When you stop to consider an image of perfect health, what do you conjure up? Does a specific person come to mind or do you have a list of health characteristics a person possesses? Some look to celebrities or famous trainers and fitness personalities for their idea of perfect health, and by doing so, they seem to discredit their own ability to achieve such a health status. Fitness journeys are different for everyone, and though it is motivating to use the success of others, it is important to decide on your own routine and establish personal expectations and goals. You won’t make it your ideal image of health by constantly comparing yourself to what someone has done or is doing.

Stop Following the Recipe

For many people, the plan to achieve their health goals is like following a recipe. They look at the end results of another and then backtrack to find out each element that was included in the routine or lifestyle. Then, the individual decides to make each change and follow exactly what the other person has done. However, as time goes on, you may find that the results aren’t measuring up to what others have experienced. Your health might be changing, but not with the dramatic difference that your health idol or mentor has enjoyed. When this happens, the natural result is to question each choice or start blaming a lack of action or adding too much of one ingredient. Blame and guilt can turn to shame, leading to ultimate frustration and hopelessness. There is good news for anyone that has experienced this dieting disaster or fitness failure. The key to success is abandoning the recipe you’ve followed for your fitness routine and starting from scratch with a homemade solution.

Health Goals Are Unique and Flexible

If you stop and look at how our ancestors have lived, you will remember that they didn’t have grocery stores or fad diets to follow. They ate from the land and what they were creative enough to produce from what they had. The body has natural eating patterns that change according to the environment and the body’s individual needs. Early eating patterns were seasonal, based on the natural crop rotations and the physical demands of the time. Society has raised the expectations on a healthy image, which has been made very evident by the number of fad diets promising dramatic results if you can hang in there and follow all the rules. These diets don’t always take into account what the individual body may need, and it may ignore the demands that are placed on the body at any given time. Healthy goals and routines need to be created to suit a specific individual’s current health, lifestyle, and their ultimate goals. Choosing between keto, low carb, or paleo isn’t ideal, since each body is built differently. Instead, look at a program or a lifestyle that adjusts to the body’s natural needs and can be customized and flexible for maximum results.

Create Your Own Plan

For those who are striving to lose weight or want to tone up and slim down, it is a challenge following the rules of someone else. Others may be more motivated or have access to tools and resources that you don’t, increasing the level of effort it will take to reach their goals for you. Rather than work off someone else’s plan, you need to create your own health routine. You don’t have to be a physician or fitness expert to know what to do, as the following five tips can help you create a foolproof strategy.

1. Start With SMART Goals: Before you decide how to do it, you need to where you will end up. Establish goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. They are unique to you, and they allow you to focus on what is best for your situation right now. Conjure up that image of picture-perfect health, but instead, look for the best possible version of yourself. What do you look like, and how do you feel? What length of time will it take for you to look like this? Get specific but realistic, and put yourself at the center of your vision.
2. State Your Why: Decide and understand why you are setting off on this journey. Are you trying to improve your self-esteem? Do you have trouble with health conditions that are caused by being overweight? Do you want to have the energy to spend more time with the grandkids doing more demanding activities? Don’t decide on a dieting plan simply because it promises the best results. You may think the HCG diet is the perfect option getting into that new bathing suit, but it isn’t a long-term weight management plan. You need to know why you are doing something in order to stay motivated on your own accord.
3. Decide to Take Action: It is easy to keep talking about what you are going to do, but you need to take the steps to become more than just a talker. Doers are the ones who are eager to jump at the chance to take action toward a better nutritional balance and more active balance. You can just put one toe in the water. You have to jump in and commit to the process. Going halfway provides mediocre results. For instance, the HCG diet plan is a fantastic way to jumpstart your weight loss, and users find rapid results. However, you can’t just stop the program and expect your results to continue without additional effort. Fortunately, the HCG plan comes with a supplemental resource of Ultra Burn, which helps your weight management needs. It aids your body in using up needed energy stores and releasing fat from being stored in the different organs of your body. However, you still need to have a solid fitness routine and balanced, reduced-portion diet in order to keep your weight from spiraling back out of control. Whatever schedule or sacrifice you have to make in order to become a doer of the whole plan is what you are committing too. Your action influences your results.
4. Be Honest About Results: You need to measure your progress, but in a way that is honest yet encouraging. Much of how you assess your results will depend on what the goals for your health and lifestyle are. Are you experiencing reduced pain or have you lowered your blood pressure? Are your measuring to get to a point on the scale, or are you looking at how many inches you’ve taken off the middle? You must not get bogged down looking at how someone else has succeeded and compare it to your own life. An honest assessment of results looks at how your life has changed or improved because of your efforts.
5. Be Ready to Make Changes: After evaluating your results, you may find that you need to do things differently if you want to make further progress. This is completely normal. You simply head back to step one and start again.

A health routine should be about improving your quality of life. It shouldn’t look at the success of others and copycat the recipe. Take control of your health with a unique and individualized approach to diet and fitness that is specific, manageable, and flexible.

Nu Image Medical® offers a new and futuristic approach to achieving optimal health and wellness. The company has been a weight loss, anti-aging and wellness provider since 2004 and offers medically supervised programs for medical weight loss, peptides, erectile dysfunction, scream cream, and hair loss (NuDew) 

About the author

Dr. Constance Odom, MD

Dr. Constance Odom, MD

Dr. Constance Odom, MD

About

Constance Tambakis Odom, MD graduated in 1987 with her Doctorate of Medicine from the New York Medical College, and was an Anesthesiologist Resident from 1988 to 1991 at the Brookdale Medical Center PGY II (CA-I)-PGY IV (CA-III). She is Board Certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology since 1998 and American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine since 2002. Constance Odom, MD is affiliated with the American Medical Association, American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, American Society of Anesthesiology, Georgia Society of Anesthesiology, Hellenic Medical Society of New York, North Carolina Society of Anesthesiology, and Society of Ambulatory Anesthesia.

Credentials

Medical Director At:

• Nu Image Medical
• MetroMedispa P.A.

Staff Anesthesiologist at:

• Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital in Dunn, NC
• Onslow Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, NC
• Duplin General Hospital in Kenansville, NC

Director of Anesthesia Services at:

• Jacksonville Surgery Center in Jacksonville, NC

6 months ago · 4 min read