The Tribune

Health coach Ethan Quant, of Elite Wellness Solutions, has succeeded in his weight loss journey and now wants to share his methods with the Bahamas in an effort to foster a culture of wellness and conquer the obesity epidemic.

A question I am often asked is how can you start your health wellness and fitness journey if you are on a budget.

It is a real and valid question. We have all heard that it’s expensive to eat healthy, personal trainers are expensive, and gym memberships are like paying a mortgage. So it’s understandable that we struggle to start because we don’t have the money to do it now. So we do nothing. I know what that’s like.

I remember when I first started my journey I reached out to gyms and trainers and had lots of conversations and came to the conclusion that I could just not afford to get healthy. It wasn’t a cop-out, it was really how I felt based on my understanding of what it took to live a healthy and fit lifestyle.

However, applying one of the principles that made me successful in my business life, I soon was able to change my perspective of healthy living. This shift in mindset allowed me to not only start, but be successful on my journey to be my best self.

The principle I applied was maximising the resources that I had ready access to. So I took inventory of all of the things I already had that I could use to transform my body.

I didn’t have money to join a gym, so I said well, I don’t have to pay to jog. So I started jogging. The thing is, I didn’t even have the proper tennis. But I did it anyway, I remember going on the beach and running barefoot in the sand because I didn’t have tennis to run the road. But I had to start where I was, with what I had.

The next thing I couldn’t afford was lean chicken breasts, vegetables and other produce. And as a side note, I lived on chicken wings, I still do actually. But I learned that chicken wings were the “healthiest” part of the bird. I couldn’t afford chicken breast, so I looked at what my budget was able to accommodate and picked the healthier option out of the lot.

An awesome thing happened with that as well. I thought I didn’t have the money, but because I wasn’t eating fast food anymore, I freed up a lot more cash. I found out that it was actually cheaper to eat the healthiest options I had based on my budget.

So I was able to, for no additional cost to me, increase my physical activity and improve my diet just by shifting my mindset.

And guess what? It is the rule that I still live by today. I always look at what is the best decision I can make based on what I have. I do it in health, wellness and fitness, business, and even my relationships.

So don’t let a lack of money stop you from starting what could possibly be the best journey of your life. Remember, if you need help navigating this or any aspect of your health wellness and fitness journey, please feel free to contact me directly.

• You can contact Ethan Quant at ethan@elite-wellnesssolutions.com or on Instagram at @ethanquant.