How Much Do You Value Yourself?
Being married and a dad of two, I know how easy it is to say “tomorrow” when it comes to your health. It always seems a struggle to find motivation to take action when you’re so “busy”, but the reality is… deep down you can become quite unhappy with it all.
To be the best husband and father possible, you have to start looking after your own needs because that allows you to take care of others.
If you are tired, stressed, overweight and feeling a little down about it all, it’s time to start valuing yourself more and it starts with three simple steps that can really help turn things around.
Take care of your physical body.
By moving your body more, you can start to release endorphins which make you feel good, improve your overall conditioning to run around with the kids and be active with the family and shift a few extra pounds.
I highly recommend starting with shorter workouts using HIIT (high-intensity interval training), which is going to give you better results in less time, compared to doing slow steady state cardio which doesn’t provide long-term weight loss. The reason for this is that low intensity work only burns intramuscular fat, not the fat you can pinch and doesn’t build lean muscle tissue which is vital increasing the metabolic rate.
Take care of your nutrition.
Drinking more water, eating three square meals with snacks in between using the ‘Just Eat Real Food’ system that we promote, you can improve your health, lose the belly and have more energy all day.
Processed foods which have excess sugars, additives and chemicals can damage your health, sap your energy due to unstable blood sugars and cause weight gain. Focus on building good quality habits by eating regular meals (within four hours) and once you can do this consistently, it’s a good idea to reduce starches in the diet especially later in the day to avoid weight gain.
To be the best husband and father possible, you have to start looking after your own needs because that allows you to take care of others.
Take care of your emotions.
One of the most profound things that have helped me become happier, more balanced and successful in life is to manage my state of mind effectively.
When stress is the norm, not only does it put your hormones out of sync but it affects your ability to be productive, be a great role model and partner. Also, by starting the day in a positive way, you can chose the type of day you experience by reflecting on gratitude rather than stress and “things to do”. I say take control, have some “you time” and stop reacting to the environment, situation and experiences you encounter because true transformation starts with the mind, not just the body.
In fact, I regularly tell my clients that if you can transform your inner life first, the body will catch up easily because it will ‘respond’ to your beliefs, thoughts and actions which will make you a lot happier in your own skin. By focusing on being positive, you’ll attract more of that every day.
Next time you have the thought of “I hate my belly”, change that to “I feel good about eating food that is healthy” which is a positive hack; this stops you beating yourself up, dragging yourself down further and actually empowers you to make positive choices.
Stefano Chiriaco, a.k.a ‘The Dads Coach’, is a health and fitness coach from Hertfordshire, UK. He blogs at Ultimate Dad Transformation.
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