Fit for Life: Making Sacrifices

Saturday, August 11, 2018

Matt Espeut, GoLocalWorcester Health +Lifestyle Contributor

Matt Espeut

Making sacrifices:

We have all done it at one time or another. We sometimes do it on a daily basis. Every good person makes sacrifices.

If you have children, your life is a sacrifice. You have to sacrifice most of your time, money, and energy so you can take care of, and insure your child lives a happy, healthy, and productive life.

Everything in a child's life depends on you and the amount of energy you put into their upbringing. If you do not make sacrifices, a problem child will arise, and a lifetime of heartbreak will follow.

If you have elderly parents, or someone in your family gets sick, you will be making many sacrifices in your life to help them, unless you are fortunate enough to afford full-time help. You may even live in a certain place that you don't like being, just to be close with your family, or you may forgo a well-needed vacation, just to attend a friend’s wedding.

These are all examples of the sacrifices we make to please others, the instances that we put someone's needs or happiness before our own.

But the one sacrifice you should not make and, be completely selfish about, is maintaining good health, and taking care of yourself.

This doesn't mean that you will eat quality food and your family eats junk, or that you deprive anyone of the essentials, this means that when it comes to your health, you should be #1.

You can't take care of others unless you can take care of yourself. It's like they tell you on an airplane "put on YOUR oxygen mask first" before you assist someone else. I like this analogy because it correlates well to your own health and fitness, meaning that if you are sick or have many ailments yourself, you can't be too helpful to others.

When I hear my friends say, I do not have time to exercise, because all my time is devoted to my kids, I ask them how much time will your kids spend with you if you have a heart attack and die?

Or how useful are you if you are too heavy to play ball or go swim with them? That usually opens one’s eyes and gets them thinking.

Besides setting a good example, living healthy makes you a happier and more productive person, and that will make everyone better off.

Eating healthy shouldn't be unreachable or too expensive if you and your spouse are living the high life, driving new cars, going out for dinner and your kids belong to every sport and activity available.

If this is your reason for letting your health diminish, you need to reassess the situation. Manage your time and finances accordingly, so you can eat right and exercise.

Sacrificing your health for others is the wrong sacrifice to make.

Your health and well-being should be your main priority in life over family, money, work, and friends.

It is ok to put yourself first in this one particular instance, because it will translate to a better you, and this will give off positive energy.

And if people feel that you are selfish for this, turn it on them and let them know that it is more selfish if you don’t, because you will eventually burden others with your own ailments, and require others to sacrifice for you.

Stay committed to yourself and taking care of others gets easier!!

Committed to your success,

Matt Espeut, GoLocal's Health & Lifestyle Contributor has been a personal trainer and health & fitnesss consultant for over 25 years. He is the owner of Fitness Profiles, a one on one, and small group personal training company, as well as Providence Fit Body Boot Camp, located at 1284 North Main St., on the Providence/Pawtucket line. You can reach Matt at (401) 453-3200; on Facebook at "Matt Espeut", and on Twitter at @MattEspeut. "We’re all in this life together – let’s make it a healthy one.

Related Slideshow: The 7 Best Health and Fitness Apps

Here is a list of some of the most obsession worthy health apps.

Prev Next

MapMyRun

MapMyRun is the number one selling running app for a reason: it is easy to use, offers community support if you want it, and tracks and stores your exact routes for you. If you are training for a race or a serious runner, users say that the extra perks in the upgraded paid version are well worth it.

Made for iPhone, Android and Blackberry

Prev Next

MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal seems to be the clear favorite amongst everyone polled. It is helpful not only for the fitness tracking aspect, but everyone polled mentioned how much they loved the food/diet aspect as well. From carb counting for diabetics to recipe ideas to complement your fitness goals, users love this app.

Made for iPhone and Android

Prev Next

JeFit

JeFit is another fitness app that has rave reviews. It not only tracks progress for you, but offers a huge database of workouts. While many apps offer community support, JeFit allows you to sync workouts with friends who use the app, offering a (real) virtual buddy system.

Made for iPhone and Android

Prev Next

Strava

Strava gets the highest mark of all the cycling apps. While it is also great for runners, the cyclers seem particularly inclined towards the fierce competition that can be ignited by this app. You can track all of your rides via GPS, then you can compare your efforts to those logged by others in the community on the same stretch of road. You can also join ongoing challenges that can net you great prizes (in addition to bragging rights).

Made for iPhone and Android

Prev Next

YogaStudio

YogaStudio gets the top vote for Yoga apps. It has a lengthy collection of full class-length videos available at your fingertips. Unlike many other apps, this one also allows you to customize your own video yoga class. All of the poses are done by qualified yoga instructors, and you can find classes suitable for all levels of yogis.

Made for iPhone only

Prev Next

SimplyBeing

SimplyBeing meditation app offers the best of both worlds. You can choose to run this app as a background for your meditation with soothing music or natural sounds that run for a set amount of time. Conversely, for those of you who have trouble focusing during meditation, you can choose a soothing voice-guided meditation.

Made for iPhone and Android

Prev Next

Fooducate

Fooducate is an app all about educating people so that they make healthier food choices. Although not perfect, this app is easy to use (you can even take pictures of bar codes to instantly find foods in their database). It gives food a letter grade, tells you the pluses and minuses, and gives you better ranked alternatives. You can also use it as a weight loss tool by tracking your daily calories.

Made for iPhone and Android