In Episode #100, we’ll hear from a very special guest (and local fitness expert) to learn why your health needs to be a priority. There are probably a hundred reasons! Whether you’re a business owner or the head of your family, you must treat health like a legacy if you want to be happy and successful.

Health is Essential and Must Be Your Priority

We’ve heard the word “essential” used throughout the pandemic. Things are deemed essential if it’s a necessity that we can’t do without. Police and doctors are essential. Grocery stores and hospitals are essential. Your health is essential. Without health, you won’t be able to function in various roles. It doesn’t matter how much you plan for your business or what you’d like to do for your family if you won’t be around to see it through. It’s time to stop treating health like a wish and instead make it a priority. Health is a legacy!

Tadris Parker has strong opinions on why health should be every person’s legacy, but the most inspiring part is what led him to overhaul his own life, starting a health journey that changed everything. “My grandmother used to go to dialysis twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursdays. Now, those days are the meet up days for training as a running group.”

Coach Tadris has been working all of his adult life towards helping others to be healthier. “My trade was providing clean air quality for hospitals and schools in our area. My passion over the last seven years has been transforming lives through weight loss and running. Helping people go from extra large shirts down to medium size. I teach people how to eat healthy, what times of day to eat, as well as how to run/walk to the best versions of themselves.”

Set a Healthy Example for Your Kids and Community

Tadris may not look like a grandfather, but his face lights up when he mentions his 2-year-old grandson, Malachi, and 1-year-old granddaughter, Love. He also has a pre-teen son at home, Shealen, who’s watching his every move and rides a bike alongside his dad on runs. Family is the center of his world, so Tadris treats health like a legacy. He wants to be around for his kids and grandkids, teaching them good habits and leading by example.

“Obesity ran in my family. My grandmother passed away from diabetes, I’ve had members in my family have gastric bypass surgery, including my wife Nichol. I saw how carrying extra weight around crushes your self esteem and your quality of life. I weighed 217 pounds myself back in 2012. That’s when I knew it was time for a change. I became a student of health and wellness. I began counting calories using myfitnesspal app. I began running again and signed up to my first 5k race after being away from running for 5 years.” (Now he’s running half marathons and training others to join in!)

Tadris says that the kids in his neighborhood flock around when he takes a football outside. Kids are always watching, in your family and in your community. Especially this year, while schools are closed or operating on a limited schedule, kids are looking for something to do. We can set an example by building relationships in the community to promote health and exercise. It’s as simple as having a game of catch or setting up a bike race. Take advantage of the opportunity to treat health as a legacy!

Health is Good For Business

Over the years of attending business meetings and getting to know other local entrepreneurs, Tadris noticed a pattern of certain downfalls made in the area of health. “Not making time for themselves” is a common problem, Tadris says. “ I encourage them to schedule themselves into their daily to-do list. It could be an hour before you have to be in the office. It could be a two-hour midday break to unplug, take a walk, lift some weights, take a yoga class, take a shower and get back to your business. Trust me, you will make more money and show up a lot happier for your clients and employees.”

As a business owner, you may already feel overwhelmed by your workload and can’t wrap your head around any major changes. Health is too important to ignore. If you can make one small change to improve your health today, Tadris recommends prioritizing diet over exercise.

“Many business owners do not prioritize their health at all. It’s on the back burner, not even turned on. Business owners can become so occupied with making money, keeping the clients happy and paying overhead that there is no time left for themselves.” Coach Tadris explains.

Here is what Coach Tadris suggests for a business owner who wants to start fixing up their diet: intermittent fasting and clean eating.

“First, start off by monitoring what you are eating daily and for how long. If you start your day at 7am with coffee, cream and a pastry that starts your eating window, and finish eating at 11pm at night with popcorn as you’re watching some TV, then you’d have been spiking insulin all day for 16 hours. Without changing anything that you actually ate, what if you flipped that? Stop eating at 7pm and open your eating pattern at 7am. You’ll cut out so many unnecessary calories and begin your way to good health. Some find that they wake up better by making this small tweak. Some find that they are not as hungry in the morning and have their first meal at 11am, after closing their window at 7pm and now they would have fasted for 16 hours. (Lose the Quarantine 15 through intermittent fasting)

Second, I would suggest cleaning up your nutrition by sticking to only real food sources. Swap out candy for fruit, chips for nuts and seeds and go from there.”

Start Today: Make Health Your Legacy

Some say that time is the truest form of currency. With that in mind, we can’t control how much time we have here on earth with our loved ones, doing the things we care about, but we can do what is in our control to maximize our time. (Run, rest, repeat - a practical way to get fit and stay healthy!)

Health must be a priority. Keeping yourself fit and healthy, getting proper rest and nourishment, and keeping your body strong and active is an investment. We need to treat our health as the most valuable form of currency we have. Because if you don’t have health, you won’t have time, and everything you hope for and plan for will become an “I wish I could” instead of a goal. Your goals must be supported by a healthy lifestyle.

“I want to pass on to my kids and grandkids the legacy of giving to other people.” Tadris says. “In order to serve and help others, we need to be in a good mental space. We can control that by watching what we eat and making time for exercise daily.”

I volunteer in the community by helping people find motivation through the scriptures to help them face today’s problems. One of my favorite scriptures says: There is more happiness in giving then there is in receiving. That’s what I want to leave my family. They will know that I always gave my all.”

Be intentional about making your health a priority. Get started right now and join our accountability group so Coach Tadris can help you put a plan to action and give you the support to stick with it!