Transform Your Body, Part I

FigureFoodie...on a mission

During my journey from frumpy girl to national-level physique-competitor, I learned how to make a total mind and body transformation. Also, many of the men and women that I have the privilege to train with at Fitness Pros Wellness Center have  been through their own transformation. In sharing our experiences, we learned a lot from each other and  pinpointed the areas responsible for the changes.

Although each of us followed a slightly different path, there are three truths that all of us had to face. To begin your own transformation, you will need to accept these truths as fact. They are:

1. In order to meet any fitness goal or lose weight, there is time and effort involved; it takes hard work, determination, and discipline.
2. Eating and exercise are the best methods to change your physique. There are no shortcuts or magic pills.
3. For lasting results, new eating and exercise habits have to become part of life. Like brushing your teeth, it has to become part of a daily routine and after a while, you don’t even think about whether to do it or not.

Before moving on, here is a question for you:

How much of a transformation is due to changes in eating habits and how much of a transformation is due to changes in exercise habits? Most believe that about 20% of a transformation comes from changing eating habits and 80% from changing exercise habits.

However, the reality may surprise you:

• 70-80% of physique change is due to changing eating habits
• 20-30% of physique change is due to changing exercise habits

The truth is: 70-80 percent of how you look and feel is based on what you eat. When eating habits revolve around processed foods that have little nutritional value, you cannot look or feel your best.

Eating habits influence much more than how you look and feel on a daily basis. It is important to note that:

“…for two out of three Americans who do not smoke or drink excessively, the one choice that can influence long-term health prospects more than any other is diet.”*

A healthy diet is the single best method to avoid chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

However, avoiding chronic diseases motivates most of us less than our desire just to look and feel great. Regardless of your reason for wanting to change, if you are ready to embark on your own transformation, please see the next post in this series: Transform your Body, Part II. Part II discusses the three action steps to transforming your body.

* quoted from Understanding Nutrition, Ninth Edition, by Whitney and Rolfes

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