Conventional wisdom will tell you that you need to lose fat to get healthy but we will explain in this article why you need to get healthy to lose fat!

Work

We are not talking about the 9-5 grind. We are talking about physical work in the gym. If you are not willing to put the time and effort into intense workouts, you are never going to get the fat loss results. Now, you do not have to be in the gym seven days a week for hours on end doing long boring cardio. Smart training is the key; full body workouts using heavy weights and minimal rest while performing compound exercises to recruit a ton of muscles. This will put you in a great hormonal environment increasing your lean muscle tissue thus leading to a metabolic increase and mass fat calories burned.

Rest

The harder you work the more rest you require. If you are working hard in the gym but not allowing your body adequate rest, you will find you will NOT get the fat loss results you are looking for. Ultimately you need to balance your body so if exercise is yang, then rest is yin. While you rest your body repairs itself, hormones balance, muscles recover and your body refuels. You should aim to get 8-9 hours sleep per night ensuring you are in bed by 10.30pm. This is essential for hormonal repair as it follows your body’s natural circadian rhythm.

Play

Sitting around playing your play station for hours on end is not what we are referring to here. Play is engaging in some kind of physical movement often being in the form of a game. Find something you enjoy and engage in it as much as you can. Even if you don’t have time I would suggest making time. The idea of playing is highly undervalued in today’s society; our ancestors would play for at least a couple of hour’s everyday. Having fun and playing will keep your cortisol (stress hormone that stores belly fat) levels low and keeps you looking and feeling young.

Pray

This is not literally praying but taking time out for you to reflect upon the day. In today’s society everyone is so busy that they forget to take time out for themselves leading to more stress and less appreciation for life. Take at least 20 minutes everyday to think about how wonderful your life is, to appreciate the beauty of the world and to focus on your purpose, path and journey in life.

Combining these four pillars with a well balanced diet will ensure great health, longevity and vitality in your life, ultimately leading to a great body and healthy mind.