Wake Up and Change Your Life

I've come out of town for a few days to get a break from the hustle and bustle of London and down here by the ocean things look very different.

Today I saw surfers out before breakfast, at lunchtime and then through the afternoon until it got dark.  I suspected that many of them might be 'new locals' who relocated here from cities around the UK to benefit from a different routine so I checked with a few of them as they came out of the water.  Sure enough there was a graphic designer, a financial adviser and a journalist who had all quit the rat race and set themselves up with a schedule where they work around the tides and no longer feel the stresses and strains of city life.  

It got me thinking.  It may not be practical for you to completely move your life to a new location, but what can you do today, tomorrow and for the rest of this week and this month that will help you feel that things are a bit more balanced?  The people I saw today, all work hard, but balance this hard work with surfing, cycling, walking, running, swimming or just looking at the sea when the mood takes them.  They wake up knowing they changed their life for the better.

So what's your equivalent of hitting the surf?  And when can you do it next?

Photograph by G a r r y (Flickr)

Read more on this article...

Don't Panic!

Last week I came across 3 people who all claimed they suffer from panic attacks. The episodes they described, while cause for concern for each of the individuals, didn't actually sound like full on panic attacks and it got me thinking that everyone needs to be quite careful about how they label some of the things that happen to them each day.

If you begin to think of any slight feelings of anxiety as panic attacks, there's a danger that you won't be able to keep daily challenges that we all face in perspective. So what are panic attacks?

Panic attacks are an extreme version of the natural physiological response - the stress response or 'fight or flight' response. This response is designed to protect us. In times of danger our bodies immediately equip us to either run from a situation or fight our way out of it. The response is sudden and you'll know it's happening if you feel a bit sick, your heart starts to beat faster and you feel a bit sweaty or clammy.

This is normal and a certain level of stress does not do us harm, in fact it helps us to stretch ourselves, challenge ourselves and grow. The response only becomes a problem if the symptoms persist for too long or occur too frequently. If this happens then you may be unable to calm down as each stressful situation aggravates your body and your mind.

At this point it's time to read the blog entry on reducing stress levels

Even at this point though you may not be experiencing panic attacks. A full panic attack is more serious and could make you feel as though you're having a heart attack or a nervous breakdown so be wary of mistaking stressful situations for panic attacks.

If you're concerned that you are in danger of experiencing panic attacks, here's what to do.

• Keep a pen and paper with you at all times and note down situations that make you anxious. This includes thoughts of forthcoming situations that make you feel edgy, and a review of anything that happened today or this week that made you feel panicked. Build up a picture of how you respond to stress. Do you see stressful situations as a challenge or as something to run away from? Isolate the triggers that cause you to feel stressed or panic. Write down how you cope with these.

• Analyse how you currently manage stressful situations. Do you resort to caffeine or comfort food? Do you find a quiet place to work through things in your head? Do you use exercise or activity to dissipate feelings of anxiety? Can you think of other ways to deal with stressful situations?

• Reframe how you think about stress. Stress appears to have become the bad guy but in the right proportions and managed correctly it can help you grow and develop. Work out what level of stress is right in your life and begin to embrace this as a friend. Tell yourself, 'This situation could be called stressful but I chose this path and these feelings are part of my progress through life'. This will help you to recognise more clearly when you are experiencing an unacceptable level of stress and you can then take the appropriate action to reclaim balance.

As you come to understand your personality and how you deal with events that stretch you, you'll be able to create strategies for coping with stress at the right level for you. If you're concerned that your pattern of stress and anxiety is beyond what you are able to cope with, this is the time to seek advice from a medical expert.

Read more on this article...

Three Top Tips to Reduce Stress

November 4th sees Stress Awareness Day in the UK. We all know what it's like when you feel stressed - heart rate increases, you might feel a bit sick - but how about when your body is under stress but you don't even know it. This is when stress can be dangerous. So what are the best ways to reduce stress in all areas of your life?

1. Get your blood pressure checked. High Blood Pressure is known as the silent killer because hypertension and coronary heart disease can go unnoticed until something drastic happens. Monitoring your blood pressure regularly will guarantee that you're never entering a zone of risk. Visit the doctor to get checked or invest in your own home monitoring kit. 120 over 80 is 'normal' and if you find that your numbers are high there are plenty of changes you can make to your diet and your exercise routine that will fix the situation quickly.

2. Take regular time outs during the day. A sequence of stressful events during a day can mount up and leave you feeling frazzled by bedtime. Stress isn't always bad and sometimes we need it to really get us motivated but just make sure you balance stressful events with time to nourish your mind and body and refocus. Change your scene, get some fresh air, eat a healthy snack or do something fun.

3. Get organised. Stress creeps in when we feel out of control. Look at everything you need to do each day and prioritise carefully. Tackle the big projects first and tick off your daily successes. Keep track of the way you organise yourself every day that brings you the best results and leaves you feeling stress free. Then aim to run each day in the same way.


Photograph by BrittneyBush (Flickr)

Read more on this article...

Stop throwing your money in the bin

As the recession continues, we're all pretty much resigned to watching what we spend and not over indulging in any particular area so we can save the pennies.

But did you know that you are spending a lot of money on food that goes straight from the supermarket trolley, into your fridge and then into the bin a week later without ever passing your lips. You may as well throw the cash straight into the rubbish.

In the UK, we throw away around one third of the food we buy. Yes 33% of what we spend is wasted...read on for some shocking stats and what you can do to start saving today.

Here are some highlights from the new report on Food Waste by Wrap.

• In the UK, we throw away nearly half the salad we buy

• seven million slices of bread

• We also cook and prepare too much, resulting in an additional 1.6 million tonnes of food waste a year.

• 330,000 chicken portions (worth £70 million a year)

• 4.4 million whole apples; (worth £300 million a year)

• 1.3 million yoghurts and yoghurt drinks

• Every year, 20,000 tonnes, or £66 million worth, of breakfast cereals are thrown away by people too much in a rush to finish them.

Not a good list to see and we're probably all guilty of some of the above statements. So what can you do.

1. Think French - they still shop daily on the whole rather than go to the supermarket weekly to have enough food for the week. This way, you shop when you need stuff rather than have a full fridge.
2. If that's not practical for you, try buying a couple of good cookbooks aimed at quick healthy meals that make it so easy for you to use the food you have in and gain more confidence to cook more meals from scratch and use up all your ingredients.
3. Plan your menu for the week and take it to the supermarket. This way, you can guarantee you'll be using what you buy. Stop buying extras just because you fancy them or more gherkins because you think you may be running out. They're not essentials.
4. Don't overcook. Buy smaller portions of meat and count out your potatoes and measure your pasta and rice before cooking.
5. Use your freezer. Not for convenience food but for left overs and clearly date every container and use it within 2 weeks for the best tasting food.

These all sound like very basic lessons but maybe we all have to go back to the beginning to get it right because what these stats show is that we're overbuying, overcooking and throwing valuable cash away everyday.


To see the full article.

Read more on this article...

The 5 Worst Carbs to Eat

Following on from the post last week about the 5 Best carbs to Eat, here are the 5 worst offenders when it comes to carbs in your diary and if you can cut them right down or out completely, you'll feel much better and lose weight more efficiently. Having any of the foods in the list a couple of times is fine, but just be aware that they wont fill you and are high in calories.

1. Corn Flakes
Marketed as a great star to your day but this cereal will have you hungry by 9.30am and that's when the snacking will begin to compensate. Avoid if you can.

2. Croissants
These should always be a treat and not a daily breakfast choice because they have virtually nothing going for them - they're fattening, wont fill you and are way too moreish.

3. Cheesy Puffs
As far as snacks go, these are like fattening air. Usually loaded with preservatives and colourings, if you want something like this, try nuts or plain popcorn instead.

4. Instant Mashed Potatoes
No, no, no. If you are going to have mashed potato, make it yourself and add no butter. This is plane food not real food.

5. Sugary sodas
May surprise you that these are carbs but they are full of artificial sweeteners and make you hungry straight afterwards. Why not have a cold sparkling water with fresh lemon or crushed strawberries / raspberries etc. instead?


Photograph by izaeus|argazk (flickr)

Read more on this article...

The 5 Best Carbs to Eat

When it comes to trying to lose weight, the finger is usually pointed at carbs and as a result, they are the first thing most people remove from their diet.

However, sometimes, we're being a bit hasty. There are good carbs and the problem with cutting out carbs all together is that we often don't feel full after a meal which leads to lots of snacking and we are losing out on some essential nutrients and fibre. So what should you keep in your diet that's good for you and will help satisfy those hunger pangs?


1. Wholewheat Pasta
Perfect for favourites like spaghetti bolognese, pasta and sauce and even wholewheat noodles which are more widely available now. Once cooked, you'll barely notice the difference.

2. Multigrain and seeded wholemeal bread
If you're watching your weight, you should be avoiding white bread anyway but keep an eye that your bread doesn't have sugar added and aim to get some nuts or granary at the very least into each slice.

3. All Bran
Start your day off the perfect way and stay full till 11am at least when you should have a couple of pieces of fruit. This is a great way to start losing weight.

4. Porridge / Oatmeal
Brilliant for cold mornings and even when the weather gets better - great for your heart, your waistline and quite addictive once you get into the habit. Make with fat free milk and sprinkle to top with berries, nuts, fruit.

5. Chickpeas
Great for adding to casseroles or making soups with once blended. Very filling and flexible.


Photograph by rachelandrew (flickr)

Read more on this article...

The Truth About Celebrity Fitness

Staying in shape when you’re rich and famous must be the easiest thing in the world. What with your own personal trainer, a yoga instructor on call, your own dietitian, nutritionist and chef, how could you possibly go wrong?

Most people look at celebrities in magazines or on television and assume that keeping a killer figure must be simple. After all, what else do they have to do with their time? And for many years, celebrities themselves perpetuated this idea by claiming to be blessed with good genes and saying that they’re lucky that they don’t have to work out much or watch what they eat to preserve their great physique.

Well things are a bit different now.

When Gwyneth Paltrow appeared on Oprah last year, she shared with the world video footage of her fitness workouts. The most amazing thing about this was just how hard she trained: 6 days a week and for 2 hours at a time. Her incentive was to get her post baby body back into shape for the red carpet. But she didn’t once say that it was easy, she didn’t say her slender shape was a result of fate or genetics and she didn’t claim to be able to eat whatever she wants without any weight gain. She said it was tough going but well worth it for the results she achieved.

The idea that celebrities do nothing but party and still look fabulous is now well out of date. The truth of the matter is that they spend as much time keeping their bodies trim and toned as we spend flicking through magazines marvelling at how fabulous they look. Take Madonna for example. Can you imagine anyone who isn’t a professional athlete training as much as she does? Probably not. She works out hard 6 days a week and eats the strictest of diets and never, ever lets up. This is the realty of an age defying body and is the new face of celebrity fitness.

Celebrities who work to get their bodies fit and healthy don’t just lounge in front of the TV, eat take-outs and hope for the best. They don’t drink alcohol most evenings and they don’t overeat. They take their body image very seriously indeed because looking better than good is how they make their money.

So isn’t it time to stop envying the results celebrities achieve with their workouts and start being inspired by their dedication and single mindedness? We should stop poring over images of them looking lean and toned only to feel resentful that we’re not as lucky as they are to be famous and fit – we should see their great bodies as the fantastic end goal we too could have if we were willing to put in the same amount of work or, in many cases, just a fraction of the effort they put in.

Not every celebrity is as strict as Gwyneth and Madonna. There are some who have great fitness levels that are more achievable and just as aspirational. Take Evangeline Lily or Anna Friel as examples. They are regularly photographed out running. Jennifer Aniston works out everyday to maintain the bikini body of a 25 year old despite being 40. And look at any of the contestants from Dancing with the Stars who rightly boast about their fabulous new figures gained from tough, daily 8 hour dance sessions. Working hard for your body is very much a badge of honour these days and great results are well and truly earned.

Celebrities who still yo-yo diet are out of favour because we all know how it will end. The new era of celebrity sees their body as their tool of the trade and shortcuts and fad diets simply won’t do. Sad to admit but everytime you see Oprah lose weight from a different faddy diet, in the back of your mind you wonder how long it will be till it all piles back on. We’re always suspicious of sudden weight loss and not very respectful of it but it’s time to focus on the positive role models who show us what hard work in the gym can achieve.

There’s no denying that there are great advantages to having a personal trainer on call but the single factor that gets results is free and you wont find it in a private gym or on a Balinese Yoga retreat.

It’s in your head and it’s readily available.

A good dose of determination is what it takes for anyone to have their dream figure. Celebrities have this motivation in bucket loads because they know they will be photographed wherever they go and they know women and men the world over will be scrutinising the images in search of saddle bags and cellulite. The key to making this principle work for you is setting your own goals and focusing completely on what you will achieve if you put the effort in. Model the celebrity approach and think about all your forthcoming social engagements and situations where you may be photographed or you’ll be ‘on display’. Imagine how great you’ll feel if you’re in the best shape of your life whenever you meet friends, colleagues or someone takes a family snap.

Focus on the exciting aspects of looking stunning and feeling confident and you’ll find it much easier to follow in celebrity footsteps and embrace regular fitness and make it a fundamental part of your life.

Read more on this article...

Does an underactive thyroid really make you gain weight?

For many years, someone complaining about being overweight because of ‘a thyroid problem’ was usually greeted with the roll of eyes by others who presumed they were making excuses for their over indulgences when eating and laziness when it comes to exercise.

Thankfully, doctors and the public have become a little more sympathetic and aware of the impact on weight that having an under active thyroid can have.

An under active thyroid, otherwise known as Hypothyroidism, is something that you could have without knowing about it, especially during the early stages. Its symptoms include chronic exhaustion, weight gain, dry, flaky skin, hair breakage and hair loss, brittle nails, foggy brain, poor concentration, infertility and depression. Not a pleasant state of affairs.

Many people don’t know much about the thyroid but its role in helping our bodies to function properly is major.

The thyroid is a gland which sits in front of your larynx in your throat and is responsible for regulating your body’s metabolism and controlling how quickly reactions in your body take place. So, small as it is, the thyroid is responsible for how efficiently your body burns fat and for how much you weigh.

When your thyroid stops functioning efficiently, your metabolism slows down, the weight gain begins and the other symptoms of hypothyroidism start to reveal themselves. It’s estimated that 20 million Americans and 4 million Britons suffer from a thyroid disorder and there are many more who don’t know yet that they have the disorder.

A visit to your doctor for the blood tests to read the levels of your thyroid hormones is how this is done. Unlike the US,  in the UK, patients receiving medication for hypothyroidism receive free prescriptions.

Medication will usually recover the thyroid function to ‘normal’ after a few months but for many women this doesn’t automatically signal the return to their slimmer shape as they would hope. In many cases, the weight gain will continue. This is because the damage to the way your metabolism functions can be far reaching and so a low calorie diet will not necessarily get the same results as it would have done in the past.

So what can you do if you have an under active thyroid to get your weight back to normal?

The fastest way to boost your metabolism is to exercise. Dieting alone is unlikely to shed pounds but in combination with a regular exercise regime, the weight will start to come off. The effects of exercise and a low calorie diet may take longer to have an impact than they would on someone with a normal thyroid function and metabolism, but over time, the effects will definitely be noticeable.

The key is to develop a routine and stick to it. By incorporating a lot more vigorous activity into your life, your body will begin to respond to your new diet and fitness regime.

Reducing stress is also key to encouraging more efficient thyroid function so, despite the frustrations of weight gain you can’t seem to control, it’s important to stay calm and focused on your fitness routine knowing that the results will come, even though they may not arrive as fast as you would like.

For more information on thyroid weight gain solutions, visit www.ThryoidWeight.com

For more articles like this, visit the Women's Fitness site.

Read more on this article...

Does smoking help you stay slim?

Whenever you see models puffing away on their Marlboro Lights or even school girls sneaking a cigarette, the excuse more often than not is that it helps them lose weight either by suppressing their appetite or speeding up their metabolism.

But does smoking really increase your metabolic rate and enables you to control our weight more easily?

Some studies have shown that smoking does indeed increase our basal metabolic rate – the rate at which calories are burned by the body each day as it takes care of essential functions such as the rhythm of the heart, breathing, digestion, thoughts and movement.

Around 60-75% of our daily calorie expenditure can be accounted for by basic bodily functions and experts believe that one way smoking raises metabolic rate is by stimulating the nervous system to produce catecholamines – hormones which cause the heart to beat faster, thus making the body burn more calories. Nicotine also produces more thermogenesis, the process by which the body produces heat. This too, causes the body to use up more calories.

Some research suggests that the increase in metabolic rate during smoking could equate to smokers burning up to 200 extra calories a day more than non-smokers.

Examining all the evidence together it would seem that each cigarette smoked will contribute to a temporary increase in the metabolic rate and that the more you smoke, the higher a proportion of the time you will be experiencing this faster running metabolism. But does this actually help you control your weight more easily?

Many believe that smoking suppresses the appetite and that smokers eat less than non-smokers. In fact, most studies comparing the calorie intake of smokers and non-smokers show that smokers actually eat as much or more than non-smokers. The reason they are sometimes able to manage their weight more easily is not that they eat less but rather that they burn off more of the calories consumed due to their metabolism running faster when they smoke.

The increase in metabolism while smoking may also explain why some people gain weight when they quit. It is true that many ex-smokers reach for more food than they are used to just to fill the gaps created by not using cigarettes, but even those who maintain a steady amount of food will run the risk of increasing in weight due to the fact that their metabolism is now running at normal speed for most of the time now rather than being artificially boosted by smoking.

So, rather than smokers being their ‘normal’ weight when they smoke and then gaining weight when they stop, it may be more accurate to say that smokers may be artificially slim while they are smokers and then they return to what is a more natural weight when their metabolism is allowed to regulate itself without interference from nicotine. Longer term studies comparing people who smoke for a period and then give up with people who never smoke show little difference in weight gain at the conclusion of the studies though those who smoke experience periods of being thinner.

Having said all that, smoking does not rank highly as a weight management strategy. Exercise and healthy eating will guarantee you positive results in this area by speeding up your metabolism but without any of the potentially fatal and critical negatives such as lung cancer, emphysema, leg amputation, heart disease, clots in the lung, stroke, infertility......the list goes one. And of course, shortened life span.


*Thanks to ash (action on smoking and health) for research. Visit ASH for more information.

Find more articles like this at the Women's Fitness site.

Photograph by bizzyb0t (flickr)

Read more on this article...

6 Ways to make exercise easier

We all know how good exercise can make us feel and look and yet sometimes, motivating yourself to go to the gym or go for a run can be impossibly hard.

So here are 6 tips that will make working out easier. No more excuses.

1. Do focus on how good you'll feel by the end of the workout. Don't focus on the effort your workout will require.

2. Work quickly, work hard...then relax.

3. Know yourself. Have a variety of options including tough workouts which progress when you're feeling energetic, and easier workouts for maintaining fitness when you have less energy.

4. If you don't feel like exercising, don't just do nothing. Try something new like walk into a class at the gym that's about to start and go for it or walk for 30 mins at a good pace or go swimming. Just do something.

5. Get competitive. Set targets for yourself and focus on trying to beat them. Stick your progress chart on the fridge door and take pride in what you've achieved week to week.

6. Have company and make exercise fun with friends rather than a solo slog all the time. Games in the park, jogging buddy, walking with friends.


To read more fitness tips like this, visit the Women's Fitness website.

Read more on this article...