When things get tough, you get an unexpected loss, tragedy or expense, a huge workload leading to stress, a bout of illness or just generally feel like you’re getting it from all angles. I just want to be happy. I just want to be calm, chilled out, stress free, healthy and ultimately progressing in my life. Living, not existing, taking back control.
That’s what I found myself saying, time and time again.
I’m Gaz, a fitness and lifestyle coach with a passion for overall health and wellbeing. I train clients in groups. I train clients online. I train clients 121. I have visited gyms across the world and worked alongside and learnt directly from the best in the business.
I can honestly say that I love my job, getting to share my passion to whoever will listen whilst helping other people change their lives. It’s a fantastic feeling, feeling driven, focused and happy.
But I didn’t always have this mindset.
A few years back, around June 2012, I remember sitting at my desk thinking that this was my life forever. I was depressed, angry and for a majority of the time pretty miserable. I had no idea what path I was going to take, but I knew I had to do something. After a lot of reading and watching motivational and self help videos online, I realised I had to make a significant CHANGE.
I slowly but surely began to change my life. I changed my career, my lifestyle, my habits, my mindset and the people that surrounded me. This article (and free eBook below!) is to share how I managed to achieve the above when I thought nothing could be done and how you too can become a stronger individual, physically and mentally.
1 – MOVEMENT
I’m a personal trainer, there’s no surprise I’m promoting exercise but it really is an important factor in building a healthy, happy life.
Personally, without exercise, I have no idea where I would be right now. I used to play a lot of computer games, watch a lot of TV and at times had the mentality of “whats the point, a run won’t do anything”
But I was completely wrong. During my lowest points, I remember setting my alarm for 5am, walking to the gym and taking part in any kind of workout I felt like doing. Maybe it was a bit of weights, a jog, an incline walk, a stretch session or a class of some sort. I found exercise then as a form of meditation. Me time. My own space to clear my head and start to look after my body.
Exercise was WITHOUT A DOUBT one of the best things I got into and I wouldn’t swap the decision to wake up on those cold dark mornings for an extra hour in bed. Whatever the type you choose, be sure to exercise.
Here’s one I made earlier, suitable for all and available for immediate download at burrowspt.com/hybrid-sessions/
2 – NUTRITION
The food you eat has a MASSIVE impact on the way you feel.
Eat rubbish? Chances are you look and feel rubbish also. Eat nutritious foods? Chances are you look better, perform to higher standard and are ultimately happier. I read somewhere that happiness IS health and I completely agree.
For most, just losing weight or getting fitter would be enough to boost overall mood significantly. Diets on the whole should be largely based around whole foods, quality protein and carbohydrate sources, vegetables, fruits and plenty of water. Factoring in your treats will avoid binges and enable us to enjoy the foods we want. Ideally, 80% of your diet should be from a whole food source with the remaining 20% used for treats and the like.
You are what you eat. Eat healthy foods, stay healthy in the body and the mind, stay happy.
3 – REST
The body is on a constant mission to achieve BALANCE.
It’s quite easy to get caught up in work or activities that induce stress on the body. Stress without rest will not make you happy. Remember, all activity, including exercising, is a form of stress.
How many times have you felt or heard someone say “I feel run down” or “I feel stressed with work”. It’s times like this when your body is in red alert so to speak and is crying out for some down time.
Look at your sleeping patterns, aiming for 7.5 to 8 hours each night. Eat the foods that make you feel energised and enable you to perform to a high standard without any slumps. Do relaxing things that you enjoy to do. Treat yourself regularly and so on.
Taking care of yourself in this way will boost your mood tenfold and will ensure you have what it takes to maintain a balanced lifestyle. I found this brought great happiness in my life.
FREE eBook
Those are just 3 brief overview points taken from my latest eBook “How to be Happy” which you can download, for free, instantly, by clicking this link burrowspt.com/howtobehappy
There you’ll find 9 essential tips on how to create and maintain a healthy and happy life, which I’m sure will resonate and prove helpful in your own journey going forward.
