Not If, But When

It’s never a matter of if, but when, we will face adversity. Our health, family, work, and our fitness can ultimately succumb to some major bumps in the road.

Let’s keep this simple and just focus on health and fitness since this is the area that I live in. We can face injuries, coming up short with hitting our goals, or even worse a health diagnosis that could affect us both short or long term. Rarely does adversity let us know it’s coming to visit. Like any great war general will tell you, the element of surprise can bring people to their knees.

How To Deal

So how can you prevent adversity with your health and fitness? You can’t, but that doesn’t mean you cannot be prepared. For me it comes down to two very simple things that you have to execute every single day.

1. Attitude!

I know it is a bit cliché, but your attitude is something that you have control over so it makes sense that we would start here. Poor me, complaining, and being mad at the world will not and will never get you past the current issue that you are facing. Let your attitude be your ally not your foe.

2. Diet and Exercise

Eating right and working out will not stop all disease, illness, or injuries but they can help you reduce the risk of all these issues. Eating right and your weekly workouts are also something you have control over. It’s okay if you have a bad weekend of eating or a string of bad workouts, it’s going to happen. Just get back on the horse and keep moving forward.

Strike Back

Life can be tough and throw all kinds of s*@t your way, you have the choice to eat it or hit back.

Image Credit: Fabian Blank via Unsplash

Dial the digits if I can help with your diet and exercise 310.251.7420

A Slippery Slope

I recently got an Ask Erik question that was quite concerning to me. The woman wanted to know what was the minimum amount of calories that she could eat and still function. So basically she wanted to know how little she could eat and still be able to stand up on her feet, go to work and live her life. This is the part of my job that I don’t like, not because of the question, but because I thought how the hell did we get here?! When is starving yourself okay? I do have the answer, and it’s only on one day every 10 years after the age of 50, because you’re going in for a colonoscopy. Eating 1000 calories or less isn’t fun, it isn’t healthy, and it is a miserable place to live.

Under Pressure

There is an amazing amount of pressure and stress that people put on themselves to look a certain way. This pressure comes at the cost of their health, muscle mass, and having fun. Eating a minimal amount of calories is not sustainable for the long term. When the day comes that the individual decides to indulge it often leads to them going back to their old ways.

Be You

My response to this woman’s question was: DO NOT GO DOWN THIS ROAD! Clean up your diet, yes, absolutely 100%. Eat a sensible amount of calories that includes real food, not processed junk. Move every single day, whether it’s a scheduled workout, walk, bike ride or class. Learn to lift weights, because muscle burns calories. Be patient. Finally, stop watching TV, looking at social media or reading magazines that are putting unrealistic body images in your head. Be happy in your own skin and if you want to make changes, please do so in a positive and healthy manner.

Image Credit: Matthew Wiebe on Unsplash

Erik's Weekly Fitness Tip | When Adversity Strikes