How you can eat healthier
This might seem more like a New Year’s Resolution, but it can also be spring motivation. If you’ve ever heard of the expression; ‘winter coat’ then you will know what we are talking about. With summer coming around, many of us may want to shed some of the pounds that we have put on with comfort eating.
It's worth checking you have no food intolerances before going on a diet to ensure you are eating the right food.
To lose weight there are some simple things you can do. Cutting down on fatty and sugary food is a great idea as often they will be high in calories and of poor nutritional value too. Others like me have used a diet app to lose weight. I recommend Noom which looks at the psychology of weight loss and tracks what you eat. Make sure you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables and exercise portion control is what I would personally recommend.
Perhaps as important as keeping you in physical shape, healthy eating can keep you mentally sharp too and this often gets overlooked.
Check out healthy recipes online to add to your weekly diet plan. Whether it is calorie counting or eating less high fat and sugar foods, this could be a lifestyle change you need to make in order to enjoy your summer.
Exercise outdoors
If weight loss is the aim, then exercise is your game. Exercising indoors can be fun but exercising outdoors is where you can make your gains. You just need to make sure you are exercising correctly, never exercise on an empty stomach and never overdo exercise. Take things easy, start slowly and build gradually.
As lockdown begins to ease, exercising outdoors may become a lot easier for you.
Some people have started cycling in the countryside, whilst others have started the Couch to 5k regime or increased the amount they run. You may be able to go running or even cycling with a friend. This should make exercise more enjoyable. They say exercising with a partner helps motivation and makes you stick to exercise plans.
As much as lifestyle changes are often about being in physical shape, sometimes the most important change is mental as well as physical.
Ultimately, you need to focus on yourself for the greater good. A better physical state should leave you feeling better mentally. All the tools are there, and you don’t HAVE to exercise purely to feel better. Sometimes, a change in scenery can do you the world of good though, especially with the past 12 months that we have had!
Perhaps as important as keeping you in physical shape, healthy eating can keep you mentally sharp too and this often gets overlooked.
Check out healthy recipes online to add to your weekly diet plan. Whether it is calorie counting or eating less high fat and sugar foods, this could be a lifestyle change you need to make in order to enjoy your summer.
Exercise outdoors
As lockdown begins to ease, exercising outdoors may become a lot easier for you.
Some people have started cycling in the countryside, whilst others have started the Couch to 5k regime or increased the amount they run. You may be able to go running or even cycling with a friend. This should make exercise more enjoyable. They say exercising with a partner helps motivation and makes you stick to exercise plans.
Exercising outdoors in nature has been shown to improve mental health too. If you do exercise outdoors, then it is a lifestyle change for the better in terms of both your mental and physical state.
Cut out the caffeine
Cut out the caffeine
A lot of people think that drinking black coffee may aid weight loss. Caffeine has been known to speed up metabolism, but caffeine addiction is a very real thing. If you cut it out, you will sleep better and I guarantee you will feel better too.
Cutting out caffeine from your diet is certainly easier said than done. For some people, especially whilst working from home, drinking coffee and caffeinated sugary drinks helps them to get through the day. Unfortunately, though, caffeine intolerance is actually a real thing and you may need to find alternatives to cut out caffeine from your diet.
Cutting out caffeine from your diet is certainly easier said than done. For some people, especially whilst working from home, drinking coffee and caffeinated sugary drinks helps them to get through the day. Unfortunately, though, caffeine intolerance is actually a real thing and you may need to find alternatives to cut out caffeine from your diet.
Turning to green tea or chamomile tea has been credited for helping people to clear their mind and help them relax so it's worth a try if you are cutting down on caffeine.
Provide yourself with a different environment – for your mental state
Provide yourself with a different environment – for your mental state
As much as lifestyle changes are often about being in physical shape, sometimes the most important change is mental as well as physical.
Whilst exercising outdoors allows you to get fresh air on your face. It also means you can have different views of the outside world. It just adds a different and unique perspective to things.
So why not mix things up at home as well? I am not saying you have to have inspirational quotes plastered all over your home, but what about some fresh home decor? Try some different wallpaper, fresh new pictures for the wall or some different photo frames.
So why not mix things up at home as well? I am not saying you have to have inspirational quotes plastered all over your home, but what about some fresh home decor? Try some different wallpaper, fresh new pictures for the wall or some different photo frames.
If you have some spare cash, then you could spruce up your home. Sticking with an exercise theme you can look into converting your spare room into a home gym, or convert your back garden for an all weather surface to ensure you can continue exercising. Speaking to people in the flooring industry, like the experts at Flooring Direct, artificial grass was very popular last year as it allowed people to host garden parties and let their kids play all year round as well as an area for exercise.
A lot of people turn their nose up at exercise because they don’t want to travel to exercise. Running 10K? No thank you. Travelling 30 minutes to do 30 minutes of exercise at the gym with other people? No thank you.
Essentially, the answer here is to bring exercise to your home. It doesn’t have to be painstakingly boring either. Weights and press-ups don’t have to be done. If you have all-weather artificial grass in your garden, then you can play football all year round. Your pets will be loving it as well as your kids and won’t have to worry about the maintenance. Take the physical stress out of it all and ensure you get fitter whilst doing it.
Make a difference for your greater good!
A lot of people turn their nose up at exercise because they don’t want to travel to exercise. Running 10K? No thank you. Travelling 30 minutes to do 30 minutes of exercise at the gym with other people? No thank you.
Essentially, the answer here is to bring exercise to your home. It doesn’t have to be painstakingly boring either. Weights and press-ups don’t have to be done. If you have all-weather artificial grass in your garden, then you can play football all year round. Your pets will be loving it as well as your kids and won’t have to worry about the maintenance. Take the physical stress out of it all and ensure you get fitter whilst doing it.
Make a difference for your greater good!
Ultimately, you need to focus on yourself for the greater good. A better physical state should leave you feeling better mentally. All the tools are there, and you don’t HAVE to exercise purely to feel better. Sometimes, a change in scenery can do you the world of good though, especially with the past 12 months that we have had!
*AD
