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.

I remember when I first started my health, wellness and fitness journey, so many “experts” came out of the woodwork to tell me the best way that I should be doing it. A funny thing though they didn’t really show up until I had already started seeing some results. However, they came from everywhere – from my family and circle of friends, to people at my gym, to random strangers in the food store, and even the bank. So many people who were freely giving me all of this unsolicited advice as to what I should be doing to achieve my health, wellness and fitness goals.

Don’t get me wrong, I welcome advice and suggestions, it’s just that when people tell me what I should and shouldn’t be doing I get a bit put off, especially if the message doesn’t match the messenger. How are you going to tell me how I should go about losing weight if you are not practicing what you preach?

In the beginning I used to really take it to heart when people told me that I was going about losing weight and building my body the wrong way, mainly because I didn’t have confidence in my own ability. So I listened and often tried these “sure-fire” ways that the self-proclaimed experts were telling me that I should do to lose weight.

Some of these new ways worked, some were a complete waste of time, and some actually were counterproductive and even put my long-term health and wellness at risk. Over that past decade I have learned so much from my personal weight loss journey as well as from coaching to achieve sustainable results. Here are a couple of the big ones:

1 Everyone is different

If it works for them, it doesn’t automatically mean that it will work for you. While it could be beneficial to learn from the experiences of others, everything should be taken with a pinch of salt.

2 Do your research

I quickly learned the importance of doing research. Knowledge is power, and doing a bit of research can save you time, money, and even your life. Be sure when you are doing your research to get the information from credible sources.

3 It’s OK to try different things

I am a firm believer that the best way to know if something works for you is to try it. As long as it doesn’t go against your personal moral and ethical code and you aren’t hurting yourself or others, then I say try it. The reason I can say that I know what works for me is because I tried so many things that didn’t work for me.

4 Always consult your physician

This is a very important one because sometimes these “programmes and supplements” can do more harm than good. It’s always a good idea to speak with your doctor or a doctor to find out if there are any health risks associated with what you are looking to do.

One of the best things I heard on my journey is that there are many ways to get to 10, you can do 5+5, 8+2, 13-3 – all of those equal to 10. So just figure out what the best way is for you to get to your 10.

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

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