Archive for September, 2008

There are a few basic principles of health and fitness that are essential components of a healthy lifestyle. If you want to look and feel better, have more energy, and lose weight, start by gradually working the following tips into your lifestyle.

First Principle of Health and Fitness: Attitude and Mindset

Having a positive attitude is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. You have to believe that you can achieve the results you desire; otherwise, you’ll soon get discouraged and quit eating right and training.

So how can you stay positive? There are many simple ways to keep a healthy attitude… here are a few that I commonly share with my clients:

• Positive self-talk – The words you speak have a considerable effect on your beliefs. If you put yourself down, use self-deprecating humor, or constantly talk about your faults, you are sabotaging your own progress. Start reprogramming your brain by stating out loud several times a day such phrases as “I like myself” “I am able to reach my goals” “I can do it” and “I love working out and eating right.”
• Control negative thoughts – Choosing to dwell on negative thoughts and images can be very detrimental to our mental health. Whenever you find yourself thinking negative thoughts, acknowledge them and immediately stop dwelling on them.
• Be thankful – Motivational expert, author, and lecturer Brian Tracy
  says that this is one of the most important things a person can do to maintain a positive outlook. Every day, think of five things that you are thankful for, and write them down. Do this for 21 days and I guarantee you will notice a positive change in your outlook.
• Give yourself permission to fail – We all tend to fail now and again; it’s an unavoidable part of the life process. Yet, when we fail to reach our goals we are in turn blessed with new knowledge and insights that we previously would not have had. So, every failure brings us one step closer to reaching our goals. Embrace this and you’ll experience a power you never knew you possessed.

Once you have learned to develop and maintain a positive attitude, the other (physical) components of a fitness lifestyle are a piece of cake.

Proper Exercise is The Second Principle of Health and Fitness

This means having a safe and balanced exercise regimen that includes the following:

1. Cardiorespiratory training (for the heart and lungs; also known as aerobic exercise) – This can include jogging, swimming, biking, etc.
2. Strength training (to build lean muscle tissue, which will make you stronger and increase your metabolism) – Weight training, kettlebells, or bodyweight exercises all fit the bill.
3. And Mobility training (which will keep you more relaxed, supple, and hopefully, injury free) – Yoga, Pilates, certain forms of dance, and martial arts all are great for this, and are also good core strength builders as well.

Proper Nutrition – The One Everyone Loves to Hate

Clients always want simple diet guidelines for a healthy lifestyle that don’t require a lot of thought. I don’t wish to go into too much detail, because there really isn’t the space for it here, there are a few simple things you can do to improve your health by eating right.

For starters, you should be eating a diet free from:

• Excessive amounts of fried food,
• Saturated fats,
• Dairy products (organic low-fat products are okay – just don’t overdo it),
• Refined sugar and flour,
• Alcoholic beverages,
• And fatty red meat

I say “excessive amounts” because I don’t believe in being a complete fanatic about eating healthy; you should allow yourself one day per week to eat moderate amounts of foods that are not in your regular fitness nutrition plan.

So, what should you be eating then? A balanced diet for the athlete consists of the following:

1. Approximately equal amounts of protein and carbohydrates.

• Proteins: lean red meat, one or two whole organic eggs every other day is acceptable, poultry, fish, beans, raw nuts;
• Carbohydrates: fresh fruits and vegetables, whole wheat breads and pasta, and whole grains);

2. A moderate amount of unsaturated fats derived from fish, raw nuts, and the like.

3. And at least eight 8 ounce glasses of water (preferably filtered) per day.

Avoid fad diets and any dietary regimen that will put you into more than a 500 calorie/day deficit (your body needs a certain amount of calories to function; what you don’t take in that your body requires, it will get by breaking down fat, which is desirable, or scavenging muscle tissue, which is undesirable).

Proper Rest, an Essential Principle of Health and Fitness

I can’t stress this enough. Your body grows and repairs itself when you are at rest, specifically, when you are asleep. For some people, 6 hours of sleep is enough, while others can’t seem to get by without 8 hours a night.

Figure out what is best for you, and allow extra rest (maybe a mid-afternoon nap) during periods of hard training or stress (finals week, for instance). In short, get your rest!.

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