Lets take a look at this title. Most people when they think of starting a business, they have two main thoughts. How much money can I make, and how will my business affect those around me. The real question they should be asking themselves is am I physically capable of starting up a business?
There is so much noise out there on how to start a business tomorrow and you will make a million dollars. That sounds great, and if you actually do so you are the top 1% of people in America. But if you truly believe that it is going to happen overnight and that it will be as easy as these social media ads have us believe, then you will have a rude awakening when you find out that it’s not that easy.
There will be many late nights trying to make things work. There will be stress when you fail the first few times and try to figure what path is the best approach for your business. There will be travel, and meals out at restaurants for meetings, and there will be hours and hours spent behind a desk not being active and staring at a computer screen. This is the reality of business – and that’s why I have made my mission to help entrepreneurs change their business around so they can have both the business that they have always dreamed, but also the health and life they strived for.
Health benefits
You see being in business for yourself means you have to control your own medical bills. In America, medical bills are not cheap! They are the second highest expense for companies after payroll. In self employed individuals, health insurance is ridiculously high because insurance companies are basing their deductibles off of 1 person, versus many in a company [aka group rate]. So taking care of yourself and your health, lowers your need to go to the doctors, lowers your need for medications, lowers your need for physicals, and you can save a LOT of money just by being healthy.
Yes it is “more expensive” to eat healthy than to go to the dollar menu at a fast food joint, but when that fast food is destroying your body from the inside out, how much money are you really saving in the long haul?
Here is a list of some great foods to start introducing into your diet if you haven’t already.
- Fresh green salads [kale, spinach, romaine]
- Avocados, Almonds, & Grass Fed Butter [healthy fats]
- Grass fed beef, wild caught salmon, lamb, pasture raised pork, pasture eggs
- Almond butter instead of peanut butter
- Almond Milk
- Chia Seeds & Flax seeds
When you start eating healthy, you body absorbs nutrients, it gives you more energy, and you have a clearer mind throughout the whole day. You know how much stuff you can get done when you are being productive for twice as long?!? Think about how much more money you will have, or how much more freetime you will have when you’re in shape and at the peak of your health! The freedom you will feel to do whatever you want, whenever you want. You want to go climb a small mountain, let’s do it! You want to go skydiving or bungee jumping, or hike through a state park, all of that is possible when you are in control of your body and your health! The best part is, research has shown that 70 year olds can still maintain and build as much muscle as 35 year olds. Typically people in that age are more focused on retiring and being more sedentary, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We can have the ultimate health for our entire lives if we are willing to work for it!
Here is a list of cardio to do to burn the most amount of calories and get in the best shape of your life!
- Walking (Burns 300-400 Calories Per Hour) …
- Running (Burns Around 600 Calories Per Hour) …
- Cycling (Burns Around 600 Calories Per Hour) …
- Rowing (Burns Around 840 Calories Per Hour) …
- Swimming (Burns Around 600 Calories Per Hour) …
- Jumping Rope (Burns Over 1000 Calories Per Hour) …
It’s Easy to get in shape!
People complicate it too much when trying to get in shape. They see ads, commercials and marketing schemes that you have to have a 6 pack on your stomach, or big biceps to show strength, and tight toned legs to wear a bikini. The reality is that you don’t need that to be “in shape”. When you are in shape you are content with how you look in the mirror, you have eliminated any medications that you can, and your body is toned [not ripped & jacked].
Muscles don’t correlate to being in shape, they correlate to dedication to train that particular muscle group. If that is the body you are looking for then that’s fine, but that doesn’t correlate to being in shape. Just like running a marathon doesn’t correlate to being in shape either. Many marathon runners die in their 40’s and 50’s due to heart failure because they don’t do enough resistance training to offset the long runs for their marathon training.
Most of us know a bit about food and working out, but get confused with all the chatter that’s out there. Every single year there is a new craze for diets, workouts, and lifestyle changes. If you read between the lines though, they all have 3 main things in common.
Protein
You have to have protein to build muscle and burn fat. Make sure most if not all of your meals have protein in them. This can be from a protein shake, meat, fish, dairy, nuts, and eggs. Protein allows your body to fuel its muscles for growth and repair. The more muscle your body has, the less flabby fat your body has. When you start to eat more protein you will feel fuller longer, and you will have less blood sugar crashes where you are starving for something bad for you like cookies, donuts, chips and ice cream.
Fat
Healthy fats are the key to energy consumption and the most underused item out there in the market. People that don’t eat fat, typically are fat. Our bodies were made to enjoy fat in its diet to maintain energy throughout the day. If you look at our ancestors from way back when, we lived off the earth killing animals and eating berries. Then in the 1980’s the American Heart Association decided to go with a doctor that concluded that fat was bad for you and sugar was good. So we started making fat free milk, fat free yogurt, and a whole lot of processed foods that were removing the fat but increasing the sugar content of our bodies. Unfortunately after decades of research, this was the WRONG decision and that is why we are left with cancer, diabetes, and heart health as the 3 leading causes of death in our society. Obesity is at an all time high of almost 40% of Americans being overweight and obese. That’s roughly 130 million Americans that are overweight in our country! Start incorporating fat into your diet and your body will thank you. Have it for breakfast, have it for lunch, and even a little bit for dinner and you will be good. Your body will burn it for energy and your brain will use it to stimulate neurons firing to give you quicker reaction times and more focus throughout your day.
Vegetables
Green veggies are you new best friend. They give you vitamins and nutrients to help you burn fat and increase your metabolism. Make sure you have your veggies every day and you will see a huge difference for your body. A lot of vegetables are natural diuretics [which means they flush out excess water in your body], which is important so you don’t feel bloated and puffy all the time from too much salt intake [or alcohol]. Veggies also are what’s needed at dinner to help you burn fat while you sleep [I bet you didn’t know that]. Also instead of chips as a snack, try having cucumbers or bell peppers or celery as a crunchy alternative.
All in all food is how you will gain or lose weight. Exercise is good to get toned, but it won’t shift your weight on the scale. That requires discipline with food and knowing what to eat. If you stay away from fried foods, processed foods, and sugary snacks, your body will adjust and absorb the nutrients from a healthy meal and you will see the scale go in the direction that you are looking for.
As far as exercise goes, the biggest thing to remember is something is better than nothing. If you carve out 20-30 min out of your day for 4-6 times per week, you will see the changes you are looking for. Start simple with sets of pushups, squats, planks, and lunges. Then if you have equipment at home start adding in dumbbell curls, shoulder press, kickbacks, bent over rows, and chest presses. You don’t need equipment to get in shape, it just provides variety so you don’t get bored. I tell all of my clients that if you have a stability ball and a set of dumbbells you basically have a gym right there in your home. From there you can add more things as you progress, but you don’t need a lot to get started.
Conclusion
I hope I was able to show you the basics of how your health and your wealth are correlated and if you are running at your ultimate peak, then you will be able to maximize your business. Imagine how confident you will feel at business meetings to land new clients if you are comfortable in your body. How much better you will feel on stage in front of all those people that are staring at you and watching your every move. Health goes a lot further than the mirror when it comes to business, and through that confidence the wealth will follow!
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