Posted by Debora Brent on May 22, 2021 in News |

Everyone needs to be in shape, there’s no exception! Physical exercise is not only for people who are overweight. We are living in a world that is filled with challenges and stress and studies have proven that doing consistent physical exercise will keep your body, mind, and spirit healthy, alert, productive, and relieve stress.
There’s no better way of approaching health and fitness than addressing two main concerns when it comes to getting into shape: diet and exercise.
Getting in Shape with the Right Food
We all know a lot about “unhealthy” foods like junk foods, sugary treats, and fast food and yet, we simply could not resist dipping our hands into anyone of those. So what exactly is our problem?
More than the food we eat, it’s our attitude towards food that actually hinders us from getting into shape. So before answering the question–what types of food are healthy for us, we must first address the question why do we crave for those foods that will not do us any good. Understanding our eating habits will help us find the right solution to our ingestion problems. We cannot answer a question if we didn’t know the question in the first place, can we?
The next challenge is to break our unhealthy eating lifestyle. Please take note that the way we eat was developed over so many years of unconsciously doing what we simply want to do. To be truly successful, we need to replace our old habit with a new and healthy eating and food choices. This cannot be done overnight and there is no magic solution that will easily make us feel good about how we eat—so be prepared for the long haul. The trick is to always look at food as fuel for your body. Your body can only perform as well as the fuel you put into it. Food is like the gas to a car. If you put in dirty and bad gas, your car will break down - just like your body.
Lastly, we need to look for healthy food alternatives. There are a number of great treats to choose from, but simply choosing what everyone else recommends will not cut it. The choice must be entirely up to you! Your success depends on what is achievable for you, not on what others can say accomplish.
Getting in Shape with Consistent Exercise
Like eating, exercise also requires lifestyle change. It must be done regularly and consistently. The biggest challenge we all have is our “busy” schedule; we always think that we don’t have time. If we really come to think of it, it’s not about having time; it is about allotting time.
So how do we break that cycle of “not having time”?
First, we need to look at exercise in a different perspective. Any activity that requires us to exert physical effort is considered an exercise. That means taking the stairs instead of riding the elevator is a form of exercise. The same can be said when you choose the farthest parking lot spot to park your car and walk the rest of the way to your destination. These may not be enough, but these simple everyday activities can set you off to the right direction.
Another way of getting some exercise into your life is to engage in challenging yet fun-filled activities like hiking, biking, swimming, and running. Surely, you’ll think more of the enjoyment you’ll get out of these pursuits than the physical effort, wouldn’t you?
Again, the key to success is to ease exercise into your life. Once you have developed an exercise rhythm, you can take it a notch higher by doing it regularly like setting aside an hour each day to do simple morning exercises like sit-ups, squats, and jumping jacks. As you progress, you may want to hit the gym twice or thrice a week. Once you go past muscle and joint pains, you will fully enjoy the benefits of exercising regularly and this will become a healthy habit for you.
Getting in Shape Efficiently with a Trainer
Once you get a foothold on your new eating and exercising habit, it would be best to make sure that you don’t slip. The surest way of getting into shape fast and efficiently is hiring a personal trainer. This does not mean that you will abandon everything you started yourself; this is to complement all your getting-into-shape efforts into a more powerful effect.
A personal trainer is more than just a person who will spot you during bench presses. He or she is not just someone you pay to count your reps while you do your exercises either. You see, the word “personal” in personal trainer has a more inherent meaning to it than just being a paid professional.
A personal trainer is the embodiment of the lifestyle change we have been talking about all along. They have reached their stature because they came to a point when they committed to changing the way they live—very much like what you are doing now.
There is no better authority when it comes to getting into shape than a personal trainer. He or she has a wealth of experience that can be shared to you—be it in your eating habit or in your exercise program. So if you are dead serious about getting into shape, hiring a personal trainer is a great investment into a bright and healthy lifestyle.
Tip: There is such a thing as a bad personal trainer. The difference between a good trainer and a bad trainer often comes down to experience. Skip the personal trainers from chain gyms. That’s often where personal trainers start their careers. Instead, go for the more experienced trainers who have their own business. These are the types of people who really get results for their clients. My friend recently signed up with a trainer at Next Level Fitness in Orange County California and he said his trainer is the friendliest, knowledgeable, and most accountable trainer he has ever worked with. If the trainer wants to text you motivational messages on off days, you know you got a good trainer.
For people who have personal trainers now, how did you find your trainer and what qualifications or qualities did you specifically look out for? Let us know in the comments below.
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