5 Tips for Improving Your Health & Fitness Journey

Avoid heavily processed foods.

"Processed food" includes food that has been cooked, canned, frozen, packaged or changed in nutritional composition with fortifying, preserving or preparing in different ways. Basically any time we cook, bake or prepare food, we're processing food.

Of course, processed foods are meant to be convenient, which can be very helpful when we are short on time. But there are minimally processed foods (like cut vegetables, roasted nuts, bagged spinach, etc.) and then there are heavily processed foods like microwavable meals, frozen pizza or ready-to-eat foods like crackers, granola bars, chips, etc.

Even “healthy” processed foods are designed for you to eat more to become full (and a lot more) so when you swap heavily processed foods for more whole foods, you naturally eat less. 

Avoiding heavily processed foods can spare you upwards of 500 calories (or more) a day. 

Get enough protein.

Protein is an incredibly important macronutrient responsible for building and repairing muscle and tissue, which is especially important when you are physically active.

Protein is also great because it burns more calories than carbs and fats and actually satisfies your appetite the most.

It is recommended that you consume 0.8g of protein for every kg of body weight. So, if you weigh 150lb (which is about 68kg), you should be aiming to get about 55g of protein in your diet every day.

However, if you are regularly active, you should shoot for more. At least half of your body weight in grams of protein is a good idea. So, if you weigh 150lb, you should try and consume at least 75g of protein each day or more.

Build muscle.

As we age, our muscle mass and bone strength decrease and increase our risk for injury and disease. Maintaining or even increasing our muscle and bone strength has been shown to improve our ability to move, build endurance, increase blood circulation, boost metabolism and help play a part in allowing us to live longer, healthier and stronger lives.

The best and easiest exercises you can incorporate into your routine are:

Squats

Overhead Press

Row

Push-up

Even performing these moves just twice a week, will help you build muscle and strength.

Not sure how to start? There are plenty of videos out there that you can watch to get a good idea of how the move is performed but if you want to make sure you are doing it properly and with good form, a good idea is hiring a trainer or coach to guide you.

Increase your daily activity naturally.

This doesn’t necessarily mean scheduling in a 30-minute cardio sesh every day but rather just moving more naturally. 

A great way to incorporate more movement is by attaching it to things we already do each day. For example, walk for 10 minutes after breakfast, lunch and dinner. That’s 30 minutes of movement right there.

You could also take your usual office or zoom meetings outside for a walking meeting, or park your car farther away so you get in more steps, or take the stairs instead of the elevator.

You’ll be surprised at how quickly it all adds up and how much easier it is to be consistent with these small activities as opposed to 20 or 30 minutes on the treadmill every day.

Get good sleep.

Good quality sleep allows your body to recuperate better, adapt better and even manage hormones better. It also promotes fewer cravings (especially for sugar and carbs) and of course, gives you more energy. It is one of the most important things we can do for our health and wellness.

A nighttime routine is just as important as a morning routine - try to go to bed at the same time every night and turn the lights down an hour before, minimize your exposure to blue lights and try not to eat before you hit the hay.

And my last bonus tip for you is to hire a coach! When you have guidance, accountability and support, you are so much more likely to achieve your goals. Investing in a professional can be intimidating, but it also guarantees your commitment and motivation to succeed.

My health and fitness programs are designed specifically for you to feel happy, healthy and strong.

Be well!