The Program: The Brain-Smart Approach to the Healthiest You: The Life-Changing 12-Week Method

The Healthiest You
WEEK 1 | GETTING STARTED

Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand.

—ANONYMOUS

WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM! The purpose of this program is to empower you with all of the information and tools you need to live a healthy, happy life. As I said in the introduction, 50 percent of the health problems seen in the United States are due to an unhealthy lifestyle, so learning these tools is important.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHh2Oqtq128

Welcome

You don’t need to go to medical school to understand how the human body works, nor do you need a Ph.D. in neuroscience to take advantage of all of the information available today about the brain. You do, however, need to know how to put this information to use, and that is what this book is all about. While The Program delivers all of the latest research, it is designed to deliver the information in a practical way so that you can easily apply it to your everyday life. The Program has worked for thousands of people over the last few years, and with a little effort and commitment on your part, I know it can work for you too.

There are a couple of reasons I’m so confident that The Program will help you. First, all of the information I’m going to give you is based on recent, cutting-edge studies, not only in neuroscience but in the fields of medicine, nutrition, and fitness as well. Although this book is packed with information, if you just remember the major points over the next twelve weeks, you’ll have learned everything you need to know. Second, because I’ve incorporated new knowledge about the brain from the latest research in neuroscience, The Program really works. Why? Because, as I’ve mentioned, when it comes to making permanent, positive lifestyle changes, your brain can be uncooperative at first. It will resist you, at least in the beginning. It feels comfortable and safe as long as you keep doing everything the way you always have. Tell your brain you want to make a change—say, give up smoking—and it gets nervous, starts to stress, and says, “Not so fast, pal.” There are, however, effective ways of coaxing your brain into becoming a better partner, and I’ve built these methods, or brain tips, right into The Program. Whether your health goal is to lose weight or get fit, reduce stress or boost your mood and energy level, you can use this method to achieve it.

It’s not always going to be easy. In fact, I think it can be quite challenging to stay healthy in today’s world. It’s hard to fit exercise into a life already packed with work, family, and so many other obligations. It’s challenging to stay at your ideal weight when there is so much tempting, often unhealthy food everywhere you turn. It’s also hard to get enough sleep and manage stress in this fast-paced world. There is so much conflicting information around today, it can even be hard to know what to believe when it comes to healthful living.

As if this weren’t enough, our genes and instincts that helped us back when we were tramping around on the savanna sometimes work against us now. Our behavioral instincts have evolved over millions of years and under many conditions that are no longer present today. The world has changed dramatically in a very short period of time, but our brains have not. Did you know that it is estimated that early people had to walk from five to twenty miles every day just to find food? Yet most of us feel annoyed if we have to park more than a few blocks away from our destination. Your body needs to move to stay healthy, but your brain has evolved to make you want to conserve energy whenever you can. This made sense millions of years ago, so that you wouldn’t foolishly burn calories if you didn’t have to; back then, you didn’t know when you’d find your next meal. So your brain has evolved to say, “Why walk more than I have to?” Think about this the next time you find yourself desperately searching for the parking spot closest to the grocery store entrance. You are listening to old, outdated brain instincts.

Your brain also wants you to eat food whenever it sees it. That, too, made sense long ago when food was scarce, but most of us aren’t in danger of starving anymore. In fact, this instinct has become a big problem in places where the food supply exceeds the actual needs of the population. In the United States, for example, we produce twice as much food each year as we actually need. It is clear that living in a healthful way won’t always come naturally since we are wired for a different evolutionary period, but it really is necessary if we want to have a long and healthy life.

One of my major goals in The Program is to show you how all the areas of your health are interconnected. That is, you won’t be really successful in addressing one health goal without understanding how all the pieces fit together in the big picture of your overall health. Once you understand what is happening with your body and why it matters, you’ll be much more successful in meeting your health goals. Also, feel free to talk about The Program with your doctor, especially if you learn about a health issue that you feel pertains particularly to you.

Just as important as learning this information is figuring out how to put it into action in a way that is sustainable. I want you to be able to be healthy for the rest of your life, not just for the twelve weeks you are on The Program. To do this, you need to learn how to adapt the basic principles of health to your own unique lifestyle. You will be given suggestions about what to work on each week, but remember that how you end up working these principles into your life is up to you. Be creative. Make them fit. They have to work only for you. I’m also going to show you how to tailor The Program to your personal goals by teaching you how to be your own best coach. Understanding how to coach yourself is essential if you want to sustain your new, healthful lifestyle. You’ll learn exactly how to do this.

Here’s how The Program is structured. Each week you’ll be given three topics: health, nutrition, and fitness. At the end of every week, I will list the key points from that week’s material, and I’ll feature one brain tip. I will also give you a few specific action tasks that pertain to that week’s material. It will look like this:

Learn It! This will be a brief summary of the key points in health, nutrition, and fitness from that week.

Personalize It! You will be given one brain tip to focus on, plus a few examples of how past participants in The Program have personalized this brain tip and put it to work in their lives.

Live It! This section will be your “to do” list for the week—a few practical, concrete steps you can take to move forward toward a more healthful life. Feel free to modify these tasks so that they work for you.

You can read this book all in one sitting, or you can read one chapter a week and allow the method to unfold as you go. Either way, you should wait to do the Live It! exercises until they are introduced each week; otherwise, you will be trying to do too much too soon. You can do The Program with a friend or family member or even with a group of friends; doing it together can provide invaluable support and accountability. I encourage you to go online to www.theprogrambook.com to take advantage of the many online features available to you. Here, you can participate in The Program with friends and family, track your exercise, keep a food log, and create weekly goals.

Now let’s get started! First, it is important to have a clear picture of your current health, so please answer the Health Risk Assessment Questionnaire that follows. Although your doctor can give you the best assessment of your overall health, you can get a good idea of where you stand from this simple assessment. The scoring is self-explanatory, but no matter how you score, most of us have some room for improvement. Weight, activity, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, sleep, stress, mood, tobacco, alcohol—all of these count when you look at health. At the end of The Program, take this assessment again to see how much you’ve improved.

HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE



Interpretation

0–2 points: Generally, your health habits are excellent.

3–5 points: You have good health habits, but they could be improved.

6–9 points: Your health habits need improvement.

10–13 points: Your health habits fall into a high-risk profile.

14–24 points: Your health habits fall into a very-high-risk profile.

In addition to taking the Health Risk Assessment, I encourage you to enter the results of your most recent blood tests or physical examination in Health Stats on page 374 in the Appendix so that you can compare your “before” and “after” results upon completing The Program.

Now it’s time to create your health goals. Choose up to three long-term health goals you would like to accomplish. They may be related to weight loss, stress management, higher energy, greater fitness, better sleep habits, healthier eating habits, improved blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar, or any other health issue that concerns you. Keep it manageable. Pick no more than three. Make sure your goals are realistic for the twelve-week time period. Don’t aim for the impossible. You can always take things to the next level once you reach your initial goal.

Remember, you don’t have to do it all at once. In fact, you are more likely to succeed if you approach your goals slowly and gradually.
Long-term Goals

Examples:

I want to improve my fitness.

I want to achieve better balance in my life.

I want to lose ten pounds.

Now create up to three short-term goals you can work on this first week that will advance you in the direction of your long-term goals. Design these goals around the SMART goal format. The goals you define should be:

S = specific

M = measurable

A = action-oriented (behavior-based)

R = realistic

T = time-specific

Short-term Goals for Week 1

Examples:

I will walk at least half an hour three times this week.

I will not schedule any work-related meetings or phone calls this week in the evenings so I can spend more time with my family.

I will not eat any desserts this week.

List three challenges that you predict you will encounter as you work toward your goals, and for each challenge, list a strategy you would be willing to try.

CHALLENGE: I feel too tired to exercise when I get home after work.

STRATEGY: I’ll walk Bobby to school instead of driving him. It’s good exercise for him, and I can walk the dog at the same time.

CHALLENGE: I know my client will want to meet in the evening for dinner.

STRATEGY: I’ll say no but suggest three other times we could meet.

CHALLENGE: It’s going to be hard to pass up the doughnuts at work.

STRATEGY: I’ll make sure they are set on the table by the back hall so they won’t be right in front of me.

People often worry that they will fail because they don’t have enough willpower to keep going, but the fact is that achieving your health goals has more to do with having a good game plan than with willpower. Your success depends upon devising strategies to address your particular challenges, strategies that will work for you. You may find it helpful to use the goals log in the Appendix on page 370.
NUTRITION: LET’S BEGIN WITH THE BASICS

We all know that eating right is one of the most important ways to stay healthy, but we also know that this is not always such an easy thing to do. Information about nutrition always seems to be changing. Just when you think you are making a healthy choice, newspaper headlines call it into question. One day tuna is sitting on top of the health throne, the next day it is said to be loaded with mercury. One day vitamin E is touted as the wellspring of health, preventing heart disease and dementia; then studies come along that fail to bear this out.

The subject of nutrition can certainly seem overwhelming, but it is actually pretty straightforward. I’m going to teach you the fundamentals of healthful nutrition over the next twelve weeks. Eating a healthful diet is one of the most important things you can do for yourself whether you want to lose weight or just stay healthy. Let’s start with the basics in order to establish a good foundation.

First, all food is made up of three macronutrients that provide the calories in your diet: carbohydrates, protein, and fat. In the typical American diet, 50 percent of the daily calories come from carbohydrates, 15 percent from protein, and 35 percent from fat. Fad diets that come and go often argue about the supposed perfect ratio of these macronutrients. Some say protein should represent a higher percentage. Some say carbohydrates should represent a higher percentage. The truth is that there is no perfect ratio. Different cultures all over the world eat differently, and ratios differ considerably. It’s not the ratio that indicates whether the diet is healthful. What matters is whether you consume excess calories and whether the macronutrients themselves are of the “good” or “bad” variety. Not all carbohydrates, protein, and fat are created equal. Here’s why.

Let’s take carbohydrates. Every gram of carbohydrate delivers four calories. Carbohydrates are found in grains such as breads and cereals, as well as in fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. Carbohydrates are also found in treats such as candy and baked goods. The “good” carbohydrates, which are the carbohydrates we should all be predominantly eating, are in the whole-grain form. They are not processed or refined. When you eat a refined, processed product, it has been stripped of nutrients and fiber. Stick with whole-grain breads and cereals. Fruits and vegetables are best when they are in their original form. For example, juicing often removes the valuable fiber of a fruit or vegetable, and cooking can inactivate nutrients as well.

Protein comes from both plant and animal sources. Every gram of protein delivers four calories, the same as a carbohydrate; however, meats and meat substitutes are generally higher in calories per serving than carbohydrate-based foods because protein products usually contain more fat. Animal proteins contain largely saturated fat (“bad fat”), while plant and fish proteins contain largely unsaturated fat (“good fat”). Your best choices for protein are therefore plant products and fish. Poultry and eggs are your next best choice.

While protein and carbohydrates deliver four calories for every gram, fat supplies nine calories for every gram. Because of this, it is easy to get more calories than your body needs if you consume a diet high in fat. Fat is classified as “bad” or “good” based on whether it is saturated or not. Trans fat (an artificially created saturat...