Healthy Living

Limping and broken legs

2009-06-26T07:40:00.003+01:00

When we look at someone’s efforts to improve their health we can easily tell which aspects needed the large amount of effort. The small efforts for their minor changes are harder to spot and this is similar to our own situation.

If you had a broken leg you would have to stop what you were doing and get it fixed.

If you had a limp you could keep going for a long time, and perhaps the limp would go away on its own.

Where in your health are you ‘limping’?

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Mailing it in?

2009-06-12T13:41:00.002+01:00

That’s an interesting phrase isn’t it?

When someone isn’t really trying very hard we say that they’re ‘mailing it in’.

How many times have we realised that we are doing just that – not putting in the appropriate level of effort into our health?

Recognition is the key of course to doing something about this. If we can catch ourselves then we can do something about it. Luckily the answers are usually obvious, it’s the catching ourselves that is the tricky bit!

Stop yourself and see if you are ‘mailing it in’ – if you are you might find your progress accelerating once you have resolved the issue!

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"Alkaline all the way!"

Boost your alkalinity first thing in the morning

2009-06-05T16:09:00.003+01:00

A really simple way to get your day off to a flying start is with some lemon juice squeezed into a glass of water.

Although citrus fruits are generally acidic they become alkaline after they have been processed by the body.

Green drinks will help you to become alkaline quicker, but if you are looking for some variety this is a good place to start.

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"Alkaline all the way!"

Plan your meals a plate at a time

2009-05-29T08:59:00.003+01:00

There was a really nice comment that I heard on the radio the other day and it was related to planning meals. The general discussion was around getting the ratios of protein, carbohydrate and vegetables right when cooking meals.

The suggestion was; ¼ protein, ¼ carbohydrate and ½ vegetables.

If you find that you or your family aren’t eating enough vegetables day to day then this may be a good way to plan and serve your meals.

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"Alkaline all the way!"

Are you ‘mailing it in’?

2009-05-15T16:18:00.002+01:00

When it takes time to do something worthwhile (like getting into shape) we can find ourselves slipping and not doing the best that we absolutely could. A phrase I heard years ago was ‘mailing it in’ as in not taking part fully.

Are you mailing it in with some of your activities?

If you find that you have then it may be good practice to ask yourself this question before undertaking that activity again – ‘what is the purpose of doing this?’

By asking this question we can determine if it is still important to us. If it is then we can gain some new ideas and some new motivation. And if it isn’t – then perhaps you have saved some time in the long run!

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"Alkaline all the way!"

Best laid plans......

2009-05-08T08:53:00.001+01:00

We know what we need to do in order to change our health. We know what to eat, what kind of exercise and what kind of relaxation we need. Then nothing happens!

This often happens because of the overwhelming nature our plans can take. When there is too much to consider this can sometimes stop us from figuring out how to start (it all looks so huge!!!).

A simple way around this is to find a starting point and ignore the rest – for the time being at least. With a simple and uncomplicated start we can benefit from a number of things. Firstly, we make progress and from this we can gain momentum. Secondly, the experience from the starting point can provide knowledge on how to approach the rest of your plan. Your plan may need to change or you may need to consider adding in some extra items for example.

Whilst planning is important, action is right there alongside in terms of importance. If you find that your best laid plans are going nowhere then maybe it is worth trying a small part of it, a part you feel comfortable with, and seeing where you get to. Then you can attempt the next small part and so on, and before you know it you will be where you wanted to be!

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"Alkaline all the way!"

The next three steps

2009-05-05T15:13:00.003+01:00

When we are working towards an improvement in our health it might be hard to work out what our plan of attack might look like. If we are already healthy but wish to improve further we might me moving into unchartered territory and not be sure what such a bold plan would look like. A simple resolution to this could be to only consider the next three steps.

By keeping it as simple as this we can keep a focus on the next step that we have identified and taken the pressure off the need for a complete plan. By doing these few actions we can gain new ideas and knowledge that will guide us towards where we want to be.

This ability to focus on the next couple of steps can also help us to improve our personal productivity and accelerate our progress.

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"Alkaline all the way!"

Considering a continuum

2009-04-24T16:23:00.005+01:00

When deciding what to do next with your goals it can sometimes be hard to come up with ideas. A simple way around this is to use a continuum.

If you look at one of your recently completed goals you could place this at the middle of a continuum. To the left of it could be a really bad version of it, and to the right could be an amazing version of it – bigger, better and in full colour surround sound!

Building on an existing idea is an easy method that you can use to create new ideas and a new vision of your future!

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"Alkaline all the way!"

Sticking plasters

2009-04-17T08:15:00.004+01:00

Sometimes our plans work out and sometimes they don't. When it comes to health and exercise we can find that short cuts and temporary fixes are put in place. The downside to this is that there can be a lack of long term benefits, and if we are looking for a fitter and healthier body
then this can go against what we want.

If you find yourself getting stuck and not progressing, things aren't working out and plans keep on falling over then it might be worth considering a simple exercise called '5 Whys'.

To perform the exercise you need an issue that is currently affecting you. Ask yourself 'why the result occurred' and answer the question. Ask yourself another question – this time aimed at digging down to the next level, and keep repeating this process until you have reached a
fundamental 'a-ha' moment. At this point you can make simple changes that have the potential to be sustainable and highly effective.

If you respond to the first answer you run the risk of putting sticking plasters on a problem rather than fixing the problem once and for all.

Describe it in one sentence

2009-04-09T15:11:00.003+01:00

With so many things to do it is sometimes easy to get lost with what we should be doing. Our health based activities can fall into the same category. How do we keep our focus on what we need to be doing?

A simple way to do this is to question what each activity is meant to achieve, providing the answer no more than one sentence. For example, if we are looking at our meal planning activities we could ask this question. The answer could be something along the lines of ‘to nourish my body effectively with great tasting food’.

Checking in on what we’re meant to be doing can sometimes be a useful pause in the hectic day to day world we live in.

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"Alkaline all the way!"

Getting out of the doldrums

2009-04-03T17:25:00.000+01:00

If your diet and health plans aren’t going too well then think of the doldrums. The doldrums are a reference to sailing when the winds disappear and we get stuck. This conjures the idea that we need to put some wind in our sails and get going again.

With reference to diet and exercise what ‘wind’ do you need to put in your sails? What activity or change would give you a kick start as you journey towards your healthier lifestyle?

It could be planning a long walk or a couple of smoothies – something to get us back on track and feeling like we’ve made an effort. Once we have made our gesture we need to take this momentum and put in place the discipline that we need in order to keep our progress going.

www.wheatgrasstogo.co.uk
"Alkaline all the way!"

Water - a big factor

2009-03-20T10:04:00.002Z

Watching the adverts on TV and some of the views made on chat shows about looking after ourselves it always amazes me how the basics are overlooked. The new and more complicated approach is taken in favour of the straightforward fundamentals.

Water is one of those fundamentals. Most people have heard the statement '8 glasses of water a day'.

Whatever the precise amount of water we need for our bodies it is a fact that we are made up of approximately 70% water. Taking supplements and doing the more advanced things in terms of nutrition and health makes an assumption that we have the basics covered.

Sometimes keeping all of the plates spinning in life can be a challenge, but I'd ask you to challenge yourself - do you drink enough water during the day?

Not coffee, not tea, not fruit juice - just plain old boring water.

If you do struggle with this then please visit our other articles for some ideas, otherwise well done and keep up the good work!

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"Alkaline all the way!"

Count your chews

2009-03-13T19:23:00.001Z

Whilst having my lunch the other day I was lucky enough to sit opposite a man who ate without chewing. I was fascinated by the spectacle opposite and managed to get into a conversation with him. I asked him what he was having – lasagne – and then I asked him what it was like. He didn't really know – it was lunch!

I thought that this was a strange response, it wasn't a bland meal in any sense and yet this person had not considered the fact that they were feeding themselves. If he had considered this he would likely have found that he would chew more and engage more of his senses in the eating experience. A book called the 'Slow Down Diet' (by Marc David) talks about the research behind good eating practices. In this case the need to slow down and enjoy what you are eating. The reason for this? To absorb more of the nutrients and become nourished. This is, after all, what eating is for.

Next time you are eating please consider whether you are relaxed, engaged and consciously eating. If you're not eating this way try counting the number of times you chew your food – it might be a good way to develop a better eating habit.

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"Alkaline all the way!"

Crushed Seeds

2009-03-06T16:49:00.000Z

We often look for ways to improve the nutritional content of our diets. Adding in new foods can often be difficult due to the volume or the time. Adding in small amounts of food to other foods can make this process a whole lot easier.

Crushed seeds is one good example of this. A mix of sunflower, linseed and pumpkin seeds can provide the correct split of fatty acids that your brain will thank you for. Adding this to your cereal or your yoghurt, for example, can increase the nutritional content of the meal.

Dried fruit is in the same camp. A handful at the end of a meal can increase the nutritional content once more with little effort. Thinking of ways to add in small amounts of nutritionally dense foods to your existing meals can make a big difference.

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"Alkaline all the way!"

Start with fruit

2009-02-13T08:31:00.001Z

The struggle that many readers have with consuming enough fruit and vegetables in their diet can be overcome in one simple approach.

Start your day with fruit.

There you go - how's that for a starter for 10?

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"Alkaline all the way!"

The 10 rep challenge

2009-01-30T16:05:00.001Z

Finding the smallest amount of exercising that you can do to 'get the job done' is an interesting experiment. If we know that doing something is better than doing nothing (when it comes to exercise) then finding the least amount you can do might be enough to gain some momentum.

The '10 rep' challenge is one way to do this – do 10 reps of an exercise that you love and leave it there. You never know – you might end up doing more.

If you know what else you would like to do exercise wise then you have a plan of how to spend your time once you have completed your 10 reps.... if you wish.

A little bit of effort can really get the body (and mind) into action. So, when exercising looks like too much hard work or will take too long try the '10 rep' challenge.

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"Alkaline all the way!"

Joining forces

2009-01-21T09:39:00.003Z

The habits required to stay healthy are sometimes tricky to keep in place. Eating fruit, using your juicer, getting in your exercise etc..

One of the ways you can improve the development and maintenance of your habits is to piggy back the habit with another activity that will get done.

For example, if you are not using your juicer enough – you could tie in the juicing with the preparation of your evening meal. You’re in the right place at the right time doing similar things. The additional effort to use your juicer is minimised and potentially more likely to happen.

Try joining the new habits with the current tasks and see what happens.

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"Alkaline all the way!"

Meal Planning

2009-01-09T08:31:00.003Z

One of the themes that I write about is the consumption of enough fruit and vegetables during the day to (at least) meet the 5-a-day target. One of the discussions that I have with people that continues to surprise me is the lack of planning that goes into people's meals.

Apart from the logic that it helps to focus your shopping habits (at your local shops, supermarket, or wherever you go), it gives you the opportunity to determine how much of your diet is good quality nutritious food. By taking the time out to do this you can make immediate (and sometimes dramatic) improvements to the quality of your diet.

Now, here's the interesting bit - where you put your focus on your meal planning can make the schedule of meals entirely different. If your focus was on consuming more vegetables then this could be the start point for when thinking about what meals to have. For example, say you wanted to eat brocolli and carrots - what would go with them? You come up with an idea and there you are, you have a meal that contains the right amount of vegetables for you.

Whatever your focus or needs are for achieving your health objectives apply it to your meal planning. Take the small amount of time that it requires and reap the rewards.

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"Alkaline all the way!"

When's your bed time?

2008-12-15T08:28:00.003Z

Driving around first thing in the morning can yield some interesting sights. One of the sights that interests me the most is people driving whilst cramming breakfast into their mouths! I sometimes wonder what time they get up and what stress this practice of getting up and almost immediately getting into their car to rush a breakfast whilst racing to work does to their bodies and minds.

A lot of people complain about not being able to get up in the morning and when you speak to them about their routines the evening before you realise that there is no routine. There are recognised benefits of going to bed at the same time each day and waking up at the same time each day.

If you are one of the people who suffer in the mornings then maybe it would be worthwhile to experiment with a regimented approach to bed time!

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"Alkaline all the way!"

Smoothies and juicing

2008-12-01T17:30:00.001Z

If you're looking to add in a different dimension to your intake of fruits and vegetables then have you considered making smoothies, or creating a new juicing combination?

Many people have juicers lurking away in their kitchen cupboards and this can provide a good alternative to dessert after the evening meal. If you can rope your family members into cleaning the juicer afterwards then you're on to a real winner!

Even if you don't have a juicer, but have a blender you can make some really good smoothies that can add to your '5 a day' as well as making fruit even more interesting.

Enjoy.

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"Alkaline all the way!"

Weariing 'nutrition glasses'

2008-11-12T08:05:00.002Z

When you get that mid afternoon hunger pang - what do you choose?

What if you haven't brought your fruit with you to munch on?

If you have been in this situation then it may be worthwhile using your 'nutrition glasses'.

What I mean by this is, instead of picking up the first thing that comes to hand because it will do, look at it as if you were wearing a special pair of glasses. These glasses would shade the item based on how good it is for you. If it is really good for you then you might see it as being green (the colour of Wheatgrass!), and if it is bad for you then it might appear red.

By making a decision to only eat the good foods (or green appearing foods) then this can aid your health and overall diet.

Give it a go and see if your choosing of foods improves.

www.wheatgrasstogo.co.uk
"Alkaline all the way!"

Tinier portions

2008-11-03T17:16:00.002Z

Some of the more recent entries in this blog have been about the use of smaller steps to achieve our objectives, but this week after talking to some friends I realise that big to one person is small to another.

When we talk about talking smaller steps it is sometimes the most ridiculously small looking steps that would take us to where we want to be.

One of the best examples I can think of is the apple. Pure and simple - we all know the saying 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away'. When discussing this I found people saying things like 'yeah - but I see an apple and think how long it will take to eat, so I don't bother'.

If you find this approach is the same as the one you take then try making the portion even smaller. Cutting an apple or two up before going to work and taking it with you in an airtight container gives you something nutritious to nibble at. Lo and behold, at the end of the day we suddenly have eaten two of our five a day portions! Magic!

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"Alkaline all the way!"

Creating the ritual

2008-10-27T17:03:00.001Z

When working on becoming healthier through eating better food, exercising more and starting healthier habits it sometimes becomes useful to create appropriate rituals.

What I mean by this is to find a sequence of activities that when run together make doing the new habit easier.

For example, if you are wanting to make sure that you choose healthier options when you do your food shopping you could link a number of items together. A possible combination would be a song on the car stereo that makes you feel good, followed by remembering why you are doing these activities, followed by imagining yourself as the ultra healthy person that you want to be, followed by an effective selection of foods when you actually do the shopping.

By getting yourself into the right mental state for doing what you need to do you will find that you can achieve your results far quicker.

www.wheatgrasstogo.co.uk
"Alkaline all the way!"

Lazy Town tribute

2008-10-20T19:44:00.002+01:00

I was watching 'Lazy Town' with my daughter at the weekend and one of the main characters demonstrated to the youngsters in the programme that he had a daily checklist to make sure that he had eaten all of his fruit.

The list also included his glasses of water and cleaning his teeth!

Ingenious.

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"Alkaline all the way!"

What it?

2008-10-11T08:22:00.003+01:00

When we ask 'what if?' questions we allow ourselves to come up with better answers. This allows us to expand upon our current thinking.

Very nice - but what has this got to do with health and nutrition?

What if _ _ _ _ ?

Go on, ask yourself a better question.

If you are struggling to eat your daily requirement of fruit: "what if I started my day with fruit?"

If you are struggling to drink enough water: "what if I carried a bottle of water around with me during the day?"

Think of a health issue and then think of a better question.

Go on - give it a go!