La vitalité
EVERYDAY WAYS TO LASTING CHANGE NEVER RESULTS FROM JUST FIXING THE SYMPTOMS OF A PROBLEM. LASTING CHANGE ONLY EVER RESULTS FROM FIXING THE ROOT CAUSE. THIS CONCEPT HOLDS WITH EVERYTHING— DISEASE, POLITICAL TURMOIL, FAMILY ISSUES, AND EVEN INTERPERSONAL ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS. BUT THERE IS ONE MAJOR AREA WE OFTEN IGNORE: OUR HEALTH. As a personal trainer, I often talk with people about how they want to take back control of their health. Unfortunately, a large chunk of this crowd wants a magic supplement, a workout, or a piece of advice that will help them reach their goals. In the fitness community, this is called the “magic bullet.” This is the idea that if you just had “it,” you too could have six-pack abs and run marathons. There’s an entire portion of the industry dedicated to exploiting this very idea. The truth is, not only does that magic bullet not exist, but my most successful clients have never asked for it, or they stopped asking a long time ago. They realize the simple truth: Getting healthy isn’t a thing you do; 40 | A P R IL 2019
BY JACO B SU MM ERS
it’s a thing you become. Health isn’t something you do for an hour or two, like going to the movies or visiting the store. It’s not something you can turn on and off when you want. Sure, occasionally you can turn it off to have pizza with friends or ice cream after a terrible week at work—but the point is that it should be “on” more often than it’s “off.” You’ve probably heard this before, but packaged differently: fitness is a lifestyle. If “lifestyle” seems a little overwhelming, let’s call it what I call it: a habit. What, then, are some good habits for the average person to build?
STAY AWARE OF WHAT YOU EAT I’ll start with a simple one. Every year, either for a competition or for my own goals, I end up going through a “cutting” period of a couple of months when I make an active effort to trim unwanted fat. Because I know I’m a nervous eater, and because I can’t eat what isn’t there, I keep my fridge stocked with only healthy options. That’s not to say that I couldn’t overeat eggs, raisin bran, or chicken, but if I craved what was already in my diet, I probably wouldn’t be opening the fridge at eleven thirty at night looking for the Ben & Jerry’s. If it’s not there, I can’t eat it. This article isn’t about dietary recommendations, so I won’t go into how your pantry should and shouldn’t look. You know what’s within your diet and what shouldn’t be kept in the house to tempt you. This leads to the next way to make health a habit: don’t eat out if you can help it. I’ve been found guilty of eating out a lot when I finish my cutting season, and it showed. A friend reminded me that when I started to feel bad and it was affecting my runs,
