Committing to a Healthy Lifestyle

For the majority of people, achieving a healthy lifestyle can be overwhelming. There are gyms, exercise DVD’s and numerous other activities to consider - not to mention unlimited advice on what you should and shouldn’t eat and a plethora of diets all claiming to be the miracle that will change your life.  With so many options available, it’s not surprising why it’s hard for many of us to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. 

As a fitness professional, however, I’ve observed many people going from the low end of the health spectrum to living a happy and healthy lifestyle.  From my personal observations, all the people that enjoyed a healthy lifestyle shared one common trait - they made a personal commitment to change their lifestyle.

I know this may sound like an infomercial, but the truth is that developing and enjoying a healthy lifestyle takes commitment – and commitment is not the same as compliance.  If you’re merely attempting to live a healthier lifestyle because your doctor told you that doing so will lower your blood pressure, that’s compliance.  That’s not to say that taking your doctor’s advice isn’t good way to improve your health, but it won’t necessarily change your lifestyle.  Commitment is making the choice to change.  I can tell you to get off the couch and get to the gym, but unless you’re committed, you’ll never get moving. 

So choose to workout, eat healthier or use a trainer and do whatever you need to do, even if you feel uncomfortable doing it.  Yes, I said uncomfortable.  For most of us, making a commitment to improving our health will be an uncomfortable experience.  This not only pertains to your health, but perhaps also to your education or religion. 

For me, personally, I was uncomfortable sharing my thoughts in print.  I hated writing down my views and allowing people to read them.  It was nerve racking for me.  Every time I sat in front of my laptop to write, the simplest things would distract me - the phone ringing, a ball game on TV - even the theme from “American Idol” disrupted my concentration.  Fortunately for me, my personal commitment to writing a fitness article twice a week has helped me to overcome my fear of failure.  While writing was - and still is – uncomfortable for me today, without my personal decision and commitment, you wouldn’t be reading this.   

So my point is this.  For those of you who are interested in starting or maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you need to make a personal commitment to eating better and becoming more physically active.  Promise yourself that you’ll stick with whatever program you choose to follow.  Commitment takes believing in yourself and in what you’re doing.  If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, then it has no value.  

Be prepared to make changes and sacrifices.  More importantly, though, stay positive.  A healthy life style is a journey that never ends, so stay committed and enjoy the ride.       

This blog post was written by my colleague, Tim Flournoy, Co-Fitness Director @ THE GYM of Montvale.  We will be sharing articles and posts from our three locations:
Armonk, NY
Englewood, NJ
Montvale, NJ  

Anthony Baucom 
Fitness Director 
THE GYM ENGLEWOOD
20 Nordhoff Place
Englewood, NJ 07631 
Phone: 201-567-9399
abaucom@gettothegym.com
http://www.gettothegym.com/englewood/default.asp