Original Post written by Sandi Berger, Certified Personal Trainer in Chicago, IL.
You Reap What You S.E.W. and one more… Meditate. This is an easy way to remember the 4 components to living and leading a healthy lifestyle. Here is the acronym breakdown for S.E.W.
Sleep
Getting at least 8 hours of rapid eye movement sleep otherwise known as REM. This is essential for repairing the body and brain. When you exercise 4-5 times per week you are actually tearing down muscle tissue and fibers. When you experience soreness in your muscles thats because of the little tiny tears that were created during your weight/machine workout. When you allow your body to rest and repair through sleep your muscles actually are growing stronger. Your brain needs to reboot itself through the power of a good nights sleep too.
Eat
Eating a healthy, nutritious and clean diet is essential for body and brain health. Clean eating is eating fresh and organic fruits, vegetables, mercury free fish and grass fed chicken and beef. My best results with clients is the ketogenic rule 60% fats, 35% protein, 5% carbohydrates.
Fats
Our bodies need clean good wholesome fats such as sardines, avocados, grass fed butter, coconut oil, raw nuts. If your eating grass fed chicken enjoy the skin. The fat in the grass fed chicken skin is excellent for the brain, our joints and skin. We NEED fat especially in our brains for maximum functionality. Good clean fats will actual help you lean down. Not put on weight. And will keep your heart functioning properly.
Protein
Protein is found throughout your body in muscle, bone, skin and every other body part or tissue. It is extremely necessary for repairing broken down muscles especially after working out with weights.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates come in two categories, complex carbs and simple carbs. Complex carbs are the healthier of the two. Get your carbohydrates from vegetables and limit your simple carbs like breads, bagels, pastas, chips and muffins. As these will put on weight and tons of belly fat when eaten in large quantities.
Eating is extremely important for excellent health. And never skip a meal!
Workout
Using dumbbells, kettlebells and exercise machines is the best way to build bone density and muscle mass. Strong muscles and muscle mass support out skeletal frames and protects our bones from fracturing. Cardiovascular exercise is very important to keep your metabolism fine tuned and working in high gear. You also want to do cardiovascular exercise for heart and lung maintenance.
Keep in mind as we age we lose 25% of our lung capacity if were not exercising regularly either by walking or jogging. I recommend power walking for most people. My mantra is: What you do in this decade prepares you for the next!
Meditate
I know that this one is not apart of the acronym however it is necessary for health. I am a big believer in Transendental Meditation or TM. TM is another meditation technique that you can learn from a private TM instructor or through TM books and youtube videos. TM meditation makes meditating a lot easier and much more enjoyable then conventional meditation techniques. But whatever meditation style you choose, meditation is a wonderful practice for good health and maintaining a sense of well being.
Why meditate? Meditation is like giving your brain a vacation from thinking. We all tend to over think, analyze and create anxious thoughts beliefs and behaviors. This way of living (over thinking) is called living in the ego mind. When the ego mind is silenced through meditation-this is when you transcend to a higher consciousness awareness. In this awareness mind you are at the ultimate state of relaxation. in this state of mind you just might get the answers to your lives problems or situations. Better known as those Aha moments! TM or any type of meditation you may prefer WORKS! You just have to make it a daily ritual for at least 20 minutes 2 times a day.
And there you have it. The four easy ways to health. Start today and make it a habit. You body mind and spirit will thank you.
Contact Sandi today to schedule a free personal training session. If you are looking to lose weight, build muscle, or improve your overall quality of life, a RightFit Personal Trainer will help you set and achieve your health and fitness goals.