Really? 8 Weeks to Optimum Health...? (Wk 1a)

                             Week 1a: Eat fresh broccoli twice this week.

Some experts say it takes 21 days--three weeks--to establish a new habit. Opinions differ, but in any case, I know it takes me more than a week. So I'm giving myself three times that--24 weeks, not eight!

I ran across this book at Goodwill a few months back. (By the way, thrift shops are a great place to shop for books if you can't afford new
prices to replace the ones you loan that you don't get back. With all due respect to my bookseller friends, I must eat...healthy...that is).

As I've talked with friends, it isn't long until the conversation turns to health topics. Everyone seems to desire a greater sense of well-being. A few are even struggling with debilitating physical challenges. Clearly some conditions need aggressive medical intervention. Some are improved with just a few small but mighty changes in the way we care for ourselves. Whatever our baseline, anyone can benefit. At least that's the premise of "8 Weeks."

The title has reeled me in at a time when I am fishing for ways to improve my health and give focused attention to this wellness thing. I have enjoyed relative good health all my life, but it's a new season and I need a boost. I have known of Dr. Weil's* work for a long time and it seems like a good place to begin.

"The 8-Week program consists of small steps that build on each other until, by the time you complete it, you have laid the foundation of healthy living. You can then decide how much of the program you want to maintain on a permanent basis." (Knopf, 1997; p.3)

So, I'm off. Chapter 1 is titled, "People Can Change." We'll see! I'm going to blog about the process over the next few weeks. I'd love to hear back from you.

*Disclaimer: These wellness methods can be applied in any context, regardless of spiritual views, without resulting in the growth of a beard resembling Dr. Weil's own; not to worry. http://www.drweil.com/