Brian White | Fitness

Helping people lose weight, get healthier and live a more vibrant life is something I am very passionate about. This list comprises of some the best advice I can give to anyone who is trying to achieve those goals.

1. Early to bed, early to rise. Mornings are more conducive to exercise and stress-free relaxation that will keep you slimmer. Nights are more conducive to melting into a couch, watching TV, drinking and internet surfing. If you want to live a long, vibrant life, listen to your body’s natural biorhythms and go to sleep when it is dark and wake with the sun.
2. Nothing compares to interval training when it comes to burning body fat. Athletes have known this forever, but interval training will work for every fitness level. Short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by a more moderate period will save you time, burn more body fat and increase your cardiovascular health, period.
3. Eat food; not too much and mostly plants. I have seen my share of fad diets and I have even agreed with some of them, at certain times for certain people. The truth is, this is the only advice that has stood the test of time and I can get behind 100 percent. To add a few more details: meat won’t kill you (it’s actually healthy) but make sure it is grass-fed and hormone free. Whole, fresh foods are always better than processed foods. Drink water and avoid sugar as much as possible.
4. Attack goals and build habits 21 days at a time. It can be overwhelming to undertake a health or fitness goal. When you are overwhelmed it is too easy to give up at the first sign of difficulty. Goals are achieved one day at a time, with persistence and dedication, and the best way to build the momentum that will carry you through is to set a 21-day goal.
5. Don’t worry; be happy. Things never happen the way you imagine. When you are worrying, you are saying, “I know things are going to turn out badly.” Don’t talk yourself out of doing things because you are worried you will look like an idiot or you might fail. Really living life is all about taking calculated risks or getting out of your comfort zone. Worry robs you of emotional energy, distorts reality and is bad for your health: increasing your blood pressure, and causing digestive issues, muscle tension and skin blemishes.
6. Stop thinking you aren’t ready. You are. Personally, I have struggled with periods of inaction in various areas of life. It helps me realize that the most important thing you need to do to achieve is to take action. Don’t wait for the perfect conditions before you act because the conditions will never be just right.

7. Get a blender. This one little kitchen appliance has literally changed the way my family and I eat. Never could I have imagined that blending vegetables and fruit could be so incredibly tasty, give me crazy amounts of energy and make me feel superhuman. It does. If you are serious about living a healthy, long life there may not be a more vital tool to have in your kitchen.
8. Get a quality juicer. As a kitchen bonus, there is no better way to give your body what it needs than juicing. Your skin will look better, your body will feel better, your mindset will be more positive and you will have endless amounts of energy just by getting one big juice a day.
9. Nothing will ever take the place of resistance training to sustain weight loss. The underlying truth in all exercise fads is it takes resistance training to build lean body mass, burn excess body fat and to be optimally healthy. Yoga, Pilates and cardio exercise are certainly parts of a complete exercise program, but fat loss begins and ends with resistance training. Never go too long without resistance training.
10. Feel 10 years younger with a foam roller and a yoga routine. Yoga could be the single greatest thing you can do for your health in this day and age. It will reduce your stress levels, make you more aware of your body and increase your flexibility. A foam roller will help you work out trigger points, knots and areas of increased muscle density throughout your body.
11. Exercise for 30 minutes every single day. Whether it’s resistance training, cardio, yoga, meditation or foam rolling, set aside 30 minutes every day to do something healthy for your body. Your health is your life. Setting a goal of 30 minutes of exercise will make it more likely you don’t miss a workout because of time constraints and it will build the momentum needed to make it a lifestyle.
12. Cut out the white stuff.  The negative health effects of eating sugar go way beyond just increasing the size pants you have to wear. It creates low-level inflammation in the body, raises your blood pressure, fools your metabolism into turning off your appetite control, increases insulin resistance and gives you that beer-belly look, too.
13. Keep it real. I have researched and experienced life-changing effects of eating real food with my family, my clients and myself. Real food is whole, unprocessed and unrefined, pasture raised or wild, local, seasonal and organic. Industrial food processing has, without a doubt, had the most detrimental affect on our health. The best rule of thumb should be, if it comes in a bag or a box or has a health claim written on it, don’t eat it.
14. You don’t need a product; you need a lifestyle change. People are too quick to turn to a product or a pill to fix a real or perceived problem with their health. Whether it is sleeping pills, diet pills, alcohol or a “shake weight” people are too quick to buy a product rather than take a real look at their lifestyle. You’ll add years to your life – and life to your years – if you put in the extra effort needed to change your lifestyle rather than look to the so-called “quick fix.”
15. Whatever your past, it’s gone now. Nothing you do today will change anything that’s happened, so focus on what’s happening right now. I used to let my past dictate my present and future. One of the most freeing things I have learned is the past is not today; it can’t be changed, forgotten or erased. It can only be accepted and learned from. The past does not define you: you are not your past and you have the power to shape your future exactly how you want.

—Brian White owns BWF, San Diego’s Premier Training Service located in Hillcrest. He runs boot camps in Balboa Park and trains clients in Diverge Gym. Go to youshouldbedoingit.com to read his blog, or take his seven-day video challenge to get back into healthy habits. Contact Brian at [email protected] or on his website.