Change your life!
As a certified personal trainer and group exercise instructor at the Baptist East Milestone Wellness Center and in-home personal trainer to many Polo Fields and Lake Forest residents, my goal is to change lives for the better. I set realistic goals that are within reach for my clients.
The goal to reaching a healthier lifestyle is not to expect results right away. Start out slowly and build up. Crash diets, excessive weight training and pushing yourself to the max unfortunately results in injury and frustration.
So how do you change your life and be the healthiest version of you? Change one bad food habit a week. Eliminate a food you eat weekly that is unhealthy. Moderation is the key! The following week, try to cut out another food that may be high in sodium or sugar. By slowly cutting out unhealthy food, your body will not crave the simple sugars and carbs. It is so important to eat six small meals throughout the day and stay hydrated ( body weight divided by 2 is how many ounces of water you should be consuming a day). Also, aim for 8 hours of sleep every night. Sleep helps release stress, maintains healthy body weight and helps you lead a healthier lifestyle.
Exercise is essential! Get up and move the best to your ability! The goal is do 30 minutes of cardio every day. If you don’t have access to a gym get out and walk in your neighborhood! Hike in the Parklands with your family! If an injury prevents you from doing certain exercises, do simple calisthenic exercises within your home. Sit to stands, leg raises and abdominal crunches are all great body weight exercises. Start with 5 to 10 minutes of cardio daily and then the following week add an additional 5 minutes of cardio to each workout. Incorporate weight training into your weekly routine. Weight training can prevent osteoporosis as well as reduce stress, help with balance, coordination and improve overall health. When doing weight training, you continue to burn calories throughout the rest of the day. Always warm up before workouts and always stretch after a workout to prevent muscle soreness.
Try not to weigh yourself daily or weekly. Weigh yourself once a month and that will give you the most accurate reading. Do not stress about the overall weight number. Muscle and water weigh more than weight so give your body a chance to utilize and burn of fat the first few months. Fight your urges and get through the first few months and your body will then be acclimated to a healthier lifestyle! Start out slowly and do not expect fast results. Make a positive change weekly but keep it a SMALL and REALISTIC change. Be the healthiest version of you! You have one body, be proud of it and take care of it!
So Southern At Heart 