We all know what happens on the 1st of January every year. We make these amazing goals for health and happiness. And by the start of February we’ve reverted back to our old junk food, couch slouching ways.
The real trick is to start off making small changes instead of going all in. Here are some tips to help you get the healthy, fitter, happier you more easily.
.
1. Get more active
Don’t join a gym unless you have a good gym partner who will motivate you to go. Some friends will help with the procrastination and before you know it you’ll be wasting money every month while you sit on the couch at home because you are just too tired, have work to do, the cat needs to be bathed, and the other hundred excuses that are so very valid for missing gym just for today
.
Start by parking far away from the entrance to shopping centres. That’s more walking! Take the stairs instead of the left as often as you can. If you still watch TV at home… stand up and walk around during the ad break. Instead of Mr Delivery… order then drive to collect. It’s a bit more movement. And when you come home from the shops with a boot load of groceries take smaller loads into the house. This means you’ll be walking backwards and forwards and there is a smaller chance you’ll strain something!
2. Eat your fats
This one is a big one for me… all those people avoiding avocado, egg yolks and eating anything with “low fat” or “fat free” on the label: here’s some news. You are making it more likely to gain weight than lose it!
Fat is filling, enhances the taste of everything it’s in and supports fat burning! Therefore you really need fat to lose weight. All this hyped up chemically created lot fat and fat free stuff can lead to dry, dull skin and feeling cold very easily.
So eat moderate amounts of fat from avocados, eggs (the whole egg including the yolk), salmon and other fatty fish, olive oil, butter and nuts. Limit the fat from fried food, red meat .
3. Start eating more raw food
There is a whole “Paleo” movement across the globe right now. You might even have heard of it. The idea of a Paleo diet is to eat like a caveman would. All whole foods, eaten mostly raw. It is a very good diet to follow, and if you have the will power to give up all processed food and go all out... good for you!
The reality is most diets fail because we go cold turkey. And if you are anything like me with almost no will power: I suggest starting with changing your breakfast. Just your breakfast. Eat raw fruit for breakfast every day. Fresh, seasonal fruit loaded with vitamins and minerals that the right combination of water to fibre for easy digestion. Then when that is easy change your mid-morning snack. See where I’m going with this? Slow change for long term results!
4. Meditate
I’m not going “airy-fairy” on you here. Practice stillness and calm. Find mantra’s to chant if you have trouble sitting still. Listen to calm music while you sit down in a quiet place focussing on taking deep breaths. It’s one of the best ways to achieve a healthy mind and best of all it’s free! And you do it from the comfort of your backside! You can join a class, or abuse google, to find out more and find different techniques. Get your partner and kids to join you. Make a quiet time to sit and just be.
What I do is sit comfortably (often on my couch because that is comfortable for me) and really focus on my breathing. I count the breath in, and count the breath out. This helps you to prevent other thoughts from interrupting. Set a timer for 10 minutes and off you go. You might find it hard to switch off in the beginning. Stick to it and see the changes to you and your family.
3.
Go to a park. Go to a nature reserve, Go to your local botanical gardens. Nature is an incredible teacher. Both its stillness and activity. With kids and just with yourself look for patterns in leaves and on plants. Explore and find different areas. Watch the seasons change. Look at the astounding colours found everywhere.
It’s been proven by the University of Johannesburg in a study they are doing about mathematics that nature is the best place to encourage a proper maths foundation. Look out for their movie called Taxi Maths coming to youtube soon.
Learning aside there is a special peace and calmness that you get from nature that you can’t get from anywhere else. And the walking around won’t do you any harm either!
By following these simple tips, and even allowing these to inspire more of your own, you will find making lasting changes to your lifestyle much easier and less traumatic than radical change.