Create a Lifestyle part 1: Healthy Living & Exercise

Well you have taken the first step in creating your new healthy lifestyle in reading this article, so congratulations. The benefits of a healthy lifestyle go far beyond just looking good… you will feel better in yourself, you will live longer and healthier lives, you will save money and most importantly you are now going to be inspiring and motivating your friends, family and peers, through transforming your body and passing on your experiences and knowledge to them, in order to better their lives also.

‘Healthy living and exercise’ is not about doing unusual things in an extraordinary fashion but instead it’s about doing normal things in an optimal fashion, to create the best version of you. I will take you through a day, from morning until night and how your healthy lifestyle is going to be and before we go on I would like to say; that I’m not promising you this is going to be easy! However I am promising you it going to be worth it!

First and foremost your healthy lifestyle is going to start with optimal sleep. Optimal is going to be 7-8 hours and upon waking from your sleep you are going to be taking a walk.(not a run, or jog) Now some of you are going to be able to do this around your neighborhood or local town and others are going to have to head to the gym but 30minutes of brisk walking is what I am asking for here. If you have a dog, go ahead and make this 30minutes a morning ritual to give them and yourself some exercise.

 Obviously the time you go to bed the night before is going to depend on when you have to wake up. For example I have to be in work at 8am during the week, so my alarm clock for a morning walk is 5:50am, I am out the door at 6am and home at 6:30am with just over an hour to get showered, changed, cook breakfast and off to work. So the night before, I make sure to be in bed between 9:50pm and 10:50pm in order to get my 7-8 hours of sleep. Also before I head to bed, I have my clothes laid out ready for the morning walk, I have my coffee & breakfast prepped to eat when I get home and my bag prepared for work… If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail!

Now the next key to a healthy lifestyle is going to be a balanced healthy diet. I will go in depth in the next installment on HEALTHY SHOPPING & COOKING, but my advice is to eat about every 3 hours which means if you work a typical 9-5 and have eaten breakfast before heading to work, you will need to pack 2 meals and a snack to stay fit and healthy throughout the day. Food preparation is all about organization but it will be a primary key to you and your transformation.

After work I want you to perform 45minutes to an hour of resistance training. Optimally this will be done at a gym; however you can also do this at your house, with a number of bodyweight exercises. (I will do an article on how to stay fit and toned without a gym membership, so keep an eye out if this interests you)

Finally I want you to relax and spend some time with your loved ones. Being the best possible version of you is a lifestyle but it has to include socializing, personal growth and time with spouses and family.

Like I said at the beginning of this article living a healthy lifestyle is simple but takes discipline. Is it going to be easier to hit the snooze button and skip the morning walk? Is it going to be easier to pop to the fast food place for lunch at work? Is it going to be easier to skip the gym after work and just head home? Of course the answer to all of these questions is yes... because it’s easier to live an unhealthy lifestyle than it is to live a healthy one. I encourage you to live outside of the norm and be part of the 1%... if it was easy everyone would do it but I promise you, once you have experienced the benefits of this change of lifestyle, you will never feel the same again and the world around you will begin to change for the better.