2749: What You Need To Know About Healthy Habits From My Dog by Lea Genders on Exercise & Nutrition

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[00:00:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Das ist Optimal Health Daily. Was You Need To Know About Healthy Habits From My Dog by Lea Genders of leagendersfitness.com. Und ich bin Dr. Neal Malik.

[00:00:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Hey there, happy Saturday. Thank you so much for being here and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily, where I act as your narrator of the best health and fitness blogs, all for free.

[00:00:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Alright, and with that, let's get right to today's post and start optimizing your life.

[00:00:56] [SPEAKER_00]: What You Need To Know About Healthy Habits From My Dog by Lea Genders of leagendersfitness.com.

[00:01:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Are you ready to W-A-L-K? I spelled out in a hushed tone to my partner in an effort not to spark a frenzied response from my dog, Ollie.

[00:01:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Ollie knows what walk means. It's his favorite part of the day.

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_00]: He shook his collar, raised his ears, and cautiously stood up from his regular spot on the hardwood floors under the air conditioning vent.

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_00]: He walks over to my running shoes as if he suddenly learned to spell.

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Is my dog an exceptional freak of nature who can S-P-E-L-L now?

[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_00]: My mind immediately goes to an image of Ollie standing on a spelling bee stage, spelling out words only a fourth grade academic phenom could master.

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Like any good dog parent, of course, I think Ollie is the smartest, most handsome, loyal, and not an a-hole at all dog I have ever met.

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER_00]: But can he spell? Probably not.

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Ollie has mastered a brain hack on motivation that would serve us all well.

[00:02:02] [SPEAKER_00]: He hears the word walk and he knows what immediately follows is a lap around the neighborhood to visit all his friends behind fences, which is the highlight of his day.

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_00]: He is starting to learn that spelled out W-A-L-K also means the same thing.

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_00]: So, what can we learn from my dog Ollie?

[00:02:20] [SPEAKER_00]: When we make brain associations, we can develop healthy habits for life.

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Making good nutrition choices and exercising can be triggered automatically in our brains rather than having to rely on motivation and willpower to meet our goals.

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Lord knows if I had to rely on motivation to exercise, I would probably never do it.

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Seriously, I'm just like you.

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_00]: More often than not, I don't feel like exercising.

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_00]: If I only did what I felt like doing, I would never go to my corporate job or clean the toilet.

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Adulting is hard.

[00:02:57] [SPEAKER_00]: My point is, if you put exercise on autopilot, it becomes less like a chore, like cleaning the toilet, and more like something you just do, like brushing your teeth.

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_00]: I know what you're thinking.

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Brushing my teeth takes 30 seconds.

[00:03:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Exercising takes much longer.

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, I won't tell your dentist you're only brushing for 30 seconds.

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_00]: We'll keep that between us.

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_00]: The key is to commit to 2 minutes of brushing your teeth, and then 2 minutes of exercise.

[00:03:24] [SPEAKER_00]: As soon as you're done brushing your teeth, do bodyweight exercises for 2 minutes.

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Here's an idea.

[00:03:31] [SPEAKER_00]: You don't even have to leave the bathroom.

[00:03:32] [SPEAKER_00]: 30 seconds of bodyweight squats, followed by 30 seconds of push-ups, followed by 30 seconds of alternating lunges, and 30 seconds of jumping jacks.

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Sounds good, right?

[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_00]: But how do I do this magic brain thing that just makes me exercise on autopilot?

[00:03:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Start to train your brain to build the habit by connecting your new habit with something you do every day anyway.

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Brush your teeth, then do the exercises.

[00:04:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Commit to 2 minutes every day.

[00:04:03] [SPEAKER_00]: That's it.

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Do it every single day without fail until it becomes a habit.

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Then, double it.

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Go for 4 whole minutes.

[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Crazy, I know.

[00:04:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Do that for a while, as long as it takes.

[00:04:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Then double it again.

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Sooner or later, you'll be exercising 30 minutes a day.

[00:04:21] [SPEAKER_00]: You may even find you're ready to move exercising out of the bathroom at this point.

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_00]: It's not all or nothing.

[00:04:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Do what you can.

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_00]: What happens when you build up to exercising 30 minutes a day, and you have one of those days where everything goes wrong, and you don't have the time?

[00:04:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Then, go back to a 4-minute exercise session that day.

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Something is always better than nothing.

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_00]: A consistent, 4-minute-a-day workout is much better than an hour-long workout that you planned out perfectly but never got around to doing at all.

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_00]: It's fine to start small.

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_00]: It's fine to move forward slowly.

[00:04:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Success happens with consistency.

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_00]: If you're not exercising at all, then your only goal to start is consistency.

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Just do it.

[00:05:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Every day.

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_00]: No matter what.

[00:05:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Something.

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Anything.

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Anything.

[00:05:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Remembering to exercise is sometimes the first step.

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_00]: We don't forget to exercise because we're stupid, lazy, or in the early stages of completely losing our minds.

[00:05:20] [SPEAKER_00]: We forget to exercise because we're busy doing other important things in our lives, like scrolling Instagram.

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Just kidding.

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean the really important things like earning a living and spending time with our families.

[00:05:32] [SPEAKER_00]: The key is to associate exercise with something you're doing every day anyway to build a habit.

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_00]: You need a trigger, just like my super smart not an a-hole at all dog who learned to spell.

[00:05:44] [SPEAKER_00]: The same goes for nutrition.

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Want to eat more fruits and veggies?

[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Put the banana next to the coffee maker.

[00:05:50] [SPEAKER_00]: You'd never dare to forget your coffee, right?

[00:05:53] [SPEAKER_00]: How about if you make your coffee, then make a protein shake loaded with spinach while it's brewing?

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Everything.

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Every day.

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Build a habit.

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Pack your lunch for the next day, every night after dinner.

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Build associations in your brain, like,

[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_00]: When you do this, insert the thing you do every day,

[00:06:10] [SPEAKER_00]: then that means it's time to do this.

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Insert the new healthy habit.

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_00]: It takes time to build a habit.

[00:06:17] [SPEAKER_00]: So write post-it notes, tell your family to remind you,

[00:06:21] [SPEAKER_00]: or set reminders on your phone until it starts to become second nature.

[00:06:25] [SPEAKER_00]: I do a strength for runner's workout in the shred shed on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

[00:06:30] [SPEAKER_00]: On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, I go there and foam roll, stretch, or do a quick four-minute ab workout.

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Why?

[00:06:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Because I want my brain to know it's time to go out to the shred shed at the same time every day.

[00:06:43] [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't have to be, and shouldn't be, an all-out workout every time.

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, rest days are necessary.

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_00]: The habit is more important than the workout at first.

[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Think about what kinds of associations you can make.

[00:06:58] [SPEAKER_00]: What healthy habit do you want to build?

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_00]: What are you doing every day anyway?

[00:07:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Find ways to connect them.

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_00]: We can learn a lot from our dogs, like,

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_00]: living in the moment and running for the pure joy of it.

[00:07:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Ollie is so smart.

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, only if he would scoop up his own P-O-O-P,

[00:07:15] [SPEAKER_00]: he really would be the best dog in the world.

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_00]: You just listened to the post titled,

[00:07:24] [SPEAKER_00]: What You Need to Know About Healthy Habits, from my dog,

[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_00]: by Leah Genders, of leahgendersfitness.com.

[00:07:31] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Dr. Neil here for my commentary.

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Today's author, Leah, warned us that we may start to fall into the all-or-nothing way of thinking about exercise.

[00:07:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Like, only two minutes of exercise?

[00:07:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Really?

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_00]: What's the point of that?

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, as Leah said, it counts.

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Even a little bit of movement is better than none.

[00:07:53] [SPEAKER_00]: But beyond that, many studies have found that to build a new habit, like exercising,

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_00]: starting with small steps, is important.

[00:08:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Small steps, like, just 30 seconds of movement at a time, just like Leah suggested.

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_00]: These small wins start to change the way our brains think about exercise.

[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Exercise starts to feel easier, and dare I say, not so bad.

[00:08:15] [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends that,

[00:08:19] [SPEAKER_00]: for those of us wanting to become more consistent with our exercise habit,

[00:08:24] [SPEAKER_00]: the best way to start is to think about getting in some activity almost every day,

[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_00]: even if it's just for two minutes at a time.

[00:08:32] [SPEAKER_00]: So do you have two minutes to spare right now?

[00:08:35] [SPEAKER_00]: All right, get to it then.

[00:08:38] [SPEAKER_00]: And that'll do it for today.

[00:08:40] [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you're having a great weekend if you're listening in real time,

[00:08:42] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'll see you back here tomorrow, as usual, where your optimal life awaits.