Balance Between Healthy Food, Fitness and Wine
Maintaining balanced blood sugar levels is crucial for overall health and well-being, and nutrition plays a significant role in achieving this balance. Not only is nutrition important, factors such as sleep, stress and movement also play a role in balancing your blood sugar. Here are …
The earth is covered in plants that provide living creatures with food to keep us healthy and medicine for when we are sick. It makes sense that plants are an essential part of any healthy way of eating. Even in the harshest conditions, plant life, …
The earth is covered in plants that provide living creatures with food to keep us healthy and medicine for when we are sick. It makes sense that plants are an essential part of any healthy way of eating. Even in the harshest conditions, plant life, in some form, has been a part of traditional diets. By shifting plant foods to the core of your diet, you are making great strides for your health whether or not you choose to go entirely plant-based. Instead of getting caught up in labels, focus on including more plant-based foods in your diet!
DOWNLOAD: 20 DELICIOUS & HEALTHY PLANT-BASED RECIPES EBOOK!
This meal plan includes the following recipes:
Mexican Black Bean Salad
Lemon Kale Salad with Chickpeas & Avocado
Slow Cooker Lentil Chili
Rainbow Lettuce Wraps with Spicy Mango Dressing
Roasted Cauliflower Burrito Bowl
And many more!
The Mediterranean Diet has sustained its reputation as one of the world’s healthiest diets for more than two decades. When it first gained popularity in the United States in the 1990s, most Americans thought a heart-healthy diet restricted not just saturated fat, but all fat, …
It can be easier to lose weight when you’re eating mindfully but there are plenty of other reasons to adopt a more mindful approach to your eating habits, even if you’re not actively looking to slim down. From getting to grips with emotional eating to …
With mindful eating, you don’t need to spend heaps of time and energy on crushing your cravings completely. Telling yourself that you absolutely can’t have a particular food can work against you in the long term. Think of it this way: if I tell you not to think about a pink elephant, guess what immediately pops up in your mind? No matter how hard you try, it’s super hard to shift the mental image of the pink elephant!
Your cravings can be a little bit like this too. Denying yourself completely often means that they don’t magically go away, even if you take tons of action to distract yourself. It’s pretty common for them to actually get stronger … a lot like the thought of the pink elephant. It can also encourage a “now or never” way of thinking if you do give in to the craving. Often, this means that you’ll eat far more than you intended. After all, you’re not supposed to be eating it again seeing as it’s off limits, right? In reality, it will most likely happen again and you’ll carry on feeling super bad about it.
There’s another problem with craving ultra-processed food: according to research, it affects hunger hormones and makes it harder for your body to recognize when you’re genuinely full. Unsurprisingly, this means eating a lot more calories than you would otherwise … usually involving other unhealthy foods.
Another finding from the study involved the speed at which food was being eaten. The group eating the ultra-processed food tended to eat more quickly, leading researchers to question whether this was a big factor in the brain being able to recognize signals that they were full.
Mindful eating can really come into its own in several different areas. In a nutshell, it puts you back in control of your food choices, which can often feel impossible when you’re constantly trying to beat your cravings into submission.
You’re not giving into your cravings and letting them take control but you are allowing yourself a little bit of what you fancy and taking the opportunity to relish it. Your mind knows that there will be other chances to satisfy the craving so the “now or never” mentality isn’t a big issue. The end result? It’s a whole heap easier to bring your cravings in check.
The trick is to be super mindful with how you eat. When you take that first bite of something you’ve been craving, resist the urge to dive straight into the next one. Put your fork, knife or spoon down in between bites or keep putting your food down if you’re eating with your hands. The more you can chew each bite before swallowing, the better.
Take the time to really notice the taste and texture as you chew. This bit might surprise you, especially if you’re used to eating quickly on autopilot. If you’re eating junk foods, being more mindful with your eating might flag up how salty, sugary or just plain processed the taste truly is. And chances are, it’s going to be a whole lot less appealing once you get clued into this. Even if this doesn’t happen, taking more time to savor your food helps you to enjoy it more and sometimes, you’ll realize that your cravings weren’t quite as strong as you thought and feel satisfied after just a few bites.
It can also lift the lid on why you’re getting cravings in the first place. Sometimes, you’ll know exactly what’s behind it but it won’t always be this obvious. Being more mindful with your eating can get to the bottom of what is triggering your cravings and the emotions that may be a factor. It’s not always easy to get to grips with mindful eating, especially if you’re used to eating quick and not tuning into your body’s hunger signals. Over time, it gets a lot easier to overcome unhealthy relationships with food, including cravings, overeating and emotional eating.
According to the results of a 2014 study, a mindful approach to eating can help to build a healthier relationship with body image and curb “disordered eating” such as binge eating. And from a cravings perspective, many of the women who took part in the study also reported that they spent less time yearning for high fat and sugary treats.
If you’re struggling with cravings, mindful eating could be the lifestyle change that helps you to get back in control of your eating habits and spend more time enjoying what you eat.
Changing to a plant-based diet can be a big change, especially if you’re used to eating plenty of meat, fish, dairy and eggs in your diet. This can make it super daunting to commit to this lifestyle. You can make it a whole lot easier …
Falling temperatures and shorter days can zap your energy during the winter. Most of us struggle with the dreaded 3pm energy slump, but in winter, it can feel as though this lasts all day long. If it’s a major struggle to get out of bed …
Have you spent a lot of the beginning of 2020 wishing that you were happier with your life and less stressed? A lot of the time, we take our happiness cues from the outside, especially ones that other people can see. And if we don’t meet these standards or ideals, we can quickly feel that happiness is out of reach. Rather than putting your ideals of happiness onto other people or in material things, it’s super important to recognize that true happiness has to come from within you. Ready to start finding you happy in 2020? Here are some tips for being happier and less stressed in the year ahead.
Move away from negative thinking
If negative thinking is a problem for you, it’s definitely something you’ll want to change in 2020 to achieve your year of happy. Negative thinking can be a vicious cycle that leads to a lot of stress, anxiety and depression. Breaking this cycle is one of the best things you can do for finding a happy and stress free place.
Being in the present moment is super important for stopping negative thinking in its tracks. It helps to put some distance between yourself and the things that trigger your negative thoughts. It forces your mind to become aware of negative thoughts and take a step back from them so that they lose their power.
Reframing your thinking is also a good goal for promoting a happy, stress free life. Do you always tend to think negatively about situations? It can be a big challenge to flip this around and see the positive side of things instead. Start trying to put a positive slant on situations that would normally give you stress and bring your mood down. For 2020, aim to reframe your thinking at least once a day. Over time, you’ll train your mind to look for the positives and encourage different thought patterns.
Immerse yourself in authentic experiences
Linking your happiness to outside factors often fails to achieve the happiness you were hoping for. Instead of setting goals relating to money, status and other things that you think will make you more satisfied with your life, swap them for authentic experiences that make you feel genuinely happy. Focusing on things like your hobbies and friendships can help you to feel emotions such as joy, contentment and relaxation.
This has been backed up by a study carried out by a psychology professor at Cornell University. He set out to see whether spending money or having experiences ultimately made people happier. The end result? Experiences had the power to increase happiness, partly due to the fact that we tend to experience them with other people. This gives them more meaning and makes them more memorable.
Practice self-acceptance
In a 2014 study that looked at “happiness habits”, self-acceptance was one of the habits that was deemed most likely to lead to genuine happiness. We’re often a lot kinder to other people than we are to ourselves. If this is true for you, it’s time to change this.
Being kind to yourself is one of the best things you can do to make 2020 the year of happy but it can be difficult to achieve, especially if you’re used to being negative about yourself.
If you feel you’re not good enough, you’re more likely to look outside of yourself for happiness. If you’re setting intentions around happiness in the New Year, it’s hugely important to work on self-acceptance first and commit to self-love in 2020.
Show compassion and gratitude
As you may know, gratitude and random acts of kindness have both been shown to improve happiness and life satisfaction. One of the reasons for this is the fact that it helps you to feel better about yourself.
Being thankful can have a major impact on your wellbeing and studies have linked keeping a gratitude diary to optimism, improvements in mood and better physical health. Having a more positive outlook on life can help to reduce stress and cut back on negative thinking, which makes gratitude a much underrated way to feel happier about life.
A gratitude diary isn’t the only way to feel more thankful. A few ways that you can embrace gratitude include sending heartfelt and handwritten notes to people who have made a positive difference to your life, taking a walk in nature and feeling grateful for the natural world around you, and reflecting at mealtimes on the work involved in getting food onto your plate.
Research has repeatedly linked kindness to feeling happier. One theory for this involves the production and release of neurochemicals that create a “high” … not that dissimilar to a chemical “high”! It also encourages your brain to release oxytocin, also known as the “love hormone”.
Are you planning to improve your health and wellness goals in 2020? If the past year hasn’t gone quite as you planned on the health and wellbeing front, the New Year is a great time to think about where you’d like to be – both …
Did you know that winter is the perfect time to detox? Going about it in the right way helps your body prepare for spring, lose any weight you’ve started to gain over the holidays, and feel fitter and healthier. Winter also brings changes for your …
How to reduce holiday stress
Holiday stress…we have all felt it, experienced it and most likely dreaded it. It is supposed to be the most joyous, happiest time of year but doesn’t always feel like that.
Here are some tips on how to handle holiday stress with greater ease:
1. Write in your journal
Now is a good time to sit down, take a deep breath, and write in your journal to help you get organized and remember what the holidays are really about. First, write down everything that needs to be handled. Then identify things that you can let go of or delegate to someone else. Even if you need to handle everything, taking the time to write it all down will help you feel less overwhelmed.
Think of your family and friends that you will be spending the holidays with and write what you are grateful for about each person. How do they contribute positively to your life? This can help you remember what the holidays are really about: celebration and gratitude for our family and friends.
2. Keep things in perspective
Rather than truly celebrating family and friends, we often get caught up in how things “look.” We worry about the holiday cards, or whether our hair and outfits look alright, or if we ordered enough pies for everyone. When you start to spiral into worry, go back to your list of family and friend names and why you’re grateful for these people, does it really matter if your pie has the perfect crust? Consciously choosing gratitude and joy will create positive situations and bring you closer to those you love.
3. Learn to say “no”
Ever feel like you have a million events to attend over the holiday season? Work parties, friends get together events, lunches, dinners; also known as every weekend booked? Guess what? Sometimes you just need to say no.
If spending quality time with your husband and children during the holidays is important to you, then make the time. Choose the events that you want to attend, and say “no” to the rest. Be more organized about the shopping, start way ahead as opposed to waiting to the last minute. Be empowered in what you are deciding to celebrate this year.
4. Make it a holiday for YOU
It is crucial for your well-being to learn what is important to you, and to prioritize these things during the chaotic holiday season. It’s important to be very real and honest about the things that you never enjoy doing and yet, you still do them over and over again. You allow these situations to destroy your peace every single year. What would happen if you spoke up and said, “stop”? Make the holidays something different this year; make it a holiday for you, for how you feel.
Try it and do your best not to feel obligated. If you feel guilty, engage with that experience with compassion and kindness for yourself. Remember, everybody is caught in the whirlwind of the holidays and the guilt of it all. We are all doing the best we can, so it’s nobody’s fault. But, you are in charge of what this holiday season could be for you and your family.
So, I invite you to be in a state of celebration for yourself this holiday season. With intentional actions, which are ultimately actions of love for yourself and the people who are important to you, you can make this year a true celebration, a true holiday, a true honoring of each other, peace, joy, and well-being.