Monday, April 30, 2012

C Is For Circle

How's Your Circle Of Influence?
Your environment: be it work, friends, family, etc. can shape and mold every decision you make. Imagine that you have a goal of losing a specific amount of weight and you tell your spouse and friends to support you in your efforts. Everyone emphatically agrees to stand by your side to help you along the way. However, while you're on your journey a few things may happen. Your spouse, for instance, doesn't need to lose any weight therefore has different dietary needs than yours. All of a sudden the willpower to stay away from certain foods becomes to hard to maintain. Around the same time, your network of friends start to sabotage your efforts too. They want to keep the social aspect of the friendship alive and well by asking you to indulge in just one more drink of this, one more small bite of that. Before you know it, your weight-loss journey has stalled and in the worst of cases you could be gaining again. Remember that you, and only you can make the decision which can guide you to success. And while you might enlist the help of a personal trainer, exercise DVD, bootcamp, etc. the only person controlling what you do after you finish exercising is you. Know where to set your boundaries and when to allow luxuries to creep back in that might otherwise be counterproductive to your goals. When you've tasted the sweet success of hitting your goal, it will still truly be because of the decisions YOU made.

Monday, April 23, 2012

B Is For Balance

What's Your Happy Medium?
When I say balance, I don't mean if you can do exotic exercises on a Bosu ball or a stability ball. I mean, can you find the balance in your busy life to reach your health and wellness goals? Is it simply about eating appropriately and exercising? Absolutely not!! So many factors play into your ability to succeed. Not only do food and exercise play a role but one has to consider levels of stress, hours of restful sleep, genetic predispositions, and social support. Can you imagine eating well, exercising hard, getting adequate sleep, keeping stress in check but having a spouse or significant other who doesn't share or support your efforts to better yourself? That type of emotional duress can create excess cortisol (think abdominal body fat) and keep you behind your fitness goals. It's important to remember there are so many factors to consider when shooting for a wellness goal. Is it possible to be perfect?Definitely not. But everyone has their happy medium and we're here to help you find that proper balance. As many cards as you can stack in your favor, the better. The road to better overall fitness is a never-ending one. Are you ready to shape the factors to help you be the very best, balanced you ever? We are!