It’s 2019 and I Want to Get Healthy. What Now? 

There are three components to this effort: nutrition, activity, and rest. However, you should start by giving yourself permission to not be perfect and to learn exactly what is going to fit best for you. The journey to wellness is a process. Different people will be motivated by different things. Find your motivation and write it down with your goal or set of goals, then realize that it is most likely going to be a day by day adventure down a road that leads to a fundamental shift in the way you live.

Now what are the three components?

Nutrition

First nutrition or “what you put in your mouth“. There are many opinions and many diet plans but don’t be fooled. Hopefully you are not trying to just lose weight but find a way of living that will be healthier for the rest of your life. That means no crash diets, grapefruit fasts, juice only fasts, or anything else billed as letting you shed “10 pounds in 10 days”.

What it does mean is looking at whole life diet programs such as Paleo, Primal, or at least a Whole30. These are programs where you eat natural (meaning not processed and full of additives and preservatives) whole foods rich in vitamins and minerals with healthy fats, preferably with a lower carbohydrate content. You will cut out things like added sugar and restrict or remove grains. You will find yourself eating delicious meals and losing weight almost as an afterthought.

You will generally get the best results by diving in – halfway committed means halfway not, and leads to easy backsliding.

Be realistic about yourself and start with what you know you will do. You don’t have to do it all at once but if you are an all or nothing type of person pick a plan and dive in completely. If you are not, consider diving in anyway, but at least start with some simple things that you can maintain. Meanwhile, consider some of the resources below, or the links above – reading about the health benefits of a Primal lifestyle or what you can learn from a Whole 30 challenge may be all the motivation you need!

Quick Tips

• Are you used to having a soda with lunch? Replace the soda with a sparkling water or a no sugar added soda like Zevia (available at many major grocery store chains).
• If you don’t think you can completely quit the sugar in your morning beverage, try replacing it with a monkfruit sweetener which has no calories. Unlike sugar monkfruit will not spike your insulin causing you to feel more tired later in the day (sugar crash).
• Cut out sugar or replace it with monkfruit elsewhere; sugar is one of the biggest contributors to weight and disease
• Go grain-free. There are many alternatives available today; take a walk through a local organic market and see what’s available
• Just continue to build in life changes as you go.

Exercise

What about exercise? Your first question to yourself should be “what do I enjoy?” If your answer is “I’m not sure“ then this is a great opportunity to try some new things. Fitness clubs, rock climbing gyms, martial arts schools, CrossFit boxes-all of these will have some sort of free or low-priced trial plan where you can get in and try it out. If you find something you love then it won’t feel as much like a chore. You will be more likely to look forward to it and return to it throughout the week. Just make sure that it is located near your home, your work, or the route between the two.

At Miller Time Fitness, we appreciate cardio like running, biking, or rowing, but we prefer efficient workouts that get your heart rate up and build strength in muscles across your body. That usually means lifting weights.

If you are brand new, or have not lifted anything in a good while just keep it simple. You can do a quick 30 minute whole body program three times a week with just a few dumbbells. Always make sure to warm up and stretch which helps prepare your body for the exercise, and helps to prevent injury. Below is a good example of a quick and simple workout with ways to modify it throughout the week. You can do this for for six to eight weeks before changing.

This workout alternates body parts, meaning you work primarily legs, then upper body, then legs, and back to upper body. It is efficient because it rests one set of muscles while the other works. Squats provide a powerful hormone response, lunges help balance and strengthen leg joints, rows build back and shoulder strength, and the press builds the chest, shoulder, and core.

EXAMPLE WORKOUT (Click for details on this workout)
Warmup: 5 minute on a bike, rower, or treadmill, or jumping rope 
Stretch: 5 minutes (take a look at a routine here)
3 rounds:
10 air or goblet (holding a dumbbell) squats 
10 inverted rows
10 dumbbell lunges 
10 push press (use your body to push dumbbells overhead)

If you have time left do 10 burpees.

Try to do this three days a week. Click the link for details on how to adjust this workout through the week as well as information on the exercises, links to videos, and additional tips.

Rest

Finally, rest. This isn’t just sleep – it’s connecting with people, spiritual beliefs, downtime, and relaxation. Like a good book or song, your life can’t be all go, all up; it – YOU have to come down sometimes.

Take a look at your schedule and block out time. Maybe this is time to read, get out with friends, or help at a local soup kitchen. Use an app like Headspace for guided meditation and use it regularly.

Then yes, sleep. This is when our bodies do their best healing and growing, not to mention the mind sorts through the days events; it’s a psychological refresh.

Our best sleep is earlier in the night. Try to get to bed before midnight. A set bedtime and an evening routine will help wind down and relax, preparing the mind for slumber. Try to avoid lights and devices before bed as the blue light signals your brain that it’s daytime – time to be up and about. Blue light glasses are available that will block this light. Simply put the glasses on a few hours before bed and that easily you’ve increased your chances of a restful sleep.

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Hopefully this helps get you started. Remember – if you feel overwhelmed just make small changes. However, if you are ready to go all in, pick a nutritional lifestyle, start with our intro workout, and build a plan for rest. One day you’ll look back on 2019 as the year your life changed for the better.

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Resources

Below are a few of our favorite books (links go to Audible versions – learning on the commute is a great way to ‘read’) on healthy living, eating, and lifting.

*These are affiliate links; ordering through the links helps support us and this site.