Beginning and Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle

Eating healthy and keeping fit has become so ingrained in me that I often forget the process I went through to get here. I often get questions laced with surprise and uncertainty from friends and strangers alike  who have a desire to maintain a healthier lifestyle but find the process so daunting especially when i describe my diet. Such moments make me really look back at my own journey which actually began with a lot of experimenting and mistakes before I attained my current lifestyle.

At first, I was seeking quick, visible results. Increased fitness, better posture, toned physique and healthy skin motivated the hours I spent in the gym and the unhealthy foods that I cut out out of my diet. I wasn’t trying to be Teyana Taylor Lol but months later I didn’t feels as healthy as I was aiming to be. When I now look back, I realize that I was doing it all wrong in my excitement to achieve these goals. I believe that making mistakes at first is absolutely fine before finding what works best for you. I want to share some of the lessons I’ve learnt and the mistakes I made that have helped me and I hope will help anyone else trying to be healthier and more fit.

1. Less is more

I would sometimes shun my fitness goals because I simply “don’t have time for it”. This was based on a popular belief that a workout requires more than an hour, sometimes even two. So there I was, sprinting on a treadmill, literally, or lifting dumbbells for more than an hour. With time I discovered that the optimal length of a workout session is actually 45 minutes or under 60 minutes. In fact, the quality of a workout decreases as its length increases. By planning what body parts I will work out or routine I will follow beforehand, I now maximize the intensity of my training within this duration. I now also mostly workout at home or outdoors as I believe a workout does not have to be confined to the gym. This way I end up working out more parts of my body at the same time. By being creative one can find simple or even equally intensive workouts that can be done at home or in-between tasks.

2. Eat healthy

I now firmly believe that my body is made in the kitchen, and only then sculpted in the gym. I can’t fully describe what an incredible difference my diet has made to my general wellbeing.For a long time, I also believed that working out at my local gym three times a week, sometimes at odd morning hours, was more than enough to get me fit. Meanwhile, I continued to eat sugary foods, unbalanced meals and processed foods. I was wrong. Very wrong! Eating healthy is not a diet which I believe cuts off important nutrients that our bodies need. Diets are also often temporary and soon after straying from them, we tend to resume past eating habits.

My lifestyle change entailed cutting down on meats, oily foods, dairy, gluten, sugar and many processed foods to the dismay of many waiters. However, this has greatly enhanced my fitness results and overall health. My diet now mostly consists of whole foods, legumes, vegetables, fruits, foods rich in healthy fats such as avocados and lots of water. With time I discovered that many of my illnesses and allergies were directly related to my eating habits! Since then I can easily monitor changes in my body based on what i’ve eaten. I now have more strength and stamina, a leaner body and feel amazing! It may sound like a very difficult change but  important that one stays committed to a change in diet and this should be done gradually rather than all at once.

3. Switch it up 

Our bodies require a constant change of fitness activities to maximize results. By doing the same exercise constantly, my body would adapt and the routines got easier. Attending the same spin cycle class week after week with little variation was burning calories but my body would soon get comfortable and I required less effort to perform the same exercise over time. To improve my fitness, I now constantly increase the distance of my runs such as from 5 to 7 to 10 kilometers, I go for a swim instead of going to the gym once in a while or I practice yoga rather than attend a weight-lifting class.

4. Patience 

It took a lot of patience to become accustomed to my lifestyle change. It definitely wasn’t an overnight transformation. I think this what puts off many people; the belief that these changes can be made overnight. I transitioned into a diet that’s mainly plant-based gradually. I begun my reducing my intake of red meat and then when that worked I moved on to cutting down on white meat. After that, I also cut down on processed foods, dairy… It was very gradual rather than an instant change which I believe is very difficult to commit to. By aiming for a lifestyle change and building on fitness skills, rather than seeking quick results, long-term improvements in my health, wellbeing and physique eventually become evident. Because it’s a lifestyle change, I don’t weigh myself. I think the last time I did was last year and now I only have a rough idea of how much I currently weigh. This transformation is more about feeling great, being healthy and loving myself enough to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Muscle is built, flexibility is increased and overall health is improved only by being patient, consistent and determined.

I hope this advice helps you as much as it helped me. Wishing you  all the best on your journey!