Those who want to become healthy and fit in the new year should not overdo it. More important is the long path of small steps with suitable sporting activity, healthy nutrition - and natural vital substances.

It will be that time again at the beginning of 2022: Gym registration numbers are going up (Covid-19 or not), and people are rushing to do anything that could make them healthier and fitter. Because one thing is as certain as rockets at the turn of the year: losing weight, exercising more and quitting smoking will once again top the list of good intentions for the New Year. Just like every year, as market research institutes have determined time and again and are pretty sure they will continue to do so regularly in the future.

Of course, this is worthy of all honour, because there are many diseases, but only one health and already the great philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer knew: "Health is not everything, but without health everything is nothing." But trying to get healthy and fit quickly can go thoroughly wrong. "Because experience shows that over-ambitious projects can quickly go thoroughly wrong. Why is that? It's simple: if you want to lose 15 kilos within eight weeks and prepare your body for a half-marathon, even though you've been having trouble breathing for months when climbing stairs, you're simply taking on far too much - such a project cannot succeed. And that in turn leads to giving up in frustration after a few weeks - couch and chips are more tempting than vegetables and jogging shoes," says Natura Vitalis founder Frank Felte (www.naturavitalis.de).

The company from Essen has long been considered one of the leading manufacturers of natural food supplements and places the highest value on continuous further and new developments of health products on a scientific basis.

That is why it is important to take the path of small steps, advises Frank Felte. Most people overestimate their fitness level at the beginning. They think they can immediately resume sport with the intensity with which they stopped in the autumn, or they can immediately achieve top performance, even though the substance is not there at all. "That's wrong, of course, because if the body is not challenged, it breaks down muscle mass and shuts down its metabolism. That's why you shouldn't look at the clock and chase kilometres, but rather start off loosely and simply resolve to get fitter again. A check-up at the doctor's can't hurt either, nor can an individual sports programme from an expert that includes exercises that really fit."

When it comes to diet, it is also important to take a targeted approach. Reducing food intake to a minimum only leads to the yoyo effect in the long run - the body then stores up everything it can get for possible new bad times. That means: eat more selectively! Industrial sugar, too many fats and carbohydrates should be banned from the menu and replaced by fruit and vegetables; tea and water take the place of sweet drinks.

Natural vital substances are just as important, Frank Felte knows. "These complement sporting activity and a healthy diet. Then nothing stands in the way of a good start to a healthy new year. And with results that last." He points, for example, to the product "High Performance L-Carnitine" from Natura Vitalis. It is now known that L-carnitine plays an important role not only in the energy metabolism in humans and animals, but also in plant cells. This means that a person with a fast metabolism burns a lot of the energy that he or she has taken in through food. This therefore accelerates weight loss through sport, dieting and dietary changes. This helps to get the body going permanently and to achieve all goals.