As the weather gets warmer, we have a lot of reasons to set new fitness and health goals. If you are looking to tone up, slim down or just create some new, healthy habits, there are numerous resources in Jefferson City to add better choices to your lifestyle.
Summer is the season to try some seasonal eating. Eating seasonally not only gives you variety in your diet and allows you the freshest ingredients at their peak, but it also benefits the environment. This supports small and mid-size farmers. It reduces the need for produce to be trucked in and therefore reduces the carbon footprint of the produce.
Similar environmental benefits can be seen by eliminating meat from a meal or two a week. Instead of reaching for that burger to grill, try a portabella mushroom cap as a simple swap. The United Nations claims one-fifth of greenhouse gas production comes from the consumption of meat.
Locally, Root Cellar's weekly subscription box is a great way to guarantee fresh veggies all summer long.
"People are often guided by habit and continue to purchase the same items over and over. To help create a better habit of eating more vegetables, a weekly subscription puts more of them in the home refrigerator," Root Cellar owner Jake Davis said.
Eating seasonally offers not only variety in your diet, but it also gives a full range of the nutrients you need to live a healthy lifestyle. However, eating seasonally can sometimes be overwhelming when you don't know where to start. "A subscription box allows you to try a wide variety of in-season items without much effort," Davis suggests.
Davis describes Root Cellar as a "great place to meet and share ideas with folks that have experience. We cultivate this through our in-store interactions, the community of subscribers and our social media networks."
Community and support are huge factors in accomplishing any goal and pushing yourself. An accountability group may be right for you.
A study published in 2011 in Muscle and Fitness stated "participants who worked out separately were 43 percent more likely to stop their fitness routine than those who had a support system." Having a partner or group to order a salad with you at lunch or push you to do that extra set may be the difference between accomplishing your goals and falling off the wagon.
Jefferson City resident Laura Sigwerth said she was always the "Monday dieter and could never push forward with meal prepping, calorie counting," etc. When she found the right program, she lost 40 pounds in three months. Now, she says she is "too excited not to share it with others."
"The benefit of setting goals during the summer is that you will feel much, much better enjoying summer activities with good nutrition flowing through your body and the energy from an awesome exercise regimen," Sigwerth said.
While it may seem like prepping fresh fruit and healthy snacks takes more time than grabbing chips at the gas station on your way to the lake, only one of those options will give you the energy you need for the day.
If all of these healthy foods find you with energy to burn, getting outside on Jefferson City's Greenway trail will be sure to bring the burn. This 8.4-mile trail spans from Washington Park to Jaycee Lake Park. The poured terrain is great for skating, biking or walking and is wide enough to be stroller-friendly. The mile markers on the trail make training easy, too.
The true key to achieving a fitness and nutrition goal is knowing you are doing it for the right reasons. Sweating on the treadmill is great for you, but if you think of it as a punishment for the parts of your body you are unhappy with, it is going to be just that - a punishment. When you are eating right and staying active because you want to take care of yourself, you will make true lifestyle changes.
Megan Sappington, owner of Wilson's Yoga Studio, believes the best way to start this path of appreciation for your body is yoga. She describes yoga as a "stealthy science."
"You come in with the attitude that your body is perfect at the current moment. As you practice, you start to notice the physical changes and toning benefits of yoga," Sappington said.
The numerous mental benefits of yoga - like self-acceptance, a calmer demeanor, reduced anxiety and depression, and increased presence in your life - draw many to the practice, but for others, the idea can be intimidating. To alleviate some stress of the unknown before you hit the mat, Wilson's offers a Yoga Immersion for Beginners class with the intention to "give newcomers an overall introduction to basic poses, breathing, meditation and class etiquette," Sappington said. The next class will be held July 16.
If you are already training for a race or other fitness event, adding yoga could benefit your routine. Sappington has even helped train runners for the New York City marathon, as yoga helps to "increase the runner's breathing capacity, teaches breath control and regulation, and trains the mind's ability to persevere," she said.
Sappington calls the perseverance aspect of yoga "the ability to calm the spark before the flame." Wilson's also has an in-house massage therapist, Rachel Steinmeier, if your motivation for fitness has you burning to treat yourself for all of your hard work.
Summer is the perfect time to re-align yourself with fitness and nutrition goals that will reward your body for all of the amazing things it does for you every day. Take the time to fuel it with local, fresh foods, get moving outside, and take in the physical and mental benefits of yoga. If any of this seems overwhelming, join a community to motivate you.