Healthy Living with Jilisa Ghareeb: Every Path is Different

What does it mean to be on a health journey? Is it that you wake up one morning and decide you are no longer going to eat or drink what you believe to be unhealthy food? Are you now a dairy free, gluten free, farm to table person? Does it mean you are getting at least 30 minutes of intentional movement in at least 5 days a week?

Is it Black and White?

If you believe that the answers to those questions are all yes, then we need to talk or in this case, I need to type, and you need to read. In my life, I have completed a few journeys, am currently on a few and am quite sure there is more in store for me. None of them were the same but all have had a few things in common. The main similarity that I have learned…nothing is black and white, there is no straight path. As much as I would love to have a play book that has the step-by-step instructions guiding me along the way, there is not one and there never will be. Yes, there will be tips and tricks to help you but there will never be anything in black and white. Do you want to know why? Because everybody is different. If you have been reading this column for a while, you will have heard that a time or two. Let me say it again for the people in the back, EVERY BODY is different.

Yes, there are some things that you and I will be able to do the same, eat the same or drink the same and get comparable results. But you might be able to easily (with proper training) run a marathon and I will struggle with a 5k. I might be able to get up at 5 and bang out a workout with no issues and getting up at 5 for you is like waking the dead. Because we are all different. We are built different. We process food different. We gain and lose different. My point is…we are different.

It really is a good thing that we are because life would be boring if we were all the same. It does not help when it comes to doing stuff and trying things. Because we crave someone to teach us, to show what steps to take. Most of us do not really want to figure things out on our own. So, we look to friends, trusted colleagues and even celebrities to show us what to do. A couple of issues with that though is 1.) we only see a snapshot of what is happening 2.) we do not know if it is safe and 3.) we get upset when we do not see the same results.

A Closer Look

Let me dive deeper into that. Whether you like it, do not like to admit or rather not be a part of it, we are a social media driven world. It is not going away. No matter who owns the platform and/or how they run it, we are going to use one or all of them. What we are seeing when we look at dozens of people a day, is a teensy portion of their story. We see them eat a few salads, workout a few times and all the sudden they lost 20lbs, have a 6 pack or toned arms. So, we decide to eat a few salads and workout a few times and more times than not we have gained 2lbs and are out the membership fee to the program or gym because the steps and results were not a carbon copy of what we saw with so and so. That is the biggest issue with the snapshot of anything. We see a picture of a messy kitchen, then seconds later we see a picture of a sparkling clean kitchen. When in reality it took more than an hour for that person to clean. The same is true for our health, it is months and sometimes years of hard work. Lots of ups, downs, side steps and circles.

The second part is the safety of what we see that person doing. Is it safe for you to follow that same plan? The influencers that we see daily may be doing the grapefruit crash diet or the cabbage soup crash diet. That is now safe. They may be taking pills that are safe. Blindly following something that someone is doing is not your best course of action. Researching and discovering the ins and outs and decide based on that research is what you need to do instead. Keto, intermittent fasting, counting calories, and working out for hours is not for everyone nor is it safe. If you are making drastic changes and have any other health issues, you need to speak with your doctor first.

The third point is the mental and emotional toll that happens when we do not get the exact same results as the person we are copying did. This one is big. This is why setting unrealistic goals is toxic. We are setting ourselves up for failure before we even start. What happens in our brains is that we saw someone on social media lose weight/tone up and we perceived that it happened in an instance and when it does not happen for us in that preconceived period, we give up. Which is why you hear it called a health journey and not a health sprint. It takes time to change a lifetime of what we did to our bodies, and it is imperative that we work on our minds at the same time. Personal development (aka self-help books) is a huge asset in our journey. Our minds, our mental state cannot be neglected. I know from my own experiences that just losing the weight is not going to change your self-perception. That all comes from your beautiful brain. You must work on that at the same time. Finding a good therapist, reading books, listening to podcasts, doing what it takes to make your whole self healthy is necessary. You know what else helps…chocolate!!

Recipe of the Month: Quick and Easy Banana Bites

Ingredients

2 Bananas (or more)
1 cup Melting Chocolate (chips, bar, or chunks) – Use a clean chocolate, we want the health benefits not just the sugar.
1 tbsp Coconut oil
Toppings of your choice – Nuts, sea salt, nut butter, jam

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Cut your bananas into pieces. Place on the baking sheet and get that in the freezer. Put the chocolate and oil in a microwave safe bowl and melt for 0 seconds and stir. Mine needed another 15 seconds and then stir again. Take the bananas out the of freezer. Put a smear of nut butter on some and dip them in the melted chocolate. Put back on the wax paper. Dip plain ones in the chocolate and top with your toppings of choice! Put back in the freezer to set (at least 15 minutes) and Enjoy!

Move of the Month:  Weighted Squat Twisting Knee Drivers

It sounds complicated but it is not! This move works everything: legs, butt, abs, and arms. Start with your feet in squat position (hip width apart). Hold 1 weight (as heavy as you can) with both hands at your chest. Squat down (try to get those hips parallel with the floor and keep your chest up). Drive up (push through your heels, squeeze the butt at the top). Now as you raise your right knee, twist your top half to the right as well. When you twist back front, lower your leg. Squat again and as you come back up twist to the left. Repeat and alternate sides. Try for 10 reps (5 each side) and work up to doing the move your 1 minute. Remember to breathe. Do not rush. Feel your muscles working and pay attention to what is happening.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me. Starting and navigating a new journey can be intimidating and overwhelming. Working with someone who has been in your shoes is extremely helpful and encouraging. Journeys are better when in the company of others.

Jilisa Ghareeb has been a Beachbody coach for 6 years.  Her favorite part of being involved with fitness and nutrition is watching her clients change and open up a whole new world.  As a coach, she is able to help others by introducing them to a change that is often scary, intimidating, and full of “what ifs” to an encouraging and inspirational lifestyle full of “I cans”. She uses her own story to show others that everything is possible with hard work and determination.  If you’re interested in reaching out to Jilisa for more information you can contact her via email, on Instagram, or Facebook.

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