Jerusalem Post

ByALAN FREISHTAT

Setting measurable and attainable health goals is a big part of success, but it's important to keep it up in the long term.

There is nothing like success. Still, success sometimes can be fleeting. You reach your goal, you feel good both because of your accomplishment and the result it brings. However, down the road, in the long term, you start to move backward. Over time, you have undone your hard work, and you no longer have the same outcome. In the area of health, this scenario repeats itself over and over again. 
It seems counterintuitive. Let’s say you are pre-diabetic or diabetic and with great lifestyle habits, and you put your disease in full remission. That high A1C you had, the one the medicine only lowered a fraction, is now far from the diabetic range. You are off the medication. Your weight is also down, and the blood pressure medication is gone as well.
For a moment, forget all the numbers on the blood test and what the blood pressure gauge says. You just feel great! You are feeling so good, that on your weekly day off from work, you schedule day trips with friends. You now have all the motivation in the world to keep to your program and practice the precepts of lifestyle medicine. It should all be self-motivating. 

Setting measurable and attainable health goals is a big part of success, but it's important to keep it up in the long term.

However, now it’s 18 months later, and your blood pressure is creeping back up. A new blood test reveals an A1C that had been down to 5.3% and is now above 6%. The weight has also gradually been going up. 

Yes, you haven’t been following your program the same way you were when you started. It’s only been “here and there.” You are eating and drinking things that will cause harm, not following your activity program as much, and you slowly but surely undermine all that hard work. 

Unfortunately, the above scenario has become all too typical. That is why when my clients reach a level of long-term success, I feel like together we have won a big battle. Granted, most people don’t go for coaching help in this area. That is unfortunate, because they could learn many techniques to help their chances of long-term success. Even many who get coached can’t seem to stick it out for the long term. This is our greatest challenge.

Making changes that last
Last week when a former client, Michelle, stopped by for a quick visit to show me her latest blood test, I was really overjoyed. When she came to me in 2023, she was quite concerned. She had never had a problem with her blood glucose before, but she was now pre-diabetic and heading down a slippery slope.
So, we got to work, and three months later, her A1C was back in normal range and continued to drop. Now, more than two years have gone by and when she stopped by last week, she brought her latest blood test with her. 
It was great to see her blood sugar totally stable; even her cholesterol levels had gone down. Yet this always prompts the question of why some are successful in making changes that last, while others just can’t seem to stick with their program.

Obviously, setting measurable and attainable goals is a big part of success. A goal might take on a certain value, like wanting an A1C below 5.6% or getting a blood pressure to 120/70. Perhaps you want to lose a certain amount of weight or be able to run up five flights of stairs without getting winded. 
These are important, but my belief is that the ones who succeed set goals on a higher plane. They try to make it personal. They want a high quality of life for the rest of their lives. 
Having the right motivation
Dr. Brooke Goldner, a doctor in Texas, has had unbelievable success healing people with diseases that mainstream medicine claims can’t be cured. In her book Goodbye Autoimmune Disease, she points out the importance of remembering the “why” of what you are doing. 
Look at the big picture of life; that will be the best motivator. After all, it is very hard work for most people to change their eating, exercise, and other lifestyle factors that have been ingrained for many years or decades.
Having the right motivator is of utmost importance. As I have often said, maintaining good health is a full-time job. Perhaps even more important than motivation is making sure the ability to accomplish is there.
Behavioral expert Dr. B.J. Fogg shows in his behavioral model that although motivation and ability are both needed, ability supersedes motivation. So it is important to create an environment in which to succeed. Make it easy. For instance, do you leave time to exercise or build activity in your day? Do you make sure you can shop for healthy food items and have time to prepare them? 
Keep the cooking simple and not time-consuming. Set up a corner of your house for floor exercises. Make the bedroom cool and dark, and turn off your devices so you can get a good night’s sleep. These examples will make tasks easy and simple. 
Michelle and many of my other successful clients make health behaviors a priority. I know from personal experience how difficult it can be to say no when offered tempting but unhealthy food, or when there is something that pulls you away from your exercise routine. However, if you prioritize your health with a realistic and doable plan, you will “add hours to your days, days to your years and years to your lives.”