Influences on food choices weight loss weight gain
Author Sanela Categories Health, Nutrition and Fitness Tips & Advice Posted on 0 Comments

Stop Blaming Your Will Power when making food choices!

Did you know that we make 227 food decisions each day on average and that 95% of those are sub-conscious?

That is absolutely crazy, right?

What drives our food decisions?

Of course, main reason we eat is to survive! Also, to satisfy our senses of pleasure that eating gives.

However, how comes eating for many goes beyond just feeding the body and satisfying the senses and even the healthiest of us find it difficult to resist certain foods we know are not good for us!

Me too included! And it drives me crazy when it happens!

Because I know that I should know better!

Well, as I found out, I DO know better, but that is sometimes not enough!

So, all perplexed, I dived into understanding this concept more, so I can make sense of what is happening to me as well as learning why so many of my own clients keep lapsing even when they are truly motivated and have all the tools and support to help them stay the course!

What I found is that our brain is absolutely fascinating and is influenced by myriad of things and here is what influences our food intake and how to stay in the flow:

1. Sleep Deprivation is linked with an Increased Appetite

It was only recently that the link between sleep deprivation and the way it effects brain mechanisms responsible for food choices and appetite have been discovered.

As it turns out, numerous studies confirm that sleep deprivation leads to a double whammy of your brain desiring more foot and, at the same time, your brain being completely incapable of evaluating whether you are really hungry.

Sleep deprivation has been shown to effect Cortisol, our stress hormone, that is also known as a “fat storing hormone” and an increase of cortisol increases our desire for high calorie foods.

And, as studies show – the more sleep deprived we are – the worse our choices get!

So, getting enough sleep is essential to getting a grip on our hunger and food choices. But, that is not all…

2. Your Stress Levels lead to an Increased Food Consumption

Numerous research confirms that stress has an effect on both neuronal and physiological effect when it comes to weight gain.

The results of studies show that what happens is similar with sleep deprivation because, usually higher stress is linked with sleep deprivation, which increases cortisol, so the whole cycle repeats of our desire for high fat, high sugar, high calorie foods.

Therefore, taking care of stress and sleep is important, but I wish that was all.

3. Hunger leads to more unhealthy food choices

This is a logical consequence and research also confirms it to be the case – hungry subjects consistently chose more unhealthy foods compared to those who were more satisfied.

This is what you need to make sure:

  • Do not skip your breakfast
  • Do not skip your snacks
  • Combine protein with healthy carbohydrates with every meal and snack
  • Drink enough water as thirst can be perceived as hunger!

Another important tip – do not go grocery shopping when hungry!

4. Exercise decreases our appetite

When we exercise – we burn more calories, therefore, logical thing is to think that we would be more hungry, right?

Wrong!

Research shows that staying active and moving your body makes us less motivated to eat.

So, next time you feel your are spiraling out with unhealthy choices – put your trainers on and go out for a sweat!

5. Food Marketing influences our Food Choices

Visual cues are incredibly influential when it comes to making food choices.

Food companies invest in an insane amount of money on researching on how packaging & advertising can make us consume more. Food marketing, after all, is a multi billion dollar industry.

Sad truth is that most of that marketing is concentrated on promoting unhealthy products, well, 99% of the marketing that is! This is not just packaging, but think about television advertising, especially one directed at our own children.

So, the battle for healthier food choices is real!

Research shows that TV food ads directly increase children’s preferences for those foods.

Good news is – while food advertising can motivate us to make unhealthy choices – research also shows that it can help us make healthier choices too.

Recent study shows that providing nutritional information in the form of food labels have a positive effect on our brain and motivates us towards making healthier choices.

So, educate yourself on food labels and pass it on to your children too (in the simplest possible way) because when you read the labels – health attributes trump taste!

Truly, knowledge becomes king again!

6. You are WHO You eat with!

Yes, not only what we eat that determines our health and, well, our waist size, but also, who we surround ourselves with!

Not only that, but the research shows that we are influenced by who we identify with – and that goes for both how much and how often we eat – even when we eat alone!

7. Gender Differences matter when it comes to food choices

Research on this front shows that the main reason why men seem to be more successful at sticking to weight loss plans is simply — evolution!

Women consistently chose unhealthier foods over men and explanation could be that female ancestors had an added responsibility of nourishing themselves and infants, which predispositioned them for higher food intake to lay down fat stores, which would give them an evolutionary advantage in case of future food shortages.

These are not the only factors that effect our food choices but they surely are main ones and it shows that external factors are very powerful as sometimes we have no control over them.

Here is what we can do:

  • Establishing a sleep routine and making sure we get 7-8 hours of sleep each night
  • Reducing stress will add more quality to our life not only a reduced appetite. Remembering that sleep and stress are related.
  • Keep active as exercise not only helps us burn calories and keeps our appetite under control, but it can also help with stress reduction.
  • Educate yourself about nutrition, nutritional balance of foods, what our bodies need and certainly learn to read labels as better knowledge and engagement with nutritional content of foods does lead to healthier choices.
  • Surround yourself with the community of fit and active people who are a positive influence on your health efforts.
  • Be aware of clever food marketing – awareness can help you in now falling pray to their influence.

It has helped me personally to realise how blessed I am with the community of our 4 Week Challenge and a regular 5 Day Challenge as well as my colleagues health coaches. Being more involved in our community, as much as it goes for our participants, it goes for all the coaches including me – is essential to keep health motivation high.

I have made more commitment to improve my sleep routine as well as to keep active.

I realised that periods when I lacked activity is indeed linked to more food consumption, so, I made commitment to keep and stay active as it is incredibly good for my Mental Health too!

I hope this was helpful and will help you identify areas where you need support so you can stop blaming your will power and focus on areas that can make a profound influence on your food choices.

On top of all the above, ensuring Balanced Nutrition and developing a Healthy, Active Lifestyle are essential in ensuring hormonal balance and staying on top of blood sugar control, reduced cravings and hunger control.

Free Online Wellness Test is a great place to start to evaluate how well you score!

Until next time,

Kindest Regards,

Sanela

Author Sanela Categories Health Coaching, Health, Nutrition and Fitness Tips & Advice, Weight Management Posted on 0 Comments

Become the best version of yourself… Start today!

In the end, our health is usually one thing we CAN have control over and if you are someone at the start of your journey, remember that Rome has not been built in one day and our attempt to improve our physique and health should pretty much be approached with bearing the same in mind…

We need a plan, patience & vision.

Those with vision move even in darkness.

Our vision for ourselves is best when not focused on the outside appearance alone as our health and beauty are a lot more than just skin deep.

Our vision needs to be strong and inspire action every day, which will make us more patient and committed to a long term goals.

Then we need a plan that is simple, even fun and that nourishes us on our path to becoming the best version of ourselves.

Start Today

One of the biggest mistakes we all make is waiting for the “perfect storm”, that perfect moment to start something new… to start a new diet, to stop smoking, to look for a better job, start that project, make an important phone call, study for the exam…

The only perfect moment is RIGHT NOW.

Delaying action whilst waiting for that perfect opportunity is simply procrastination and the more we do it, the more we develop a habit of it that can be very costly.

Procrastination is an issue of self-regulation and, when it comes to health, it can cost us our health because we delay doing the right thing for our health and well-being over a period of time that can even go for decades. The result is a poor health, until it sometimes can be too late.

Procrastinators can change their behavior and it is said that highly structured cognitive behavioral therapy can work really well. If you have an issue with starting things – work on your psychology first.

Books are sometimes a great place to start and so are videos and podcasts to help with awareness and insights into what is stopping you and how to take an inspired action and stop procrastinating.

And remember, the path to the best version of yourself starts today and here are some basics to help you get started…

Hydration, Hydration, Hydration

First thing is to re-visit how much water you drink daily.

Coffees, teas, fizzy and other sugary drinks simply do not count and all represent problem on multitude of levels including cellular damage, dehydration, low energy, weight gain.

Our bodies function best when body is well hydrated with at least 8 glasses of water a day, which is minimum 2 litres for most adults. More water is recommended for those of a bigger frame, especially men and when exercising as body loses water rapidly through sweat.

Water is sometimes the only catalyst that makes things work. As kidneys are responsible for detox, which can not happen without water, and whilst liver is responsible for breaking/ metabolising fat – when water is scarce, liver tends to help the kidneys and breaking the fat becomes secondary; as a result fat loss will be compromised.

If you are to start with one habit, start with water.

Apart from flushing toxins, water helps digest food & circulate blood. Food contains only 20% of fluid intake, so, hydration through healthy beverages is necessary.

A couple of glasses upon waking up with some lemon and then hydrate with one glass on the hour every hour. Set your phone reminders. Use fruit as water infusion. Green tea is fantastic alternative to regular tea and coffee.

Thermojetics Instant Herbal Beverage

Our Thermojetics Herbal Beverage is great for every day hydration as well as part of the weight management plan. I love adding some lemon to it too for added nutritional benefit.

It is a combination of green tea and other botanical ingredients. It has not been treated with alcohol unlike most teas from the high street stores; process of extraction and purification happens with water and charcoal, leaving the finished product with high antioxidant/ phytonutrient value, similar to the plant when it is picked up; it is highly refreshing and catechins compounds cause thermojetics effect that help boost metabolism and energy levels as well as help burn fat.

Alcohol

Alcohol is a bad news for not only fat loss but for our general health. It is a stress to the body that body treats as a poison.

If you would like to take your body composition to the next level, the best advice I could give you is to not only limit, but completely cut out alcohol.

Not many are able to do that and I approach it with care with clients as it is one thing that causes so much resistance. I do believe in taking small steps and limiting alcohol consumption to less to what is a norm to start with, then seeing the results we get and finally decreasing it further.

One can still have results if weekly units are minimal, up to 1-2 glasses of wine, as an example, but anything more will generally hinder the results greatly.

Cutting on calories in food to accommodate alcohol is highly undesirable and results will be limited, if any. Cortisol is a fat storing hormone in our body that alcohol (together with lack of sleep, too much cardio activity and stress) seem to elevate and, as a result, body is in a state of fat storing rather than fat burning.

So, think about your alcohol consumption and how much you really want to improve your health and body composition. Every success requires some form of sacrifice.

Think Protein to avoid Hunger & Slower Metabolism

Most people need to eat more protein. Or reduce protein coming from animal sources.

Protein is a very important factor for your immunity as body needs protein so that the white blood cells can produce antibodies that seek out and destroy invading viruses and bacteria.

It helps stabilise blood sugar levels and, therefore prevents hunger and fat storing. Apart from multitude of other uses, protein is incredibly important for the prevention of muscle loss over lifetime, especially when you are on a weight management plan.

Dieting is very much linked to a muscle wastage when dieting is not done right, which is the major cause of yo-yo syndrome – losing weight, then putting it back on again.

With loss of muscle, your metabolism is slower and so is body’s ability to burn calories. You may find yourself gaining all the weight (and more) back on that you lost, although you may be consuming calories that used to maintain your weight in the past. Your body has less lean muscle to burn them off and therefore, fat gain is inevitable.

High protein foods such as fish, soya products and low-fat dairy products can help to boost your immunity as well as increase your metabolism and support your lean muscle on your weight management plan.

Protein for Vegetarians & Vegans

Whilst I am not vegetarian myself, I support vegetarianism greatly, even veganism. The only issue I find with clients who are vegetarian or vegan is that they still suffer from an inadequate amount of lean muscle due to lack of protein in their diet, sometimes low energy levels and excess body fat that they simply are unable to shift.

All of these issues are sorted with our personalised nutrition plan that targets what they might lack in their diet – protein, plant protein in particular, and micro nutrient intake.

Whilst eating wholefoods can have remarkable good effects on the body, it is a well-known fact that, according to World Health Organisation, UNICEF, UK Ministry of Agriculture and Royal Society of Chemistry – vitamin and mineral depletion of our soil is a global problem with up to 72% depletion of nutrients in fruit and vegetables in Europe alone over the past 60 years.

Supplementation with pharmaceutical graded supplements can make a massive difference in energy levels of anyone, even those who already follow a healthy diet, Vegetarians & Vegans included who would greatly benefit from more macro nutrient balance in their diet.

Protein for Meat Eaters

Whilst protein is an important macro nutrient – meat eaters should take this information with caution.

Meat and dairy can cause high acidity in the body, that leaches nutrients from your muscle and bones and therefore deplete your energy levels and immunity, therefore meat protein must be well-balanced with plant protein.

Whilst getting THAT beach body will require eating personalised amount of protein each day (around 1 gram of protein for each pound of lean muscle – more if exercising and/or building muscle) in the right balance and frequency – you will do more damage on a cellular level if trying to get it all from animal sources.

My goal with clients who are meat eaters is to increase their protein intake whilst balancing plant with animal sources as well as increase their micro nutrient intake.

Generally, once there is a better balance of proteins v carbs & macro nutrients v micro nutrients (Vitamins and Minerals) established, in the right frequency, blood sugar levels are stable, cravings diminish, energy levels increase and we are more likely to have a sustainable fat loss.

Good Carbs v Bad Carbs

We need to stop thinking that carbs are our enemy. Body relies on carbohydrates for fuel, however, they are not all equal. The least processed carbs such as fruit and vegetables are extremely beneficial as they deliver all important nutrients, vitamins & minerals, to the body, together with powerful antioxidants and fibre.

To get that beach body, if that is what you desire, now that we drink more water and include protein in each meal whilst balancing plant with animal protein – we need to combine some Good Carbohydrates with that protein.

That means having a colourful diet of fruits, vegetables, legumes each and every day.

Bad Carbohydrates will go against our efforts to slim down, feel and look healthy and reduce our body fat. Bad carbohydrates are those highly processed and refined foods such as sugars, pastries, cakes, sweets, cereals, white pasta, white bread, sugary drinks, just to name the few.

They do not boost, but rather bust your metabolism, leaving you craving for more, whilst storing excess calories as fat, depleting your energy levels as they are usually void of nutrition.

They may also compromise your digestion and therefore, absorption of nutrients which has an effect not only on energy levels and immunity, but will be a contributing factor to weight gain too.

Fibre Factor

Fibre is a type of carbohydrate and one of THE most important dietary factors for helping support healthy digestion. Fibre is found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains and plays a big part in keeping our bodies healthy.

Adults are recommended minimum 25 grams of fibre each day for healthy digestion, so including high-fibre foods and fibre supplements in your diet can greatly help improve your digestion.

Fibre rich foods are slow sugar releasing and, when combined with protein, they keep your blood sugar levels stable and fuller for longer.

Most of the clients I see struggle to get adequate amount of fibre in their diet. If not sure, MyFitnessPal is a great tool to check if you do. I use it to check my own fibre, protein, Calcium and fat levels occasionally.

I teach clients to use it, if they wish, in addition to my support which we use as part of the education process so they see how getting perfect balance of 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein and 30% fat intake within personalised calorie intake gets them results.

The moment they step out of the equation and there is less protein and more carbohydrates, the results are less visible at their weekly body composition check, or there are no results at all. Penny drops every time as they learn more how food balance and frequency affects us.

Should we count calories?

Calories are not all created equal. 100 calories of vegetables is not the same on a cellular level and on the level how body processes it and it’s affect on the body when compared to 100 calories worth of chocolate Maltesers (which, by the way, are NOT lighter than air).

I use client’s Resting Metabolic Rate to calculate the calorie ceiling they need to be under in order to lose weight, using a simple formula, however, because my personalised weight management solutions are already calorie controlled, my clients do not need to necessarily count calories.

They would just need to follow the prescribed meal plan that includes some great recipes, use their hand to determine portion sizes of macros and, sometimes, write a food diary as a great way to gauge daily food intake and those that do – have a better result.

They also learn how what they consume in any given week relates to changes in their body composition. All part of the education process and raising the awareness on how certain foods effect us. The moment they skip snacks or meals or eat unbalanced meals and snacks – they see decline in muscle, just as one of the examples.

Calories are important or rather learning about them, to help us become more conscientious about our food choices, but, balance in macro nutrients is even more important because not all calories are created equal.

Skipping dinner because we blew our calorie ceiling during the day (or any other meal or snack for whatever reason) is surely not the path to health OR healthy weight loss (or rather, fat loss) and improved body composition.

Get more active

Now that we drink more water, focus on lean and/ or plant protein and good carbohydrates with plenty of fibre, whilst banning all refined sugary carbohydrates – it is time we need to get more active if we want to see some great results! Remember, results come best from 80% nutrition and 20% exercise plan.

Believe it or not, we all have the six-pack muscles, but most people have it all hidden under the layer of abdominal fat. It is time to unwrap it! If you are not used to exercise, start with walking more and then find the local class that you enjoy, perhaps build it to a couple of classes a week.

The science shows that the best form of fitness that help you get into shape in less time is any form of High Intensity Interval Resistance Training. It is a combination of a little bit of cardio with resistance and weight training, all in one single workout. It not only burns a lot of calories during exercise, but it has the highest after-burn with up to 1000 calories burnt in 38 hour window post-exercise.

Try to find your own HIIRT or HIIT class near you or create a program that you can do at home.

Now that we have most of it covered and you are more aware what is needed to get you started on the journey of becoming the best version of yourself, I would like to remind you of the first point I made – start today!

Get the picture of yourself when you were at your best and get emotionally connected to that vision of yourself. Let it be your guide, your North Star.

If not sure how to start or if anything inspired you in this article, do get in touch, drop me a line. I would love to help. Free Evaluation offer stands, it can be slightly daunting starting on your own and you, whilst will need to do it by yourself, you do not need to be alone in the process. As many as 75% have better success when having the right support.

Until then, life is colourful, make your diet colourful too and feel the difference! Afterall, life is much more fun lived in colour!

Herbalife Nutrition Independent Herbalife Member, Bath UK Healthy Meals
Author Sanela Categories Health, Nutrition and Fitness Tips & Advice, Personal Growth, Weight Management Posted on 0 Comments

Change your habits, change your life… How do we create new habits?

Thank you for clicking on this article as its title is everything but original. But, that does not make it less true. Actually, it is a huge deal!

Our life is truly a reflection of our habits at every level of our existence. We become what we think about because what we think about is what we will focus on and that will influence what action we take, which, ultimately, leads to a particular outcome (or outcomes for different areas of our life). Results, in one word.

Einstein’s famous definition of insanity is repeating the same actions over and over again and expecting different result. And, yet, that is exactly what majority of us do.

We have around 60 000 thoughts every single day, take or add a few, and research suggests that 98% of those thoughts are exactly the same thoughts we have every single day.

So, anyone wanting to change their life – what we need to change are habits and behaviours, which will influence our actions and the end result – our life.

Sounds simple, but we all know it is easier said that done. But at least we know that we got to change something. Because…

Change nothing – nothing changes.
Change a little – little changes.
Change a lot – a lot changes.

Habits come to mind as a logical one thing that we need to focus on changing. When it comes to health – habits are absolutely everything.

It is being said that it takes 21 days to change habits. But, science shows that this is a myth. Psychologists may agree that while it perhaps takes 21 days of consistent and conscientious effort to create a new habit, it takes far longer to break an existing habit.

More recently, study of 96 people was published in The European Journal of Social Philosophy and it states that it took an average 66 days to form a habit, such as eating a healthy snack or exercising regularly. That is to reach the point of Automaticity. When we develop a new behaviour that we do automatically, like brushing teeth is. The point of unconscious competence.

They found that creating a new habit depends on type of behaviour we are trying to change, the person and the circumstances. It can also take anywhere from 18 days to 254 days for people to form a new habit, which is an average of 66 days, but this highlights why it takes longer for some to adopt new habits.

I always talk to my client that after weight loss comes maintenance and research shows that maintenance is actually harder. Why? Because they have not yet reached the state of automaticity. They lost weight with my support, but those that take it for granted and have not fully committed to living a healthy, active lifestyle for life are the ones that will struggle to keep the weight off.

So, how do we create new habits?

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World Diabetes Day www.wellness4life.co.uk
Author Sanela Categories Health, Nutrition and Fitness Tips & Advice, Weight Management Posted on 0 Comments

World Diabetes Day

14th November is World Diabetes Day. As more and more people have diabetes and increasing amount of people are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, and the fact that lifestyle plays a big part in disease development – while it is important to raise the awareness of the disease, it is also very important to talk about its prevention.

Personally, I have diabetes in the family. I grew up with both of my aunties, my mum’s two only sisters, being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. One died from it and the other died of cancer before diabetes could claim her too. In my opinion, based on what I recall, apart from following the treatment – neither of them really took necessary care when it came to changing their lifestyle.

My mother, on the other hand, one that has always been more health conscious compared to her sisters, lived to her 79th birthday and has never developed the disease. She had a balanced diet and healthy weight. Still, this topic feels like it is very close to home as I love and miss my aunties very much.

So, what is causing Diabetes and how can we prevent it?

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Herbalife Nutrition Independent Herbalife Member, Bath UK Healthy Meals
Author Sanela Categories Health Coaching, Health, Nutrition and Fitness Tips & Advice, Weight Management Posted on 0 Comments

4 Pillars of True Health – Path to being Healthy AND Fit

Ever thought if it is possible to be very fit and yet to be very unhealthy at the same time? I think it is very common…

It is usually demonstrated in regular exercise and feeling strong and fit, however, having low energy levels, possibly suffering from an impaired digestion or skin problems or frequent colds or some other form of ailment or even disease, even having excess weight!

You might be that person yourself or you might know someone who you even admire for being an example when it comes to their dedication to fitness, however, you can see they might not be eating great and are “getting away with a murder” when it comes to eating.

Some people I know are exercising so they CAN “eat what they want”. Or can they, really? That is the question.

It is also a possibility to be very healthy with great energy levels and youthfulness because of an attention to a healthy diet, however, to struggle to run for three minutes or get up a few flights of stairs.

I used to be this person after I had children and know the feeling very well. Exercise does burn extra calories, however, its role in weight management is actually minimal compared to its extraordinary role in our overall health, ageing process and general strength and stamina.

So, I think many will agree when I say that our aim, ideally, might be to be both – healthy AND fit.

The question is – are You? And, if not, how do we achieve both?

I can tell you that there is a lot more to it than just diet and exercise, but they seem to be good places to start!

NUTRITION

First pillar is Nutrition, of course. It is because, 80% of our health IS nutrition – what you eat and drink throughout the day because it does not matter how hard you work in the gym if you do not control what you put on your plate.

Your level of nutrition body gets will impact your mood as well as how your body functions. Ideally, we need to start seeing food as medicine. Because food CAN have that effect.

We ourselves are powerful beyond measure and it is equally incredible what our bodies can do when we give them the right nourishment and fuel that helps our cells thrive. Your nutrition is the first key to your healthy lifestyle and all the exercise in the world can not help you if you are not fuelling your cells right, in the right balance and frequency.

The latest research confirms that only 1 in 4 people, that is 25% of the population, across 15 European countries, considers nutrition when making their health choices.

Malnutrition (poor diet that results in micro-nutrient deficiencies that lead to disease) is estimated to cost £19.6 billion in the UK annually where malnourished adults account for about 30% of hospital admissions. No wonder we have such shocking figures if only a few consider nutrition in the first place.

I think there is a lot more to it and certainly education plays a huge part.

We are all different and different diets work for different people (where by diet I mean – a way of life, what works the best for you), however, at least 80% are absolute fundamentals that work for all of us because, simply put, we are all members of the human race and body is the engine that is pretty standard for everyone – same rules apply for majority of us:

To function optimally, body needs protein, fibre, healthy fats, micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, etc) and water delivered each day in the right balance and frequency!

On top of all that, we need to eliminate foods that drain our cells, lower immunity, cause inflammation, make us age faster and, ultimately, cause the disease.

EXERCISE

Second pillar is EXERCISE. It might be only 20% of your weight management efforts, however, benefits of exercise far exceed its benefits just for managing weight.

We are wired to move our bodies and what exercise does is quite astonishing. Exercise gives us energy, it releases dopamine which makes us feel better, happier, stronger; it releases serotonin which helps us feel more relaxed and it relieves stress, it helps neurogenesis or body to grow more brain cells; it accelerates learning and processing of information, makes us more alert, have more will power, makes us more motivated…

We are wired to move, all we lack is a habit of doing so intentionally, so, building exercise into our DAILY routine is an absolute game changer.

Best time to do it is in the morning, very first thing! Why? Because of all of the above that I mentioned that happens almost instantly after exercise. Also, because if you don’t, you know it – the day takes over and you are less likely to find time for it later on. How difficult is it to make time for it by just getting up 30 minutes earlier. You are worth it!

If you can go out and exercise in the nature, in the fresh air, it is even more impactful as it can be almost as a form of meditation, but even if you exercise at home, you will be awake, feel strong and ready to face the day.

Also, when you build exercise into your routine and learn about nutrition and start making the right food choices – then you are setting yourself up for success.

Remember, you can be fit, but unhealthy… and you can be healthy, but unfit… The ultimate goal to a long-term overall health is being FIT & HEALTHY!

And we are not done, not yet.

REST

Third pillar is REST.

Rest probably should have been first because it is after rest that we exercise and then feed our bodies. Body that is not rested is body that is not ready for anything. Good rest during the night regenerates our cells, repairs our muscle tissue, deep sleep rejuvenates our whole body.

If you have ever woken up not feeling rested enough, you know the feeling and can appreciate the importance of great rest.

If you have ever woken up feeling rested – you know that feeling too and how phenomenally it feels.

Sleep is a whole different topic, but best advice is to try to get 8 hours of sleep, avoid technology and LED lights 1-2 hours before bed time, as well as caffeine. Sleep in a dark and cool room.

All of those, and many more, help us rest during the night, however, there is another form of rest – relaxation during the day.

Allowing yourself time, even if it is 10-20 minutes to switch off, meditate, have a walk in the nature, clear your mind or even have a power nap that many successful people build into their daily schedule in order to freshen up and it helps them refocus.

There is a huge amount of evidence on the benefits of daily meditation on our well-being as well as productivity.

So, make sure you are not in your head and in all frenzy and activity all day long.

MINDSET

Forth pillar you might think is an unusual one, but it impacts our health massively – working on our HEALTH MINDSET. I am sure you have heard “80% nutrition, 20% exercise, 100% mindset!” Because we are creatures of habit and building healthy habits is built in the mind first!

Everything starts with a thought and healthy starts from making a CHOICE to be healthy, every single day. And this, in my opinion, is indeed the pillar worth mentioning because it is exactly with mindset itself that most struggle with before they can achieve health or reach their health, wellness, fitness goals.

Once we choose to be healthy, we need to start working on building habits that support our healthy, active lifestyle so we can continue taking action and feeding our bodies with the right nutrition, exercising our body daily and giving it rest and relaxation it needs.

To build those habits, we need to invest time in surrounding ourselves with people, influences, education, support that will help us achieve that.

We need to keep feeding our healthy mindset with healthy thoughts so our healthy active lifestyle continues to manifest itself.

So, how do YOU support your mindset?

Remember that if people around you are unhealthy, there is a nearly 50% chance you will be too. So, you must surround yourself also with positive examples. Find a coach, find a running buddy, enroll yourself on to a health programme that fits your lifestyle and gets you the support and education you need, etc.

So, think about this for a moment:

  • Who are the people around you?
  • What have they got you thinking? Reading? Doing?
  • Who are you following on social media? I am serious here. Who are your influencers?
  • What are you reading, listening to, watching?
  • Where is all that leading you?

If you want to be healthy, but are following, as an example – deep-fried pizza recipes on social media, or slogans how life is too short and should be enjoyed without limit so you can eat what you want and when you want it… you get the picture… Well, clearly none of that is really helpful.

If you have higher health goals, then you need to set clear goals, design a plan, surround yourself with the right support, positive affirmations and, ultimately, take action.

Most importantly, keep educating yourself what healthy is and what it is not because, life is a lot more fun when we are not sick and when we have energy to face the day.

Investment in our health is arguably the best investment you can make because life IS too short and it is worth and much easier living it in a healthy and fit body. Not because fit & healthy defines you and so does not the lack of it. But, because we are all worth living our best versions of ourselves – physically, mentally, spiritually.

I hope my four pillars gave you an insight into areas where you need to focus into making your health more balanced and health goals achievable. If you liked it, please share, because – sharing is caring. 🙂

I believe that health is our greatest wealth and state where happiness resides, so wishing you to be healthy and happy, always!

Yours in Health,

Sanela

Herbalife Nutrition Independent Herbalife Member, Bath UK Healthy Meals
Author Sanela Categories Exercise, Health, Nutrition and Fitness Tips & Advice, Healthy Nutrition Posted on 0 Comments

Keep Fit with Fit Foods

Your body is yearning to get lively as it is designed for movement, but, if allowed, it will begin to seize up, fatten up and generally degenerate. So, whatever your age, moderate exercise can help with your wellness as it builds and strengthens your muscles, improves skeletal density & keeps osteoporosis at bay, gets your heart pumping, helps shift plaque from your arteries, helps mobilise toxins trapped in fat cells, uses up stored fat reducing stored weight, reduces feelings of depression, lessens fatigue, improves skin tone and colour and there are so many more amazing benefits, both physical and psychological.

Exercise, however, is just one part of the equation. You may have heard this before, or you may hear it for the first time, in which case you may well be surprised, but the fact is – your health as well as the success of your weight management effort is 80% down to your nutrition and only 20% down to exercise. Therefore, poor fuel will equal poor performance and athletes know this all too well.

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