With regards to health there is no such thing as a quick fix. Our daily lives are polluted with commercials, billboards, T.V. and magazine adds for quick relief of health ailments. “Loose 30 pounds in 30 days”, take this pill for condition a, this one for condition b, no carb diet, no fat diet, high protein diet, stacker 2, etc... The only true fix for most health conditions is time and effort; this translates into a change in your lifestyle.
I was recently talking to my mom regarding changing her food choices; she stated that she didn’t want to have the weight come back when she stops doing the diet. The point is, it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change. You don’t stop doing it. These crash diets are great to loose weight, but the two important facts is that: they are unhealthy and the weight will return. Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig are great at helping people loose weight because they are not diets. These companies teach people what and how to eat healthy and properly. Again crash diets hurt your body by changing your body chemistry, robbing the body of essential nutrients and all this for the fact that the weight will return. So, how do we start with this new lifestyle change?
We can join weight watchers or jenny craig to help out the food aspect. If you don’t want to do this, start by shopping at the grocery store better. The way we do this is by becoming a perimeter shopper. Think about it, all grocery stores are laid out in a way that all fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy are all on the perimeter of the store. When you travel down the isles of a store you enter the land of preprocessed transfatty acid enriched foods that cause you to gain weight and become inflamed. The next step is to add a multivitamin/mineral. Even a healthy diet is lacking some of the essential nutrients; this is the outcome of mass food production. If you want to go further you could add an omega 3 fatty acid pill or you could add this down the road. So our body is now getting better material inside, now what?
The next step is to increase the amount of physical activities in your life. Take a ½ hour walk a day, do yoga, aerobics, swim, hike or whatever you enjoy doing. You should also get in the habit of taking 5 minutes before bed and when you wake up to do your flexibility exercises. We need flexibility in our joints for proper movement and health of our bodies.
The last step includes body awareness. Be aware of your posture, sit up straight, avoid prolonged static positioning, and avoid repetitive movements. Not to forget about the importance of adjustments, maintain those joints, give them the nutrients they need and keep them flexible. You only get one body, take care of it, treat it properly and you will notice a change in your life.