The importance of a routine

Good routines seem the best way to keep up with a healthy lifestyle. A
routine that includes exercise and eating good food every day works
best for me. First, once something becomes a routine, you tend to
stick with it, unless something causes you to change that routine.
Business people understand this idea very well so they try to get you
into a routine of spending money...things like automatic transfers
from your credit card to example. That way, they understand you tend
to keep up with the payment (even if you do not use the service). Once
you establish a routine, that routine becomes a norm or basis. That
can be a real benefit, provided the routine is a good one.

With exercise and good eating, two necessities, routines work very
well for me at least. If I vary my routine, in fact, I feel guilty.
The routine is a time-saver as well, becuase you don't have to think
and plan for your routine.

Some other routines that seem to make up a healthy lifestyle, for me
at least, include spending quality time with my daughter with homework
plus card or board games and walks. Walking the dog is another.

Now for some bad routines...bad in the sense that they are not good
for weight-loss or health. One is overeating...ever overeating. To me,
any plan to overeat, even if it for one day a year, say Thanksgiving
or your birthday, etc. sets you up into a kind of negative routine
that can become like an alcoholic taking "just one drink." We all know
what happens there. Another bad routine is to skip exercise except for
a crisis, such as acute illness. Hey, I work out even if I'm not
feeling great. It is that important. I know there are lots of folks
who disagree with this, and maybe changing the routine can work for
them, but until I became dedicated to my routine, I had a history of
yo-yo dieting and off and on working out, followed by long periods of
overeating and a sedentary lifestyle. Anyway, it's something to
consider if you are not where you want to be with your health or
weight. dkw