We are now officially into Spring and as we wake from our slumber some of you may be finding your clothes feeling a little tighter after the sluggishness of those wintry nights in front of the TV.
Spring cleaning is not just for your houses, so use this activity to clean up your health and get rid of that excess baggage (particularly around your waistline).
DECIDE
Decide what your goals for change are. If you are wishing to lose some weight, decide how much and by when. If you are overweight, 2 lbs per week is a healthy gradual loss to aim for.
Decide what it is that you would like to cook in the next week and make a list of the ingredients that you will need to shop for. Cooking from scratch is the best way to control what you are putting in your body so look for quick and easy recipes online. There are also some great examples of quick and easy cooking on the various Social Media channels.
Decide what exercise you will incorporate into your schedule. Be honest with yourself about time. It is easy to say you have none but exercise can be done on the way to and from work just by getting off the bus or train one stop beforehand. Or you can incorporate it into other leisure time. If you enjoy a regular TV soap you could factor in exercise whilst watching at home or by joining a gym with TV on its’ equipment.
High Intensity Interval Training has become popular mainstream through people like Joe Wicks (AKA The Body Coach) and they can fit well into your working week as some can be as little as 25 minutes long, without the need for gym equipment, although some require some simple hand weights which can easily be purchased online or in the high street. You can also find many free workout videos on YouTube, as well as, apps for abdominal workouts, yoga, meditation, Couch to 5K is a popular starting point if you have not exercised for some time.
DESIGN
The day before your shopping arrives, design how you want your cupboard to look – Start by removing everything that is past it’s sell by date. This includes condiments, cans, jars.
Whilst having a clear out if there are any foods that are not on your healthy eating plan – ditch them. Whether they are in you or in your rubbish bin they are no good to you either way.
Make sure there is plenty of room for the fresh stuff so wash out the chiller section of your fridge ready to fill with colour. Research shows us that eating a rainbow of plant based foods that are filled with essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants reduces the chance of conditions like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol and obesity.
Ensure you have plenty of containers to decant ingredients into or storage containers for things like cheese so that once opened they will not harden and ruin.
Design a regular exercise workout that is going to work for you. Is it early in the morning or after you come home at night? Do you have a friend who can come with you so that you can support each other or do you prefer to stick on your headphones and lose yourself in the music whilst exercising.
DO
Online shopping is so convenient these days particularly if you are working. Online shopping also helps you to avoid impulse buying. Include a list of fresh fruit and vegetables that you can have available to grab whenever you feel hungry and need a snack. Choose what you need, search for it and press “Buy” then “Checkout” – it is so simple.
Portion control – a healthy plate should contain one quarter protein, one quarter carbohydrate and half a plate of vegetables (the more colourful the better to increase your antioxidant levels) – Make sure this is now part of your habit when you are prepping your meals. If your dinner plates are larger than normal, ditch them and buy a smaller dinner plate that will offer you an ample portion of food per sitting. It is incredible how this can make a difference when trying to lose weight.
Do some form of exercise three times per week – if you go for high impact intensity training (HIIT) which are short bursts of exercise which burn fat quickly, you could for example sprint on a treadmill for a minute then rest for 30 seconds, do this for 15 mins in total to start.
If you do not have gym equipment try to do as many squats in 1 min then rest; then jumping jacks, then rest; then lunges then rest; jog on the spot, burpees – any mixture of these exercises will have the same effect. Try to aim for your first session to be 15 mins increasing to half an hour as you become stronger.
Also think about restoration exercise like yoga and meditation which are amazingly good for reducing stress.
ENJOY
With your new regime decided and designed how you want it, you are more likely to enjoy it because it is under your control. It won’t be long before you start to see that small changes create big effects and you are starting to find more energy and vitality. The bleakness of winter will become a distant memory as you find enjoyment in healthy eating and exercise, looking good and feeling great with your new lifestyle choices.