Five Tips to Revive Your Healthy Lifestyle

By David Ingram, Esq.

The past few months have been quite an adjustment for all of us. Our daily routines were stopped at an instant and replaced with a seemingly never-ending groundhog day — the quarantine. We sheltered in place with our favorite comfort foods or what was left following the panic buys at our local grocery store. Gym closures and a national shortage of fitness equipment left a void for many Americans — the ability to maintain a healthy lifestyle. With the stay-at-home order lifted and our post quarantine waistline bulging, many of us are eager to get back into shape.

Like many, maintaining a healthy lifestyle — working out, being active, and dieting — was a part of my daily routine. This routine, frustrated by the COVID-19 restrictions, lead to many unsuccessful at-home workouts and bad eating habits. As gyms begin to reopen on May 26 and the “Safe at Home” recommendation easing restrictions, I reached out to my friend and personal trainer/ coach, Dr. Anthony D’Orazio, to discuss five tips to revive your healthy lifestyle post quarantine.

Dr. Anthony D’Orazio at Complete Human Performance specializes in developing programming for athletes and individuals with body composition and physique goals to help them achieve a healthier lifestyle. During our discussion, Anthony used his experience in successfully coaching over 200 clients to list the five tips: track your progress, patience, plan, execution, and consistency. I will address each individually based on the level of importance. Track Your Progress: As you begin to diet and workout, find a method to track your progress. There are various ways to track progress — tracking body weight, tracking food/caloric intake, taking photos, utilizing mirrors, or measuring your waist. Any of these methods are effective tools to track progress; however, the recommended approach is to combine several of these methods.

Patience: A healthy lifestyle and patience are often at odds with each other. A recent example of this dynamic is the response to COVID-19. Americans struggled mightily with the COVID-19 restrictions — wearing face masks, maintaining social distancing, and staying at home. The restrictions, which were implemented as a matter of public health, required patience to flatten the curve. Achieving your personal health and fitness goals are no different. Remember, weight gain occurred gradually. So, losing the weight and finding your rhythm with your diet will take time. Managing your expectations will minimize future disappointment. With that said, a realistic timeline to begin to notice results is anywhere from six to 12 months.

Plan: Planning in this context has two meanings — working with a trainer/ accountability partner and an overall fitness plan. Locating a trainer or a partner that will hold you accountable is important to reviving your healthy lifestyle. After two months of inactivity and unhealthy habits, the structure and motivation provided by both will keep you focused on your overall goals.

Depending on your preferred approach, a daily or weekly nutrition plan and workout plan are also essential components to reviving

your healthy lifestyle. The recommended approach is to have a weekly nutrition plan and workout plan that advances you toward your goals with accountability check-ins throughout the process. Execution: Like planning, execution also has two meanings. On the path to reviving your healthy lifestyle, execution is an extremely important part of the process. If you have a plan, work the plan. If you don’t track your food intake, start doing so. Regaining your stride back into your old routine and healthy habits requires you to carry out the plan, execute.

Execution also means performing exercises with proper form. Proper form limits injury and will allow you to bounce back sooner from any weight gained during the quarantine. Not to say that you won’t bounce back or progress without proper form, your progression, however, will be much slower.

Consistency: Being consistent is the most important part of the process. With anything in life, being consistent will often lead to a positive outcome. So, if you struggle with any of the items mentioned above, remaining consistent with your workouts and diet will likely help you reach your goals.

David is a skilled attorney practicing business law and regulatory/administrative law at Kegler, Brown, Hill + Ritter. Awarded by National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 2016-2019, his clients rely on his experience to provide counsel on business matters, licensing, compliance, and professional license defense before all of Ohio’s regulatory agencies. He enjoys writing on topics from the legal perspective and community service through his church and the 411 Foundation.