When you're 20, even 30, it doesn't seem to matter how many bad habits you have when it comes to your health as long as you do a few things right. You can wash a large pizza down with 10 beer on Saturday as long as you go for a stomach-gurgling jog on Sunday. While that might be a bit exaggerated, the point is a few bad habits can be mitigated with a little exercise and some celery in between the pizza binges. When you hit 40, that changes. Those bad habits are harder to combat and if you don't start taking stock of your health the road to diabetes, high blood pressure and heart attack is short. For some, it takes a health scare to realize that. For me, it was the realization that my bad habits were beginning to catch up with me. I turned 40 last July and it didn't take long to see that I had to make some changes. Fortunately, I also had people in my life who cared about my health and pushed me, sometimes not so gently, toward change. The first step was quitting smoking, which, with the help of medication, I did just before Christmas. Step two was getting back into shape. I wasn't in terrible shape, but my erratic and unfocused exercise system was no longer cutting it. More importantly, my terrible diet was not helping matters. Like kicking the nicotine, I needed a little help breaking the bad exercise and eating habits I had developed over the past couple decades. I looked at a few options and then saw an ad for CrossFit Cochrane's Six Week Challenge and decided to give it a try. I had never done CrossFit before and had heard mixed things about it, but I was drawn to the fact the program came with not only a prescribed exercise regimen but also a diet plan. Honestly, and I think this is the case for many people, I had no idea how or what to eat to control my fluctuating weight and replace fat with muscle. I won't go through the entire six weeks, but suffice to say I was able to stick with the program, which took a lot of discipline. The diet was extremely restrictive and the workouts were intense. In the end, I was able to shed 20 pounds, nearly 11 per cent body fat and gain five per cent muscle mass. Most importantly, I picked up better habits. I learned that it's not hard to make a few better eating choices and my previous excuses for why I could not make time to exercise no longer valid. It's amazing how much can change for the better in six short weeks. I recommend to anyone looking to get into shape who doesn't know where to start to find a program that lasts at least a month - the time it takes to create habits - and give it a try. Whether it's a personal trainer, biking, running, crossfit or the host of exercise options out there, get active. Most importantly learn how to eat healthy. No lifestyle change will survive under a daily bag of chips and a weekly box of pizza. These things don't have to go away forever, but learn how to eat without them so they can be the rare treat they are meant to be. In the end, you'll feel better and live longer and healthier.
