How To Achieve Total Health And Fitness
"Aim higher than survival." I heard that once while I was feeling like I was certainly not going to survive a cycling class. But it stuck with me. You get one body. And if you've gone through a period of time when your body was holding you back more than it was serving you, you might be feeling this too. I don't want just to survive. I want to live fully. And create a life full of memories that don't involve me having to sit something out because my back gave out on me again or I'm too winded to keep going. Because even as a 33-year-old woman (who looks to be in perfectly good shape) this has happened to me. I want to be able to run around the park with my son and go with him when he says in his sweet little 4-year-old-voice that he wants to climb the tallest mountains (in Hocking Hills). I want to run all the silly holiday 5Ks with my family. I want to say "sure" the next time my dad asks me to do a triathlon with him (probably not, but never say never). It would also be nice to complete regular daily tasks without hurting myself. I have seen glimpses of what achieving total health and fitness can do for a life. And I want more.
When your body isn't functioning well, you should observe a few things: what you eat, how you move, and how you feel. So how can you make sure that your mind is right, your body is strong, and you're not holding on to extra weight? And where does New Image fit?
I've got a few stories for you. All from people you're likely familiar with in the New Image family. The goal to achieve total health and fitness isn't just your struggle. We all struggle. And we want to share our stories with you to give you some hope and encourage you that you can, in fact, aim higher than survival.
Nutrition
We all know this, right? You can't be healthy without healthy eating habits. Your body is fueled by what you feed it. So if all you're putting in is highly processed foods, sugar, and carbs. It's not going to give you much back. But it's not so simple, is it? Even though we know that we have to eat healthily, we find it difficult to change our habits and stick to it. We can't claim to understand the psychology around eating, but we do know that it matters.
Six years ago, Roxy entered the Healthy Habits Program with Monesa as her guide (you'll also hear this referred to in Roxy's story as Optivia). The Healthy Habits program is radically different from other weight loss programs. Because it isn't a quick-fix (which is good), it's about making lifestyle changes that will help you lose and maintain weight loss for the future. It's about achieving optimal health by getting your mind AND body working together. You will work with a Certified Health Coach to design the perfect approach for you and create the healthy habits required to have a lifelong transformation.*
BONUS! When paired with CoolSculpting or EMsculpt at any stage during this program, you can get into your ideal shape even quicker by freezing away the fat and toning your muscles to give you a boost on your journey.
*New Image does not receive any financial incentive by promoting the Health Habits/Optivia program. We simply truly believe in the program and want other people to experience its life-changing benefits!
Fat Reduction & Weight Loss
Weight loss begins with healthy eating. You can't exercise regularly but still eat whatever you want (unless what you want are protein and veggies) and expect to drop pounds. It just doesn't work that way. So you up the protein intake, eat more vegetables, and drink a ton of water but then hit a wall. No matter what combination of diet and exercise, you can't get rid of those last few inches. It's frustrating, but it's the reality of certain bodies, especially when you factor in genetics, age, or having children.
Every body is different, and genetics is what wires us to store fat in certain places. We can't change the wiring, however much we'd like to. But with CoolSculpting, we can change the storage places available. CoolSculpting is NOT a weight loss treatment. The purpose is to reduce fat. And coupled with healthy eating and exercise that leads to weight loss, it's a winning combo.
Muscle Strength
This can start in one of two ways. You work out regularly but are looking for a boost. You want to see the muscle tone without actually being in the gym six days a week, doing hundreds of reps, and being too sore to move the next day (thanks, but no thanks). Or you want to be active, but every time you try, you end up with pulled muscles and so much pain you can't figure out a way around it. The latter was me (Nicole).
EMsculpt is a muscle strengthening, firming, and toning treatment at New Image. It delivers 20,000 muscle contractions to the targeted area in 30 minutes without leaving you achy and sore afterward, not kidding. As a result, after four base treatments, you will not only feel significantly stronger, but your muscles will be more defined, and the area will be a bit trimmer.
Keeping Your Mind Right
Stay Motivated
Everyone has a why. What's yours? Quality of life? Avoiding medication or other health issues? Self-respect? Teaching your kids (by modeling it for them) that a healthy lifestyle and taking care of the one body you've been given is important? Whatever it is, keep it in front of you daily as you actively make choices about what you'll eat and how you'll move.
Be Gracious With Yourself
None of us are perfect. This is about progress, not perfection. So if you have an off week (or month), don't be hard on yourself. Know that we are all struggling to make the best choices for our bodies. Every time you choose to eat the healthy things over the unhealthy thing or take that 30 minutes to move your body, you're healthier and stronger because of it.
Have Realistic Goals
Don't wake up one morning and decide that you will now work out five days a week; you're going to throw away all the sugar, pasta, and bread in your house, and you're never going to look at a pizza again. You'll probably fail. And if you're anything like me (who used to do this a lot), you'll not be kind to yourself when you do. Start small. Make weekly goals that build on each other (pick something from our list), and realize that "total health and fitness" looks different for everyone.
Weekly goal ideas:
- Include veggies in every meal
- Include protein in every meal
- Make the carbs/starch the smallest portion on your plate
- Remove the carbs/starch from all your dinners
- Drink 64-ounces of water each day this week
- Exercise for 30 minutes two days a week (and work up from there to five)
- Talk a daily morning walk
- Stretch each morning
- Spend 30 minutes gardening and doing yard work each week (because that counts as exercise too!)
Progress, not perfection. Aim higher than survival. One healthy choice at a time. Pain today shows up tomorrow as strength. Insert all the motivational one-liners I learned in my cycling classes. But really, you've got this.
And if you're curious to learn more about the Healthy Habits program, CoolSculpting, or EMsculpt, and New Image can help you achieve your version of total health and fitness, give us a call at the office and schedule your free consultation.
(740) 774-7444 or info@newimagelsc.com