01/02/2024
New Message From Heather@thepilatesbarnandwellness
As we enter the new year, we're often hit with a million ads, promotions, and gimmicks to help us lose weight and become more fit. As an alternative, I'd like to offer a very simple wellness approach for those seeking to be the healthiest version of themselves.
This approach may not make you “ripped”, nor will it be enough to turn you into a competitive athlete, but it will be more than enough to achieve the recommended targets for maintaining strength, flexibility, balance, core, heart health, and ideal body weight.
Try the plan below for the next three months. If you’re on plan after three months and still feel like you need more, then you can start getting more sophisticated (e.g., micro and macro nutrients, goal-specific training, etc.). Sometimes we search for the new or exciting when what we've all known all along works…but it takes patience, consistency, and dedication! For anyone who has been trying each new diet or fitness trend, I challenge you to try this very simple plan for three months. I'll be very curious to hear from you in April and learn how you're doing!
Here we go!
Cardio (Heart Health)❤️
When doing cardio, think of it less about burning calories and more about heart health. For a strong and healthy heart, we want to get our heart rate between 60% and 80% of our maximum heart rate for 30 minutes three times per week. If you’re doing more than 30 minutes three times per week, consider reallocating some of those minutes toward our other fitness goals.
Nutrition🥕
This is probably the most challenging (and most important) fitness component (especially for ideal body weight, as well as for controlling blood pressure, diabetes, etc.). I am not a nutritionist, but I do have resources to refer you to. In the meantime, here are a few simple tips:
Know your target calories per day and track them (just for a couple of weeks- to get a sense of portion sizes). There are many apps out there that make it easy (I love LoseIt! and MyFitnessPal).
Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner (don't skip meals). Even if you're not hungry, eat all three meals because if you skip, you'll likely become over-hungry and end up making poor choices.
Make sure each meal has some fruits, vegetables, and protein (even breakfast needs to have a fruit or vegetable).
Minimize (if not eliminate) refined sugar.
Prepare your meals in advance.
Choose good snack options.
Try natural peanut butter and half an apple, or grapes and unsalted almonds. Note that I'm pairing fruits with some protein and the portions should be small (and within your daily calorie goal)!
Strength 💪
At a minimum, lift weights or do Pilates two times per week. I, of course, highly recommend Pilates. It's more well-rounded in targeting core, flexibility, balance, and strength. However, there is a lot of benefit in straight up strength training for people who don't enjoy Pilates (how could that be!?). If you do choose strength training, opt for a more functional approach opposed to body building (unless your goal is to be a body builder).
Flexibility 🧎♀️
If you do Pilates, you've got this covered! If not, allocate time for stretching and meditation).
Sleep 😴
Sleep is your secret weapon. Make sleep your very top priority: seven to eight hours of quality sleep should be non-negotiable. It's how your body repairs and gets ready for your next workout (along with so many other health benefits). If you're interested in learning more about sleep, check out the great book “Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker.
Hydration 💦
If you're finding yourself tired and dealing with headaches, take note of whether you’re drinking at least 64 oz of water per day. I like to start my morning with 16 oz of lemon water (remember, you just woke up from eight hours without water and are likely dehydrated).
Steps 🚶♀️
Walk as much as you can. Walk to the store, park further away (for free!), take the steps instead of the elevator. If you're an office person, set a timer to walk for five minutes every hour. You want to aim for 7,000 to 10,000 steps per day. I don't consider this as part of my workout. I consider this functional living. Your joints (especially your hips) will love it. Nothing makes you tighter and stiffer than sitting for too long.
Again, there’s nothing genius about this plan—except that it works! There are piles and piles of research supporting it. The challenge, as you likely know, is consistency and motivation. That’s why fads are appealing—their sparkling promises of easy results ignite motivation. So if motivation and consistency are your challenge try “layer and ritualize.” Layer in changes to your routine slowly—not all at once. And try to make rituals out of these new elements that add a dose of delight to your day.
For many, this might be all you have to do for the rest of your life. For others (because we all have different metabolisms and genetics), you may want to build onto this baseline plan. For all, I hope these tips are helpful. Please keep me posted on your success!
Happy New Year
Heather Dupuis
