5 Things you can do NOW to feel better

Here are my top 5 things you can do FOR YOU which have the potential to make a big difference to the way you feel and perform:

1. WALK.  Get up in the morning and go for a walk. Go for a walk after dinner.  Walk home from work. Walk the dog.  Walk with a friend with coffees in hand.  Go for a walk on the weekend somewhere you have not been before.  Regular walking – and the being outside that comes with the walk – added into your daily routine makes a big difference to your outlook.  The biggest difference you can make in terms of expending extra energy is in the movement you do when you are not doing a formal exercise class – but you are just moving more.  Walking will not make you hungrier or tired.  It will energise you.

2. EAT PROTEIN WITH EVERY MEAL AND SNACK  Forget about being obsessed with calories or skipping meals or fasting.  The secret to feeling full, to minimising those terrible blood sugar hikes and to resisting too many treats is PROTEIN.  As well as making you feel satisfied, protein is what your body needs as you age to maintain and grow muscle mass.  Every year you will naturally lose muscle mass as part of the aging process – so fight against this by giving your body what it needs to reverse this.  Read about where you can get protein into your meals and snacks HERE.

3. DRINK AT LEAST 2 LITRES OF WATER A DAY This one is not earthshattering. It is very hard to do this well and do it consistently but when you do you will start to feel a lot better. There are so many reasons why you want to make sure you are properly hydrated. Get yourself a water jug or a water bottle and drink 2 litres every day.

4. STOP STAYING UP LATE It is tempting to stay up late when it feels like that time is the only ME time you get. Use the ME time for sleeping. You won’t regret it. As we get older sleep can suffer. Do everything you can to restore both the quality and quantity of your sleep. See some suggestions here.

5. PLAN Start by planning some of your weekly meals. Write a shopping list and stick to it – no extras. Another plan you can make which will change your life is working out when you are going to do some exercise. Sit down with your schedule and work out when exercise is going to happen. It has to be something that is a non negotiable. It is not something you will do “if you have time” or “when you are not so busy”. It has to be something that you do EVERY SINGLE WEEK FOREVER……Even if it is just 2 sessions or 5 small 10 minute sessions. Once you start including exercise as something that is very important and not a nice addition for when you are on a break, your body and mind will thank you.

Planning means you do not leave things to chance. You work out in advance what will happen and this means that there is a far better likelihood of it actually happening.