goals.
If
you have another person to work with, you will be more successful
in meeting your health goals. This partner should be someone you
can trust to share your feelings with.
It
helps to have a partner for accountability. We work harder when
we know someone is watching us and holding us accountable. A good
partner also helps us stay realistic in our goals and challenges
us to grow.
Try
to find someone who will encourage you in the down times and celebrate
your successes with you as you accomplish your goals. And of course
you need to be that kind of a partner to your friend in return.
You
might consider forming an informal support group with some of
your friends or acquaintances. People who belong to a group with
mutual interests and a shared purpose accomplish more. A group
might get together weekly or monthly and discuss progress or concerns
and help encourage each other. Sometimes all a person might need
is another opinion or just a little encouragement to help them
get past a place where they are having problems. Even if you are
doing great, perhaps you could be of help to someone else who
is struggling.
Communication
is important when putting together a group. Set up a regular time
and method to report progress to each other and stick to it. Set
realistic benchmarks to monitor your progress. Reward yourselves
for your effort. Do something fun as a group once in a while.
There
can be great rewards in working with others toward common goals.
It makes the journey more enjoyable as well as more productive.
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