If you are looking for a simple guide on how to get FIT, look no further. You've come to the right place.

I am writing this as someone who successfully changed their life by adopting healthy lifestyle practices. This is not a lose-weight-quick guide. It's a practical understanding of food, exercise, and mindset that will helped me transform my life and enabled me to get into the best shape of my life!

I grew up with some pretty bad habits. For my diet, I loved to eat copious amounts of potato chips - like half a family-sized bag in one siting. In college, I used to drink alcohol every day. And finally, I practically never exercised from birth until high school.

When I finally made the commitment to improve, my life transformed for the best. Not only did I look better, but I actually felt better. My confidence boosted and I finally felt happy in my own skin.

I prioritized improving my diet and incorporating exercise into my lifestyle. For me, that was eating more greens, introducing portion control, and moving my body every day.

I improved 1% each day, physically and mentally. While I could not see the changes during the time, I can now look back and say confidently that I am a completely different person now.

Admittedly, there were many ups and downs throughout my journey. At one point, I developed an eating disordered where I wouldn't allow myself to eat without counting the calories and there was another where I had was severely over-supplementing. But progress is not linear and I am very happy with how far I have come. Now, I will share my secrets for how I got fit.

What is "Fit?"

Let's start off by defining what it means to actually be fit:

This is so important because fitness affects your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It doesn't mean having huge biceps or a 6-pack. Fitness will help you feel great and maximize your lifespan. In summary, there are zero downsides of being fit - only positives!

The Blue Zone: The Oldest People in the World

A "Blue Zone" is a region in the world where people are have exceptionally long lives beyond the age of 80 due to a lifestyle:

• healthy, whole-foods diet
• physical activity
• low stress
• rich social interactions

I first learned about the Blue Zone when I was in university, while reading a book called Ikigai. I was fascinated by how these people discovered the cheat codes to life. So I began researching extensively and began injecting their lifestyle choices into my own.

Where are the Blue Zones?

I find it fascinating that almost all of the Blue Zones are located on islands. There is no central country or continent. Rather, they all separately rose and established:

• Icaria (Greece): Greek island where people eat the Mediterranean diet, red wine, and homegrown vegetables.
• Ogliastra, Sardinia (Italy): Greek island home to some of the oldest men in the world. Most people live in mountainous regions where they work on farms and drink lots of red wine.
• Okinawa (Japan): Japanese island where the world's oldest women eat a diet of soy-products and practice tai chi (a meditative exercise).
• Nicoya Peninsula (Costa Rica): Yet another island where their diet is based around  beans and corn tortillas. The people of this area regularly perform physical jobs into old age and have a sense of life purpose known as “plan de vida.”
• The Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California (USA): The Seventh-day Adventists are a very close-knit, religious group where they practice strict vegetarianism.

But if Blue Zones exists in various places around the world, it means that their longevity is not purely genetic and therefore there must be some else that's causing them to outlive everyone else.

Habits of the Blue Zone

One thing common to Blue Zones regions is that the people eat a 95% plant-based diet. Many studies have shown that avoiding red meat and processed meat can significantly reduce the risk of death from heart disease, cancer, and many more.

People of the Blue Zone have diets rich in:

• Vegetables: High in fiber and different vitamins / minerals.
• Legumes - high in fiber and protein includes beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas.
• Whole grains: Rich in fiber - reduces blood pressure.
• Nuts: Good sources of fiber, protein and polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

And for quantity of food, Okinawans follow the 80% rule or “hara hachi bu,” meaning to stop eating at 80% full (instead of 100% full). This prevents them from overeating, which can lead to weight gain and many chronic disease.

For timing, they eat their smallest and final meal in the early evening which allows them to fast for the rest of the night. Fasting is great because of the positive effects on your health, such as promoting heart health, better blood sugar control, and weight loss.

What Lessons Did I Takeaway?

1. Diet: I cleaned up my diet by eliminating  all processed foods and eating more plants. I avoid purchasing unhealthy snacks to make it less accessible and I create a healthier mindset by thinking "Healthy food = Nourishment" (instead of Health Food = Punishment)
2. Exercise: I focused on moving my body - every single day. I woul run a couple days per week and make it a goal to walk 10k steps per day. To make it enjoyable for myself, I listened to interesting podcasts and scheduled phone calls simultaneously. I now look forward to this time.
3. Stress: I reduced stress by 100%. These days, ain't nothing worth stressing over. Life will always throw something at me and I can choose my reaction. I learned that how to avoid stress by mindfully noticing my thinking.

I titled this blog "How to Get Fit for Dummies" not because I think you are a dummy but because I truthfully believe that anyone can get fit with the right information. It's actually quite easy once you learn what areas to focus on and stay consistent.

There are a million things to do but just focus on making one change per day. This way, it won't be overwhelming and the small improvements will add up to monumental changes.

Always remember: Fitness for life is a marathon, not a race.

You have to stay consistent in this in order to actually reap the benefits. Right now, most of us are young enough to dismiss the importance of starting young. However, your body will begin really feeling the difference at in your mid-30's. At around your 50's, your body will either thank you or hate you. Finally, when you're 80 years, you'll either still be able to climb mountains or have trouble getting to the bathroom.

The outcome is yours to create - just know that you have the choice to shape your future today.

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