Before posting my blogs, I regularly have them checked by friends and family, especially my previous one because it was quite harsh\/direct. I received an interesting response that got me thinking. “When I read it, it seems like you’re saying that if you just exercise and eat healthily, everything will be fine. That you’ll live long and healthy, but you can’t guarantee that. You can do everything right and still have a heart attack at 29.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is absolutely true! Should I nuance my blog now? Or make it longer and explain why despite this fact I still make this claim? I decided to leave it as it is to keep its strength but still want to address the point. Although it is 100% true, the thought is also part of the difficulty and the problem of lifestyle change. Read below why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No result, effort wasted?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Actually, there is no such thing as a guarantee of healthy choices. Smokers have 15 to 30 times the risk of lung cancer compared to non-smokers. But it’s not 100%, we all know a chain smoker who lived to be 90. In this study, the correlation between the number of push-ups firefighters could do and the incidence of cardiovascular complaints in the following 10 years was examined. These complaints occurred 96% less often in the group that could do >40 push-ups than in the group that could do <10 push-ups!<\/p>\n\n\n\n That has little to do with the push-ups themselves. Only the push-ups are representative of the lifestyle that allows you to do push-ups or not. But even this didn’t provide a 100% guarantee, there are still 4% unlucky ones in the group that can do >40 push-ups!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now the question is whether we should be moved by the lack of guarantee. However, it is understandable, we also see this in criminology. There we also see that not the severity of the punishment but the chance of getting caught mainly determines whether or not the law is followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And what makes it even more difficult is that you often make choices between things that are guaranteed to be enjoyable now and that the outcome is therefore a matter of chance. If you say yes to the croquette now, it’s not like there’s a 70% chance it will be tasty. But if you leave it with the aim of working on your health, that doesn’t guarantee anything. Yes, a healthy weight reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and various forms of cancer, but that chance still feels somewhat abstract. And unlike what we’re used to from the store, there’s no ‘no result, time, and effort back’ action for life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You’re a smoker or you’re not<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What makes food and exercise choices even more complicated is that the dividing line is less clear. With smoking, it seems clearer because you’re either a smoker or you’re not. With food and exercise, this is more complex. It’s about your dietary pattern and your overall activity level, not about acute actions. If you don’t exercise today, you can do it tomorrow. (Not that you’ll actually do it, but hypothetically you could). The chance of various health problems does not depend on the unhealthy or healthy choices you made for lunch this afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the consequence is acute, you also see that people can handle it much better. Just think about how easy it becomes to skip a drink before driving or when you’re pregnant. Not only do you have a clear reason not to do it. The consequence is also more closely related to this one action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The domino effect of one healthy choice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it is sometimes wise to increase the urgency of certain healthy choices. Consistency is the basis of habit formation, and habit formation is so important for persistence. Does it matter in the long term that you don’t feel like it\/are too tired to exercise today? That one session won’t make a difference. Only if you cancel today, it also becomes easier to cancel next week. And if you do that often enough, the threshold for picking it up again becomes higher, and before you know it, you’re not\/exercising less. And that does make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It doesn’t mean you have to live 100% focused on healthy eating and exercise. We like an 80-20 rule where you focus most of the time on healthy habits and also have room for exceptions. How much you focus on it depends on what you find important, but stick to the resolutions and agreements you make with yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n