Breaking habits for a healthy heart

Breaking habits for a healthy heart

By Clare E. Urwin

This is the last of three articles on having a healthy heart.
The writer is a nutritionist and health advisor based in
Surabaya. All the writer's articles are interactive and readers
are encouraged to ask questions or make comments through the
writer's e-mail address, clareu@attglobal.net or
features@thejakartapost.com.

SURABAYA (JP): Making any kind of change is hard. Doing
something different to what we normally do makes us feel strange
and uneasy. Especially at first. We all like the "familiar" and
seem to be drawn irresistibly toward doing what we have always
done.

In fact, this is quite normal. An unconscious tendency for
wanting "more of the same" is also called a comfort zone. We all
have them. Comfort zones are our habits, our routines, and they
make us feel content, secure and cosy.

By definition, a habit is repetitive behavior, and as long as
this behavior is serving us well, we should continue with it.
However, if it's holding us back and damaging our health, we need
to modify or to change it. Sadly, a comfortable habit can easily
become a harmful rut.

Decreasing our chances of heart disease usually means having
to rethink some of our habits. This is not a catastrophe. Nor is
it an end to life as we know it. Deliberately improving our diets
and routines so that we can keep the big boss healthy, is being
responsible, intelligent and smart.

Unfortunately, men hate changing habits. They resist leaving
their comfort zones and want to remain with their familiar
practices. It's understandable. Whenever a man does something out
of the ordinary, a feeling of awkwardness and embarrassment
normally follows, and he appears self-conscious.

Today's society puts a great deal of pressure on a male. Any
hint of ineptitude, no matter how temporary, is taboo. But, isn't
being momentarily embarrassed or awkward, a very small price to
pay when your health or even your life itself is at stake?

Anyway, breaking free from your comfort zone can be an
exciting and exhilarating experience. Changing bad habits into
good ones will bring many bonuses. More energy for a start. With
a new, healthy diet and lifestyle you will soon feel 10 years
younger. Then you'll ask "Why did I wait so long?"

We are all perfectly capable of changing habits by ourselves,
no matter how many times we have failed to do so in the past. Of
course it requires proper thought, and it takes real effort,
determination and commitment.

But, even more importantly, there are also certain stages
involved and each one has to be gone through to make our habit
change successful and permanent.

Too often people want a quick, easy, fix. How about this for a
typical scenario? Let's say you have had an abrupt warning about
your health. Perhaps it's been a wake-up call with sudden
breathlessness because of being overweight. Or you have been
diagnosed with high blood cholesterol.

Your first response is likely to be sheer fright. This will be
quickly followed by an immediate grabbing of whatever magic cure
promises to work the fastest. You want instant results.

Undoubtedly, there will be a strict, boring "healthy" diet, as
well as an equally hasty, ill guided and unsafe exercise effort.
Large quantities of supplements will be bought and promises made
that you will never smoke or drink again, ever!

But, after a week, the fright fades. Food restrictions become
too hard and there seems to be no time for exercising. Smoking
one cigarette leads on to smoking the whole packet and soon the
supplements are forgotten.

Before you know it, everything settles back into your previous
routine. That comfort zone feels just like home. Sound familiar?

The problem with that method of changing habits is this.
Diving straight into the "action" stage without proper thought
and before you are ready, is almost certainly doomed to failure.

For instance, suddenly deciding to alter your whole lifestyle
and live like a monk, without doing any preparation or
groundwork, was unrealistic, unreasonable and unsustainable.

So, how can going through stages help? They do, and they apply
to whatever habit you want to correct. Starting an exercise plan,
losing or gaining weight, eating healthily, stopping smoking,
cutting down on caffeine or even not biting your nails.

There are five stages involved. Success lies in a common
sense, gradual approach to each one, starting with the first
stage - "Denial".

In "Denial", you have no real wish to change habits or
behavior. Totally repudiating there is a problem, you will
probably refuse to read, listen, think or even talk about the
situation. Concerned wives, partners and children will be accused
of nagging.

This is the most difficult stage. You may think you're a lost
cause and it's too late to do anything anyway. Feeling
demoralized, it's humiliating to admit that a change might be
necessary. Consequently, numerous excuses will be offered to
retain the status quo.

"Contemplation" is the next stage and finally recognizing that
a change of habit is needed, means a big break through. You now
acknowledge that there is a problem and want to think about how
to solve it. Realism is very important at this phase. Set
achievable goals.

The "Preparation" stage follows. This is where planning is
carried out and definite dates are set. If you are giving up
smoking for instance, arrange extra games of tennis and more
physical activity in those testing first few days. At the same
time postpone certain social meetings where you know you will be
tempted.

"Action" is the "bite the bullet" stage. This is the real
thing. You have thought about this moment and have had time to
psych yourself up. Now, just do it. Rewards for reinforcement,
and praise and encouragement from your friends and family are
vital during this period.

Lastly comes "Maintenance". Working at sticking to your goals;
forever. How to support that good resolution for months and years
after you have taken the action. This stage even allows people to
contemplate relapse and helps them to get back on track after a
possible hiccough.

Changing ingrained habits is one of the hardest things you
will ever do. But, it's usually essential if you want to have a
long, active and healthy life. The challenge is there. Do you
need to make some changes to protect your heart? Be honest. Why
not try just one for a start?

Of course, to put a change into practice is far more complex
than to talk about it. Good news though. Anybody reading this
article is already past the first stage. If you were still in
"denial" you would have studiously avoided this column.

The cost of heart disease in financial terms is tremendous.
But, more importantly, any economic losses can never take into
account the human suffering involved to both the victims and
their loved ones. What is your healthy heart worth? It's
absolutely priceless. Make those changes soon. Good luck.