Kick Start your Health before Winter

Autumn is a great time to conduct a health audit and see which areas can be improved. Here are some easy-to-action tips to help you improve your health today.

Get Meal Planning

One of the best ways to fix the family diet is to get into the habit of meal planning. Which means shopping in advance for what you need and always have the ingredients on hand. Autumn is a great time for light soups, veggie-rich stir-fries and nourishing salads.

Jump Back into Exercise

Give your body some shock treatment and overhaul your exercise routine. This does not mean you need to head straight out and run a marathon, but if you’ve previously had a sluggish winter you need to shock the body to make sure your fitness stays at a great level. If it helps; buy something new to train in.

P.S. If you’re hitting the great outdoors again for the first time in a while, stay on top of your hydration levels.

Clear your Mind

A mental clean up gives us the opportunity to clear our mind, get rid of habits that don’t serve us, plant seeds of positivity and start creating the life we want. Take a deep look at where you are and feel what you no longer need in your life, what no longer serves who you want to be.

Choose in-season, local produce – choose fresh seasonal vegetables. Seasonal produce offers more flavour as well as price savings. Local produce supports farmers and also spares the environment by eliminating long-distance delivery systems. Whenever possible, add vegetables to meals like sandwiches or omelettes. Instead of processed snack foods, eat wholesome vegetables with a dip like hummus.

Replace old workout shoes

Our comfy, worn-out running shoes may do more harm than good. The material, particularly in the heel, wears out with use, and loses its cushioning effect.

Rise and shine

As sunrise gets later, haul yourself out of bed early and get outside to boost your level of vitamin D, most of which we get from sunlight on our skin. Vitamin D helps to keep bones and teeth healthy, so make the most of the sunshine now.

Streamline your home

Disorganisation makes it difficult to find items you need. “Where did I put that medicine?” “Where are my training shoes for the gym?” The more time you spend looking for these, the more frustrated you may get and the more likely you may be to just decide not to proceed with it (like decide to skip your medicine or decide not to go to the gym).

Get Gardening

Mowing the lawn, raking leaves and planting flowers/plants all count towards your recommended weekly physical exercise and gets you out of the house and into some fresh air.

Reflect on why you are losing weight

Good reasons why you want to lose weight include having more energy and maximising overall health. I have yet to have a person be successful in long-term weight loss for just a number on the scale. It must be a deeper, more meaningful reason.”

Create realistic goals

Before crafting your goals, look at where you are in terms of your health habits. With winter around the corner, it can be tempting to get complacent.

Instead, build in challenging-yet-doable food goals from your starting point. Be sure to revisit and revise these goals as you move forward. If you have smaller goals that push you out of your comfort zone little by little, they’ll add up to major results by the time summer arrives.

Clean your pantry

As you streamline your home, take advantage of the moment and clean up your pantry and kitchen from top to bottom. Make sure you place highly nutritious foods in the front, less nutritious foods in the back and discard any unwanted temptations.

Keep track of what you eat and drink

Don’t underestimate the power of a food log – it can be tedious, but it really does help. Whether you’re writing it down, sharing it with a friend or using a food journal app, tracking what you eat can help keep you in check. It will also make you more aware of your choices and will usually cause you to think twice before making an unhealthy decision. Most people will be smarter about what they eat when they see it in writing.

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