Hay Fever advice
Want some good advice about treating Hay Fever?For those of you who suffer from the uncomfortable and inconvenient symptoms of Hay Fever, please see the following video clip from GMTV’s Dr Hilary Jones for some tips about the various treatments available. Simply click here and select ‘Play’.
Say No to Alzheimer’s
I went to the Vitality Show at the London Olympia last Friday and saw a talk by top nutritionist Patrick Holford on Alzheimer’s. Wow, what a revealing hour that was. Do you know that this is the fate of 1 in 10 of us over the age of 75? Well the good news is that 9 out of 10 of us can do something to avoid it, mainly through making certain dietary changes.
In case you haven’t heard of him, Patrick is a leading spokesman on nutrition and mental health issues, often appearing on GMTV, international seminars and press publications, discussing health related issues and advice on achieving optimum health. Here are his top ten golden rules to follow to make sure your diet is maximising your mental health.
- Eat wholefoods – wholegrains, lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, fresh fruit and vegetables – and avoid refined, white and overcooked foods.
- Eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables. Choose dark green, leafy and root vegetables such as watercress, carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, spinach, green beans or peppers, raw or lightly cooked. Choose fresh fruit such as apples, pears, berries, melon or citrus fruit. Have bananas in moderation. Dilute fruit juices and only eat dried fruits infrequently in small quantities, preferably soaked.
- Eat four or more servings of whole grain such as rice, millet, rye, oats, wholewheat, corn or quinoa as cereal, breads and pasta.
- Avoid any form of sugar, and foods with added sugar.
- Combine protein foods with carbohydrate foods by eating cereals and fruit with nuts or seeds, and ensuring you eat starch foods (potato, bread, pasta or rice) with fish, lentils, beans or tofu.
- Eat cold-water carnivorous fish. A serving of herring, mackerel, salmon or fresh tuna two or three times a week provides a good source of omega-3 fats – or good vegetable protein sources, including beans, lentils, quinoa, tofu (soya) and ‘seed’ vegetables. If eating animal protein, choose lean meat or preferably fish, organic whenever possible.
- Eat eggs – preferably free-range, organic and high in omega-3s.
- Eat seeds and nuts. The best seeds are flax, hemp, pumpkin, sunflower and sesame. You get more goodness out of them by grinding them first and sprinkling on cereal, soups and salads.
- Use cold-pressed seed oils. Choose an oil blend containing flaxseed oil or hemp oil for salad dressings and cold uses, such as drizzling on vegetables instead of butter.
- Minimise your intake of fried food, processed food and saturated fat from meat and dairy.
Really want to change?
People often have misguided perceptions about what we should look like in order to fit in with what society calls ‘an acceptable image’. The media talks so much about faddy diets and the latest exercise craze, what’s good for you (expensive ‘health’ food), what’s bad for you (everything that tastes lovely). We are permanently being made to feel that we simply don’t have the right ‘look’ and this often results in someone like myself receiving enquiries from people that actually don’t need to improve the look their bodies at all. At least not for aesthetic purposes.
Julia Roberts once said she’s been hungry her entire adult life (in order to maintain her figure). This is neither healthy, fun or particularly sane and certainly not practical for us lesser mortals. In addition to it being generally depressing to see women with arms the size of matchsticks, most of the media hype is neither accurate nor appropriate for us average Joe’s who hold down full time jobs, co-ordinate families and partners, maintain a home and seek to spend time with friends at some point duing our hectic weekly schedule. The celebs we all see flogging their latest fitness videos are often lucky enough to be able to receive personal training at least 5 times a week (I would also love this!!) however, this is simply not realistic or affordable to most, nor an easy regime to maintain in the longer term.
Sooooo, what’s the answer? Well, take a good hard look at what you really need to change about yourself…and perhaps start to see what is actually pretty OK as it is too. Think your bum’s too big? I bet your partner doesn’t think so. Waist measurement above 32 inches? Well maybe it would be good to lose a few pounds for your health…
Then when you’ve figured out seriously what you want to improve upon, make the commitment and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT NOW. Make the commitment today, go on!! Read my article ’Find your inner Miss Fit’ for more tips about getting started….
Face the Fear
The first step is often the hardest when starting up a new health regime. Trying something new means stepping outside of your comfort zone and facing that inbuilt fear of failure. It’s common for people to see personal training as a last resort after many years of dieting frustration having seen short term results but without the long term maintenance. Ever done Atkins and lost a shed of weight, only to pile it back on again in no time? Many women have done this, including me!
The important thing to know is that personal training will give you at the very least, the BEST chance of sticking to a regime. Why? Because this is what it is designed to do! And it may be worth you knowing that most personal trainers also have their own trainer to help keep them motivated and stick to their workouts…because we are only human too and sometimes the temptation of a cup of tea and Coronation Street seems cosier than a run in the rain…
Find your inner Miss Fit
1). Firstly, you need to figure out how much time that you can realistically allocate to exercise in a week. It has to be manageable, say 3 x 40 minutes per week. This could be during a lunchhour, when the kids are at school, before or after work or at the weekend. If you find it challenging to set aside specific times, get a pedometer, this counts how many steps you do each day - 13,000 is healthy for an adult, more is better - obviously. You’d be amazed how many you clock up running after naughty children or walking from Waitrose to the hairdressers.
2) In that time, what would you enjoy doing? There’s no point saying ‘going for a jog’ if you think jogging is equivalent to torture. You won’t stick to something you dread doing. If applicable, you also need to consider time to reach the location where you will do the exercise, what cost is involved, what equipment is required and who will be supervising the exercise. All of these things are relevant and will contribute whether or not you stick to your regime. Personally, I get bored quite easily so like something with quite a lot of variety and I love to exercise to music. Whether it’s Amy Whinehouse or Michael Jackson that gets you moving, find the right thing to give you some easy energy.
3) Phone a friend! One of the key stumbling blocks to exercise is maintaining motivation. Aside from point (2) that you must enjoy it to want to continue, try to involve a friend or colleague or someone you enjoy spending time with and who will encourage you to keep it up or at the very least continually nag you when you feel like slacking! Exercising with others will be more fun and if you do this via a club or organisation, you might make new friends. Be warned though, joint social activities which involve lifting a glass of wine from the table to your mouth does not constitute ‘exercise’!
4) Have goals. I worked with a client whose objective was to lose two stone in six months. We devised a personalised plan for her which involved a nutritional review and exercise strategy and I helped her to stick to it. She also bought a beautiful dress she wanted to wear to a Christmas ball and by the end of the six months, it fitted perfectly and she looked stunning. The confidence she gained and compliments she received led her to continue the programme to maintain her new weight and fitness. Another client scared herself into a great routine by the thought of her approaching holiday where she would be wearing a bikini for the first time in over a year and in front of a new boyfriend. Whilst fear is not always the best motivation, it can really work! Other goals could be a Charity fun run - this gives you a realistic target, a social way to enjoy exercise and an opportunity to support a good cause.
Miss Fit will be running a couple such events in Summer 2008, so watch this space.
5) Finally, be kind to yourself. Take it one step at a time and be realistic. Give yourself praise for sticking to your weekly or monthly plan. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was a size 12 bottom. Don’t beat yourself up for having the odd piece of chocolate or an ice cream with the kids. Remember - this is real life - not Heat magazine! Size zero jeans would look tight on most twelve year olds and Angelina Jolie probably doesn’t work a 50 hour week. Embrace what it means to be a woman, set realistic ambitions and achievable plans and be happy!
