Start Today

On this planet, your body is your most essential tool. The choices you make in nourishing it—through food, thoughts, and physical activity—determine its strength and resilience. Your body is the vessel that transports you, empowers you to create, allows you to touch and hold things, and enables you to experience a wide range of emotions. Without it, feeling emotions would be impossible. It is what makes us unique and distinctly human. A robust, healthy, and well-balanced body imparts vitality and energy. Just as energy must flow freely, negative thoughts and emotions can become trapped within the body. Engaging in sports or exercise can offer temporary relief, helping these emotions dissipate and fade.

You have a goal

Whether you just want to improve your exercising or have to start all over and haven’t used your body for a long time. You just have to start. It sounds easy, but I know it is the most difficult part; showing up. Many people have a goal; they want to lose 20 kg, they want to run the marathon, they want a six pack. They start eagerly, way too fast and they put a lot of pressure on their body. And of course something negative happens in their life.

You are injured, you lose your job, your dog dies or something else. What do you do? You focus on negativity and give up on your high standard goal. You are not eating well, skipping your morning runs and have hangovers. On top of that you feel bad about yourself and your goal seems even further away! The good thing is, you can start all over again every day. Yes, you can, you just had a set back.

Now, in order to reach your goal, your life drastically changes, a lot of time and effort is going into your goal. And what do most people do after they have reached their physical goal?

Yes, they quit their strict regime, because it is usually is not a routine that fits in your life for the next 10-20 years coming. You have other priorities too. Like love, friendships or career. What happens to their body in one year after you reach the goal? You might be back to where you were and sometimes even in a worse place.

Best way to achieve a healthy body

This is my advice if you want a healthier body: start small and keep going. Consistency is key. Walk for 10 minutes a day instead of forcing yourself to run 10 km if you know you hate running. Bike to your parents’ house instead of taking that 5-minute drive. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Start playing tennis again like you did in childhood. Dust off your roller skates and find a nice spot to try them out. Play basketball with your child three times a week. Walk a block or two. Do salsa dancing with your partner once a week. Do 10 sit-ups a day instead of 100. If you forget, you can still do them right next to your bed. Take small steps and do what you enjoy—because life is supposed to be fun. You have to live your life, not somebody else’s. What did you enjoy as a child? Dancing in the living room? Ping-pong? Anything, as long as you’re moving and having fun. Exercise regularly and consistently.

The same goes for your eating habits. Don’t cut out all sweets and cookies. Just replace some candy moments with fruit, carrots, or nuts. Don’t diet all week long—stick to healthy eating during the weekdays and allow yourself to indulge on the weekends. That way, you won’t feel like your diet is depriving you. There will always be parties and celebrations, and if eating is your weak spot, you don’t have to go vegan for the rest of your life. You don’t need to rush into strict diets; just eat less unhealthy food. This will make you more conscious about what you eat, and over time, you may find yourself craving unhealthy foods less as your body adjusts to healthier choices.