First Blog Post from our very own Melissa Gallanter, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist(RDN) and coach at Evolution ByCycle, in East Brunswick. There's a common theory that losing weight results from a combination of 80 percent healthy diet and 20 percent exercise, meaning that 80 percent of weight loss is due to eating habits and 20 percent is due to exercise. The specific ratio itself isn't concrete fact, but there's truth in the importance of diet and exercise working hand in hand. Let's rewind for a second though. There are so many different goals that we all have when it comes to health and fitness: losing weight, lowering cholesterol, blood pressure, or blood sugar levels, feeling more energized, building muscle, cycling more miles, and many goals in-between. And oftentimes, we set multiple goals for ourselves at once. This all can get very overwhelming, very quickly. Trying to lose weight and build endurance, trying to balance preparing healthy meals and making it to a spin class. Science may suggest that the ratio of nutrition and exercise weighs more heavily on our habits in the kitchen, but that doesn't serve as an endorsement to neglect a workout or to saying no to a walk outside with a neighbor. The best way to start or -- for our Evolutionaries -- to continue making strides towards goals is to take them one step at a time. Making specific and measurable goals makes us more likely to achieve success and more likely to continue making small, reachable goals. Start small and start with one goal in the kitchen and one goal in the studio. Add a little bit more gear on that bike once more than usual each time you ride in a spin class. Try challenging yourself in a new way, stretching deeper in yoga or signing up for a body sculpt class if you usually meet us on the bike. Maybe take a mental scan of what your eating habits are right now and choose one meal to improve on. Make a point to buy one additional vegetable each week that you usually would leave on the shelf at the supermarket. Whatever your goals may be, don't be afraid to start smaller. Fitness goals are reached through the strong combination of exercise and nutrition, just as lifestyle changes made in the kitchen are supplemented and strengthened with the incorporation of exercise. And remember, the Evolution team is available as a resource and are there to guide you and cheer you on every step of the way.
