- Ali
Last year the Government warned that those aged 40 – 60 face the biggest health crisis. If you’re worried you’re not the healthiest you can be, you may be wondering what you can do about it…
The Government has faced up to the fact that we are becoming an unhealthy nation and it’s not just childhood obesity that is to be blamed. Experts have said middle-aged people in England (those of us falling into the 40 – 60 age bracket), face a health crisis because of unhealthy lifestyles, too much time spent sitting at our desks, fast food consumption and the daily grind.
They have highlighted that many of us are overweight, drink too much or get too little exercise. January is notoriously the month when gym memberships shoot up only to find that gym numbers drop to the pre January levels by Mid February.
If you want to know where you stand, it's well worth taking the fun NHS quiz which looks at your daily choices, the snacks you choose, the amount of exercise you take daily, to see how healthy you are and through a colour coded system – red, amber, green - gives you the areas of improvement you can focus on.
I love how the NHS is working to improve health care through good habits, education, eating and exercise – it’s much better to work to prevent health issues than battle to treat them once they arise.
The four key areas they address are similar to those I teach in our 30 days to healthy living programme:
- Eating healthily
- Drinking
- Being Active
- Smoking
I have a group of over 300 working on the programme with me now so why not join us? Message me for more information. In the meantime, take a look at my top advice for keeping fit and healthy below. I hope you’ll be able to follow these health tips to help you reach your health, wellness and weight loss goals in 2018.
Eating Healthily
The food choices you make on a daily basis are key to your overall health. These health tips and nutritional advice can help you to improve your lifestyle this year:
- Cut out the CRAP - foods that don’t serve you and actually zap your energy
C – Caffeine
R – Refined Sugar
A – Alcohol
P – Processed foods
- Reduce the amount of wheat and gluten you eat my cutting down on bread, cakes, biscuits and pasta.
- Reduce the amount of refined sugar you consume in drinks, cakes, biscuits and other sugary snacks. Limit fizzy drinks – they are high in sugar, or just as bad, artificial sugars, and will actually leave you feeling less energised in the long-run.
- Another health tip to improve your diet is to make sure you’re eating healthy fats from nuts, seeds and vegetable like avocado rather than animal fat and cakes.
- Eat wholefoods rather than processed foods, this will help you increase your fibre intake. It also helps maintain your blood sugar by eating starchy wholefoods that release their energy slowly and keep you fuller for longer. Things like sweet potato and quinoa grains are really good for us.
Alcohol
Even a moderate amount of alcohol affects your brain and liver making you sluggish and irritable. One of the easiest ways to cut down your alcohol intake is to have at least 2 to 3 non-alcohol days a week. In our 30 days to healthy living programme we take it a stage further and help you give up alcohol for a whole 30 days. It’s amazing how much more mental clarity and energy you have, and how much better you sleep throughout the programme.
Some of us use alcohol as a crutch when we’ve had a bad day at work or need to relax but it can actually have the opposite effect. Having a healthy alternative like an Arbonne Fizz Stick .to hand can help you reduce the amount you drink. They are packed with B vitamins and really give you energy.
Being Active
Getting your blood pumping is good for your mind as well as your body as physical activity releases mood boosting chemicals in your brain. Ideally get moving at least 5 times a week for 30 minutes or more.
Some simple and easy exercises to add to your life are:
- Park further away from the office and take a 10 to 15 minute walk into work
- Take a walk or exercise class at lunch time. Doing strength exercises is also really important so taking a lunchtime yoga class could help with overall fitness and mental alertness too.
- Join the kids or a partner for a walk or game of tag in the evening – this way you’re getting the whole family active too
- Join a Park run – there’ll be one pretty close to you no matter where you live – and you don’t have to run you can walk or jog, or consider taking up a sport you used to love.
Smoking
One of the biggest things you can do to improve your health is to give up smoking. Even the occasional cigarette can limit your lung capacity and reduce energy levels. There is plenty of help out there so speak to your Doctor or pharmacist today.
Get more sleep
If you can nail this then you can really improve all aspects of your life. The bitter truth is that most people get less than the recommended 7 – 9 hours of sleep a night down to so many conflicting factors: work life balance, stress, poor eating habits, erratic blood sugar and on and on. Check out my blog on sleep and see how you can improve in this area. Or think about taking part in our 30 days to healthy living challenge too. One of the most talked about benefits, alongside weight loss and energy, is the improved sleep that almost all participant see.
Make time to relax
Setting sometime aside each day to relax and unwind can have some amazing benefits. Whether it’s doing a few minutes of meditation or yoga, I love the Headspace app , booking a massage or taking a home spa using your favourite products, mine are Arbonne’s Rescue and Renew Range, taking the time to concentrate on you can really help you to feel calmer throughout the day so you can and handle the ups and downs of life.
If you’re interested in starting a healthy living plan then please contact me to find out how I can help. I walk people through a 30 days to healthy living transformation which is designed to address the very areas the NHS has highlighted as key to damaging our health. I’d love to help you make 2018 a year of transformation – get in touch to find out how the 30 days to healthy living transformation could help you be healthier and fitter!
