Out & About July 2017

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I think we can all get a little overwhelmed with
the amount of information available about what
we should and shouldn’t be eating, how much
and what type of exercise we should be doing.
The list goes on.
What can often happen is either not enough or
far too much knowledge leaves people unsure
as to what they should be doing. In the end, it
takes only a few simple changes to make a big
difference to how healthy and well you feel.
If we look at our health and fitness as a whole,
we can break it down into different elements to
consider. What we consume, what we do and
how we rest.
What we eat… and drink
How we fuel our body is one of the most
important things to consider when wanting to
improve your general wellbeing.
Drinking water daily and eating unprocessed,
densely nutritious foods should make up the
bulk of your daily diet.
Remember what you put into your body is your
fuel… you put premium fuel into your car to
get the best performance, that same principle
applies to your body.
Be aware of what you are eating and how it
makes you feel, some foods will give you
energy throughout the day and others may
make you feel lethargic.
Keeping a food diary and thinking about how a
food makes you feel can help you make better
food choices and may help you curb those
cravings.
What we do… to use our bodies physically
There are sub categories within this area.
u Cardiovascular fitness
u Strength
u Flexibility
u Mobility
u Body composition
Try and make sure you get moving everyday.
Try and incorporate different types of training
into your weekly routine – cardiovascular,
strength and flexibility.
It doesn’t matter if you have never addressed
some of these areas before or you already
do some – it is never too late to get started or
increase your routine.
Remember to pace yourself with whatever you
do and progressively make it harder.
If you are limited as to how much time you
have available, try and incorporate different
types of training and integrate them into your
day.
It does not have to take hours for it to be of
benefit. You could do a few stretches in the
morning when you get up, park further away
from the office so you have to walk those extra
steps, do a HIIT workout – small changes, but
ones which have a significant impact on your
health and wellbeing.
How we rest… something that is often
undervalued is the importance of sleep.
Do you get enough sleep, and enough of the
right sleep so that you can fully recover ready
for the next day?
Many factors can affect the amount and quality
of sleep that we get.
Things to consider when trying to improve
sleeping patterns include caffine intake (when
and how much), alcohol consumption, looking
at screens before bed, lack of routine and
stress levels.
Tips to improve your sleep:
u set yourself a time to go to sleep each night
– this allows your body to get into a natural
sleep cycle during which it can recover and
repair.
uavoid bright lights for up to two hours before
bed and limit the number of electrical products
on in your room
u avoid the consumption of stimulants after
lunch, such as caffeine, sugar and nicotine. It
is also best to avoid alcohol if you want a good
night’s sleep
u deal with issues causing you stress. If you
are being kept awake thinking about certain
issues within your life, addressing these
problems will help you be able to put them out
of your mind
u make sure you drink lots of water and
exercise regularly too to aid a good night’s
sleep
Recommendation:
Complete a sleep journal of when you go to
bed and when you wake up. Is there routine
to your sleep or is it erratic? Look at changes
that you could make and see how much of a
difference those changes make to your overall
sleep.
Hopefully that has given you food for thought
as to how you can make small changes day
to day to improve your general wellbeing. If
you want more guidance as to how to address
certain elements for your lifestyle, seek help
from a professional who can help guide you
and structure any changes to suit you.
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Personal trainer Vicki Brown
is the founder of LiveFitNow,
based in Wash Common.
For a free consultation, more
information and links to online
home fitness videos, visit:
It doesn’t take much to increase your fitness levels and sense of well-being says VICKI BROWN. Just a few
tweaks here in there in your daily routine – from diet to exercise – and you could soon be feeling in better shape
and more energised
room for
improvement