These days, many individuals want to change their lifestyle practices in order to improve their health and well-being. Such changes typically involve improving one's diet, incorporating more physical activity into one's daily routine, and learning how to effectively manage stress. While many individuals can succeed in changing their lifestyle for a finite period of time, adopting healthy lifestyle practices for a lifetime is a much more difficult proposition.

While it is true that maintaining a healthy way of life is challenging, it is not impossible. The following tips will help set you up for success:

Know your current level of behavior.
The first step in changing your behavior is establishing your baseline. Is your idea of exercise walking from the sofa to the kitchen? Do you consider French fries and ketchup a serving each of a vegetable and fruit? Without knowing your current level of lifestyle practices, you will not be able to develop a realistic, achievable action plan for change. Taking the Stanford Health and Lifestyle Assessment and reading over the reports will help you gauge your current behavior.

Assess your "readiness for change."
It is not enough to know that you should eat more healthfully, or that you should be walking more. You have to truly be ready to commit to making the change. Adopting a healthy lifestyle is hard work—if it weren't, we all would be doing it! Because of this, if you are not ready to commit the time and energy to the behavior change process, you will likely not be successful. By taking this assessment, you will identify your readiness for change.

Do your homework.
Like any other big endeavor, making a lifestyle change requires knowledge. Talk to someone who has successfully made a behavior change (and sustained that change!) for some helpful tips. Not every strategy works for everyone, but you should pick up some pointers. Speak to your physician or other healthcare professionals if you have any questions. Visit your local library and ask the librarian for some good reference materials. The Stanford Health Promotion website has several on-line classes and health tools that can help.

Build a support network.
While it is true that you are ultimately the one responsible for successfully changing your behavior, you are not expected to do it alone. In fact, research shows that those who successfully make a behavior change, and sustain that change, are the ones with social support. Recruit friends, family members, or coworkers as supporters. Think about the best way your supporters can help you. Would you rather them suggest healthy places to eat than rip a candy bar out of your hand? If so, let them know.

Understand the benefits.
Be clear with yourself about why you want to make this change.

Sign a commitment contract.
Many individuals begin their behavior change efforts with great motivation. But, as the process continues, they may become less and less motivated. To keep your commitment level high, sign a commitment contract. Ask your supporters to sign as well. Place the contract in a highly visible place (such as your refrigerator). When you feel your commitment wane, look back at the contract.

Set an appropriate long-term goal.
Just as individuals need to identify their baseline behavior, they need to set an appropriate "finishing place," otherwise known as their long-term goal. This goal should be something that is sustainable for a lifetime; as such it must be realistic. Many individuals select a specific weight loss as their long-term goal. Others want to fit into a particular clothing size. While this is fine, an even better long-term goal is something that is behavioral. For example, you may want to eventually eat 5 servings of vegetables and fruits a day or limit the number of days a week you eat fast food. Another possibility is to specify the amount of physical activity you want to undertake, such as accumulating 30-45 minutes of moderate physical activity a day, 5 days per week.

Set appropriate short-term goals.
Once you have set your long-term goal, turn your attention to your short-term goals. Basically, these are the stepping stones that will eventually lead you to your long-term goal. These goals have some very definite specifications. Short-term goals should be:

• Behavioral: Instead of "I want to lose 1 pound this week", your short term goal should be "I will eat a healthy, low-fat lunch on 2 days of the week (including one piece of fruit and one whole grain item)."
• Measurable: Instead of "I will walk during the week", your short term goal should be "walk a mile every Tuesday at 5:30."
• Specific: Include the time, location, and other details into your short-term goal. You will be more able to anticipate obstacles and set yourself up for success.
• A small step beyond your current level of behavior.

Every week or two, decide on your next short-term goal. If you had trouble accomplishing the previous goal, make your new one more modest. If you had absolutely no trouble accomplishing your short-term goal, make the new one slightly more challenging. Eventually, you will work your way up to achieving your long-term goal.

For most people, the problem is not setting goals that are too easy, but rather setting goals that are too difficult. Do not feel in a rush to meet your long-term goal. Whether it takes you 6 months or a year (or more) to accomplish your long-term goal is no big deal when you realize that you will be engaging in your new healthy behaviors FOR A LIFETIME.

Anticipate and deal with obstacles.
As you set out to accomplish your short-term goals, you'll notice that obstacles will come up. Plan for them! If you know that a big project is brewing at work and you might not get out in time to go walking at night, switch to a walk before work. If you're going on a vacation, figure out how you're going to continue to exercise (e.g. calling your hotel to ask about good walking trails in the area.)

With a little planning and commitment you'll set yourself up for success! Now's the time to make a change for a healthier you!