Feeling healthy starts with a plan and clear priorities

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/03/2022 (1403 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you are looking to get healthy, strange as it may sound, the most important first step is to define health for yourself. Accomplishing that task will get you to sit down for a minute or two and think through what you value when you start asking yourself to change a few things. It’s difficult to make changes — not impossible — and your will power is going to need reasons and motivation to stay present when the going gets tough.

Let’s talk about what health means. I’ll go first, and then we will ask former professional football player Milt Stegall what he values daily in his health journey.

I’m a simple person, and as much as I love doing high-performance fitness activities, what I really need is energy. Being fit enough to make memories has always been my motivation. It’s about he ability to get up and go on a hike for the perfect sunrise photo or to go for a walk with a coffee with friends.

Energy to make life matter is important and it comes from two sources. First comes food, and it’s about making selections that don’t spike insulin. My goal is to go most days without having a lot of refined sugar. (If I said I avoid sugar, my phone would blow up with friends reminding me about my Sour Key candy and Dr. Pepper addictions.)

Day to day, it’s not something I keep around. If it’s in the house it will eventually make it’s way into my mouth. The goal is to keep some foods as treats, not to reward yourself for exercise or sticking to a diet, but simply to “treat yourself” from time to time because you really like it. Aside from sugar, it’s not about what I limit, but what I make sure goes in. There is something to be said for a good smoothie full of spinach and kale. It’s easy, it’s full of nutrients, and with the right fruits you’ve got a great source of energy to start the day. That’s all I’m going to say about nutrition. If you want more great eating tips, book a session with a registered dietitian. RDs can walk you through fuelling your day so you’ve got the energy to get out and make memories.

My second need to feel healthy is pain-free range of motion. If you ever get the chance to chat with my mom I’m sure she will bring up my uncanny ability to make really bad decisions. I hit an age where my mom stopped telling me “that will hurt you” or “that that’s a bad idea” and she just started to say “think it through.” Well, unfortunately, thinking things through was not then, and is not now, a strong character trait of mine. The bad decisions in my youth caused a lot of injuries. If I don’t move, I really start to lose my pain-free range of motion. Lower back, right knee and left shoulder all get pretty bad pretty quickly, so movement and “prehab” exercises are a part of my daily life.

I make sure I do all I can to get moving first thing in the morning and stay moving throughout the day. It’s no different for most office people. If you sit at your desk for hours, you get sore. Going to the gym first thing in the morning, or finishing the day there is great, but for your joint health and wellness, regularly moving throughout the day is the best medicine.

For me, health is about smart decisions with food and a pain-free range of motion. Add those two things together and my health allows life to be active, fun and full of memories.

Now let’s hear from CFL legend Milt Stegall on what health means to him.

“Football brought me a lot of good things — my body is and was my currency,” says the former Winnipeg Blue Bombers star receiver. “Performance comes from regularly doing the hard things that make you better. Putting the time in to make sure you are your best. Health is the same thing. It is what you regularly do; it is what you consistently do. Health to me is the plan.”

For Stegall, health starts with the groceries.

“I need to get the food that’s going to keep me fit and motivated to move. It’s making sure the right things are there so me and my family are eating good,” Stegall says. “It’s also important to move every day. I don’t lift weights like most people assume, and I also don’t plan my workouts in advance. I know my body, which is part of health to me, and I move to make sure I get stronger, stay faster, and move with purpose.”

Stegall says the missing link for many people is a lack of clarity about what they need to feel good.

“You’ve read a book, a magazine article, listened to your neighbour,” he says. “You’ve tried a ton of different things, but you don’t know what works for you. Health is knowing yourself. With that knowledge you make your plan, and you stick to it. Consistency comes from knowing if you wake up, eat right and move your body, you’ll go to bed feeling ready to rest. Nothing beats putting your head down at the end of a day knowing it was a job well done.”

Health is also about planning and priorities.

“Nothing is as frustrating to me as a person who says the don’t have time for their health,” Stegall says. “Prioritize your health. If you don’t, it will put you on the sideline at some point. Even something as simple as making time to walk, and moving or exercising while watching TV can drastically change how you feel. Nothing is as important in your health journey as time. Spend time on you, and you’ll have more to give in the office, to your family, and just about any place you need more energy.”

If you listen to the two of us, you’ll sit down and prioritize a few things to get healthy. Personally, I’d recommend connecting with some experts to get good guidance, then to start trying things and making the journey your own. Build consistency, prioritize yourself, move with purpose and self care as a goal, and start eating to fuel your day.

Go out, make some memories. Take care of your health, and we will see you back here for our next article to make you Simply Healthy.

CFL legend Milt Stegall and workplace health and wellness expert Jordan Cieciwa have a dream: they want Winnipeg to be one of the healthiest cities in Canada. The two have teamed up to launch a program called the Fit City Project. For more information check out fitcityproject.com and join our community. We are here to support you, connect you with passionate health professionals and challenge you to live “simply healthy.” You can also tweet at us; we love taking the discussion to social media: @FitCityJordan @MiltStegallTSN.