Fit for Life: One Step at a Time
Saturday, July 05, 2014
It's the small things that make a big difference not only in positive but also in negative ways. We all know that trying to live a healthy lifestyle is a big commitment. Overall it seems like an unattainable goal for most. You need to constantly be buying fresh food, paying attention to everything you eat, finding time to exercise, and when you do find time, it takes a lot of effort to make it through a workout.
The same goes with trying to be successful in your career. It's a big task. Long hours, and schedules full of work, emails, errands, etc. When you look at the whole picture, these are huge mountains to climb, but you can't get to the top in one giant step, it takes lots of smaller steps to get to the top.
One of the first steps you need to take is to start eliminating small negatives that effect your health or life in general. One example - I was with my cousin the other day and she ordered an iced coffee with extra/extra cream and sugar. She wants to lose some weight so I informed her that cutting 4 of these drinks weekly would reduce her empty calorie consumption by 1000. Another small change you could make would be to pack your own lunch. You would be able to eat quality food, measure the proper amount and have an added plus by saving about $8 a day. And, you would save yourself some time by not spending 1/2 of your lunch break getting your food. Another small step in your quest for health would be to get to bed on time. The benefits of a good night’s rest are invaluable and not limited to increased energy, elevated mood, cellular repair, muscle growth, just to name a few. This is a habit change that has no cost to it at all. Eating breakfast is another small yet important habit to get into. When we sleep we basically fast, so to not have anything to eat before starting your day will not only lower your energy levels, it slows your metabolism, causing you to store more and burn less body fat. This can be avoided by eating 2 hard boiled eggs (prepare them the night before) and some fruit and you have a quick healthy jump start to your day. Another small step that is time efficient is to crank up a couple short 15-30 minute workouts during the week. You could do a non-stop body weight /plyometric workout, just about anywhere, and even if you already hit the gym, these workouts will torch body fat while maintaining muscle.
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In doing what I do, I hear a lot of excuses, and reasons why people "can't". I take it as part my job to make people believe that they “can”. If you pile a mound too big in front of someone to climb, they will most likely fail, but if you present this mound one stone at a time, the intimidation factor diminishes, and the success rate rises. I say conquer your fitness and health goals by seeing them as one small positive change at a time. But it’s YOU who must initiate and take that first step. Once you do, there’s help out there to keep going. Success takes time on all levels
Espeut has worked as a personal trainer for almost 20 years with clients ranging in age from 14 to 86. His focus is on overall health, strength, and functional conditioning. Holistic health and nutrition is the cornerstone of all his programs. Matt works in private and small group training available at your home or office location or at gym facilities. Matt offers his services to everyone wanting to be more fit and healthy, overweight young people, youth/collegiate athletes, and seniors. Matt has worked and continues to train at several facilities in the Providence area including Gold's Gym and CORE Studio, and he believes continued education is a must in his field. Email Matt: [email protected], check out his website at http://www.fitnessprofiles.net or on Facebook at Matt Espeut or on Twitter @MattEspeut.
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