As we continue to struggle with settling into the new norm, we know that establishing routines is important for our mental and physical health. This is especially true when considering diet and exercise. Even if you’ve let yourself go over these past few months, it’s never too late to get back on track. Remember, you are what you eat, and you are worth it.

There is great wisdom in those words. If you put junk in, expect to feel like junk. If you want to perform at top capacity, if you want to feel and look fit, you won’t get there by sitting on the couch eating ice cream.

Simply put, it’s calories in, calories out. If you eat more than you expend, you’ll store the excess as fat. If you work out every day and burn 300 calories and your basic metabolic rate is burning 1,000 calories a day, but you’re eating 3,000 calories daily, you’re storing a lot of extra calories and fat on a daily basis.

As we age, we go through metabolic and cell cycle changes; however, our bodies are constantly working toward renewal. These changes are why it is never too late to establish – or return to – healthy habits. Every seven years, we have a cell cycle change, every 180 days, we have a blood change, and every seven days we have a bowel lining change (which is why our bowels are often the first to get disease).

Remember, only 25 percent of health is genetic makeup; 75 percent is lifestyle choices. So, if you consistently eat poorly, you are eating toward hereditary disease – high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high blood sugars, kidney or liver dysfunction, cancer, inflammation, arthritis, joint pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and more.

Now, if you eat correctly, when your seven-year cycle comes into play, you feel and look better than you did before your cycle change started. This improvement can happen at any age. I have clients who say they feel better at 60 than they did at 40. These individuals chose to change in favor of renewal by eating for health and not against it.

If health concerns arise, always aim to fix the core issue, not just the symptom. Taking medication with no consideration of what you are eating may be why you have the health problem in the first place. You can often do more harm than good by treating the symptom and not the problem. Discontinuing the foods and beverages that may cause the problem allows the body to start to heal and fix itself. Little changes can make a big difference.

The bottom line, your health is worth everything, especially in today’s world. It is the most important thing we have. If you feel great, you can do just about anything, including losing those extra pounds.

Change starts with you. Work with your emotions, food choices and exercise regime, but most of all, start, continue and finish. Believe in yourself and that you can, because you’re worth the effort.

Love yourself. You matter.
If you tell yourself, “I can’t,” you won’t.
If you believe you can’t get well, you won’t.
If you tell yourself you will never lose the fat, it will never happen.
Be kind to yourself and believe in yourself. You can.

Dr. Beckner is owner of Your Body Code in Palm Desert which offers personalized nutrition and wellness programs. For more information, visit www.yourbodycode.com or call (760) 341.BODY (2639).