Wednesday 18 January 2012

Pension top ups

I hope my tips yesterday were useful for those of you currently in 'New Year, New You' mode. However I appreciate some of you may have ditched setting resolutions and taking on new health regimes and power to you.

This months zen approach is very much about making small changes that aren't too traumatic so you'll keep them up for good. And little changes can be the best investments in the long-run - perhaps they don't make a big difference over a fortnight, but accumulated over months they could make a big difference and turn into natural habits.

Therefore, if you're not on any particular regime right now maybe consider making a little daily health investment, kind of like building up a pension pot to pay out in your old age.

Think of one thing you can do each day until the end of January to pay into your health pension and keep you healthy in the long-run.

Here are some ideas to get you started, doing the whole list would be a bit much but just one a day is totally manageable:

- add a big salad to your lunch or dinner to give you extra antioxidants
- don't add salt to your meal to reduce your chance of hypertension
- curtail your evening tv viewing and go to bed half an hour earlier
- get off the tube a stop to early and walk the extra distance to help burn excess fat
- sit in a sauna for 10 minutes or soak in a warm epsom salt bath to detox and promote immune function
- cut the fat or skin off meat before cooking it or even better choose a vegan meal for lunch or dinner
- drink water instead of wine with your dinner
- have a massage or do a 10minute meditation/breathing exercise to reduce stress levels and help lower blood pressure
- walk up the escalators in the tube instead of just standing on them to burn fat and get your heart pumping
- sweeten your breakfast with fruit instead of sugar
- have a fresh fruit smoothie or veg juice for your afternoon snack instead of crisps or chocolate
- swap your morning coffee for a green tea
- make your sandwich with brown bread (preferably wheat free) rather than white
- skip dessert in a restaurant and instead enjoy a fresh mint tea
- have a dairy free day and use soya or rice milk if you need a milk substitute
- try a new fruit or vegetable, increasing the antioxidant variety in your diet
- order brown rice with your meal instead of white, the brown husk is rich in b vitamins and stops the sugars digesting too quickly
- give someone a hug. Ok so that's not food related but human touch is a great way to feel loved and give you a lift. Give one and you'll usually get one back (just don't try hugging strangers on the tube!)
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