Category: Movement

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Big Change Starts Small.

Big Changes Start Small

Hi there and Happy New Year!

There is something special about a New Year. It’s a new month, new beginning, new mindset, new focus, new start and new intentions. It’s full of hope and promise.

A lot of people begin the New Year by making resolutions. We’ve all been there. We make a promise to lose weight, exercise more, cut down on alcohol or spend more quality time with family. We start the year with great intentions, but then we quickly relapse into old habits. Why is it so hard to stick to those New Year’s resolutions?

For some of us, 2017 was a great year of health, wellness, enjoyment and fulfilment. Sadly, for others, this eluded them yet again. The reality is unless you do something you’ve never done, you are going to get what you’ve always got. A bit like Einstein’s definition of insanity;

“Doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.”

To get new results you have to be open and willing to try something new. If you are sick and tired of nothing changing then take some action. So many of us make the mistake of embarking on a total life overhaul and then after a short time lose motivation or run out of steam and end up feeling hopeless and more overwhelmed. The key is starting small.

Below is a list of some small, simple things you can do today to improve your health; and when put into practice consistently will transform your wellness.

Top 5 Healthy Habits:

1. Move More. There is no superfood or ‘pill’ with as much holistic benefit for wellbeing as movement. Just 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day will offer you massive benefits for both your body and mind. Maximise your success by doing an activity that keeps you motivated, interested and that you enjoy. Consistency is the key. Some is better than none and more is better than less!

2. Drink More Water. Not only will you feel better, you will look better and perform better. Many of us do not drink enough. There is a simple formula .04 x weight (kg) will give you an idea of how much you should be consuming each day in litres. More than you think and you will need to drink more than this is you are exercising. You will know if you have consumed enough throughout the day because your urine will be clear or straw-coloured.

3. Ditch the Diet. They don’t work and can in fact harm our health. A healthier approach to weight management is to not diet but to realise our body wants us to be healthy and comfortable. Strive for plenty of fresh, colourful and unprocessed food. Ideally we should be aiming to eat 5 serves of vegetables per day and around 2 serves of fruit. Combining this with lean protein, legumes, wholegrains, nuts and seeds makes an excellent choice.

4. Go to Bed Earlier. Sleep affects our mental and physical health enormously. It assists our ability to function well and make good decisions throughout the day. Lack of sleep is a very common problem for ‘busy women’. We need to be aiming for between 7 – 9 hours each night. Research suggests that for sufficient deep, restorative sleep we should be in bed no later than 10:30pm.

5. Practise Gratitude. When we are ‘busy’ it is easy for us to get bogged down, complain a lot and feel sorry for ourselves. Being grateful can put us in a very different state of mind. Taking some time out to be mindful of things we are grateful for (big or small) can really help us appreciate what we have. Start a new ritual of writing down or saying out loud each day three things you are grateful for. Watch your perspective change.

So rather than ‘eating the elephant’ start by breaking it all down into small, manageable and bite sized chunks. Build with baby steps. If you start to doubt yourself, remember that this year has never happened before. It is a blank slate. A fresh start. Make it exactly what you want and don’t look back.

Wishing you a healthy and happy start to the New Year. x

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Self-Care is not Selfish.

busy-women

Self-care is not Selfish

So how are you…really?

Every day, I see the crazy, messy, demanding, no down-time, don’t let anyone see what this is really like truth people are living. I also see people searching for something different. Searching for something they believe is unattainable. Lives that they can enjoy, space to breathe, time to live and not just exist.

I have lived it and know it to be true. I am hardwired with a massive tendency to overload myself and overcommit. I have very high expectations of myself, three very busy children, coupled with a husband who travels for work and I run my own business so I know intimately, the juggle and the struggle that we women face. For a long time I spent my days over scheduling, trying to do it all, be it all and have it all. I was running on adrenalin and juggling lots of balls (pretty well) but I was missing basic opportunities for connectedness and happiness. I started to burn out.

So I stepped back. Big time. I had to make some changes that would better support me and my family. What I have learned over many years is that for me to thrive – at work and at home I need be very intentional and deliberate about supporting my wellbeing and investing in myself each and every day.

For so many women there is this sense of hopelessness around it all – that we are living a losing battle of just trying to stay on top of things. But here’s the thing…It is absolutely possible to live a life you love…to live a life that is full and stimulating and fulfilling but that is not panicked and rushed and chaotic.

Over time I have learned ways that have enabled me to take my wellbeing to a whole new dimension. As a result, I am more present, calm, energized and fulfilled. This didn’t just happen. It’s been a slow burn. My non-negotiables each day are good nutrition, exercise, enough sleep and meditation. By practicing these self-care rituals, I am much better at managing and embracing the busyness of life.

How to make ‘self-care’ actually happen.
It can be quite a challenge to find time for ourselves. Unless you plan it – ‘me time’ can easily fall off the to-do list.

  • Commitment to self. Getting over the idea that ‘self-care’ is selfish and that in fact it’s a necessary dimension of your wellbeing is the first step. When we are tired, stressed and pulled in too many directions, it is impossible to give our best to all that we must accomplish.
  • What is wasting time? Do you check your emails constantly? Answer personal calls in the middle of a work-day? Spend time mindlessly scrolling through social media? If this sounds like you, perhaps it’s time to prioritise your responsibilities and gain more time that way.
  • Learn to say “no”. Practise makes perfect but it is okay to say no to things that you don’t really want to do, need to do and don’t value.
  • Plan for it. Unless you plan for it, in our very busy, over committed lives it is likely to fall off the ‘to do’ list. We have to be pro-active about fitting it in. Schedule it like you would an appointment or a meeting.
  • Commit to a minimum of 10 – 20 minutes a day. Start off small. Do something (or nothing) that you enjoy and that allows you to let go of responsibility. Everyone has 10 minutes.
  • Create a daily ritual. This might be a bath, going for an evening walk or getting up early to meditate or have a quiet cup of tea alone. Build it into your day and make it something you look forward to.

No matter what ‘self-care’ means for you, it shouldn’t be at the bottom of your ‘To Do’ list. It is something we should be doing to stay healthy and happy. It’s basic. It’s fundamental.

So what can you do today to improve your self-care?
If you have a hunch that you’re not quite nailing it – I’d love to hear from you. I work with clients just like you to improve their wellness with simple strategies and routines to regain clarity and control, find balance in their day and develop healthy habits towards experiencing a more fulfilling life. Contact me here and lets have a chat.

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Are you an ‘All or Nothing’ person?

Are you an 'All or Nothing' Person?

The problem with ‘All or Nothing’ thinking is that either you’re all – or you’re nothing. There is no in-between. This approach to life can really stifle our happiness and fulfilment and tends to explode into self -criticism and feelings of hopelessness.

Letting go of extremes can really improve your health and wellness.

I get it. It can be challenging to always eat well, diligently exercise, rest enough…add this to the every-day responsibilities of working, managing a home, giving to relationships, contributing to society and being a decent human…it can be overwhelming and exhausting.

‘All or Nothing’ people swing between both ends of the extremes:

  • They do restrictive diets to punish themselves after indulging on a holiday.
  • They swear off all alcohol for ‘Feb Fast’ or ‘Ocsober’ only to participate in huge drinking sessions for the remainder of the year.
  • After having a row of chocolate they think, “Oh well I’ve blown it”, and so decide to eat the entire block.
  • They sign up for 30 days of yoga in a row to make up for 3 months of complete inactivity.
  • They do a green juice cleanse for a week after a weekend of indulgence and binging.

If we embraced moderation a little more in our lives we wouldn’t feel the need to turn to extreme weight loss challenges, diets and ‘detoxes’ to make up for our lifestyle.

So you miss a workout one morning because you have to be at work early or you have a row of chocolate after dinner. The thing is, missing a workout or having a piece of cake or chocolate doesn’t mean you’ve blown your whole regime. Being affected by life’s little bumps doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you’re human.

So many clients I see are stuck in this ‘All or Nothing’ cycle. This idea that if something is not done perfectly then the pursuit is useless.

Maybe you or someone you know is like this…Before they (re)start their new diet the pantry gets cleaned out, they eat a few last-hurrah meals, drink a few last–hurrah wines. A new exercise regime may start with the same sort of enthusiasm, new active-wear and renewed promises to self of daily workouts. But if you are pressuring yourself to be perfect, it won’t be long until you decide you’re weak or that your life/family/job/whatever is conspiring to keep you out of shape. And then, you give up. You quit!

Whilst these intentions are great and we need to be scheduling time for intentional exercise and paying attention to the quality and quantity of food we eat, this ‘All or Nothing’ approach sets the bar so high that it can never be reached and in doing so, we set ourselves up to fail. Cue feelings of guilt, shame, inadequacy, restriction and feelings of hopelessness!

We need to be a little bit flexible, especially at the beginning of a lifestyle change. Yes, it’s important to make a plan and do your best to stick with it. But if you do stumble, dust yourself off. Life happens…carry on. A slip up does not need to be the undoing of our health. It is just a tiny part of the big picture.

It really is about time we start being a little kinder to ourselves for the sake of our health. Time we embraced a little more moderation instead of guiltily swinging between ‘All or Nothing’ extremes. I provide guidance towards health and lifestyle solutions for busy women. If you would like some support towards making some tweaks toward a sustainable and balanced wellness plan then contact me. I would love to help you find what feels right for you.

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Exercise for Busy People. How Much is Enough?

So is being ‘busy’ really a good enough reason not to exercise when we know that the alternative is; the likelihood of lethargy, lack of energy, weight gain, depression and health problems, not to mention a general dissatisfaction with the way you look and feel.

I get up early and exercise most days. It’s not only a habit, it’s a non-negotiable part of my working week – it is my time, my meditation, it makes me feel fit, healthy, strong and positive. Do I bounce out of bed to an alarm thrilled at the prospect of pounding the pavement? Definitely not! Regardless of what is going on in my life or how busy I am or how much pressure I am under, I predictably get back from a run or from the gym or from a yoga class and feel centred, clear, relaxed, happy and ready to tackle the day.

For busy women with competing priorities, obligations and ‘stuff’ to do, it’s easy for exercise to be pushed to the bottom of the list. After-all, there are only so many hours in the day, right…? WRONG! Whenever we don’t REALLY want to do something like exercise we can think of so many reasons not to. Can you relate to any of the following?

–          “I’m too busy”

–          “I’m too tired”

–          “I have to leave for work early”

–          “My kids get up early”

–          “It’s cold outside”

–          “Gyms aren’t really my thing”

–           “I don’t enjoy exercise”

–          “I hate to sweat”

–          “I have bad knees”

–          “I’m too fat”

–          “There’s no point, I never see any results”

There are so many ‘excuses’ we make and stories we tell ourselves as to why we aren’t moving and shaking despite knowing how important movement is for our overall health. Ultimately these stories and excuses add up and disempower us. If we really want something then we will make the time.

The solution in reality is so simple…just start. Some is better than none.

So how much do we need? Thirty minutes of moderate intensity activity most days will do it. Moderate activity means you can still talk, (perhaps not sing) while exercising. Okay you are not going to light up the night sky but thirty minutes of moderate exercise is a great start to achieving considerable health benefits. Of course if you are keen to take it to the next level, schedule some regular, vigorous activity for extra health and fitness outcomes.

What about when 30 minutes is just impossible to find? You can also raise your heart rate and reap huge health benefits just from incorporating a small amount of exercise into your everyday life. A few shorter sessions of incidental activity is a great way to do it. Things like walking your dog, walking with a friend, taking the stairs over the lift, walking to the bus stop, walking to the shops or scheduling a ‘movement’ meeting with a colleague are all great options. Simply by changing your mind set and scheduling exercise in like you would an appointment or a meeting means you can move a little more on those days when you just can’t find that 30 mins or 1 hour of dedicated work-out time.

There is no supplement, superfood or pill you can take that will benefit your health as much as regular exercise.  I promise you it will improve every area of your life and help you be at your best. Every one of us needs to re-organise and re-prioritise our lives so that we put ourselves and our health first. If we don’t have our health then we don’t have anything.

Rightio, time to schedule in that exercise. What is one positive thing you can do over the next week to increase your movement? Stuck and unsure of what to do? Don’t hesitate to reach out and ask for my help. I would love to help you get moving.

“The hardest thing about exercise is to start doing it. Once you are doing exercise regularly the hardest thing to do is stop it.” Erin Gray

 

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