Holistic fitness expert, trainer
and Garden of Life brand
advocate, Don Saladino
is owner of Drive495,
a state-of-the-art, golf
and fitness training facility
in New York.
HERE ARE TEN EASY STEPS TO FOLLOW:
1. Eat Organic Foods 4. Water 7. Be Active on Your Off Days
Organic foods have little to no chemicals.
Turning to these will help with your overall
vitality. This will help your recovery—a topic
you’ll hear me discuss a lot. You don’t have
to be perfect here, but aim for my 80/20
rule—80% of the week, follow the plan—
20% of the week, leave room for error. Follow this very simple formula. I want you
to consume 50 ounces of water per 100
pounds of body weight. So, if you weigh 150
pounds, drink 75 ounces of water per day.
Just do the math. Depending on your activity
level, you might need a little more. For those
who sweat a lot due to strenuous activity, my
trick is to have them add a pinch of Celtic sea
salt to their water. This is one of the best ways
to rehydrate the body without the junk that’s
in many sports drinks. What I mean by active is get into a healthy
environment—go for a walk barefoot on the
beach, get into the sun, play with your dog or
your kids. Just move. This is very restorative to
the body, and I put a great deal of emphasis
on recovery and wellness.
2. Meal Frequency
This is something that a lot of people still
can’t grasp: we don’t want to skip meals.
Look at your metabolism as a campfire
that you want burning as high as possible.
We will accomplish this by feeding your
metabolism firewood and sticks throughout the
day. Skipping a meal is like forgetting to throw
wood on the fire. So, an easy rule of thumb is
to consume something every three hours.
3. Nothing White
The general rule here is no white flour, white
table salt or white sugar. These are all plain
junk with no nutrients. This will not only work
against your digestive system, but these
foods are also useless energy for the body.
If I’m putting something into my body, I want
to make sure that it benefits my body. Even if
it’s a cheat, I try to keep my cheats to whole
foods that have nutrients in them. If you
must have something less nutritious, just
remember—moderation is key.
5. Start Your Day With a Probiotic
The first thing I do when I wake up is take
my Garden of Life® probiotic with about
one-quarter of my daily water intake. Since
starting this, I feel completely different. This
gets my digestive system ready, and my
energy level has gone through the roof.
6. Break a Sweat Regularly
At a bare minimum, I recommend breaking a
sweat four-to-five days a week for roughly 20
minutes. This is not a huge commitment, if
you think about it. This could be a bodyweight
circuit performed in your house—you just
need to move. If you get bored easily, switch
it up daily. One day perform a bodyweight
workout, another day go paddle-boarding.
Just be active. This does not have to look like
Rocky climbing the mountain.
If making all these changes seems like a struggle, give me 30 days. I guarantee success.
You’ll realize that this is much easier than you think, and a very attainable wellness goal.
8. Breathe and Relax
This is definitely the one I struggle with
the most, but I never underestimate its
importance. Try and relax or breathe ten
minutes a day. Find a corner in your office,
go sit on a park bench, put your cell phone
down and take a moment to disconnect
from society.
9. Sleep Seven-to-Nine Hours
I would probably rate this as one of the most
important points. It’s restorative for our
hormone function, and it is one of the best
ways to burn fat. And guess what—it’s free.
10. Limit Alcohol
I am personally not a drinker, but I understand
that people like to have an occasional
alcoholic beverage and that’s fine. I would
just recommend no more than three drinks
a week. The body is not meant to consume
alcohol, and rather than being concerned with
the calories, I am more concerned with what
it does to your hormones. If you are going to
do it, I recommend a glass of wine (white or
red) or a gluten-free option.