How To Improve Your Health: Advice From Our Personal Trainer And Nutrition Coach

Let’s dive into some specific ways that you can gradually improve your health every day.

Make Movement A Daily Habit

Nutrition may arguably be more important than fitness, but you cannot undervalue physical activity. Daily exercise is vitally important to your overall health! It burns off extra calories, keeps your bodily systems healthy, and improves your muscle mass. In fact, it’s recommended that you get at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise every week. If you’re consistently hitting that number, then you’re probably in great health!

If you’re not hitting that number, don’t worry. We understand that it’s not easy to hit the gym every day. Life happens! Things get in the way and sometimes you just can’t squeeze a solid workout into the day. You can, however, fit in micro-bursts of exercise throughout any given workday! Think about it: there are tons of ways to get active everyday. For instance, you could:

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

• Get off the bus 1 stop early for a few extra minutes of walking.

• Go for a 10 minute walk during lunch.

• Do some lunges on your way over to the office printer.

• Squeeze in some quick squats on your break.

Make it a daily habit to get active for brief stints of time. It is, of course, better to hit the gym a few times a week. But, even a little bit of exercise is better than no exercise at all.

Prioritize Whole-Foods Over Supplements

You might hear a variety of nutritional advice from both your personal trainer and nutrition coach. Regardless of your fitness goals, you should always emphasize whole-foods in your diet. Supplements are just supplements. Nothing more. Supplements can offer a small nutritional boost and they can benefit your fitness goals. However, supplements are not a substitute to a healthy and nutritious diet.

At Whole Intent, our personal trainer and nutrition coach agree that supplements can be added to certain nutritional plans. Those additions are only considered on a case-by-case basis (e.g., extreme weight gain/loss, bodybuilding competition prep, etc.). Make sure that your diet is centered around nutritious and healthy whole-foods.

Avoid Unhealthy Fats

Fats have historically been cast in a negative light. You’ve probably seen those fad diets that cut out fats wherever possible. However, fats should not be avoided! These macronutrients are actually a vital necessity for any diet. Like other macros, fats fuel us up with the energy that we need on a daily basis. Plus, many of our bodily functions rely heavily on the presence of fat. Any healthy diet will include a good balance of carbs, protein, and fats.

Not all fats are created equally though. Over the years, research has discovered that certain fats are harmful to your health. We now know that saturated fats and trans fats should be avoided or eaten sparingly. If you want to improve your health, there are some fatty foods that you should avoid eating regularly. Our personal trainer and nutrition coach recommend that you rarely eat the following kinds of foods:

• Fried foods (french fries, deep-fried fast foods, etc.)

• Processed snack foods

• Baked goods

• High fat dairy products (sour cream, butter, ice cream, etc.)

• Fatty cuts of meat

Your diet should, instead, prioritize the healthier fats. Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are the healthiest types of fat to eat. Foods like avocados, cheese, and whole eggs, are packed with these healthier fats. Focus on the healthier fats and you’ll be on the fast track to a healthier lifestyle.

Stretch Every Day

Stretching is one of the best daily habits that can benefit your health. Hopefully you know that our bodies deteriorate with age. Over time, your range of motion will become more restricted, and your joints and ligaments will wear down. This gradual decline impacts your circulation, your flexibility, and your overall strength. Daily stretching is the best way to halt and slow down this gradual decay.

Stretching not only improves your flexibility, but it can benefit your strength as well. There are a number of additional great health benefits that stretching can provide. It’s one of the easiest daily habits to pick up! Ask any personal trainer and nutrition coach if they stretch every day. You’ll always get the same affirmative answer. We would recommend that you find the time to start stretching every day.

Try to do at least 5-10 minutes of dynamic stretching every day! Make it a habitual part of your morning routine or your evening routine. Or perhaps both!

Add Variety To Your Workouts

Humans are creatures of habit. We love to habitually run through the same tasks over and over again, even at the gym! Many people will stick to the same workouts every week. Eventually, the original charm of those exercises starts to wears off. We’ve seen too many people give up on their fitness routines simply because those workouts were “too boring.” We don’t blame them. When you do the same exercises a million times before, it’s no surprise that you lose interest. In these cases, our personal trainer and nutrition coach will share some sage advice:

“Switch up your workout routine!”

The best way to stay interested in fitness is simply by changing your workouts constantly. Try out new physical activities! Dare to do exercises that scare you. New workouts will keep your fitness routine interesting and challenging, while also giving you something to look forward to. For instance, your upcoming workout schedule could look something like:

• Monday: Weight training

• Tuesday: Rest day

• Wednesday: HIIT class

• Thursday: Evening run

• Friday: Rest day

• Saturday: Swimming

• Sunday: Rest day

The following week could look similar or be completely different! It’s completely up to you. Whenever you feel bored or disinterested, try out a new workout to maintain your focus.

Gradually Change In Minor Ways

In our modern world, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the concepts of health, fitness, and nutrition. The internet is packed with a plethora of fitness advice and research. With all this information, it can feel like you have to make every single lifestyle change at once. If there’s one health tip you take away from this article, let it be this:

"Make one change at a time."

It is simply impossible to change your entire lifestyle overnight! Instead, focus your energy on making small incremental changes over time. Make sure that those changes stick before you tackle the next ones.

For example, you could start out small by cutting out trans fats from your diet. Once that has become habitual, you can change gears and start exercising throughout the workday. Then next week you could start stretching in the morning. The week after you could try a new workout or two. Take it from our personal trainer and nutrition coach: Small habitual changes will pay off later with big results.

Improve Your Health With Our Leading Personal Trainer And Nutrition Coach

By adhering to these tips, you can start to improve your health gradually every day. We’ll admit that these tips will only take you so far in your fitness journey. Professional intervention from a personal trainer and a nutrition coach can make a huge difference in your fitness journey.

Contact Whole Intent today and start getting better results with our amazing personal trainer and nutrition coach.