Sometimes staying in shape and healthy seems like a joyless process.  No cake! No drinking! No smoking!

And while its true that you do need a lot of discipline, and yes, it helps to read the labels on the food you eat, in the end remember that its really about increasing the joy and satisfaction in your life.

In the case of nutrition, I’ve added a photo of chocolate milk that I drink after some workouts. It is a perfect drink? No.  It has some added sugars, though not too much. But it also has a lot of protein, as well as some other healthy ingredients.  And, importantly, it tastes good.  Really good.  So it gives me something to look forward to at the end of a hard workout.  And having things to look forward to is important in making a healthy lifestyle sustainable.

If you read a lot of health related articles and books, as I do, you may find the endless discussion of what’s bad for you a turn off. Too much sitting will kill you! Eating bad foods will kill you! Not exercising enough will kill you! And when they’re not trying to scare you, it seems like their main objective is to bore you to death with arcane language, pseudo science, and endless acronyms.

The fact is we’re all going die at some point.  But I want to be healthy as long as I can, and be able to work and move and enjoy my life as long as possible.   I also really enjoy having small goals.  Today I did 7 chinups. Is that a lot? No; I’m sure there are people that do far more, even people my age. But its an exercise I'm generally terrible at, and I started at zero.  7 is more than I’ve ever done before, and I get a lot of satisfaction from being 63 and, at least in some ways, in the best shape of my life.

So if you want to change your lifestyle to lead a healthier life, don’t just think about the things that you’re leaving behind – cigars, candy, beer – but what lies ahead.  If you let your palette adjust, you may find you really enjoy fruit. Find a couple veges you like.  Set small obtainable goals in your workouts.  Take joy in the small victories.  

Being healthy does involve saying no to some temptations.  But mainly it involves saying yes to valuing your own life and potential enough that you’re willing to make the effort to put some pleasures behind you and find new ones.  Because good health is really about joyful living.