Most people struggle with weight management and more importantly the health issues that accompany excess body fat. But teachers are particularly susceptible to carrying excess weight and to the common health conditions that often accompany the condition. Cancer, diabetes, back pain, plantar fasciitis, frequent bouts of could and flu... are just a few examples. Like most people, educators try diet and exercise to achieve weight loss and may experience some degree of success. But too often this progress is erased when the pressures of work-life demands take over and lead to rebound weigh gain. High stress levels, cafeteria food, short, rushed, or working lunches (or missing lunch), heavy workloads, exhaustion, and a lack of time to exercise all contribute to health and weight management issues for teachers. See 10 Tips to Make Teaching Easier. It is no surprise that the last thing a teacher wants to do after a long day at school is eat diet food or engage in prolonged exercise. Most teachers want is to do a good job while enjoying their teaching career but often find themselves too tired to do so. If you are an educator and this sounds familiar to your personal struggle with weight loss, there is hope. You can eat nutritious meals and get the physical activity you need to live a happy, healthy life while reducing your risk of developing common diseases and conditions that often develop from being overweight, stressed, and overworked.
Thanks to rapidly advancing scientific discoveries in the field of health and exercise science research is revealing just how simple weight management can be. Even more exciting is that we now know you can (and should) avoid restrictive dieting and long, time-consuming bouts of exercise to reach your body weight goals and maintain health! This is great news for busy educators who want to use exercise to reduce stress, feel better, look better, live longer, and be happier. Yes, happier. Exercise has been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression just as well as prescription medications. In addition, proper exercise not only reduces body fat, but improves mood, brain function, sex drive, and slows functional aging. And it doesn't take much! By making a few simple lifestyle changes and re-imagining exercise and healthy eating, you can lose weight, get fit, and improve your health all at the same time. The following simple steps can make your health and weight loss efforts easier and longer lasting than ever been before. Forget everything you think you know about losing weight and try making these simple changes.
Stop dieting. You do not need to starve yourself or eat rabbit food all day to get in shape. As a matter of fact, it is critical that you eat foods that taste good to you. You must accept that there are two versions of every food: healthy and unhealthy. Why do you think packages often highlight “Non-GMO, All Natural, or Organic”? Hamburgers, Hot dogs, and Pizza are Okay…. IF they are healthy and properly proportioned. A healthy hamburger could consist of one serving size and eaten with bread that is whole grain, sprouted, organic, or perhaps made of ancient grains. The meat should be lean and from a grass-fed, non-GMO, steroid-free, antibiotic free cow. Put simply, eat holistic meals made of whole, unprocessed, natural (clean) foods whenever possible. By doing so, you reduce your intake of ingredients that cause inflammation in your body while increasing your intake of nutrient dense, lower calorie foods without even thinking about it. Explore Low Carb, Mediterranean, and Heart Healthy, Vegetarian, Teen Friendly, or other nutrition plans to add variety to your diet and make meal planning easier.
Track your daily calorie balance (for a little while): In other words, pay attention to what you eat. Everything you eat will either make you better or worse, healthy or unhealthy, well or sick, and fat or thin. It is essential to begin your weight management journey by keeping track of what you eat. MyFitnessPal or ActiveTrax are just two of the many great free options available for keeping track of your exercise and nutrition levels daily and will allow you to match your calorie intake for optimal weight loss without restrictive dieting. The key is that you must (at first) track your food intake versus your caloric output. It takes very little effort and will make or break your weight loss efforts! You will be surprised how many calories you need versus how many you normally take in when you are not paying attention. Using a tracking app also teaches you to avoid those unhealthy versions of the foods you love. Trust me, the healthy version tastes much better anyway and you will feel and look so much better.
Stop doing exercise programs that are too hard or too long. I have been personal training for almost 30 years. The number one mistake I see people make is spending too much time in the gym the first week. After that they rarely come back. TV fitness shows are just that, TV. They are make believe. In the real world of fitness training, the number one goal is for new exercisers it to ENJOY physical activity. Pick something you want to learn or something you know you well enjoy. Exercise with a friend or join a group for motivation and support. You don't have to do it alone. If you are new to exercise or have been out of it for a while, start at the beginning. Build your core, increase flexibility, and rebuild your aerobic base (strengthen your heart) before doing any type of high intensity routine you might see advertised on TV. If you choose a difficult program to begin with, it will be difficult to maintain and you will not stick with it. Remember, when you begin a new exercise program it should be fun, enjoyable, and easy to stick with. As your fitness level improves, you will be able to increase intensity without even noticing. Your body will begin to release "feel good" chemicals that will keep you motivated to continue. Specifically, If you are just starting out, you need to do three things if you want to Transform Your Body:
Restore proper joint mobility: Due to the stress and sedentary nature of modern living, just about everyone has muscle imbalances that lead to poor posture, aches, and pains. For example, if you frequently sit for any length of time, your hip flexors (the muscles that bend your waste forward and bring your legs upward) are probably short and tight while the opposite muscles (the buttocks) are weak, lengthened, and saggy. The end result is overactive hip flexors and underactive gluteal muscles. Beginning heavy weight training or high intensity cardiovascular exercise with these types of muscular imbalances will lead to pain and possible injury. As a result, exercise may become unpleasant and progress slow or non-existent. This is why so many people start exercise programs and quit after only a short period of time. By restoring normal joint flexibility and stability first, you start right, see faster progress, and enjoy exercise more! As a result, you are likely to stick with it!
Strengthen your core: The core is made up of approximately 32 muscles that impact everything above and below it. Think of your core as the anchor on which all other major muscle structures attach. Strengthening the core is the first step in establishing a functional level of fitness and will not only make you look great and help flatten your tummy, a strong core will reduce aches and pains and reduce the risk of injury.
Establish a baseline level of cardiovascular fitness: Exercise is not hard. If it is, you are doing it wrong or more likely, at too high an intensity for your fitness level. This is the most common mistake made by new personal trainers and fitness enthusiasts alike. If you are new to exercise, recovering from a major health event, or you have been out of it for a while, you must build a cardiovascular base. No equipment or gym membership is necessary. You can start with a simple walking program with the goal of reaching 20-30 minutes of mild to moderate exertion 2-3 times each week. Ideally, you will be building your cardiovascular base while you restore mobility and strengthen your core at the same time.
The 12 Week Restore Mobility Exercise Program by Best For Teachers and ReversAge Health & Fitness is specifically designed for busy educators and other individuals who want to make permanent weight loss changes, stay healthy, get fit, and live better, longer. Split into three phases, the 12 Week Restore Mobility Program is designed to progress you from safe and simple mobility and core strengthening movements to more intense full body functional strength exercises. he Restore Mobility program allows you to continue to see progress as you grow more flexible, stronger, and build cardiovascular fitness. Because a healthy and happy teacher is a better teacher. You deserve to enjoy your teaching career and your free time.
Comments