Now that we are nearly three months into the new year, it’s a good bet that many of us who made resolutions to lose weight in 2014 have already peaked. If the statistical data is correct, in less than 12 months from now we will have put all of that hard earned weight loss back on.
But why? Is it a failure of willpower, the wrong plan, or our genetics?
There is more information about health and fitness at our fingertips than ever before. This includes millions of articles in magazines and on the web, plus the tens of thousands of different diet books out there.
Unfortunately, statistics tell us that access to all of this new information is really doing us more harm than good when it comes to our health, as obesity and diabetes rates continue to skyrocket. Without credentials or scientific proof, any profit-seeking person can proclaim they have a new and undiscovered method of weight loss when the truth is we already have all the tools we need to lead a healthy and vibrant life.
We at Modern Gladiator decided to decode and cut through all of the confusion and simplify it down to the 4 most powerful, effective, and long lasting health and fitness solutions. No strings attached. These 4 key concepts will help everyone attain a higher quality of life—whether you’re a hard working CEO, a professional athlete, a growing adolescent, a stay-at-home mom, or someone looking to maintain your health during an active retirement.
The 4 Keys for a Stronger, Sexier, and Happier 2014 (and the rest of your life)
1. Get Real with Your Food
Without a doubt, the introduction of industrial food processing has had the most detrimental effect on our health more than any other factor in the last few hundred years—and possibly in the entire history of humankind. We consider “real food” to be:
- Whole, unprocessed, and unrefined
- Pasture-raised (a.k.a. grass-fed) and wild
- Local, seasonal, and non-chemically sprayed
To avoid the harm caused by processed and refined foods, a good general rule is “if it comes in a bag or a box, don’t eat it.” Of course, not all foods that come in bags and boxes are harmful, so this isn’t meant to be taken literally. It’s just a helpful guideline. Butter is often packaged in a box, as is coconut milk. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat butter or coconut milk!
2. Move Smart
We were built to sprint, jog, climb, carry, and jump throughout the day. Yet, we are now a nation of chronic sitters. The typical U.S. adult is sedentary for 60 percent of his/her waking hours. Prolonged sitting wrecks metabolic function, increases cardiovascular disease, weakens bones, and even increases risk of death. Here is how to get healthy and fit with effective daily movement:
- Stand while you work (shoot for standing about half of your day)
- Take standing and walking breaks every 45 minutes
- Take a walk after meals
- Shoot for one of these goals every week: 150 minutes of moderate activity (jogging, yoga, dancing); 75 minutes of vigorous activity (running, Zumba, playing sports); or 30 minutes of high intensity activity (sprinting, jumping rope, or resistance training)
3. Sleep with Purpose
Sleep is one of the most important yet most overlooked elements of our health. Almost one third of our population gets less than six hours of sleep per night. Restorative nighttime sleep helps detoxify the brain by flushing away toxins and waste products that could be responsible for brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and other neurological disorders. To get better quality and more regenerative sleep, do the following:
Make sleep a priority.- Use your bed for sleep and sex only.
- Get a minimum of 7-9 hours of sleep every night
- Make your bedroom as dark as possible (remove as many electronic devices as possible from where you sleep). If you cannot remove all light even from alarm clocks, wear a sleep mask.
- Limit stimulants after mid-day (caffeine, chocolate, and tobacco if possible).
- Make your room temperature slightly cool.
4. Rewire Your Connection to Stress
Of all the 4 tips, stress management is probably the most important. Why? Because no matter what diet you follow, how much you exercise and what supplements you take, if you’re not managing your stress, you will still be at risk for modern degenerative conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and autoimmunity. The truth is it’s a lot easier to make dietary changes and pop some pills (whether drugs or supplements) than it is to manage our stress. Stress management bumps us up against core patterns of belief and behavior that are difficult to change.
There are two different approaches to reducing the impact of stress, and both are important:
1. Reduce the amount of stress you experience. The first step is to avoid unnecessary stress.
- Learn to say “no.”
- Turn off the news (or at least limit your exposure to it).
- Give up pointless arguments.
- Escape the tyranny of your to-do list.
2. Mitigate the harmful effects of stress you can’t avoid. Obviously there are times when we just can’t avoid stress. In these situations, it’s not about reducing stress itself, but about reducing its harmful effects. How do you do that? There are several different strategies:
- Reframe the situation.
- Lower your standards.
- Practice acceptance.
- Be grateful.
- Cultivate empathy.
- Manage your time.
In addition to everything we’ve listed above, one of the most important things you can do to manage stress is to bring more pleasure, joy, and fun into your life.
By implementing these 4 powerful keys to health and fitness, you will decrease your odds of disease and significantly increase your odds of health and happiness for a lifetime.
Photo Credit: blue_j via Compfight cc
About the Author: Sarah Sandy
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