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.

As we start this last quarter of 2019 I want to remind everyone that the year is not done and it’s not too late to make progress towards those health, wellness and fitness goals that you set yourself at the beginning of the year.

I remember that I had this very conversation with myself seven years ago when I made the decision to truly start my journey on November 12, 2012. Honestly, it was the best decision of my life. I was contemplating pushing it back to the new year because the time would be “right”. The truth is that there are only two times that the time is right: the first is a year ago and the second is right now.

With that said, I can appreciate that there are some challenges that you may be facing that you feel need to be sorted before you start this huge life-changing task. I have outlined some tips that I used and some I share with my clients that you may find useful to help you finish off 2019 closer to your goals and to get a jump-start on 2020.

1. Simplify the task

We often feel that we need to make this huge change to change. The truth is that even a small change is great, and studies show that making consistently small changes over time yields more sustainable results. So call back on the goal and take away the complexity of it and just think small and simple changes that you can make that are easy for you to implement now.

1. Start where you are

I remember thinking how I needed money for the gym, and for a trainer, and for new gym clothes, and a new bag, and how I would have to wait until I had more time after this project at work was done. So many reasons I came up with why I couldn’t start my health, wellness and fitness journey. Then I changed the question I asked myself, ‘OK, given everything that I have going on in my life right now – work, my finances, my relationships, school – how much time can I realistically dedicate to working out?’

Changing these questions caused me to really start looking at pockets of time in my day that I could use. And honestly, I started our walking for 10 minutes around my yard. So you may want to start asking yourself how can you make it work given your current circumstances instead of how you can’t make it work because of your current circumstances.

1. Pace yourself

Remember, the race to good health is a marathon not a sprint. So start of slow, pace yourself, because you are in it for the long haul. Health, wellness and fitness should be a lifestyle not a four-, eight- or 12-week programme. You will also find that when you pace yourself there is a lot less pressure because you are focusing on the long-term benefits and the short-term gains.

1. Start

This is important. You want to actually just start. I know that I fought so much anxiety starting because I felt that I had so much work to do. And really I still feel this way today, especially when I come off of vacation and I was “loving myself”. I always do some sort of physical activity when away, but boy do I eat, drink and be merry. The thing is, once you start you build momentum and then it’s easier for you to get on track, and you do so by starting off small and slow, but you have to start!

If you found this article helpful in any way or you know someone it may help please let me know on my Instagram account @ethanquant. 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. I would be happy to help.

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