Nancy Lugo: Make one change

All this talk about New Year’s resolutions can make you want to dive into a bowl of chocolate. Do you have a mountain of things you want to change for better health? Or maybe you don’t have even an anthill of changes on your list. Either way, you can start small toward a healthier you. Try to make just one change. Change happens when you take each step at a time. What will be your next change for a healthier you?

♥ Walk more: times a week for minutes

♥ Lower my blood pressure

♥ Diabetes: Check my blood sugar __ times a week

♥ Lower my cholesterol

♥ Give up the salt shaker

♥ Eat five vegetables a day

♥ Have at least three servings of whole-grain bread, rice, pasta, and cereal each day

♥ Change to lower fat or skim milk

♥ Bring lunch from home four times a week

♥ Move more: bike, swim, yoga, dance, tennis

♥ Smoke less

♥ Quit smoking

♥ Be tobacco free

♥ Get an annual check up

♥ Follow up on lab tests

♥ Lose _ pounds

♥ Switch from fried to broiled

♥ Switch from canned to fresh

♥ Take an hour for me

♥ Develop a stronger friendship

♥ Spend most of my free time being active, instead of watching television or sitting at the computer

♥ Take the stairs (burns 25 calories) instead of the elevator each time

♥ Eat processed and red meat like bacon, hot dogs, sausage, steak, ground beef, pork or lamb less than twice a week

Choose what you want to do. Think about the pros and cons of making the change and figure out how to resolve your ambivalence. Make a commitment to yourself to do it. Write it down. Plan how you will do it, with details including how you will deal with obstacles that get in the way of your change. When you have made your change and kept it for six weeks, it can become a habit. Then you can move on to your next change. One step at a time forward toward your best health goals. And if you go off track, you can get back on track. You are in charge.