I am a doctor who talks a lot. Believe me, that’s not very common (or often appreciated by others in the profession!). But it’s central to my calling, to do everything I can to raise awareness about heart habits and their impact, positively or negatively on our health.

So when I say I talk a lot, I mean it. During the month of February, I spoke to more than 50 different audiences around the country (virtually in this covid world we live in, sadly) in different forums like TV news, radio, podcasts, and seminars about transforming women’s health. March has slowed down, well, a little? Because this message is critical.

Today, as a guest on a unique podcast called How to Be a Better Person, by Kate Hanley, author of a book by the same title, I was able to speak to a critical component of combating heart disease with prevention: I called them heart habits.

Listen to the podcast episode here.

What at heart habits?

As Kate correctly points out, we often struggle to keep doing the things that helped us get healthy in the first place. We need to build heart habits that become a regular part of our life so not only do we make needed changes to get healthy, but continue to do these positive preventive measures long after we’ve reached our goals.

For example, when first starting out, many of my patients need to lose weight, increase exercise and remove unhealthy food choices. So as I mention in the podcast, I encourage them to become their own journalist. Be a relentless observer. Weigh yourself often. Chart how much activity you really do each week. Keep a heart book that chronicles your eating and other practices so you can begin to make conscious changes.

These methods work and many of patients immediately see results. So how do we change them from something we do, to something that is a healthy heart habit?

By continuing to be your own journalist. For example, if you start telling yourself you can have a little bit of desert now that you’ve lost weight and gotten into shape, chronicle how it makes you feel or how often you now give yourself permission to eat something else that’s unhealthy. Or another example: Keep weighing yourself so you can see if you’re regressing in real time.

I love Kate’s podcast because her encouragement to “become a better person,” is not with lofty ambitions or goals. She tells her listeners to make small changes every day. These little steps are exactly what I recommend for being a healthy person, not just a better one.

If you make a change today, write to me on Facebook or Instagram and tell me all about it. And let Kate know you enjoyed the podcast! Also, if you haven’t yet checked out Live From The Heart on Youtube, please drop by. We have more content every week.