Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.
Buddha

To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.
Buddha

It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.
Mohandas Gandhi

Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning.
Thomas Jefferson

The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not.
Mark Twain

It is the New Year and like most people you have decided to make having a healthier year one of your New Year’s Resolutions, but you don’t know where to start. In fact if you are like I was several years ago, you’ve stopped and started a new plan many times but nothing seems to stick or results were just too long in coming to motivate you to stick with your plan. Adopting a healthier lifestyle does not have to be difficult or disappointing. It doesn’t have to take years to see results. Unfortunately I took the long way to health, a process that took roughly 7 years. I began first by starting on a program of high quality dietary supplements. Despite my high-fat diet those supplements did make a difference in terms of improved energy and fewer illnesses. It took a while for me to realize supplements are not enough, so I began to increase the servings of fruits and vegetables in my diet by snacking on fruit throughout the day, adding a couple of servings of beans per day and adding a green salad or two per day. Finally I went to the gym, because no matter how well you are eating, when you are flabby, you are flabby. Adopting a healthier lifestyle can be a simple process that is easy to implement and in which you can see results in a matter of weeks it doesn’t and shouldn’t have to take seven years!

First there are a few principles to understand before embarking on a lifestyle change for better health. Understand that any exercise regimen must include weight training. The hormone responsible for the uptake of fuel in the body is insulin. Insulin facilitates the storage of sugars in the body for immediate use as glucose and long term use as glycogen and fat. Insulin receptors in the body exist on two types of cells, fat cells and muscle cells. The larger the muscle mass the more insulin is driven into muscle rather than fat. The body preferentially uses sugars stored in the body before it uses fat stored in fat cells. Therefore a key to weight loss is to make sure that the body stores energy preferentially as glucose or glycogen rather than fat. The way to ensure that is to make weight training a part of your healthy lifestyle. Consistent daily exercise is more important and effective than binge exercise. Pure aerobic training is of limited use without weight training. Have you ever been on a treadmill for an hour and realized that you’ve burned only 400 calories in that hour? Given the eating habits of the Average American, aerobic training alone will never lead to weight loss. Eat in order not to be hungry. When the sensation of hunger is gone, you are done eating. Continuing to eat beyond that point simply means that you are going to store the excess calories as fat. When weight training, emphasize the large muscle groups over the smaller ones. You increase your muscle mass faster and tip the balance in favor of the storage of energy as glycogen in muscle rather than fat in adipose tissue.

Three Simple Steps to a Healthier Lifestyle:

Exercise consistently (by consistently I mean daily no fewer than 5 days per week) alternating aerobic training and weight training. Create a schedule and stick to it: On Monday, Wednesday, Friday for example do weight training. On Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday do aerobic training. The minimal aerobic training is 20 minutes. When it comes to aerobic training, use a different machine with each session. Your muscles are lazy. ALL muscles are lazy. Do the same exercises with them and you won’t get the muscular definition and weight loss you want. Track your exercises and group your muscles together. Work abs and lower extremities one day and upper body and abs another day. Vary your weights lifted and numbers of repetitions. Become acquainted with proper food portions.

Eat a carb, veggie and lean source of protein with each meal. A good rule of thumb governing portions is that your portions of carbs and proteins should be no larger than the palm of your hand. You can eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want. Plan a mid morning, mid afternoon and evening snack that consists of a complex carb and protein source like yogurt and a piece of fruit or peanut butter on whole grain bread.

Get plenty of rest, but not too much. A study published by the University of California, San Diego School of medicine noted that the optimal amount of sleep associated with improved health is 6-7 hours per night. Less than 4 hours and more than 8 hours negatively impacted health.

Using the above principles and simple steps will lead you to an improved feeling of well being and sense of accomplishment with visible results that are usually seen within 12 weeks. Adopting a healthier lifestyle can and should be simple, not hard. As in all things, if you have medical illness you should consult your physician before embarking on any regimen.