Today’s post features a few key takeaways from a recent Wellness Your Way podcast interview. Find the full episode here, and be sure to subscribe to Wellness Your Way so you don’t miss future episodes!
Guest Bio: Sam Pantazopoulos
Samantha (Sam) Pantazopoulos is a maverick social entrepreneur, brand strategist, connector of people and ideas and co-founder and CEO of Vizer, a social wellness platform on a mission toward Democratizing Wellness®. Vizer is an innovative app that supports a sustainable daily wellness routine by partnering with health-forward brands like Vita Coco, Core Foods and OLIPOP to incentivize exercise, increase access to healthy foods and promote whole-person health. When users track and complete a daily fitness activity (like walking 10K steps, exercising for 30 minutes or taking a partner studio class), Vizer partners donate a meal with U.S. food banks to populations in need. Users also earn points towards better-for-you rewards at restaurants, retail and online.
Top Insights from Samantha Pantazopoulos’ Interview
- Connecting fitness to something bigger than yourself is a great motivator. Sam never enjoyed fitness until she connected it to serving the community and felt connected to a greater purpose. As she says, the enjoyment of fitness often comes after making it a habit.
- Fitness should not feel hard. Many people grew up with exercise as punishment, which is detrimental to our mentality. And if it truly feels miserable, you’d be better off finding a different modality than what you’re doing now! There are so many options out there.
- The “right” fitness routine evolves just like people evolve. What is great for you today might not be tomorrow – let yourself and your routines evolve!
- Often, fitness involves a compound effect of benefits. Going for a walk is not only great for your heart and body, but being exposed to sunlight has enormous benefits, as does stepping away from work and giving yourself a break. Almost all fitness modalities enjoy multiple benefits like this.
- Wellness is a natural match with public health, because if we don’t feel good, it’s hard to do anything else well. For people experiencing food insecurity, for example, it’s incredibly difficult to pay attention in school or do great at work or have great relationships. For people not moving their bodies appropriately, there are a host of mental and emotional detriments. Our entire population is impacted by these simple behaviors. As a community, we can come together to help alleviate some of these deep issues.
- Boundaries are essential for overall health. Sam advises thinking deeply about “what’s a yes for me” rather than “what am I saying yes to out of obligation or pressure or people pleasing.” We often know in our guts if we’re saying yes and it’s not the right decision for us; the challenge is listening to that.
- A boundary is not saying “this can’t happen” – that’s control. Rather, a boundary is saying “if this happens, then I will do this.” It’s about being prepared for the curveballs life will throw at us and being ready to prioritize what we need even in the face of hardship.
- Making a healthy decision doesn’t always pay off immediately in terms of the results we crave, but focusing on something beneficial will keep us motivated. Even if you’re not able to run a marathon or haven’t lost 20 lbs after your very first walk in a while, there still ARE benefits. Did you enjoy being outside? Disconnecting from work? Feeling proud of yourself? Having more energy through the day? Making other healthy decisions more naturally? Find that and celebrate it so you’ll have motivation to keep going!
Want to hear the full episode, including how Sam deals with choosing not to drink in social or professional situations, how Vizer motivates people to exercise without pushing the “more is better” mentality, Sam’s current health challenges, how you can get fun free healthy samples, and so much more?
Head over here to catch the full episode with Samantha Pantazopoulos!
Now it’s your turn! What is one thing you learned from this interview? What’s one thing you’re committed to changing after learning from Samantha Pantazopoulos?
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