The Secret to Eating Right for Life

Let's face it: At a certain point, the desire for six-pack abs decreases with every passing year. So if the only purpose of your diet and exercise plan is to help you look good in a swimsuit, it may be hard to stick with over the long haul. After all, how much time do you spend at the beach? The fact is, to make a lasting habit of good nutrition and regular exercise, you need find a motivation that's lasting.

Consider this example: At some point, usually in our youth, many of us find out the hard way that drinking too much tequila can have pretty negative consequences. (Unless you actually enjoy resting your head on porcelain.) You could call it a conditioned response: Get sick on tequila once, and you quickly develop a natural repulsion to it. Maybe it's the same way with diet and exercise. When you realize that a food is making you feel bad, you're more likely to avoid it. Or, when you realize how good healthy food choices (such as the 125 healthiest supermarket foods) and regular exercise can make you feel, you're more likely to embrace them. As the author of The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises, I've found this to be true time and time again.

Trouble is, most of us aren't very good at recognizing the signals our bodies are giving us. Or perhaps more accurately, we aren't very good at placing a positive (more energy) or negative signal (a rise in blood pressure) with a specific action we've taken—such as changing our diet.

The solution? You need to develop a process that helps you identify the positive and negative feedback your body is giving you on a daily basis. This will help you to more quickly and accurately figure out the diet and exercise program that works best for your body. And more importantly, it will provide you with hard data in which to fuel your motivation to follow through in the long term.

One of the best examples of this is a study conducted at Leeds Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom, in which the researchers examined how exercise impacts job performance. It worked like this: Each day for a month, 210 workers participating in an exercise program provided daily feedback on job-related duties and time management, as well as on interactions with co-workers. They simply reported observations of their own behavior based on a seven-point scale. For example, they were asked to rate their ability to work without stopping for unscheduled breaks, and how effectively they were able to stick to their to-do list for the day. They also provided details about their workload and exercise session. When the results were tallied, even the researchers were surprised.

McKenna says the workers reported on the days they exercised. (Here are other ways to accomplish more in less time—and with less stress.) Obviously, the responses that led to all of these results were subjective. But it's hard to deny that perception is reality when it comes to job satisfaction. And a 15 percent boost in productivity might just give you a case for a similar boost in pay.

So let's say you want to start exercising, but you just can't find the time. This study shows that if you take the time anyway, and then document your work productivity daily, you'll discover that you actually get more done. The end result: Your favorite excuse to skip exercise will no longer exist. In fact, you'll now be more motivated to exercise than ever—there's absolutely no downside, and your life should be vastly improved.

If you want to try this yourself, just keep an on-the-job performance journal on both the days you exercise and the days you don't. Each day, rate the following, on a scale of 1 (most favorable) to 7 (least favorable):

• Your ability to work without stopping to take unscheduled breaks.
• Your ability to stick to your routine or plan (your to-do list) for the day.
• Your overall job performance.

"It's likely you'll find that you score higher and get more done on the days you exercise, despite taking time out for your workout," says McKenna. And that means you'll have greater motivation to stick with it. Check out 21 more ways to stick to your workout.

This is just one basic example. But see how it all works? You can use a similar template for virtually every aspect of your life, including your diet plan. All you have to do is create a checklist of items that you want to track. The obvious one that most people choose is weight. But suppose you monitor your mood, energy levels, sleep quality, general wellness (Did you catch a cold? How long did it last?), and work productivity. And don't forget chronic problems that you already have—it could be regular headaches, heartburn, acne, canker sores, or even anxiety. Make sure to note if there's an onset of any of these after you start your plan as well.

Also, it's imperative you give your body some time to adapt. So you'll need to stick with your program for a decent period of time—let's say 4 to 6 weeks—before coming to any conclusions. This will give you a sufficient period to gather information. (Plus, another U.K. study found that it takes about five weeks to make exercise habit.) It's also helpful to have baseline data, so you may want to track yourself for a week or two before you actually start your plan. And if you feel like you've hit a plateau, try these five tips to revamp your workout and start seeing results again.

Using this process will better allow you to determine the effect that diet and exercise is having on your entire life, not just your body. And really, isn't that the whole point? Start listening to your body, and you'll not only learn what you should be doing, but you'll want to do it—for the rest of your life.