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The problem with most diets and get healthy programs is that they only seem to work if you’re miserable. We’ve been earning and burning calories for decades. How’s that working? Americans exercise more than any other country yet when you combine the number of overweight and obese citizens, we’re hovering around 70%. Here’s the good news: if you want a healthy and fit body the solution is simple. You don’t need a mountain of supplements, a starvation diet, or endless hours in the gym to reach your goals. The simplest way to get healthy is to go back to the basics. Good eating habits that don’t feel like a diet is a huge factor in getting a healthy body.
How To Begin Developing Good Eating Habits
This one is a tricky subject because there’s so much noise online that it’s hard to know what good eating habits are. One day eggs are unhealthy and the next day they claim they’re not. We tend to conduct science in a vacuum, that is we ignore the context. Using the egg example there’s this belief that cholesterol is bad. Cholesterol by itself is a necessary molecule to support a healthy body.
The real culprit that makes cholesterol an issue is inflammation. When the body senses inflammation in the blood vessels cholesterol and the immune system work to repair the damage. A clot forms and for decades we’ve been blaming cholesterol while we turn a blind eye to inflammation.
We’ve been told to eat more vegetable oil (polyunsaturated fats) because they lower cholesterol. The problem is the misconception that this is a good eating habit actually promotes inflammation. Vegetable oils also haven’t reduced heart disease rates since they were introduced in the early 1900s.
Processed foods were created to make food shelf stable and reduce cooking time. The problem is humans aren’t meant to eat many of the chemicals added to packaged foods. In fact, our major food companies currently make cleaner versions of their products for European markets. First, no one is studying the health effects of food additives in combination. Second, many of these products contain chemicals that trick you into eating more.
All dietary approaches agree fast food and processed food are two things humans should avoid. If you want to develop good eating habits this is the first step. Get rid of the food ingredients you won’t likely miss like artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, and unhealthy fats. When you get rid of the things you won’t miss it won’t feel like a diet.
It helps to know what your nutrition looks like if you want to get a healthy body. When I first begin working with clients I have them download the Cronometer app. It gives the fullest nutrient output I’ve seen. You can use the app or use their website. When you first sign in the macros are set for the standard American diet. The nutrition information is good but if you’re looking to go paleo, keto, etc you’ll want to change the macros to align with your desired approach.
Eating In A Way That Doesn’t Feel Like A Diet
If you want to find a simple way to get healthy and fit in a way that doesn’t feel like a diet focus on adding more of the good stuff. I don’t mean load your refrigerator up with fruit – a common mistake. Add more vegetables, red meat, fish, pasture raised (it matters) poultry and eggs, a sensible quantity of nuts and seeds, and seasonal fruit. When you add more of the good stuff it automatically makes less room for the other stuff. Focusing on what you can add helps it not feel like a diet.
Real food doesn’t have ingredients, it IS ingredients.
– Jamie Oliver
As you increase your nutrition and cut out the chemicals you’ll likely find you won’t feel as hungry as often as you used to. With time my clients discover better sleep, better energy, better digestion, reduced joint pain, a better mood, and reduced autoimmune symptoms, to name a few.
I’ve said it before. Every cellular process relies on good nutrition at its foundation. If you’re not giving your body what it needs to perform and maintain health why would you expect it to be healthy and fit?
How To Get A Healthy And Fit Body
Why do I write about food so much? Because I’ve come to believe it plays the biggest role in helping you reach your goals. Whether it’s weight loss, autoimmunity, digestion, mood, joint pain, you name it. Focusing on quality and then figuring out food sensitivities via an elimination diet can provide the space for your body to begin to heal.
The rate you incorporate changes depends on you. Some people love the drastic change and other are overwhelmed by the idea. If you have a health condition and/or are taking medications you want to work with a physician who will support your goals. It’s a crazy concept, but most doctors receive little to no nutrition training.
Once you’ve dialed in your nutrition, a good night’s sleep should follow. If it doesn’t that’s the next piece. I bet you thought I was going to say lots of exercise. We’ll get to it, but sleep is as equally important to weight loss as exercise. In terms of healthy aging, autoimmunity, and getting healthy, sleep is a key ingredient. A good night’s sleep is roughly 8 hours uninterrupted where you wake up rested and energized.
Get Healthy And Fit
I bet when you decided to read this article it would be filled with exercise tips and a no pain no gain vibe. That’s not me because most of those calorie counting exercise and eating approaches are myths and nothing more. The purpose of fitness is to support an active lifestyle which is a key to healthy aging. I’m sure you are aware of the phenomenon where an older person retires and stops being physically active. With time they discover they can no longer perform simple tasks such as walking around a store, carrying in groceries, or climbing stairs.
Functional fitness into our later decades has been lost because our lifestyle has the potential to be easily sedentary. Sitting behind a computer, Netflix and Chill, scrolling our phones, and countless delivery services are beginning to make the world resemble the movie Wall-E.
The good news is that functional fitness is easy to train for and maintain. Believe it or not, the bulk of your exercise should consist of general daily movement. Even if you have a significant amount of body fat you wish to lose walking is the best exercise. Your body needs oxygen to burn body fat so lots of general movement with a low heart rate is pure gold.
Walking, grocery shopping, cleaning house, carrying groceries, and of course climbing stairs all contribute to your exercise routine. Many people are overwhelmed by the idea of beginning a fitness routine because they think it has to be something elaborate in order to work. If you’ve done those kinds of things in the past and you still don’t feel healthy and fit then I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that approach didn’t work.
How to get a healthy body with functional fitness is really quite simple. Begin where you are and as your body strength improves add more time and/or effort.
The Recipe To Get Healthy And Fit That Doesn’t Feel Like A Diet
- Focus on whole food ingredients
- Get quality sleep
- Reduce stress in your life
- Limit screen time, especially right before bed
- Spend time in nature
- Connect with supportive friends and family
- Move your body daily with general activities
- Lift heavy things on occasion (2-3x / week)
- Perform functional movements like carrying groceries, squats, and push-ups
- Take a HIIT class (no more than 20 minutes) once a week.
Getting healthy and fit really is that simple and it should be an enjoyable process. For more tips and tools join me on Substack where I share workbooks, PDFs, e-books, and other tools to help you on your wellness journey.
Originally posted on February 23, 2022 @ 13:03
