healthy news

What comes to mind when you think of enabling someone ... healthy or unhealthy? The recent definition refers to providing help that perpetuates a problem rather than fixes it. You know, the reasons and excuses we make to justify a person's behavior or actions even sacrificing our own health and well-being in doing so. It can develop into such dysfunction where we actually believe we are helping a situation. "The reality, though, is that enabling not only doesn't help, but it actively causes harm and makes the situation worse." When an enabler steps in to help an addict for example, they take away their motivation and desire to get help or change. According to Psychology Today, "enablers help addicts dig themselves deeper into trouble."

What does this have to do with fitness? Well, it happens to pertain quite a bit to health and fitness. Are you making excuses and justifications not to start a fitness program? Not the right time? My spouse is keeping me fat? My friends sabotage me? Lying to family and friends about a "fake" fitness program? What unhealthy beliefs do you create preventing you from getting fit and why are you enabling that? This is my point and yes, I strongly disagree with enabling behavior. It is time to stop enabling yourself. Being a healthy and fit person will take breaking the cycle of enabling.

When you stop enabling unhealthy behavior, you will see an improvement in your mental game, motivation to exercise and eating right. Continuing down a path of excuses will only make things worse and illness will eventually come knocking at your door. We have only one body and playing around thinking our behavior will not come back to bite us in the backside is well, negligent. Life is too short to entertain enabling behavior further and it is time to make a shift toward healthy decisions. We can no longer hide behind our justifications that keep us digging a deeper unhealthy hole. I know this is an in-your-face blog, but it is also what I call tough fitness love. So, are you ready to stop enabling yourself and get serious about your health and fitness?

Don't miss out on my sport nutrition and fitness articles! Newly published this week are "Eat Dark Chocolate to Improve Your Workouts" and "Why You Should Eat White Potatoes." Take some time to peruse the site because it is chalk full of helpful fitness and nutrition info!

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Be Well and Stay Healthy! Darla Leal

It's Time to Break The Cycle of Bad Habits

Henry Ford said it best, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got."

Bad habits need to be broken which means hard choices are often required to create health and happiness in our life. What we think in our heads as the way things should be or how we want them to be doesn't magically happen because the thought is there. Bad habits are ugly and keep us trapped in a life of emotional stress, depression, repeating unhealthy behaviors, and unable to move forward into the life we are supposed to live. We are not loving ourselves when we are repeating bad habits. In order to create good habits, ending the cycle of what you have always done will be the start of great things for you.

Bad habit cycles can include turning to unhealthy ways of dealing with stress, enabling a loved one, or simply not accepting it is happening at all. Turning to alcohol, drugs, smoking, binge eating or not eating are examples of unhealthy stress relief habits. Making accommodations for a person's harmful conduct and dysfunctional behavior believing it is a help actually makes the problem worse and is an example of enabling. Being in denial about bad habit cycles is another way of not facing what needs to be changed.

The cycle of bad habits feels horrible in life and many of us are running around living this as our "norm" daily walk. Many times we are fat, sick and angry and not looking at ourselves as the cause of what is happening. Instead we choose to repeat what is not working for us to get healthy and "get what we have always gotten". It is time for us to take our heads out of the sand and begin finding our mental strong to make the tough choices that will open doors to good health. It is time to stop doing what we have always done.

Health and fitness are about physical and emotional health and it does take making changes, removing bad habits, and remaining true to the choices that will keep us heading in the direction of our goals. The journey will not be easy and life is not about that, but it is always about progressing and becoming better than we were yesterday. If you really want a better, healthy life it will be up to you to break the cycle of bad habits. Your life, your body and your choice.

Head on over to my site on the about.com network and enjoy some great reads! Did you know warnings have been strengthened for Ibuprofen causing heart attack and stroke? Check out the FDA safety communication and my article on the subject. You will also be happy to read about the health benefits of Full Fat Foods instead of the crappy alternatives being pushed on consumers today.