Healthy nutrition and a balanced lifestyle
For this week’s Health Seat interview, we sat down with Edsel Monzon, Managing Director of Health Heads Sport & Fitness, to talk about nutrition, fitness, and his personal journey.
1. What has been your biggest inspiration and motivation to stay fit and maintain a clean, healthy diet?
Though my motivations continue to evolve, I think like most people, my inspiration to be fit started off at a young age in a very basic way. As kids, we are sold this version of what a fit and capable person looks like, and we gravitate towards achieving that. As I got older, life itself motivated me in so many ways; for instance, working out and having a great diet allow me to live in a state of wellness that further allows for freedoms I think we generally take for granted. As a personal trainer, I help people stay motivated, which in itself motivates me, and I draw inspiration from whatever form health and wellness reveals itself – literature, conversation, pictures, experiences. Right now, the fact that people want to be healthy and eat healthy to have a better life inspires me to make HealhtyEats.sx the best healthy food service on the island.
2. What inspired you to pursue this career in sports, fitness, and nutrition? Did you always envision yourself working in this field, or did your path evolve over time?
My path always involved sports, fitness, and nutrition and at some point, I decided to dedicate myself more to this path. There was a point and time where I took for granted my knowledge in the field of fitness and nutrition until I realized that there was a serious lack of public knowledge in this area. There was also a lack of accessibility to nutrition and understanding of its impact on one’s mental and physical wellness. If you care about people like I do, it’s difficult to do nothing once you know that gap is there. So now I talk about health and provide healthy food services for anyone wanting to find a renewal of health through diet.
3. For those who may not know, can you explain what Health Heads Sport & Fitness is all about and what sets it apart from other programs?
Health Heads Sport & Fitness is a consolidation of health-related activities stemming from areas of life. I believe the path to a healthier lifestyle can start from many different areas and that beginning from any one of those areas can lead you into other areas of self-health. I initially steered Health Heads solely in the direction of physical fitness where I helped people lose weight, get stronger and reduce pain while educating them on nutrition and health related practices to improve their lives. It continues to be a joy to see people become healthier, relieved of pain, more joyful and aware of how to navigate their health, in a world where the same word “healthy” has become so elusive or obscure.
4. You’re also involved in a nutritional food delivery program. Can you tell us more about how it works and who it’s designed for?
In the last few months, I have expanded Healthy Heads to include HealthyEats.sx – our new online Health Food Service. Here, we created a service that allows the public looking for healthy great tasting meals to achieve that in a flexible, accessible, and affordable way. This service was created initially for my clients as they wanted healthy meals that would help them be healthy while losing weight. Because I have in mind clients with high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, PCOS and other conditions, I needed to create a menu that would work with a large set of clients. Over time, I realized that with some tweaks, this program would work for entrepreneurs, the elderly, persons who wanted to gain weight, and anyone who just wanted to eat healthy. So, that is what I did and continue to do as we expand our services to meet the demand. This service stands out in the previously mentioned areas by allowing one’s meals to fit their budget and lifestyle:
- You can choose a mixture of breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- We deliver your meal prep in bulk so there is no wait after your delivery (starting at 5:00am).
- We have all the nutritional facts on our meals, so you know what you’re putting in your body.
- You do it all online from the convenience of your home or office.
- We also allow you free consultation when choosing your plan.
- We have great authentic chefs who do a great job in producing our great tasting meals.
5. Are there any exciting specials, deals, or new menu items in the food program that people should look out for?
Currently at 15 items, we have a regularly expanding menu. By the time this is published, we will probably be up to 17 or 18 items and continue from there. We have both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options that will please even the harshest critics. We offer 3-day plans, 1-week plans and 2-week plans, and will continue to expand upon those plans in the near future. Our 2-week plan currently offers a 5% discount, so you will save 10% on your plan in a month.
6. Living in St. Maarten, you’re surrounded by beautiful beaches. Do you have a personal favourite, and why?
When I have time, I usually go to Mullet Bay. I go early and it’s peaceful; the sun rises against the water and the cove is nice to look at. Besides, the drive is far enough from my starting point that I can listen to and enjoy 20-30 minutes of my audio book while on the journey.
7. Which local restaurants or venues would you recommend for someone who still wants to make nutritious choices when dining out?
I think it depends on what you want to achieve at that moment. Am I looking to have a “cheat meal” of some sort, or am I trying to go out, enjoy the time with friends and family and still be health conscious. If you are going for option two, I would say go to any venue where you can include lots of veggies on your plate and forgo deep fried foods like chicken or fries.
8. How do you balance the discipline of a clean lifestyle with occasional indulgences? Do you have a go-to “cheat” meal?
I don’t really need cheat meals; I would say that I would more likely do it out of habit if I wasn’t currently doing it out of necessity. I say it this way because right now I am able to cover six out of my seven days in the week with HealthyEats.sx meals, so on the seventh day, I eat out and get a “cheat meal”. But believe it or not, my cheat meals usually have veggies in it; though on occasion, I may find myself having a shawarma wrap or sushi.
9. What advice would you give to someone who is just starting their fitness and nutrition journey but feels overwhelmed?
I would say this is truly a personal journey and there may be setbacks, but it’s okay once you learn from those setbacks. You need to learn when to press on the pedal and release a little when your body says to. By balancing the practice of giving yourself grace vs being firm with yourself, you will be able to appreciate your journey and move along its path while not resenting it. There is a lot to learn in fitness and nutrition, but don’t overwhelm yourself with all the information at once, take your time to learn the basics and try not to follow every fad you see on social media. If in doubt, hire a trainer. Lastly, remember your journey can start from the simplest change in a healthy habit that leads you to better choices. If you want to make the nutrition part easy, check us out at HealthyEats.sx. Nutrition is 80% of the change in your body, so definitely get that right.
10. Can you share a funny story, memorable moment, or a challenge you had to overcome in your fitness or business journey?
There are so many challenges I have had to overcome to get to this point, which lead to memorable moments. I remember getting just four hours sleep every night for a long time when creating this program. My schedule is very demanding. I wake at 4:00am and finish up with clients around 7-8:00pm. Though I found some time to work on the concept of HealthyEats.sx, most of my time allocated to it was during my evening hours. So I worked until 12 midnight or even later for a long time creating and putting together the concept. It’s no walk in the park to build what we have built and I am happy to be able to share it here first on St. Maarten and eventually beyond.
11. Looking ahead, what’s next for you and Health Heads Sport & Fitness? Any exciting projects or goals on the horizon?
Right now the focus is HealthyEats.sx as we set out to make healthy food more readily available to the public. We are currently investing in updates to our website, expanding our menu, expanding our delivery services and creating plans that make it easier for our customers to find what best suits their needs. We are excited for what’s to come and we hope you are too!
