Thinking about changing your health habits? Here are five tips

This week is designated men's health week as part of the Irish Times/Pfizer Healthy Town 2015 project. Earlier this year The Irish Times assistant news editor Damian Cullen began writing a fortnightly column for Health & Family, charting his attempts to lose weight and get fitter.

Below he outlines what he has learned along the way and provides some valuable tips for anyone contemplating changing their habits . . .

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Deciding you need to begin regular exercise and to change your eating habits is easy.

Beginning a fitness and health initiative is simple.

Sticking with it is the hard part.

Here are five things I’ve found particularly beneficial when, last March, I began my latest attempt to lengthen my life.

And, seen as it worked for me, my hubris informs me you’ll find it useful too.

An appropriate start-date is vital

No one gets out of bed in the morning at 2 minutes past the hour. You wait until a multiple of 5 at least - anything else is just crazy. It’s the same with starting a fitness and health drive. Pick a day and a date – such as October 1st.

And commit to it. This also has the advantage of allowing you to indulge a little in the run-up to the date circled in red marker on your calendar.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint

Starting a fitness burst because of something that’s happening next week is simply not going to work. This is a long-term covenant like nothing you’ve ever committed to before (say hi to your partner from me).

Since I started eating better and exercising regularly, I’ve lost, on average, a ridiculously pathetic pound a week.

However, over 10, 20, 30 weeks . . . it adds up, and counts down.

No pain, no gain

There’s no way around this – physically or mentally. Believe me, I’ve searched for all the easy fixes.

You’re going to have to put on oversized shorts and go to the gym and look like an idiot in front of toned people who apparently live there.

You’re going to have to actually use the equipment.

You’re going to have to go back a couple of days later, despite the frantic pleadings of your brain and muscles.

Don’t argue with yourself

Don’t allow your bold side to start a debate about whether to go for a run, or stay on the couch and eat chocolate. The voice in your head arguing for the healthy option won’t win.

How could it? Exercising is boring. Eating frozen sliced carrots and green beans (okay, we’re not that bad) is not as tasty as eating a quarter pounder and chips. So, best to avoid internal arguments.

You’re just doing it. So quit internal chats about it.

Set small goals

If you can fixate on a target of dropping a half-dozen inches off your waist and running a marathon, well, wonderful. Go for it.

However, my vision is short-sighted. So, realistically, I can only set short-term goals – such as passing a chipper this weekend without putting on 5lbs, and finishing a 5km road race without the aid of an Order of Malta ambulance.

Best of luck and, remember, it’s one small step at a time, one giant leap . . . eventually.