Living a Healthy Lifestyle is Simply Your Choice

Getting healthier, losing weight, feeling better, and getting fit is not complicated. It’s about the daily choices you make. Choice is a powerful thing. You can choose daily habits that promote a healthy lifestyle or not. That choice is completely yours.

Many of the aliments that we associate with aging are the results of many years of making poor lifestyle choices. I’m a 57 years old personal trainer, and I hear people almost half my age complaining of the aliments of "getting older."  I can honestly tell you I'm as strong and as fit as I was in 20s, and you can be too, it's all about the daily choices you make.  I choose to live a healthy lifestyle. I eat a healthy diet, I exercise on a regular basis, and I fill my mind with positive uplifting thoughts.

Here’s an example of the power of choice. I was sitting in a coffee shop a few weeks ago, and across the room I noticed two women sitting together. One woman was extremely over-weight, and the other woman was very fit. The over weight woman was eating a big cookie and drinking a latte, while the fit woman was eating a health breakfast wrap. Now, I’m pretty sure that the over-weight woman did gain those extra pounds by eating a cookie and drinking a latte just one time. Most likely, her extra weight is from years of choosing to eat cookies and drink lattes, or something similar for breakfast, and getting very little physical activity.  No one forced her to make that decision. And on the other hand, no one forces the fit woman to eat the way she eats. It’s all about personal choice. While an occasional mocha latte and a big cookie for breakfast won’t make you over-weight, choosing to have them everyday probably will.

It’s your choice, it’s your health. You and only you are responsible for your health and well-being. Choose healthy eating habits, and healthy lifestyle activities, and you become a healthy person. It's that simple.

Lifestyle Is The Most Significate Factor To Being Healthy

What if I told you that you hold the keys to your health in your hands? Well truth is you do, and it's the choices you make on a daily basis. The major causes of death and chronic diseases today are all related to lifestyle choices. Smoking, overuse of alcohol, poor diet, lack of exercise, and inadequate relief of chronic stress are key contributors to the development and progression of preventable chronic diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and several types of cancer.

• Smoking is the top preventable cause of death in the United States. If you decide to smoke you also choose to take 10 years off of your life expectancy.

• Drinking too much alcohol can cause damage to your heart, liver, and pancreas and can increase your risk for certain types of cancer.

• Poor nutrition can impair your daily health and well-being, and reduce your ability to lead an enjoyable and active life. In the short term, poor nutrition can contribute to stress, tiredness, and your capacity to work. Over time, it can contribute to the risk of developing some illnesses and other health problems such as:

• being overweight or obese
• tooth decay
• high blood pressure
• high cholesterol
• heart disease and stroke
• type-2 diabetes
• osteoporosis
• some cancers
• depression
• eating disorders.

• Lack of exercise can increase your risk of premature death by 30 percent. Data now suggests that at least twice as many deaths occur due to a lack of exercise than due to obesity.

• Failure to properly deal with chronic stress can disrupt almost all of your body's normal processes. 

Balance and moderation is key to making healthy lifestyle choices. Here are a few suggestions to help you make choices that prolong and improve the quality of your life.

• Don't smoke and if you presently do smoke get some professional help to stop. Think about this every time you light-up a cigarette your subtract some time from your lifespan.

• Moderate your alcohol intake. Drinking alcohol may offer some health benefits, especially for your heart. On the other hand, too much alcohol may increase your risk of health problems and damage your heart. Moderate alcohol use for healthy adults means up to one drink a day for women of all ages and men older than age 65, and up to two drinks a day for men age 65 and younger.

• A balanced diet is one that gives your body the nutrients it needs to function correctly. In order to get the proper nutrition from your diet, you should obtain the majority of your daily calories from:

• fresh fruits
• fresh vegetables
• whole grains
• legumes
• nuts
• lean proteins

• If you are currently living a sedentary lifestyle, the mere act of incorporating some moderate activity most days of the week can significantly reduce your mortality rate. Research shows that just meeting the minimum requirement of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day, five days a week, can reduce your risk of death from any cause by 19 percent.

• Learn to manage your stress. Stressful events are a fact of life and you may not be able to change your current situation, but you can take steps to manage the impact these events have on you. You can learn to identify what stresses you and how to take care of yourself physically and emotionally in the face of stressful situations. Stress management strategies include:

• Eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise and plenty of sleep
• Practicing relaxation techniques such yoga, deep breathing, meditation, and massage
• Taking time for hobbies, such as reading a book or listening to music
• Fostering healthy friendships
• Having a sense of humor
• Volunteering in your community
• Seeking professional counseling when needed

The Power of a Dream

Here's a presentation I made a few weeks ago about the power of a dream!
Dropbox - Darvis Simms.mp4

Why Qivana

I’m a personal trainer, published author, and fitness blogger with over 20 years of experience in the health and fitness industry. Over that time, I’ve been approached by many nutritional companies to represent their products and recommend them to my clients and followers. I’m always open to new opportunities, and I have tried many of the products, for I feel obligated to my clients and followers to recommend only products that are beneficial in improving their health and wellness, and are of the highest of quality. A little over a year ago I tried some natural nutritional products from a company called Qivana and I found them to be head and shoulders above any other products in the natural nutritional arena that I have experienced.

Over the years I've seen fads in both exercise and nutrition come and go. I've found that most of the so called latest and greatest natural nutritional products are either some single cure all elixir, or a confusing mall of products. However, the product systems Qivana has put together to address weight management, cardiovascular health, digestive health, and immune system health are revolutionary in today’s market. I'm going to highlight each of Qivana's natural health systems in a series of posts.

In this post I'll talk about Qivana's Metaboliq Weight Management System and what makes it so different from anything else in today's market.  First, the Metaboliq System was created by one of the most well respected experts in metabolic research, Dr. Donald K. Layman.  The first time I heard Dr. Layman speak, he told his audience the same thing I have been telling my clients for years about weight loss.  He said "losing weight is more than just calorie restriction, it's about losing body fat and maintaining lean muscle mass." The Metaboliq System is designed to do just that.

The Metabloiq Weight Management System is based on a macrobalance of protein, carbohydrates, and fat designed to vitalize muscle, and stabilize blood sugar thus, causing your body to burn body fat.  I know from my years as a competitive natural bodybuilder, if you balance the protein, carbohydrates, and fats correctly in your diet you can force your body to burn body fat. Dr. Layman has perfected this formula in his system based on years of research working with world class athletes.

The Metaboliq System is built around a macrobalance of getting the right amount of protein in your diet, and then balancing that protein with the right kind and amount of carbohydrates. The system calls for a one to one ratio of carbohydrates to protein in your meals.  When you eat this way two important things happen. First, you get enough protein to build and maintain healthy muscle mass, and second, you stabilize your blood sugar level, thus controlling the insulin level in your bloodstream.

Building and maintaining your muscle mass is important to weight loss because muscle is that active component of your body that burns the majority of the calories that you consume.  Your muscles are burning calories even when you are resting and asleep.

Stabilizing your blood sugar level is important to weight loss because spikes in the insulin level in your blood causes increased body fat storage, hunger pains, and cravings for more sugary foods.  Thus, leading to a vicious cycle of eating carbohydrates.  You've probably experienced this if you've only eaten cereal for breakfast and about two hours later you feel like you are starving.

The Metaboliq Weight Management System is an easy to follow combination of precisely macrobalanced shakes and bars.  What I like about the system as a personal trainer is it teaches you how to transition from the shakes and bars into eating correctly balanced regular meals.  The system teaches long-term healthy habits and this is the best solution to long-term weight management that I have ever seen.

 Please click on the following link to find out more about the Metaboliq System and Qivana's other natural health systems : Qivana

Help Improve the Health of a Loved One

Image via Wikipedia

I have an idea on how to improve the health of the ones you love. Take the ones you love for a 30 minute walk each day. What better way to say I love you than to help someone to live a healthy and long life?

Walking is a simple and easy way to get the health benefits of regular exercise. A brisk 30 minute walk each day can decrease your blood pressure, decrease your risk for developing diabetes, help you lose weight, increase your energy level, and help you sleep better.

Just think you can help someone you love improve the quality of their life just by taking them for a walk each day. Plus, you can have great conversation and get to know them better. Try it for the next 30 days and you'll be surprised at how much better you and your loved ones will feel.