Overview
The vast majority of today’s health problems are rooted in our busy, modern lifestyles. So many people say they don’t have time for the gym, to overhaul their diet, to spend the quality time they want to with their loved ones—our wellbeing often gets added to a to-do list.
Trying to implement healthy lifestyle changes can be overwhelming for many people, but my guest on today’s podcast, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, says that all it takes is 5 minutes a day to make a real difference in your health.
All of us have made short-term changes before, but how do you get them to last? Dr. Chatterjee shares his plan, Feel Better in 5, which is based on three easy practices, which he calls, “health snacks.” Each one takes no more than 5 minutes to complete—short enough to be able to fit into your busy day, yet long enough to ensure you gain real benefits. Each health snack focuses on a different aspect of your health: mind, body, and heart. Often we only focus on one area when trying to improve our health, which is why the benefits are usually short-lived.
Dr. Chatterjee and I discuss the latest science of behavior change, which shows that most health plans, whether they’re about losing weight, exercising more, or quitting bad habits, aren’t designed to last. It’s because they’re based on an incorrect assumption that all you need is willpower and motivation. Dr. Chatterjee shares his top tips for creating lasting habits, which include starting with simple actions that you attach to an existing habit.
We also talk about the importance of human connection when trying to make lifestyle change, and how a small action in one aspect of your life can very quickly ripple into other areas. Dr. Chatterjee also shares with us how he implements his personal “health snacks” into his day.
It’s never too late to change your habits, whether you’re in your twenties or your seventies. This 360-degree approach ensures that your entire system—mind, body, and heart—is being looked after.