Living an active, vibrant life is important at any age, and making healthy choices regarding fitness and nutrition is crucial not just for your physical health, but for your mental health as well. While exercise can improve cardiovascular health, reduce stress levels, and give you energy to live your best life, fueling your body with the most nutritious foods can help you perform at your best. Although, it is not always easy to find time to exercise and prepare nutritious meals in our busy lives. It can be hard to know where to start to live a more healthy lifestyle.
There is so much information regarding different diets and which exercise plan will help you achieve your goals. It seems like every year a new fad diet for weight control becomes popular and is touted on social media by those who claim to be experts, even though they have no academic or medical training in health and nutrition. Dieting fads often share these common factors:
- They promise rapid weight loss (more than 2 pounds a week).
- They require extreme dietary restrictions, often eliminating certain foods or entire food groups, such as carbohydrates.
- They have rigid rules.
- They often require the purchase of expensive meal replacement shakes or bars.
- They severely restrict calories.
These fad diets usually promise that your pounds will melt away if you simply drink their juice, tea or specialty coffee, or only eat certain, highly-limited foods. They focus on dieting vs. eating healthy, and are often not based on highly-cited and well-backed science or medical research.
Following these dieting fads can deprive your body of critical nutrients necessary for proper function, energy, and sustained health, because they don’t teach you what healthy foods to eat for a balanced and varied diet. They also only focus on severely constricting calorie intake without working to create a more holistic lifestyle, including exercise, lifestyle changes, stress relief methods, and mindset adjustments.
A Healthier, More Sustainable Approach: Fad Diets vs Healthy Lifestyle Changes
If you truly want to create a healthier lifestyle, you need to address many different aspects of your life including long-term nutrition, daily exercise routines, stress management, mental health, maintaining consistent sleep patterns, and improving your mindset toward challenges throughout your life. Becoming “healthier” should not primarily revolve around an extreme diet and exercise plan because that has been scientifically proven to lead to yo-yo dieting, which is less likely to be maintained and could actually have dangerous consequences for your health. Instead, start by evaluating your current nutrition level, fitness level, health concerns, and lifestyle to determine where improvements can be made.
Creating a plan for a healthier life may be different for you than for your best friend, your co-worker, or your spouse because individuals have different health concerns, nutritional needs, fitness levels, personal preferences, and lifestyle choices. Enlisting the support of a registereddietitian and exercise coach can be the best first step to a healthier life. Our coaches and dieticians have the education, tools, and experience to evaluate your individual needs and create a customized fitness, nutrition and wellness plan for you.
Oak Health Club Will Guide You As You Start Living a More Healthy Lifestyle
Avoid Resorting to Unrealistic Dieting Fads
At Method Health Club, our registered dietitians take a holistic approach to your health, and they meet with you individually to discuss your health goals, your lifestyle, and where you are in your fitness journey. They know that trendy dieting fads and extreme diet restrictions are unhealthy and very difficult to sustain over a long period of time. They will partner with you to develop a realistic, sustainable, and customized plan so you can start living a more healthy lifestyle.
What To Expect On Your First Visit To Method Health Club: Assessments and Determining Your Lifestyle, Nutrition and Fitness Goals
Each conversation between you and your registered dietitian begins with an assessment of where you are now in your health and fitness journey. They will discuss health conditions and concerns, nutrition background, current fitness level, stressors, mindset, routines, and lifestyle. In addition to these discussions, your registered dietitian will use an advanced tool called the InBody Composition Analyzer to help you gain an understanding of the individual makeup of your body. Not only does this tool measure body fat-to-muscle ratios, it helps to identify and track swelling and inflammation through fluid distribution levels. This information is used as a starting point when developing a nutrition and exercise plan, and allows for your progress to be monitored over time and adjusted when needed.
Once this assessment is complete, your registered dietitian will ask you about your goals regarding moving towards a healthier lifestyle, such as nutrition and fitness goals, stress reduction, disease prevention, and mindset. They will show you how to eat healthier without dieting by creating a realistic nutrition plan that will fuel your mind and body, reduce health risks, and improve your quality of life. Exercise is also important to your overall wellness, so your dietitian will work alongside your performance coach to develop an exercise plan that fits your current fitness levels and helps you move towards your goals. They understand that you lead a busy life, so they will show you how to incorporate your nutrition and exercise plans into your schedule so you can maintain them on a long-term basis.
It is not just your physical health that is important, but your mindset as well. Your mindset affects your body, so when you are stressed or anxious, it can cause physical symptoms and can elevate your risks for health issues. Your registered dietitian can discuss ways to incorporate stress relief into your life, such as trying a beginner yoga workout, fun exercise classes, starting a walking program, or connecting with family and friends.
Tracking Progress: Supporting Your Health Goals With Regular Check-Ins, Tools, And Coaching
Maintaining a healthier lifestyle is easier when you have support and when you can track your progress to stay motivated. The registered dietitians at Method Health Club will be by your side on your health journey. They will check in with you to find out how the exercise, nutrition and wellness plans are working for you and answer any fitness questions you may have. Using tools like the InBody Analyzer, they will track your progress and help you to make adjustments to better optimize your health.
Let Us Help You Start Living A More Healthy Lifestyle: Beginning Your Wellness Journey at Method Health Club
If you are ready to make healthier decisions and start a workout routine, then Method Health Club of Ashburn in Virginia is here to help. We take a holistic approach and offer personalized experiences through a combination of fitness, nutrition, recovery, and community. The result: you’ll feel healthy, capable, and empowered on your path to optimal health and wellness. Our Loudoun fitness club offers everything you need for success when you start a weight loss journey. Pick a membership offer or call us for more information at 1-571-462-6542. You’re always invited to schedule a tour and see what Method Health Club has to offer!