Quick-Start Guide to a Healthier YOU
In this age of widespread information availability your average google search will turn out literally millions of results. This is great in some sense, that we have access to all of the world’s information at the tips of our fingers. But when it comes to diet and exercise it leads many into paralysis by analysis.
For example: I asked google, “how do I get fit?” and was provided 4,860,000,000 results (in .77 seconds).
Within this deluge of search results is all of the information (much of it contradictory however) that you’d ever need to “get fit.” The problem is that all of the information you’d ever need to “get fit” is thrown at you from different sources claiming that this is the only way and that way is antiquated and you have to count your micronutrients while handstand walking to a 4 second in, 4 second out box-breathing cadence...
STOP!
The truth is this; YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT TO DO!!! And all of these advanced tactics will overwhelm you and likely lead to fatigue, burnout and the abandonment of your aspirations.
Do you eat sugar? Dont.
Do you walk? Walk more.
How much do you sleep? 5 hours? NOT enough, and you know it!
There are hundreds of specialty diets, workout plans, tools, gadgets and equipment out there to take your health and fitness to the next level, and most of it works to some extent. But it’s all superfluous if you're not already doing the basics.
The bottom line is this: incorporate the following 3 tactics into your life for 5 weeks, one month, and genuinely do them, dedicate yourself to the change, and if you’ve found no positive response in your well-being, then you should probably see a doctor (kidding, kind of).
~Observe your nutrition labels.
One of the easiest ways to identify dietary pitfalls and improve your nutrition is to simply start looking at what’s actually in your food. I used to be shocked when people would tell me they dont look at nutrition facts of the food they ingest, than I realized how widespread this practice (or lack thereof) was. Example: most of today's “nutrition bars” are loaded with sugar and dozens of inexplicable ingredients. And the incorporation of 20g of low quality protein does NOT make this a good option. Similarly, eating oatmeal (which is otherwise “healthy”) from a packet mixed with 30g of added sugar may not be the best option for someone looking to reduce body fat and inflammation. Look at what goes into your food. Keep ingredients simple and above all reduce your sugar intake. If you’re not already doing this, expect profound change.
~Walk.
Make time to walk. 15 minutes a day. EVERYONE can afford 15 minutes. If you can’t, and your health is a priority, you may need to rearrange your life a little bit. Steps matter. I used to scoff at the idea that parking far away and taking the stairs really had an impact. It absolutely does. If you change subtle daily habits, inconvenience yourself just a bit to include more steps to and from work, the grocery store, etc. the accumulation of energy expended during all these minorly elongated trips adds up to major extra activity and calorie expenditure. Not to mention walking gets your brain running on another gear. Try it out! Take a stroll and before you get back that issue that had been aimlessly rolling around your head may just have been resolved with the help of physical activity.
~Sleep.
This seems to be one of the hardest and most rewarding life modifications for most of my clients. After a busy day of work and other life obligations
we all crave some down-time to luxuriate on the sofa and binge a NETFLIX crime drama. For many, this means three 1-hour episodes of cant-stop TV that takes you right up to 11:30pm before you even begin to think about your nighttime ritual and getting to sleep. If you’ve got a 7am (or earlier) wake-up the next day, this is not a healthy sleep protocol. When’s the last time you truly achieved a string of 8-hour night’s of sleep? This might be one of those “you don’t know what you don’t know” situations. If you’ve never experienced the energy and vitality that can be achieved through consistently good sleep, you may be very accustomed to operating at half of your true ability. Sleep is the key; The kingpin of healthy living. Good sleep recharges your body and mind, reduces inflammation and improves your good-decision-making probability. Bad sleep is a vicious cycle of low energy fueled by stimulants that inhibit sleep the following night. Change this habit, prioritize sleep and you may find that many other aspects of healthy living naturally fall into place
If you have these boxes checked and are yearning for more, or need motivation and assistance incorporating these tactics into your life, please feel free to contact me and we can discuss your specific situation and work together to improve your wellness.
Cheers!
Stay well, Josh