Crystal Clear
(A Manifesto for Change)
The world we live in has always provided challenges. There’s always something to overcome, a hardship to endure. Recently, however, we’ve witnesses dramatic challenges, the likes of which we have never seen. The way many people live their lives and think about health has shifted. While our country isn’t completely clear on what it means to be healthy and the best path forward, what encourages us today is the same truth that scares us.
Life. Is. Change.
The entire universe is fluid. From the expanse of our solar system and planet, to each tiny particle within us, we are constantly in motion. If we don’t change, we don’t grow. Growth is living.
From inception, Life Time has believed in the power of transformation; that through change we find the greatest versions of ourselves.
Today, as the Healthy Way of Life Company, we embrace the responsibility that comes from almost 30 years of experience to tell this story. To remind ourselves where we’ve been, to understand the current situation, and empower us all to reclaim what is rightfully ours, and with renewed vitality, move forward into the future.
are designed to be healthy.
As human beings, we are energy; brilliant, pulsing stars of light, created to move, play, live, laugh and breathe. Every day almost 300 billion new cells generate a vast galaxy inside each of us, creating the extraordinary.
Health continues to change.
Because we continue to change. As homo sapiens, we emerged as hunters and gatherers.
We moved.
The environment was harsh, the obstacles constant.
We squatted to pick berries, carried what was heavy, and literally ran for our lives. “Health” was the outcome of daily, instinctive, necessity-driven actions. As time progressed, we discovered our brains, created tools and found efficiencies.
We moved less.
But constantly curious, we began to understand that movement provided joy, strength gave us confidence, and our idea of well-being expanded beyond the physical. We discovered that health is essential not only to our own individual mental, spiritual and emotional state but to the vitality of families, communities, and planet.
But it has been hijacked.
Slowly and somewhat stealthily over the past century, accelerated by the pandemic, we have changed – for the worse. We’ve allowed convenience and confusion, distraction and denial to make disease the norm. We’ve evolved into bad habits and unhealthy behaviors and as a result, have never been so chronically sick, overweight, stressed and depressed before. Look at these numbers:
More than 42% of Americans are obese.
Source: CDC
60% of adults contend with at least one chronic disease and 40% have two or more.
Source CDC
113% greater likelihood those with obesity will go to the hospital upon contracting COVID-19.
That person is 75% more likely to go into intensive care and 48% percent more likely to die.
Many of our children are ill. Suffering chronic disease, like diabetes, obesity and poor nutrition. They are prescription dependent and sedentary.
Source: CDC
80% of Americans don’t get the recommended amount of exercise.
Source: CDC
Approximately 75% of healthcare dollars are being spent ineffectively on chronic conditions, many of which can only be resolved through lifestyle change.
Social, political, and economic conditions support these diseases by making bad choices easy. It’s a battleground on which COVID-19 has been given unfair advantage, these “pre-existing conditions” contribute to shortened lifespans all around.
Change can be an effective strategy.
So, just to be clear. We’ve gotten into a bit of a mess through poor habits. Collectively, we’ve made a series of bad choices, one drive-through, one super-size, one binge-watched TV show after another.
The sheer number of these bad choices have added up and not only threaten our existence on their own but give COVID-19 a deadly edge. By poisoning our bodies and fogging our minds, we’ve allowed small decisions to join forces with a virus, and it’s costing us our lives.
It’s time to call a new audible. (We love football metaphors.) A reverse flea flicker if you will. If the cumulative effect of small decisions is that powerful, we need to turn it around. To start immediately using small choices to our advantage.
This is the power we have, as living, breathing creatures.
Change for the good by taking one positive action at a time, followed by another.
A few simple truths.
Change, aka transformation, is not (usually) a big force that comes down from the heavens, a seismic, earth-shaking, head-spinning ordeal.
Sure, there are quantum leaps, but more often than not, change is fluid, like water running in a river. Drop by drop, it occurs in persistent, tiny efforts.
And perhaps the beauty of transformation is in the process. To look back at who we were, and acknowledge who we’re becoming, each of us part of a before and after, what was and what will be. This is part of our DNA – we exist as moving molecules, with a passion for adventure and joy in new existence.
So, where do you start?
If you want to be healthy, what changes should you make?
Because it’s so top of mind, let’s start with some immediate decisions regarding your immune system. The stronger it is, the better chance of fending off not only physical disease, but the fear and negativity that daily tries to besiege us. So.
+
Zinc. Drink.
Two little defensive plays to retard the virus’s ability to recruit more cells, replenishing and hydrating at the same time.
+
Supplement.
With trusted, high-quality Multi-vitamins, Fish oil, Vitamin D, Magnesium, Digestive Enzymes and protein powders when needed.
–
Limit.
Alcohol and added sugars to avoid chronic inflammation.
–
Eliminate.
Any artificial colors, preservatives, sweeteners. Bleached and refined flours.
Here’s how to live a Healthy Way of Life, in the simplest of nutshells.
+
Get and stay strong. Muscle is confidence and resilience.
+
Bite by bite, choose a nutrient-dense, high-protein diet. This will have an immediate effect on how you feel.
+
MOVE. Do something that gets your heart pumping, your blood flowing and your face smiling. Go for a walk. Take the stairs. See how good it feels.
+
Rest. It’s recovery, repair and resistance. Exhaustion leads to illness and messes up your metabolism. Get 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Reset with yoga, meditation, massage.
+
Find energy that lifts you up. Seek out communities and conversations that abide in optimism and feed your spirit. Have fun. This is the ultimate outcome.
+
Wisdom starts with knowing yourself. One of the most important, but often overlooked lessons is to understand who you are and what you need. This will equip you to make good choices.
There will be mistakes.
They are the necessary steps to success. Every day is new chance, however, to start again.
What’s the most important thing to remember is we each possess within ourselves, at every moment, under all circumstances, the power to transform our lives, one positive action at a time.
