Health & Fitness. It’s all about the balance !
Nowadays, it’s difficult to know where to start when it comes to getting healthy and fit. There’s so much contrasting advice. Google ‘How to get healthy’ and your given 733 million pages to choose from ! One will say reduce fat and red meat whilst another says fat is actually good for you. Some websites recommend doing short bursts of high intensity exercise whereas the next says training like an endurance athlete will have the most powerful affect on your health & fitness !
We all know we should do some exercise and we all know we should eat healthily. But what sort of exercise is best and which diet should you choose ? If the perfect one-size-fits-all diet or exercise existed then surely we’d have discovered it by now ? And what about your lifestyle, what changes should you make ? Do lifestyle factors matter if you’re eating well and exercising regularly ?
The thing is, we’re all different just like our fingerprints. We’re all biochemically unique and therefore what might work for your friend can have absolutely no effect whatsoever on you and could even make a third person feel worse ! i.e. One man’s food is another man’s poison !
The true healthy solution is one which is personalised, genetically based, takes the individual’s environment into consideration and includes a balance of diet, exercise and lifestyle (holistic) factors.
Health tends to occur when the human body is in a state of balance, also known as homeostasis. When your body is in homeostasis, your metabolism increases, you burn fat naturally and build muscle easily, your immune system becomes robust and you’ll find you get less colds and illnesses, you’ll sleep better at night, you remain highly productive throughout the day but most noticeably you’ll have a renewed zest for life and a plentiful supply of energy and motivation to realise and live your dreams.
This balance refers to not just the body as a whole system but also to the balance of each individual system within the body. Homeostasis is the balance of your musculoskeletal system, your cardiovascular system, your digestive system, your immune system, your nervous system, your reproductive system, your endocrine (hormone) system and so on…
That’s why when you embark upon a fresh, new health push your plan should take into consideration your current balance of important factors such as blood sugar levels (too much/too little), hormones (catabolic/anabolic), pH levels (too acidic or too alkaline), temperature (too hot /too cold), macronutrient intake (fats:carbs:protein), micronutrient intake (vitamins, minerals and enzymes), level of hydration, mental state, muscle balance (posture), muscle fibre type predominance and your levels of toxicity etc etc
And let’s be clear, if you’re currently out of balance, then the balancing act I refer to simply isn’t just ‘everything in moderation’.
This is when working with a professional health coach or expert personal trainer can make all the difference because if they truly want you to be healthy and want you to be able to live your dream they will take all of these factors into consideration and won’t just recommend the latest fad or gimmick and take a risky generic approach, full of short cuts which could come back and bite you later in life.
Unfortunately there is no magic bullet. Short cuts only tend to result in problems or road blocks further down the road. The trick is choosing the right direction to head in and you can only know that when you know where you are now and where you want to go. Although the holistic approach may seem like a longer route or initially appear overwhelmingly complicated, it’s actually rather simple and the long term results are well worth it:
First, some introspection is required. Identify what motivates you. What do you want to achieve ? Where do you want to be ? What is your dream ?
Next, seek the help of a health practitioner who can provide you with a thorough health & fitness assessment and establish where you are right now.
Then put together a bespoke health programme which takes all of the body’s systems into account and restores balance or homeostasis and watch how much easier it is to shift that stubborn fat, look amazing and feel even better !
By Duncan Edwards BSc Hons Director, CHEK Practitioner, Health Coach & Exercise Specialist At Bodyguards Fitness Service Ltd, our friendly Health & Fitness Experts/Personal Trainers will work with you every step of the way, providing you with a bespoke, balanced approach to health and fitness via personalised nutrition, functional exercise programme design and guidance, realistic lifestyle advice and effective stress management techniques
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