Each week I will take a step towards bettering myself by setting goals to reach throughout the week. You can choose to follow along on as many of my goals as you want, but whatever level of dedication you choose, commit yourself to it. I truly believe that a healthy lifestyle is an addicting one, and the better you feel each week will keep you motivated on your path. This post is to prepare you—read through and decide where you want this program to take you, and get ready for our first step next week.
Many beginners or seasonal exercisers make the mistake of jumping in too deep too quickly. Exercising for multiple hours a day and following a strict diet will show fantastic results, but for most of us this isn’t a sustainable lifestyle. Couple this with a full time job, a difficult semester or parenting responsibilities and this resolution will be gone faster than Anthony Weiner’s Twitter account. Even should you maintain an Arnold-esque regimen, there lacks a balance between relaxation and stress that is necessary for physical and mental well-being. Thus a wholly healthy lifestyle lies between the two extremes, and should involve every aspect of your day-to-day life: eating, working, exercising, and sleeping. Below are some tips on how to start building healthy habits and, of course, feel free to comment and make suggestions!
Eating
First and foremost, eating is the most important piece of the puzzle and will require the most diligence to build a healthy routine. I will expand further on this section in later posts, however I generally recommend eating (including liquid snacks) at least six times per day; three full meals and three snacks in between. This will kick-start your metabolism and keep your body from storing excess fat in between large meals. While choosing foods for your meals and snacks, avoid high-fructose corn syrup, which offers little nutritional value and causes insulin resistance which leads to heart disease. This means no pop! If you need caffeine, drink coffee.
Most importantly, your day should start with a balanced breakfast, preferably including whole grains and fruits. Since mornings are the worst thing ever, I recommend making foods in bulk that can be reheated or mixing cereals and fruits for tasty concoctions. Stick to whole grains and avoid sugary cereals!
Snacks between meals are essential to curb appetite, maintain metabolism, and guarantee our bodies get all the nutrients they need. I’m a big proponent of V8—drinking low-sodium V8 or (actually very tasty) V8 Fusion as snacks provide multiple servings of fruits and vegetables and do wonders for your nutrition. Keep your pre-bed snack light. Yogurt works. My favorite is cottage cheese :D
Another important note is not to feel like you HAVE to avoid certain foods or indulgences. Treating yourself to occasional sweets relieves stress and improves mental health, notably chocolate which actually releases endorphins in your brain. Eating out is acceptable, but use your brain to choose entrees wisely and limit yourself to doing this no more than a few times a week. I often feel that slipping on my diet motivates me to step my work out up, but it’s no excuse for gluttony.
Health isn’t just about material looks or counting calories, it’s taking care of your body to feel as good as possible for as long as possible. Keep this in mind when struggling with your eating routine. The better you sustain your body, the better your results will be. For this week, consider researching how to read food labels. Go to the grocery store and substitute the unhealthy foods you usually buy for a healthier alternative, make sure you have ample snacks for the week, and stop eating fast food. Next week we will set concrete goals, but in the meantime try your best to transition yourself into a healthier routine.
Exercise
As a note, keep in mind that you should always enjoy exercising. I get through intense workouts because I enjoy seeing and feeling myself getting stronger, but if that isn’t your cup of tea then you should search for exercise options you have fun with. I’ve recently become addicted to pick-up basketball. Find a healthy obsession. Because my next post (and likely most others) will be almost entirely about exercise routines/progress, I won’t go into too much detail here. We’ll go over cardio options and a cliffsnotes on
weight-lifting.
Don’t think that because you may be naturally thin that cardio isn’t important for your exercise routine. Cardio has three purposes; burning fat off your body, regulating and maintaining heart health, and making your life a living hell. In the past I’ve done everything from football conditioning to jogging to every machine in my gym, only to find out the best cardio is whatever you enjoy the most. Your gym or garage are full of opportunities for cardio—keep experimenting until you find what you like the best. Other than that, cardio is very simple: set a new goal each workout that’s difficult but attainable, and then strive to reach that goal. Try alternating between distance and speed goals for all-around improvement.
Many friends I’ve worked out with shy away from weightlifting to avoid looking too bulky or “roided out,” but this is an illogical fear. People that gigantic (see: guidos) take extreme measures to achieve that much muscle gain. A weight-lifting regimen can produce any desired amount of muscle. So if you don’t want to get huge, what’s the point? Building muscle increases fat burned while idle, increases energy and strength, prevents injury, and fights age-related muscle loss. This is, of course, in addition to physical improvements. Still haven’t met a girl who didn’t appreciate a solid 6-pack!
Because everyone’s ideal body is different, next week we’ll go into detail about number of sets/reps for desired results and various exercises to target certain areas. In addition, we will be highlighting one new body part every few weeks to focus on seeing noticeable results, including before-and-after pics. Next week: ARMS!!
In the meantime, if you belong to a gym, try acquainting yourself with all machines/weight stations there and get comfortable. Ask if they offer classes—Zumba, pilates, ab blast, and spinning classes are offered at my gym for free. They’re a fantastic substitute for cardio. If you don’t have a gym, start shopping around for one. If it’s not in your budget, pick up some free weights. Feeling confident? Try some simple workouts, using free weights instead of machines. I also strongly recommend investing in whey protein before you start; it’s almost impossible to get the proper amount of protein in a diet, so supplementing helps to better sustain your body and will in muscle recovery. Next week the work begins!
Work
Being a computer tech, much of my work involves sitting idly at a computer, chasing pixilated dots with snakes to my heart’s desire. Unfortunately doing this for 8-12 hours a day can cause bad posture and a weak core. If you work at home or in a contemporary workplace, try sitting on a stability ball for at least a few hours of work a day. Also, use your breaks to stretch or even do simple calisthenics like pushups, situps, or crunches.
Should your work involve physical effort, try working as efficiently as possible to burn calories and supplement your workouts. Not only will time fly, but I’m sure your boss will notice the extra effort. Finally time to ask for that raise!
Try taking a few baby steps this week. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Put a little more effort into your work. And finally, not to beat a dead horse, but don’t forget to bring snacks to work. Drinking a V8 or chewing on a granola bar never got anyone in trouble. Except maybe someone that was allergic to V8 and/or granola bars. Bet he wishes he didn’t read this.
Sleep
If you’re like me, you know most of the essentials of sleeping—6-8 hours a day, regular schedule, blah blah—you just aren’t dedicated to doing them. Stop being an idiot! Studies show that only 2.5% of us need less than 7 hours of sleep per night and that even small amounts of sleep deprivation can compound into a sleep deficit. Try to keep these three simple steps this week to make sure you’re rested and can stay focused all day:
-Set a time to be in bed and stick to it as often as possible. Your alarm should be set no less than 8 hours later!
-Avoid sugar, caffeine, and heavy meals a few hours before bed.
-Take electronic screens out of your pre-bed routine—TV’s, computers, and heavy cell use included. Using screens in the dark damages your eyes and makes falling asleep much more difficult. Try reading a book or writing in a journal. Just don’t tell people about it or post it on the web or people will make fun of you. Errrr, oops!
That's all for now. Next week I will be taking my first step to a healthier me. I’ll be including basic strength measurements—height/weight, mile time, 40-yard dash, pushups/situps per minute, etc—and photos of my starting physique (or lack thereof). Make sure to follow me on Twitter at AlexS2BU and let me know how your first week is going!
This project was inspired in part by Josh Grabowski's blog. Check out his progress here!
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