Lindsay Young
Some of us meditate daily, some of us sweat for an hour in our garage, some of us dream of a #fitspo life and some of us hit the snooze button and fall back asleep. Face it, the Year 2020 was a roller coaster for all of us but a local Treasure Valley inspiration, Lindsay Young of Lindsay Lives Well, shows us that we can start making strides for a better year, a better us, together, in 2021.
How can one start off the New Year with a reasonable and sustainable nutrition goal?
I like to have my clients start by focusing on the first third of their day. Often, at the start of the New Year, we are overenthusiastic about our health goals and attempt to overhaul our entire life all at once. This quickly leads to failure and discouragement. I ask my clients to start with breakfast and a goal of eliminating added sugar, eating real, unprocessed foods, and incorporating 20 – 30 grams of protein. Once they’ve dialed in a consistent, healthy first third of the day we then move on to tackling the next meal. This is a true habit change that leads to results that last.
What are some tips for achieving these goals at home and staying safe?
Meal planning is a great strategy for reducing the number of trips you need to make to the store and out of the house. Decide on the recipes you’ll be making for the entire week and the ingredients you need to stock up on for your go-to staple meals. One of my current clients was going to the grocery store every day to pick up ingredients for dinner each night! By incorporating weekly meal planning she’s reduced her trips to one single shop, cutting down on trips outside her home, and making it easy to stay on track with healthy eating.
Is there a way to encourage my family in a joint fitness/nutrition goal for 2021?
Leading by example is the most persuasive strategy! More is caught than taught, so if your family sees you being active and taking care of your body by eating healthy food they will naturally gravitate towards that as well. For fitness, ask your family what kind of activities they enjoy doing. This year our family had a goal of going on an “adventure” once a week. Sometimes it was a big hike, other weeks it was a stroll along the Green Belt. For nutrition, focus on the experience and celebrate what you “get” to eat. You could have a goal to try a new recipe once a week and take turns with who gets to choose what's on the menu.
What is your advice for working with and accepting the bodies we have?
The first step is to embrace the belief that it is possible to love and appreciate your body just as it is while simultaneously having goals to change it. Often, we mistakenly think we have to choose. The way this all plays out is a result of your mindset. When we come from a place of appreciating our bodies and choosing health as a way of stewarding it as a gift, the journey is so much more enjoyable. Everybody is meant to move, be fueled with nourishing foods, and restored with self-care. It’s also helpful to have goals that are not related to aesthetics as a means of measuring progress, such as better energy and sleep.
How can I incorporate lifestyle changes with day to day activities such as biking or walking?
Our bodies are designed to move, we are not meant to be sedentary! Walking is my favorite form of exercise. It’s an incredibly effective way to burn fat and improve metabolism without increasing appetite or boosting cortisol levels. High-intensity exercise may be a useful tool for some people but it can backfire by placing excessive amounts of stress on the body. Walking is an activity that doesn’t require a gym membership and can be done in short spurts throughout the day. You can break up your steps into several 10 or 15-minute walks throughout the day and it quickly adds up!