Welcome to Healthy Matters.
Hello and welcome to my first ever blog - Healthy Matters!
I decided to start a blog as I felt it would be good to share some of the knowledge I equip my clients with, and to provide something short and simple, yet interesting (hopefully) that could help you, or someone you know, achieve personal health and fitness goals.
There are so many topics to choose from that I decided to start with what’s closest to me, and the principles of my coaching: Lifestyle.
There are of course a huge amount of topics that fall under this umbrella, and I’ll go into those in more depth with each blog as they are all interlinked. But for now I’ll start with this ever present question:
“How can I get the most enjoyment out of my life?”
The answer to this will be different for everyone. But my approach would be to simply start by deciding to feel good. Then ask yourself, “so, what makes me feel good?”. For example; it could be exercising, dancing, having a good sleep, spending time with family, getting some ‘ME’ time to just relax or doing something nice for someone else. These are all great, so when you figure out what makes you feel good, it’s vital you try to get these feel good things into your life EVERY day.
Remember, these are my personal opinions. Not everyone thinks alike, so I’m under to illusion this exact approach is going to solve the world’s problems - but it just might make you smile more or put a bit more of a spring in your step! Here’s what I do to try and feel good every day:
1. I try to get as much sleep as possible.
Sometimes this means going to bed at 9.30pm! I know this is early but sleep is key. If you’re tired you won’t feel great and you won’t be productive but quality sleep harbours health benefits like weight loss, hormone balance, disease prevention… The list goes on.
2. I try to eat healthy - 80% of the time.
No processed foods, limited treats and plenty of fresh foods. I believe you’ve got to live a little but too much of a good thing tends to have negative side effects. Think weight gain, lethargy, diabetes, leaky gut, heart disease… again, the list goes on.
3. I exercise and get my body moving.
This is the ultimate feel good thing for me, it’s great to release energy and in turn feel more energetic! But be warned, excessive exercising could also be detrimental. Personally, I do enough to make me feel good, but not so much I’m permanently tired or aching. Worst still it could make you more susceptible to illness from being too run down through excessive strain on my body.
Some days I don’t train and I don’t beat myself up about it. I enjoy the rest, we all should. But if I go all week without any exercise then I tend to feel sluggish and a little irritable. Plenty of walking, maybe cycling to work a couple of times a week, a high intensity training session (HIT for all you gym bunnies), mixed in with some pre-hab exercises and stretches is a great balance for me on most weeks.
4. I make time for family and friends
This is hugely important for me too. Having a chat and a laugh can do wonders
for your wellbeing and you’ve got to enjoy yourself. Having fun and not taking life so seriously is a great feel good for me.
5. I aim for a positive start to the morning.
I try and wake up feeling thankful for what I have, and I don’t mean material things here. I’m talking about positive affirmations of your life. For me, that’s being thankful that I have a relatively healthy family, I’m lucky to live in a great part of the world, I enjoy my job helping people with their health and fitness goals, and I appreciate my life in general.
Of course, things aren’t always peachy and don’t always go smoothly but how you react to certain situations can greatly influence the outcome and your emotional health. For instance, when a difficult situation presents itself, I choose to deal with it or process it in the most positive way possible, rather than negatively, as this has an impact on my wellbeing as well as everything and everyone around me.
So let me leave you with this… the most important thing is to not let life pass by without you saying “that was a whole lot of fun!” You definitely won’t be saying that if you let stress or bad habits ruin your every day!
Remember: What things makes you feel good?...
Thanks for reading – see you next time!
Rich,
Be Healthy. Be Happy.
