Health Update: Malik Reid on making New Year wellness habits stick | Lifestyle – What Experts Say

The new year is here. And already, gyms are jam packed with people working towards achieving their body goals for 2026. While it is a good strategy to build that moment from early, many drop out of the fitness race sooner than expected or fail to accomplish the mission due to certain misconceptions.

According to personal trainer, Malik Reid, nutrition is the key to success on any wellness journey.

“For any fitness or wellness journey, the basis of it is the meals because food is fuel. If you’re controlling what goes inside of your body, that will directly reflect your performance in and out of the gym,” he told Lifestyle.

What he found was that many people either lack the discipline to follow a meal plan or do not have enough information to understand what truly constitutes a healthy meal.

Reid knows all too well the importance of nourishing your body. His career is rooted in his own personal experiences with health and fitness. “Growing up, I was always active. But I think my fitness journey really stemmed from me having sickle cell. Because of this, I had to always be on the healthier side,” the University of Technology student said, adding, “So watching what I eat, my sleep pattern and my fitness level was key. And then going through my teens, I was severely depressed. Fitness actually saved my life.”

He began providing personal training for his class and college mates back in 2019. By 2020, he found a new way to tap into nutrition by preparing healthy and tasty meals for persons at UTech as well as on the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. “My dormmates on 138 Student Living would receive lean cuts of beef and pork, as well as seafood from their parents. So I began catering for them,” he shared.

Since then, this passion has translated into a full fledged meal plan programme, offering weekly prepared dishes to those who train with him as well as others who just want to reset their bodies the nutritious way.

“I’m currently facilitating a 12-week weight loss programme. And this is more focused on the dietary side of things. Meals will be delivered to persons in bulk, and they will have access to them for the whole week. The meal options are either plant based or lean protein with vegetables and ground provision. There are burgers as well. These meals are more health-focused [but] that doesn’t mean that they are bland. The dishes are flavourful and correctly portioned,” he highlighted.

With a personality that shines through his work, the sports medicine student explained that his approach as a personal trainer centres on hybrid training, combining cardio, strength, mobility and flexibility training.

“For someone who is currently struggling to restart their wellness programme for the new year, my advice is take it one step at a time. When January comes, you’re jumping into the gym and binging on everything healthy. That’s going to burn out fast. Start with small steps; whether that’s eating clean or reaching that daily step goal. Each small step will bring you closer to your goals,” he said.

The routine, he continued to point out, doesn’t have to be rigid either, “Just find a way to enjoy fitness. A lot of people have this love-hate relationship with the gym. The more you find things to enjoy – gym or fitness-related – the more seamless your workouts will be. So stop focussing on a transformation and just focus on a lifestyle. And remember, every journey starts with the first step.”

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com