Embarking on a Health Journey: 5 Tips to Help Transform Your Life
Losing fat and embarking on a health journey can be a daunting task that requires commitment and discipline to achieve your desired results. If it were easy, the health rate for individuals where I live — in the Antelope Valley in Los Angeles — would be much better. The fact is, the Antelope Valley has some the highest rates of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol in the Los Angeles County.
According to the L.A. County Public Health site, the obesity rate sits at a whopping 34.8% for residents in the Antelope Valley. Over a third of our population are in dire need of a health transformation. To make matters worse, many of those people that are considered obese have a much higher risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, limited mobility and other unwanted health problems.
To change your health and ultimately your life, there are five ways that you must employ in order to lose fat and transform your life.
Eat Supportively
You don’t need a diet to tell you to eat more veggies. That’s one thing that all nutrition experts can agree on. Your meals should have a rainbow of 3-5 vegetables that covers half of the plate. Your meals should always support your goals. Try getting at least 20 grams of protein, and 10 grams of fiber with each meal. This helps with digestion, fat loss, and lean muscle building. 3-5 meals per day, consumed every 3-4 hours is recommended, eating until you’re 80% full each time.
Add Resistance Training to Your Routine
2-3 days of total body resistance training can elevate your metabolism, prevent osteoporosis and maintain lean muscle that supports the sexy look you’re going for. You may not like having sore muscles so take it easy when getting started and progress steadily towards more intense workouts.
Smart Cardio
Gone are the days where you have to dreadfully plod along on a treadmill for hours on end and still not make any progress towards your goals. Be smart about your cardio. Interval training is the best way to lose fat in a shorter amount of time. Try doing 30 seconds of some form of high-intensity cardio, followed by 60 seconds of low-intensity cardio. A good cardio session shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes to complete when done correctly.
Sensible Supplementation
There’s always a new weight loss supplement hitting the market that promises you the world with little to no work done by the person consuming the product. Most products fail to deliver so be cognizant of where you spend your money. Set your nutritional foundation by taking a vitamin supplement made from real foods, synthetic versions just will not do. You may also need a good omega-3 supplement, and perhaps a good probiotic. Do your homework and spend your money wisely.
Coaching & Community
You do not have to do this alone. Being a part of a supportive network of individuals who all have similar goals makes achieving your goals much more pleasurable and gives you a shoulder to lean on when you’re feeling stressed, or having a weak moment. A knowledgeable wellness professional will steer you to a successful path on your health journey. Look for wellness professionals that specialize in your demographic and health needs.
With discipline, commitment and patience, your health will change for the better. You can get past the trauma, the key is to stop being hard on yourself for past decisions and mistakes. Today is a new day for you to do what’s right for yourself and your family; take action and start your health transformation now.
Ron Kusek is Transformational Wellness Coach & Holistic Chef. He is certified as a personal trainer through the National Strength & Conditioning Association, as well as holding certifications with the Institute of Transformational Nutrition as a Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach, and a Functional Aging Specialist with the Functional Aging Institute. Ron specializes in functional aging for mature adults; he runs a home-based wellness program for women 50+ called the Lean & Sexy Fitcamp. He’s working to change the lives of the community in the Antelope Valley in a positive, holistic way.
Knowing your motivation is vital, but motivation can only get you so far. Your habits and daily routines are more powerful than motivation. Your motives for being healthy will help you get started on your goals, but your habits will get the results that you want. Think of it like this: You have to work regardless of whether you feel like it or not, right? You can apply the same reasoning with regards to your health. You must work towards good health and wellness regardless of how good or bad you’re feeling. When you discover the power of what good health, wellness and being fit can do for you, you’ll ask why you didn’t embark on your health journey sooner.