tips + talk
3 STEPS TO SUSTAINABLE HEALTH
What if there were steps to create a lifestyle bursting with health that didn’t require a new diet and an hour in the gym every day of the week? I have good news - THERE ARE. I’ve tried a lot of diets. I’ve lost a lot of weight. I’ve gained a lot of weight. I’ve fallen off the bandwagon many times, until I realized that healthy lifestyles are easier actually easier than I once thought. Here’s my most tried and true steps that have allowed me to ditch the unsustainable, restrictive diets and aimless workout programs that have created a lifestyle I’ll carry on for the rest of my life.
DIG DEEPER
I noticed one thing when I jumped into the health and fitness industry: everything is about the body image. All of the health and fitness magazines that you see boast photoshopped men and women with cut abs and defined muscles. Headlines promote new fad diets or exercises that promise to help you drop 10lbs in a week or give you a bikini body in time for the summer. That’s great and all, but have you noticed that no one promotes working out or eating healthier just because it’s better for you? When someone tries to sell you a personal training session, gym membership, meal prep subscription, or weight loss book, they always make sure to tell you what your body will look like, but they rarely emphasize that eating better and exercising is just plain good for you. We live in a culture that promotes tiny waists and defined abs. It’s all about body image. Health has become the runner-up. What if we stopped trying to get a different body by forcing ourselves to “be healthy” and simply started to move more and fuel better for the sake of our health and longevity? I think we’d all find ourselves a lot happier in mind, body, and spirit.
HOW TO MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS
Have you ever experienced your pants fitting looser while the number on the scale has actually gone up? You feel like you look better, but your weight is messing with your head. We give the scale too much credit. It can go up 5lbs from eating something salty or down 5lbs because you didn’t drink enough. Neither of these movements reflect body composition change, so it shouldn’t be the standard by which we measure progress. It can be a general indicator of moving in the right direction, but there are better ways to keep track of the effects of your training and healthy eating. If you’re trying to measure progress, here’s how to do it!