Revitalise your Healthy Habits

It’s the perfect time of year to revitalise your healthy habits, after a lazy, relaxed and some what indulgent festive season which I hope you enjoyed!

Setting a resolution to start exercising, eat well and lose weight is the number one resolution people make.

Unfortunately so many people crash and burn and never quite get there. Eat well and exercise – why is the seemingly simple so hard to stick to?

The reason is, most people take on too much change that is too hard to stick to long term. I truly believe the secret to success is making small manageable changes that don’t seem so hard and are easy to add into a busy life.

All you need to do is make small Topp Tweaks {small refinements that deliver better results} and sustain them.

“Small changes sustained brings success”

Please don’t go on a crazy diet or exercise regime you can’t stick too. Don’t look for answers on Google. Don’t listen to a fresh faced ‘influencer’ on Instagram with nothing but ‘selfies’ to share. For over 30 years I have been living, breathing, coaching others and pursuing knowledge about living a healthy  – and happy – life. I have figured out what works, what doesn’t and what you really need to be doing.

The good news is it’s so much easier than you think.

Let’s start with some basics…

First, breathe through your nose instead of your mouth

This might seem like an odd place to start but hear me out because this is simple, profound and important.

Oxygen is the life blood of energy and life itself and everything starts with the breath.

Did you know that shifting your breathing from the mouth to the nose increases oxygenation by 18%? The nose is the first part of respiration: it filters, moistens and warms the air before it reaches your lungs, preparing it for oxygen exchange.

None of this happens through mouth breathing.

“Change how you breath, change how you feel”

Short, shallow, rapid breathes stimulates the sympathetic nervous system associated with arousal and the fight of flight response. You typically breath like this when you are stressed – acerbating further stress. If you take slow, deeper breathes, this stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is associated with the rest and relaxation response.

Taking conscious control over your breathing to be slower and deeper will help you reduce stress and enhance mental clarity and calmness.

Topp tweak: Shift your breathing from the mouth to the nose and take conscious control to breathing deeper and slower for calmness and clarity of thought.

Natures’ calorie free drink

If you want to lose weight and tone up and be healthy STOP drinking excessive calories – and I am not just talking about alcohol. Liquid calories are the easiest to overconsume. Unlike food, they provide no satiety and the gut doesn’t have to work hard to break them down before they are absorbed.

Cut out the unnecessary calories from large milky coffees, soft drinks and even fruit juices.

“Did you know that orange juice has the same number of calories as coke”

As you are aware, your body is made of predominantly water (actually about 55%). You lose approximately two litres of water per day so you need to replace it. Water is what your body needs and it has ZERO calories.

Being slightly dehydrated also makes you feel hungry so as result of not drinking enough water you feel hungry or peckish when instead you are actually thirsty.

Topp tweak: Drink more water and significantly reduce other beverages by reducing serving sizes, how many coffees you drink or switch to long blacks and of course cut back on alcohol! Drink a glass of water 15 minutes before you eat and if you are still hungry after, drink another.

Time to talk about food and exercise…

‘Cut out the crap and eat more greens’

I just summarised how to eat well in one simple sentence.

Do not go on a diet – an extreme change in your eating habits – it either won’t work or last very long and most people put the weight back on. Instead, make sensible changes to your eating habits. The first and foremost place to start is cut out the hyper calorie loaded ‘crap’ – crisps, chocolate, muffins, biscuits etc – foods that are purely feel good – for no less than a moment – and provide no nutritional value.

“Did you know the average packet of crisps (165g) or chocolate muffin contains 40% of your average daily calories in one serve”

The second thing to do is start to eat more greens (plants) – increase vegetables and salads as part of your meals. There is a lot of controversy over what constitutes healthy eating but one thing is irrefutable – eating plants is good for your health. No one is ever going to get heart disease or put on weight eating a green salad.

And don’t cut out carbs. It’s your primary source of energy. The brain operates exclusively off glucose from carbohydrates. Instead look to cut back on the serving sizes – never cut out a complete food group – you may lose weight with this approach but it’s not sustainable long term.

And by the way avoiding fat is so 80s. The only fats you want to genuinely avoid are highly processed ‘trans’ fats and guess where they are found? Junk food and biscuits!

The secret sauce of healthy eating

The foundational factor for eating well is not so much knowing what to eat but being prepared to eat well by going food shopping and planning meals in advance.

“What are going to eat tonight or tomorrow night? Do you have it planned out?”

This is so important, particularly when you are busy. First have the right foods in your fridge and cupboard – otherwise you are likely to order in. Then you need to either plan out what you are going to eat or even better pre-prepare it to have ready for when you come home after a long day.

Here are some simple ways to eat less calories:

• Reduce portion sizes and put less on your plate – humans tend to eat what’s in front of them.
• Chew for longer – eating quickly causes you to over eat.
• Replace ‘naughty’ treats like crisps and chocolate with healthier alternatives like sweet fruits and crunchy (salty) nuts.

Topp tweak – cut out the crap and start to eat more greens – plants. Reduce carbs, don’t cut them out. Go food shopping and plan and prepare meals in advance. Have healthier alternatives on hand to replace your naughty Netflix snacks.

Exercise

Did your heart just sink at the mere mention of the word? Humans don’t like exercise because it is hard wired into our DNA not to do it. After spending a couple of hours pursuing dinner it was a waste of energy for our hunter gather ancestors to do anything else. So we are programmed not to waste energy unnecessarily. Hence why we aren’t motivated to move unnecessarily. Now, we live in a very different world where we have to consciously move to preserve and enhance mental and physical health but this should give some comfort to the fact why don’t really want to do it.

 Here are some key insights on exercise:

• Start simple, if you are doing nothing, start simple and the best thing is brisk walking because it’s low impact and easy to do. In fact everyone needs to be doing more walking regardless of what exercise you do.
• Something is better than nothing. You don’t need to go for the gym for an hour. 20-30 minutes will be equally effective.
• You must do a combination of weight training and cardio – you cannot do one of the other. Weight training maintains muscle mass which declines with age – contributing to reduced physical capability to do things you love and increased body fat!
• Exercise is like karate. If you are a beginner you don’t start with flying roundhouse kicks (exercise equivalent cross fit!) you start with basic blocks and strikes (walking and a simple strength program). There is a correct progression which even some trainers don’t understand. It’s not just about working really hard, it’s about doing the right kind and level of exercise for your fitness and injuries – you need to be shown how to workout at the right level for you – get a credible exercise professional to show you.
• For motivation and accountability exercise with a friend, group, gym or trainer.
• Get your heart rate up! Most people walk out of the gym without getting a sweat up. You need to work but you also don’t need to kill yourself!
• Set it in your schedule. Like any important event, book it in your schedule so you know when you are doing it. Don’t leave it as a thought in the back of your mind, it won’t get done.
• Something is better than nothing and something always leads to more!

You ALWAYS feel better for exercise so just push past your ancestral drive to stay in bed! You will have a better day for it!

Topp tweak: move more, live better! Get your daily steps up as well as exercise – you need both. Lift weights AND do cardio – you need both!  

Your simple and sustainable ways to healthy success:

• Make small, sustainable changes to your lifestyle.

• Become more conscious of breathing deeper, slower and through the nose.

• Drink more water and drink less calories, particularly alcohol.

• Don’t go on a diet, instead ‘cut out the crap’ – discretionary calories like junk and snack food and eat more ‘greens’ – vegetables and salads.

• Go shopping, plan and prepare your meals in advance.

• Find healthier alternatives to the naughty snacks you like when watching Netflix.

• Move more: get your steps up to at least 8,000 per day. Plan your exercise. Do it in the morning to set yourself up for a positive day!

And remember, aim for….

” Progress not perfection”

If you have enjoyed this article and gained something valuable please leave a comment and share with someone who would also benefit – thank you.

GET IN TOUCH

Need some help to revitalise your healthy habits, its always easier, more effective and fun with my help. E-mail me at timo@timotopp.com for a free coaching session.