I was about 245 pounds* when I was introduced to the Habits of Health.
I tried all different types of ways to lose weight. I’ve tried the grapefruit diet, the cabbage diet, and it just never worked. I tried to exercise my weight off. I tried fasting. I tried all these different things, and it just seemed like I got heavier and heavier. It wasn’t until I learned better habits and being a little bit more mindful of what I was doing that I was able to adopt these Habits of Health and keep the weight off long-term.
It’s the little choices that you make every day. Dr. A talks about whether you have a bacon cheeseburger today for lunch or a healthy salad with grilled chicken, the impact is not going to be dramatic right that day, but each day if you make those choices, you’re going to move towards either being healthy or disease. If you’re mindful of the choices that you do make, and you make the choices that are going to lead you to optimal health, very simple, small steps will get you there.
It’s not so much what you’re giving up, it’s what you’re getting, and that’s long-term health.
In the past, it was always about the short term. I was going to lose weight for a month, two months, three weeks, whatever it was to a specific deadline. But with the Habits of Health, I realized that it’s not just short term; it’s a lifestyle. It’s not so much what you’re giving up, it’s what you’re getting, and that’s long-term health.
*In a clinical study, the group on the Optimal Weight 5 & 1 Plan® lost 10x more weight than the self-directed group. Average weight loss on the Optimal Weight 5 & 1 Plan is 12 pounds.
The Habits of Health helped me get to a healthy weight so I can be more active.
Habits of health gives you options
It’s important for the people that are following the Habits of Health System to know that it’s not like you can never eat whatever your favorite food is. It gives you the option to eat healthy most of the time and still have the luxury of doing some things that you really like. Most of the time when you make those unhealthy choices, you pay the price a little bit after you’ve done it. It’s not like you really feel great about it, but it’s not that restrictive. And I think that’s really important for people to know, that it gives you options. It’s your choice, and if you choose on the Fourth of July to have a hotdog or a cheeseburger, no worries, but you’re not going to do that every day.
I like to live an active lifestyle. I did grow up as a teenager playing sports, and as I got older and I put on more and more weight, the ability to do that was really diminishing fast. The Habits of Health helped me get to a healthy weight so I can be more active. I’m 58, and I’m still skiing, playing golf, and shooting basketball. The things that I really enjoy the most with my family or those ski vacations, those times where we can spend being active together are really important.
I’ve been blessed to have been married 34 years. My wife and I started the program together. We both needed to get healthier and lose some weight. We had the same focus when we were making healthy choices. We’ve supported each other, we made those better choices, and it’s allowed us to live a much more active lifestyle. We have four kids, and the exciting part is to be able to know that if we take care of ourselves and make those good choices, the odds are in favor that will live a long healthy life together, and that’s what we always wanted.