Without Health, what is the point in Wealth?
As a personal trainer of 10 years and also a business owner within the health and fitness industry, I know a thing or two about health. I also know that without health, there is no point to having an exorbitant amount of wealth!
Therefore, today’s blog is dedicated to improving one’s life through your health and fitness, which after 10 years in the industry, you could say it is my bread and butter.
Firstly, I have seen a numerous amount of people who have neglected their health over the years, they got busy with work, had kids, and they forgot about themselves and did everything for others.
Which is great, however, also has led to a series of issues they do not even see as issues, such as;
+Becoming overweight, which leads to more health problems down the track (Nothing against being overweight, unless it is detrimental to your health)
+Hormonal changes and therefore heightened emotional fluctuations.
+Increased inflammation due to a neglected diet, which again causes more problems down the track as you get older
+Sleeplessness or insomnia, which again leads to more health issues as the problem persists
+Mobility issues, which leads to dysfunctional movement and muscle contraction, again leading to more problems down the track.
When I say they do not see the above as issues, we have grown to accept that putting on a few kilograms is okay, especially through COVID-19 and being locked down so consistently here in Victoria.
However, it is not the actual increase in bodyweight or few extra kilograms that is the problem, it is the increase in unhealthy habits that have been formed thanks to lock downs that is the main issue!
The increase in use of technology, for kids, as well as adults, which incorporates more sitting down and sedentary behaviour.
The increase of “convenience” foods, as we lost motivation and became flat due to a decrease in energy, which led to not wanting to cook wholesome meals at home.
The ability to actually go to a gym was lost to us through lock downs and as COVID cases persisted, people did not want to go out as much.
The ease of which we became entangled in unhealthy habits, which will only lead to more unhealthy habits.
The habit cycle can be a vicious one, whereby you get stuck in it without even knowing, hence the term getting “stuck in a rut.”
I want you to know though, that lockdowns were not your fault, that COVID-19 was not your fault, and that you were set up to fail with the ease of which you could simply click on an app and order any take-out you wished upon, at the time.
What you need to do now is become aware of it, become aware of all the unhealthy habits that you have picked up over the last two to three years.
And once you become aware, you simply need to make a choice…
Do you want to continue along these unhealthy habits and end up like a lot of older people my wife sees most days who are struggling to perform simple every day-to-day tasks?
My wife is an occupational therapist you see, who works with a lot of older people who need help with coming up with strategies to perform simple every day-to-day tasks. And also making their life easier as they move on to the next great beyond in palliative care.
I hear all her stories of all these older people losing the ability to just go to the toilet by themselves, and yes, some of these unfortunate people just have bad genetics and bad luck.
However, a lot of these older people could have potentially avoided all of their health problems by simply leading a slightly healthier life.
Or…
Do you want to choose to be a bit better, just slightly healthier, and potentially lead your kids to a healthier lifestyle as well?
Avoiding all that pain and suffering for yourself and your family as you get older!!
Because I can guarantee you, if you are feeling horrible a lot of the time, if you have no energy, if you feel bloated and gassy, if you feel that you are angry with the world or if you are struggling mentally with anxiety or depression…
You are most likely struggling in one or more of these four core areas of health;
Physical Activity
Nutrition
Stress
Sleep
I have some key performance metrics that I give my clients on these four core areas in every introduction session I have, and I have never had anyone rate themselves perfectly in any of these core areas.
Which is fine, because shit happens in life, things happen and we get stressed, we lose sleep, we prioritise things differently.
However, you should always fall back to these four core areas and simply work towards these performance metrics…
Physical Activity
Work towards getting 7,500 to 10,000 steps everyday
Train 2-3 times per week or get your heart rate up at the very least for 10-15 minutes, 2-3 x per week.
Nutrition
Eat healthy, wholesome foods 80% of the time, the other 20% you can have a few treats
Eat more Protein, whether that means eating more meats, fish, nuts, legumes, poultry etc.
Eat a heap of vegies EVERYDAY!!
Sleep
Sleep 7-9 hours EVERY Night
If unable to, get a 20 minute power nap in the middle of the day
Stress
Don’t take everything personally, everyone has stuff going on, therefore you need to take every situation with a grain of salt.
Take in 5 DEEP breaths when you feel overwhelmed
Most things that happen today, won’t matter in 10 years, so why stress about it?
And Finally, Be GRATEFUL for what you have, this goes a hell of a long way. I myself will take a step back in a stressful situation or if I am feeling overwhelmed, and think, “I have my health, my family are healthy and we have clean water and food to eat, therefore I have everything to be grateful for!”
If you can work towards improving these four core pillars of health and do these easy things everyday, you will be right on track to living a much healthier lifestyle.
It just takes a choice and a decision to do it, that is all.
Will you choose to be healthier for yourself? If not for yourself, for your kids, your partner or even your dog/cat?
I leave you with that to think about and I hope you do choose to be just that little bit healthier today!
Until next time,
Take Back Control
