Smoothie starter

I didn't get a chance to read today's entry for the Daily Bites January calendar until just now, but really wish I'd had a chance to read it earlier and put it into practice, as it was to try a new smoothie recipe.

Having eaten out for both lunch and dinner today I feel a little stodgy and a healthy smoothie would have been a great start to the day to try and mitigate my later meals.  Still it's one to store up and use at a later date, particular because it's called the Coconut “Kale-ada” Smoothie and anything with coconut and pineapple in it is a winner with me!!

I have already resolved to have more fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies as part of my new year health kick.  The first time I read Jason Vales Slim for Life
 I went juicing mad and had a fresh juice every morning.  I certainly felt great for it, but like lots of my health kicks, in the long run I gradually lost my dedication. I now try and always have a veg juice on the weekend whilst I wait for my breakfast to cook, but I'm going to be adding in a couple of juices in the evenings too whilst I cook my dinner.

Juices and smoothies are such an easy way to up your fruit and veg intake, which isn't just amazing for your health in terms of all the nutrients and raw enzymes that you get from them, but also has a wonderful weight loss effect. By  starting a meal with a nutritious juice you'll find your appetite for your main course goes down alot, and over time having a more nutrient rich diet your appetite in general will decrease, as hunger is often the body seeking more vitamins and minerals, rather than more calories. So if you can try starting a meal with a smoothie and reap the rewards!

Letting it go

Today's post from the Daily Bites calendar is more of a thought provoker than a task:

"Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its struggles, it empties today of its strength," Come Ten Boon

How much of your life is wasted worrying about things that haven't happened yet? Probably a fair amount, and that worry isn't just a waste of time it's positively bad for you.  Our bodies are designed to cope with a certain level of stress, but more the occasional running away from a wildlife, rather than a constant thought pattern of worry. This constant level of stress is over-stimulating for our nervous systems putting the rest of our body out of balance and in the long-run can lead to fatigue, accelerated aging, weight gain, blood sugar imbalances, suppressed immunity and in some people total burn out. So letting yourself get worked up can be just as bad for you as eating a packet of crisps or a bar of chocolate.

Being stressed is something you have more control over than you realize - things may happen around you that could be a source of stress, but you can choose how you react to them.  So next time you catch yourself getting worked up, remember that this is bad for your health and so you need to stop this thought pattern, whether that's by actively doing something to address whatever is stressing you out, or recognizing that it is something outside of your control, clearing your mind, taking a few deep breaths and letting it go. 

Triple tasking

Still on Hallie's January Calendar I've got three days to update you on. 

Friday was all about greens: kale, chard, spinach etc.  Green leafy veg is the most beneficial veg out there but also often peoples least favourite. I find I fall out of the habit of eating my greens quite easily, but with a powerful punch of minerals and anti-cancer and anti-aging antioxidants no one can afford to neglect their greens, so Fridays task was a good one for me.  When I'm struggling to eat my veg I turn to my trusty juicer - I generally start with a carrot and ginger base, but for anyone new to juicing start with an apple base for a more palatable start, and then add a big handful of leafy green veg, spinach or broccoli are my faves, I like to add half a lime or lemon too for an extra zing.  You can make your juice whilst you're cooking your dinner and then drink it before you sit down to your main course feeling virtuous.  Having spinach and rocket as a side salad instead of watery iceberg is also a really easy to get your daily greens.

Saturday's task was to relax by taking a walk or going for a run.  I love to run, and if I had the time I would run every day, but sadly that's not always possible, and infact it's not always relaxing.  A walk however is always good exercise and a great de-stressor.  For anyone who has a dog a daily walk is easy to tick of the list, but for those of us not fortunate enough to have a canine companion going for a walk just for the sake of it can feel a little odd. Incorporating some extra walking into your daily schedule though is alot easier.  On Saturday I went into town for an exhibition and instead of jumping on the nearest tube home I walked to a further stop via the shops for a bit of sale shopping.  Shopping might not seem like exercise but you can rack up alot of steps in the shops, as you can by jumping on the tube a stop later or getting off a stop earlier.

Today's task was to have a sugar free sunday and get your sweet fix from natures candy - fresh fruit.  I generally avoid sugar anyway, sugar is a total anti-nutrient, and only really necessary or beneficial if you're an athlete. For the rest of us it serves no benefit, but still is a constant temptation and an unwanted additive in most processed foods.  Over Christmas I did let my hair down and enjoy some sugar treats, but sugar always leave me wanting more which is why it's important to nip this indulgence in the bud and swap sugary treats for some naturally sweet goodies.  My favourite guilt-free sweeties are dried figs, or stewed pears or apples with some custard sweetened with agave and I find that dates can always satisfy the sweetest craving.

Dear diary

Today's task from the daily bites january calendar is to spend 5 minutes writing a journal.

This may not seem particularly health related but writing things down can be a great tool for improving your health, for example:

- writing down your goals helps make them more concrete, then spend a couple of minutes each day making a note of how you got on meeting them, any steps you took, any set backs, and what you can do the next day to achieve them - you'll be amazed how much quickly you achieve results, just by doing this.  It doesn't just have to be health goals, you can apply this technique anything you want to change about your life

- writing a food diary - just write down everything you ate that day and at what times, you don't even need to pass judgement or do anything about it, just write it down and you will start to become conscious of unhealthy patterns and naturally start to correct them

- venting - journalling can be a great stress reliever, especially when you want to let off steam. Just write down whatever is getting on your nerves. If it's a person writing down a rant you'd like to say to them (but don't for good reason!) can be especially cathartic

- if this all sounds a bit dear diary for you remember you don't need to keep a regular journal to get the same benefits.  If I ever feel overwhelmed or just not as positive minded as usual, a grab a piece of paper and write on it everything that is annoying me or that I'd like to change - literally everything however small.  Then on a new piece of paper I write down everything I could do to change or mitigate anything on the first list.  Even without taking any action I already feel better, and I usually then feel pretty motivated to start ticking things off the second list.

Infact I'm going to use this blog as my scrap of paper and give you a real example - right now I'm somewhat annoyed that I didn't make great use of my evening, this was partly because I arrived home tired and a little stressed and so immediately plonked down infront of the tv and then only had time for a few items on my to do list, when really I could have got it all done.  Action points for my second list to stop this happening again:

1. when I leave work try and walk part of the journey home, and use that time to unwind and destress, paying attention to my surroundings, rather than letting my mind go into overdrive, this will help me arrive home feeling less frazzled

2. when I get home, have a glass of water or cup of tea straight away to rehydrate (dehydration is a major course of fatigue)

3. have a sit down, but without the tv on.  At the end of a full day in the office we're all bound to be tired, expecting to come home full of beans and start rushing around the flat is unrealistic.  Having a ten minute sit down to just unwind can be amazingly restorative, and once you're properly rested you'll find you get a second wind.  However turning the tv on totally counteracts this, tv is draining on the nervous system, and has this amazing power to keep you in one stop for hours

4. learn to be a bit more zen about my to do list, at the end of the day I don't need to get it all done so right now I don't need to give myself a hard time - I did the urgent bits and enjoyed some sofa time, so it's not all bad and rather than trying to do anymore I should just go to bed nice and early and have a good sleep!!

the new year flush

For those of you who don't have any specific goals for this month or who might need a bit more hand holding through January one of the bloggers I follow has come up with a great calendar of daily mini tips to get you off to a healthy start of the year.  It's so good that I've already printed it out and am going to be following it myself and blogging about it.

Today's tip from the calendar is to get hydrated - it's the perfect way to help your liver in it's efforts to flush your Christmas toxins.  It's also a great way to stop you reaching for the cookie jar - if you keep yourself properly hydrated you'll find sugar and snack cravings just disappear, and if you do break your  resolutions the best thing to do is drink half a litre of water and it will stop a binge in it's tracks.

So pour yourself a big glass of water right now and make sure you have a bottle to hand every day at work to keep you on track.  If you really can't face water plain have some diluted juice or some vitamin water to get you started.

Follow this link to Hallie's calendar, her blog is also worth signing up to:
http://www.dailybitesblog.com/

A Happy Healthy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year celebrations.  I have to admit to feeling somewhat weary today but that's more to do with dancing the night away to some seriously cheesy music til the small hours than having a hangover!

Whether you're hungover or not, alot of us start the year not feeling our best. I know I'm carrying a few spare Christmas pounds and have a bit of a food hangover going on from eating too much rubbish - even I can't resist the chocolates when there's a box in every room!!

So hopefully you're now sick of the sight of chocolate and feeling pretty motivated to have a healthy start to the year.  My first bit of advice to having a healthy 2013 is to not go crazy on the new years resolutions - if you weren't running everyday in 2012 you're going to find it really tough to suddenly do that in 2013 add onto that a calorie controlled diet and you're guaranteed to end up knackered and defeated in a couple of weeks.

If you want to make some more permanent changes you need to make them gradually.  Here's my recipe for making some more long-lasting new years changes:

1. Hit the shops ... no not sale shopping ... it's time to stock up your pantry with lots of healthy foods.  Clear out the cupboards of any sugary treats left over from christmas and stock the cupboards with healthy goodies like dried fruits, nut and seed mixes, non-sugar natural nut butters, tinned pulses, chopped tomatoes, healthy wholegrains - basmati and wholegrain rice, bulgar wheat, quinoa, rye or gluten free wholegrain breads and cereals. Keep a regular supply of salad veggies and hummous in the fridge and fruit in the fruit bowl so you have a fresh and instant healthy snack available anytime you're hungry.  If you're not a water drinker buy some non-concentrated fresh fruit juices to drink with diluted water to stay hydrated and stock up on some herbal teas.
If you want to work on your exercise regime as well as your diet, then take advantage of the sales and get yourself some nice looking gym kit.  When you've got some kit you feel good in you're more likely to get down the gym

2. Set yourself some realistic goals ... having some clear objectives will help guide your choices, but these need to be realistic and specific.  Losing 6lbs in a week is not realistic and not healthy - I'm setting myself the goal of fitting into my snowboarding trousers by the end of the month!  But these don't need to be weight specific, cleaning up your skin, getting rid of those bags under your eyes, being able to run for 30 minutes straight are all good objectives and should help focus the mind about what you need to do to achieve them.

3. Break it down, what are the baby steps to get you to your goal.  For me it will be firstly a dietary clean-up so day to day staying away from sugar, dairy and gluten all of which bloat me and pile on the pounds, next up I'm going to commit to running for 30 minutes 3 times a week.  For other objectives, this might involve cutting foods out that you know aren't good for you or keeping a food diary to identify your problem foods, committing to going to bed on time three nights a week, walking or running home from work a couple of nights a week or going to a yoga class once a week.

4. If it all gets too much and you find yourself faced with temptation, then just ask yourself what you can do in that moment that will make you healthy and happy - these are objectives we should all have for the new year.

Lap up the love!

Yuletide greetings readers!

Having put up my tree, eaten some mince pies and done half my christmas shopping and done my gym workout to a soundtrack of wham's 'Last Christmas' and 'Santa Baby' I'm now feeling properly festive.

I hope you are too, especially because Christmas can be a such a positive time. It's an excuse to reinforce friendships, bond with work colleagues and get the family together. A time for showing appreciation for others through presents and serving up and enjoying great feasts!

Most of us don't have enough of these positive human contact day to day so make the most of it - relationships with others can have such a beneficial effect on our mental and physical health and are something we should all make more time for, so make the most of everyone's festive spirit and lap up the love.

Christmas is also time to make some time for yourself and appreciate what you've achieved over the previous year.

Make sure you have some 'me' time over the next couple of weeks and don't spend the whole time rushing around after others - Mum's have a particular propensity to do this and forget themselves so make sure you give them a helping hand.

Equally christmas is a time to enjoy your food. For me Christmas day and boxing day are the two days in the year when I let myself indulge in any food I fancy. It's only two days and by the 27tjh I'm just left craving vegetables and rice! I do usually take home some vegan chocolates and a gluten free christmas pudding, just because I don't want to spend new years eve feeling bloated!

If I had to give two tips for not letting things go totally haywire over Christmas I would give these:

1. Drink a glass of water before every meal and snack. This will help your liver detox all the naughty food you're eating and massively regulate your appetite so you might be indulging but you'll eat a lot less than you would otherwise.

2. Be physically active for 30minutes every day, even if that just means walking to and from the pub or doing some housework. It will make you feel much less slovenly and get your lymph fluid moving, again helping you detox.

I'm off now until the New Year when I'll be back with some tips on starting the New Year with a healthy frame of mind.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and New Year!
Em
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