It’s 2020 and people all around the world are making their New Year’s Resolutions. For many people—especially in the United States, resolutions tend to surround some of the same topics. Some common resolutions are to get in shape, eat better, learn to cook so that you can eat better, and reduce stress in your life. Everyone wishes for these things because we know they truly are important, yet many people fail at their resolutions.
Eating Well Is the First Step For Wellness
You are what you eat. Numerous medical studies including this one have shown that diet composition and low-grade inflammation are key factors in the development of a wide variety of issues that occur in the body. While inflammation can be caused by many factors, one of the biggest reasons for this is simply eating a poor diet and not exercising enough.
Eating a nutritious, plant-based diet is one way to eat whole, minimally processed foods. A big reason that plant-based diets are great for your health is that they require you to eat foods that are good for you while adhering to the diet. It can make your life so much simpler when you can take the guesswork out of what to eat. Nowadays, it’s easier than ever to get access to foods that are grain-free, dairy-free, gluten-free for any dietary constraints you may have.
It’s been shown that highly processed foods such as white bread can contribute to inflammation in the body—especially when you consider how many of these products are loaded with added sugars and other strange filler ingredients. In contrast, something like this Ezekiel Toast Veggie Sandwich recipe will net you a meal that is both satisfying, tasty, and nutritious.
Move Well Through Exercise
Keeping weight off is much easier when you’re eating nutritious and filling foods. However, exercise is still important for your cardiovascular and muscular health. While it may be tempting to run endless miles on a treadmill or do one of the many fancy exercises that are promoted as fads, there’s nothing more effective and simple than working your legs and core.
Your entire core and posterior chain is what holds you upright, our modern lifestyle is incredibly sedentary. We sit a lot in chairs at desks and while on our often lengthy commutes. This causes a near universal shortness in the hip flexors for people who sit a lot. Your quads get tight and the hamstrings are put on stretch. As a result, the whole posture leans forward and breathing is also thrown off—leading to increased stress.
How do you fix this? By developing your core and leg strength so that your whole body remains in balance.
Getting on a good program that works your entire lower posterior chain is going to do wonders for how you look and feel. My free program Thoroughbrick is a combination of two programs—Brickhouse Legs and Thoroughbred. They’ve been carefully designed so that no matter your experience level, you can do them at your own speed and intensity. Another benefit of these programs is that they can be combined easily with one another.
Feel Well Through Your Commitment To Your Efforts
This combination program will hammer your glutes, quads, and hamstrings resulting in better posture and greater stability. Having a stronger, healthier body can pay dividends towards your mental health and avoiding burnout in your life. We tend to think that relaxing is the key to avoiding stress, but it’s been shown time and time again that exercise is one of the greatest ways to fight off stress and mental illness.
We started this article talking about New Year’s resolutions; anyone can tell you to eat well and exercise. What it really comes down to is whether you’re willing to do it. If you truly want to succeed at making the changes in your resolutions toward being healthier, you have to start with commitment—not to any activity you choose to do, but a commitment to yourself, to your mindset.