This weekend is the end of the Sound Health Challenge.  We will be re-measured and tested to see how we have improved.  Our diaries will be scored for points and the winners will be announced next month.  The winners are receiving gift certificates to Gene Juarez for a day of beauty.  I am jealous that I can’t be included with the members to possibly win these great prizes.

For me, I learned about how I change my health habits.  I wonder if this is the same for most people.

The first thing I noticed is how easy it was to come up with an excuse to do the wrong thing (for me, eating after 7:00 pm) then it was to decide to follow my challenge.  I suppose that I was going to change 180 degrees after I made the decision to change a bad behavior.  I learned that it was more like 20.5 degrees followed by 5 degrees followed by going back 9…you get the picture.  I concluded that as long as I was making positive progress then that was better than no progress.  I became satisfied with that.  I found it helpful to think of the entire week and how many days of the week I followed my goals.  It started with 1 out of 7 days and is currently up to 5 out of 7 days.

The next was keeping track.  I know this is a hassle, but if I don’t keep track then I forget, come up with excuses, blah, blah, blah.  Writing down what I eat keeps me conscious of my goals.  This is a task that you start by doing slowly.  Pick one day per week and gradually (very gradually) add more days until it is habit.

The hardest thing for me is weighing myself regularly.  I become discouraged when I weigh myself and find I’ve gained 4 pounds!  Then I weigh a few hours later to learn that I lost 2 pounds.  Of course, I go for a run and then weigh myself to give myself an advantage!  In The Sound Health Challenge I was able to weigh myself more regularly.

A great side effect of The Sound Health Challenge is the challenge for good oral care.  I can proudly tell my dentist that I now am conscientious about flossing.  My teeth are happier for it.

The last thing I learned actually comes from my guitar instructor, Jeff Nagle.  Jeff’s guitar lessons are for only 30 minutes but they are weekly.  I am given a new song or new guitar scale to practice enough so that when I go back I can show I actually practiced and get a new song.  My latest song is “Hot Rod Lincoln“; during one lesson Jeff could tell I didn’t practice like I should.  Accountability is the lesson here.  Having someone check up on you is important if you want to develop a good habit.

I look forward to hearing from you on your tips and tricks for achieving better health.

By the way, I can’t play the song as fast as Commander Cody!