Practical tips health and wellness
Healthy Eating – to feel good & have more energy
Limit foods from top shelf of food pyramid (Choc/biscuits/crisps/cake/fizzy drinks) high in fat, sugar, salt- Prepare & cook using fresh ingredients (ready meals/takeaways are high in fat & sugar)
- Eat 5 or more of different coloured fruit/veg a day, include leafy green vegetables
- Smoothies: Yes, but only fruit based smoothies
- Wholegrain foods provide serotonin (the feel good hormone) in bread, high fibre cereal especially porridge, brown rice satisfy hunger & fuel your body. Slow release of energy
- Cook using steaming, grill, bake, roast, stir fry – not frying, limit chips
- Chooses low fat
- 3 meals a day sitting at a table – eating with screens- you simply eat more!
- People who eat breakfast are more likely to be a healthy weight
- Alcohol is fattening & high in calories: 1 standard drink is 150 calories
- Nuts & Seeds to snack on or over salads
- Incorporate beans/lentils which replace magnesium which is drained through stress
- Natural yogurt & blueberries or hummus on oatcakes for snacks
- Avoid caffeine which rev up stress hormones; herbal teas instead
- 8 cups of water a day
Top shelf foods (Chocolate, biscuits, crisps and fizzy drinks) are high in fat, sugar and salt. They may promote obesity, type 2 diabetes. Start today and limit what you eat to no more than 1 serving a day maximum and ideally not every day.
Powerful lessons in achieving your goals
5 P’s: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance
The Pareto Rule: The 80:20 rule: 20% of your effort yields 80% of your results
- Work expands to fit the time available
- If you fail to plan, you plan to fail
- Be organised
- Set goals
- Make a plan
- Prioritise tasks
- Set deadlines for tasks
- Break tasks down into manageable chunks
- Get the hardest task done first!
- Reward yourself
- Screen out interruptions
- 30 minutes exercise aids sleep
- Get 7/8 hours sleep a night
- Mornings begin the night before
- Allow adequate time
- Taking breaks Do recharge you
- Diary something to look forward to each week
- Prioritise rest when tired
- Learn to say NO nicely
- Set boundaries around technology & times you are not available
The 4 D’s: There are things I need to
- DO
- Delay
- Delegate
- D.U.M.P!
Stress busters: ‘When I exercise, things don’t get on top of me’
Finding the half hour to exercise makes the rest of the day more manageable and improves your mood (if outdoor)
What is your coping strategy? People who handle stress well all do –
- They disconnect (offline and turn phone off – gulp!)
- They sleep 7/8 hours a night
- They squash negative self-talk
- They Breathe
- They Ask for Help
- They stay positive
- They share a worry
Other suggestions:
- Listen to music, cinema trip, read a book
- Sit quietly
- Play your favourite sport or favourite exercise activity
- Take a long bath
- Visit a friend
- A guided relaxation or meditation cd
Motivation
- Do not overdue the pressure
- Work to the best of your ability; doing your best is all you can actually do. If it’s enough; that is great, if not – you have done everything you can. Move from saying ‘I need this’ to I want this’. Encourage and support and believe in yourself ‘I can do this’.
- Take inner critic voices out of your head and put them on a chair beside you. There is no way you would hang around to listen to them is there?
- Give yourself a pep talk
- Play Tina Turner’s ‘Simply the Best’; listen to the music while focusing on things you have achieved and use it to get you into the right frame of mind
- Worrying? 90% of what we worry about; never happens!
E+R=O (Event+ Your Response= Outcome)
- You may not be able to change the Event, however when you change how you Respond you may improve your Outcomes.
Focus on being positive
- 5:1 Positives (Work on being more Optimistic) It’s not about the setback, it is more about how you interpret it that matters! Resilient people ‘bounce’ back from adversity
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