(Personal trainer) Sam Wood - 7 minutes to better health : take the first step to good health

Contents.

The change you need to make

Together we are going to build a better relationship with food, a better relationship with exercise and, most importantly, a better relationship with our own bodies. Whether its seven minutes or 28, youll soon start seeing results.

Thats right, were back.

In my last book, 28 by Sam Wood, I spoke a lot about where Id come from, my seventeen-year history as a trainer and why I created my 28 By Sam Wood program. Now, as time goes on, and with nearly 100,000 people completing my program, my focus has turned to the future. How can I help more people who want to change? Who, I know, want to help themselves but are scared? Some people feel alone and they simply dont know where to start.

Seven Minutes to Better Health is all about you and me together, taking a baby step every day or every second day until the fear is gone and you feel like you can carry on, grateful for the little nudge you desperately needed. The pages are crammed full of practical, easy workouts and recipes you can begin implementing straight away. Therell be no more excuses, no more maybe tomorrows, no more worries.

This is very much a softly, softly approach for beginners. I know, I know; youve started reading this and already the little voice in your head has begun to ask questions.

But I literally cannot remember the last time I worked out. Is this for me? YES!

But Im so unfit I dont think I could even do seven minutes YES, you absolutely can.

But I cant cook. Im terrible in the kitchen It doesnt matter. We make it as easy as one, two, three.

Can healthy food really taste good? Trust me, just try it.

Is seven minutes really enough to do any good? Yes, it is.

Will I be sitting here in 12 months time wishing Id started if I dont do something now? Yes, you very likely will be.

The essence of this program is that its a simple starter pack. There are thirty recipes for amazing smoothies, thirty recipes for tasty salads and thirty quick-fire workouts you can do whenever you have a tiny opportunity throughout the day. The idea is that you do one of these workouts each day for seven days to energise yourself and make yourself feel better.

As you probably already know, Im all about 28 minutes, but even more than that Im all about getting people started and helping them to break through any fear barriers they may have. The number of people I speak to who have the greatest of intentions to start, but dont is incredible their fear holds them back or they feel they need to reach a certain level of fitness before commencing, and never get there. It is these people and you may very well be one of them who need a little nudge the most.

If youre ready to write the first chapter in your new story, skip ahead and get started now, but if youre still not sure if you can do it, let me tell you a little story.

The thing I always say to people on their journey to getting in shape is Never stop starting again.

The first time around it is rare for you to have ultimate success and for that success to stick. The real journey is not to get in shape but to stay in shape and this will inevitably involve ups and downs.

Once you establish a healthy weight and good habits, you can move in and out of training more easily. But when people are starting out, all too often a stop can be the end for many people before they ever really get going.

I have literally had hundreds of people say to me Sam, I started your program every month for 3, 4, 5 months, but then it finally clicked and now there is no looking back.

But I dont need to lose weight

If youre in the healthy weight category but thats from pure luck rather than careful management; you are the envy of many. But I applaud your efforts to lead a healthier life. After all, ensuring you eat properly and doing regular exercise can help with all areas of our physical and emotional wellbeing. You dont need to worry too much about being a stickler about portion sizes and you can easily have a serving of wholefood carbohydrates (whole grains and starchy veg) with every meal.

Im going to make a huge assumption here and suggest that if youre reading this book, you probably have let your eating habits slip. Not right down the toilet, I hope, but enough to make you concerned.

Many times, I meet clients who do eat rather well they tell me they get plenty of fresh food and vegetables (at least five serves of the latter, they assure me), they make sure they consume at least two litres of water each day, and they get a reasonable start each morning with a proper breakfast. Drill down though and it turns out they might be slipping up and not just once or twice a week. Some admit to having one of those liquid breakfast drinks a few times a week (theyre full of preservatives and other stuff your body really doesnt need). Others sneak in a couple of biscuits at 3 pm every day to get them through. Some say they add on a couple of beers when they get home at night. So, yes, they might be eating quite nutritious meals, but its all the other stuff thats creating problems for them.

Get rid of the junk

At 28 By Sam Wood, we dont have very many rules, but when it comes to food weve got one very important guideline that will make working out what you should be eating very easy. Its called JERF, which is an acronym that stands for Just Eat Real Food. Lifes not about pre-packaged meals and supplements. All the nutrients you could ever need are found in as natural a state as possible. When youre thinking about ingredients or putting a meal together, ask yourself: does it come from a tree, out of the ground or depending on personal preferences from an animal?

Another way to look at it is to choose products that have very little human interference. I often tell my clients that these are found on the outskirts of the supermarket: in the fruit and vegetable section and the chilled section, where youll find meat, milk, natural yoghurt and the like. A quick foray into the aisle with brown rice isnt a bad idea either.

To lose weight and become healthier, the first step is to reduce the amount of refined carbohydrates in your diet and instead rely on lean, quality proteins and non-starchy vegetables teamed with some good fats and carbohydrates from wholefoods.

Is there anything I should give up for good?

We dont really go in for banning foods but there are some that arent at all healthy even though they masquerade as the good guys. At all times, remember our JERF guidelines, then get rid of this lot from your pantry and your life:

highly processed cereals, including muesli bars (read the label there should be no more than 10 per cent sugar)

anything labelled no fat, 97% fat free or fat free theyll normally have had sugar or artificial sweetners added to make them palatable