The Tribune

By ETHAN QUANT

A major key to my 110-pound weight loss and body transformation journey was putting healthy wellness and fitness in the context of lifestyle as opposed to some “programme” I was on. This was important because the minute I came off of the “programme” my journey came to a screeching halt, or worse doubled back in the opposite direction.

Focusing on lifestyle change enabled me to develop the healthy habits and change unhealthy behaviors that contributed directly to my success. Of course diet and exercise play a very important role in healthy living. Holidays used to be a struggle for me when I was focusing on losing weight, simply because it was hard for me to stay away from all of the food. And I really didn’t even attempt to do and sort of exercise, I mean come on it was the holidays.

Developing a daily routine that incorporated healthy habits consistent with a healthy and fit lifestyle literally saved my life. Here are a few tips I learned that made keeping my healthy lifestyle a lot easier and enjoyable.

1. Don’t stop exercising. This was a huge one for me and it simply meant that I would ensure that I get my regular physical activity in regardless of what day it was. If I had a 3, 4 or 5 day exercise routine, that meant I kept it straight through the holidays even if I switched up the days I still got it in.

2. Learn to say No! I know with all of the festivities of the season, dinner parties by family and friends food is everywhere and being shoved in your hands. Learning to say no thank you is hard at first but do it long enough and eventually they stop asking you. Some people find it difficult to hear no and may even be offend if you turn down their food. But remember your intention is not to offend them, but rather to stick to a plan that will keep you on track with your goals so it’s ok, they will understand and if they don’t then that’s ok too.

3. Eat before you go out or take your own meals. This was a game changer for me a big part of going to a dinner party is to eat of course but another part is just to be around family and friends (this is actually more important) so I learned that it was easier for me to say no and mean it if I didn’t show up to the house hungry. So I would eat before I went out, I still do this actually. It gave me a fighting chance to stick to my plan. Often times it works, the times that it doesn’t, I still don’t eat as much as I would if I was starving.

4. Don’t “Beat it Bad” – this was a major intention of mine especially when it came the consumption of alcohol. I was like what open bar? Imma “BEAT IT BAD” (I am actually shaking my head as I write this) there is a lot of space between having an enjoyable time and beating it bad. The biggest problem I had with alcohol was that once I got “nice” I then let my guard down and ate everything, and of course with the bad feeling the day after beating it bad, that also meant that my training routine suffered because I wasn’t training. So I learned it was just better to manage in drinks throughout the party.

These are actually things that I did and still do to help me stay on track specifically with my diet and exercise. At the end of the day you want to find what works for you. Try a few things and find what’s easier for you to stick with.

Remember if you need help navigating this or any other part of your health, wellness and fitness journey feel free to reach out to me directly!