It drives me crackers when people claim that eating healthy is expensive. After all, if you shop right then good foods are actually cheaper than most junk food.
Asparagus Water. $5.99 for water with three stalks of asparagus inside. Seriously. No wonder people think that healthy eating is out of their reach. It’s also extremely pretentious and well, if you’re paying $6 for water with stalks of asparagus swimming inside then you probably need to have a word with yourself.
BUT…and there’s always a but.
Asparagus infused water (which, I think whole foods have actually claimed it was supposed to be) may not seem as silly as it sounds. Actually, any infused water (although, I’d recommend lemon and fruits over veggies) is a good wayof helping you hydrate as you’re more likely to drink more if it has a flavour.
There are loads more benefits on infusing water and some combinations over on this post > 3 interesting ways with water.
So over to you…what “health” craze do you think has gone too far?
We all know that bedding can have a big impact on the look of rooms and you’re no doubt keen to find dapper duvets and pretty pillows that have the power to elevate the aesthetics of your boudoir. However, did you realise that as well as enhancing the look of your home, the sheets you sleep in can boost your health?
Helping you get sufficient sleep
First and foremost, comfy bedding can help you to nod off at night. Most adults need between seven and nine hours of good quality slumber a night, but up to a third of Britons fail to get this much shuteye. There are lots of reasons why people can struggle to sink into restful sleep, and bad bedding is one risk factor. When you’re perusing the variety of pillows, duvets, sheets and covers available on specialist websites like juliancharles.co.uk, make sure you choose materials that will help soothe you to sleep. Ideally, the products should offer just enough warmth and they should feel good against your skin.
Bear in mind that as well as helping to give you energy to face the day, sleep plays an important role in fending off potentially serious illnesses. In fact, regular sleeplessness can increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also raise your chances of getting long-term mood disorders like anxiety and depression. A lack of sleep can reduce your immunity too, meaning you’re less able to fight off infections.
Although many people don’t realise this, sleep can also have a big impact on weight. Studies have revealed that people who sleep for less than seven hours a day are 30 per cent more likely to be obese than those who get nine hours of shuteye or more. It’s believed that when people are sleep deprived, they have lower levels of leptin, a hormone that makes them feel full. They also have higher levels of the hunger-stimulating chemical ghrelin.
Controlling allergies
As well as helping people to get enough sleep, good quality bedding can play a part in preventing allergy aggravation. Around one in four people in the UK suffer from an allergy at some point in their lives and there are a range of potential triggers. Dust mites and small flakes of skin and hair are often the causes of sneezing bouts and streaming eyes.
If these allergens affect you, it’s worth looking out for bedding with synthetic fillings such as hollowfibre and microfibre. These products are designed to be non-allergenic and they can be laundered quickly and easily. You might be surprised by how much easier it is to reduce your allergy symptoms if you take simple steps like this to control your environment.
Given how much of an impact bedding can have on your health, it’s vital that you choose the best possible versions.
If you’re anything like me then you’ve tried every diet out there – and believe me, I’ve tried every diet under the sun. Every January (or make that every Monday) a new diet plan is put in to action and there’s you stuck in a perpetual dieting cycle.
Of course diets work, short term. But if you’re looking for long term success then ditching the diet is the only way to go. We spend way too much time asking ourselves if it’s ok to eat that slice of birthday cake or mentally totting up the calories in our salad. From fasting to atkins, diet plans seem to be the crux of obsession and disordered eating.
So before you put yourself through the agony of yet another restrictive eating plan, here are just a few tips to help you be happier, healthier and slimmer in 2015…
Concentrate on health, not calories or carbs.
I know this is going to come as a shock to you if you’re used to counting calories but not all calories are created equally. It’s time to forget totting up the numbers and instead think about how the food you’re eating is making you feel and what good it can do to your body.
Counting calories also doesn’t give you the complete control over your nutrition as you may think it does. Let’s take a microwave ready meal for example; YES you maybe ingesting 500 calories but you’re also taking in GMO’s, e-numbers and other nasties that would be avoided if you made that same meal yourself.
Think about the nutrition your body needs first and foremost then the rest will naturally follow.
Eat before 8pm.
I’ve always been a late eater. It drives my boyfriend absolutely berserk because he likes to have his dinner done and dusted by 6.30pm where as I like to drag out the meal process as long as possible. However, the end of last year I started to make a conscious effort to start eating my dinner before 8pm. Not because I believe the time you eat has any effect on what you weigh but because I learned about how vitally important it is to give your digestive system a break. By giving it a rest you’re giving it time to digest what you’ve already eaten and get rid of any toxins and waste hanging about. This little trick will do wonders for you if you suffer from bloating.Continue reading “Bored of dieting already? Make small changes”
There’s something special about New Year and the prospect of a blank page to start afresh and to achieve new things. Whether you’re vowing to get fit or finally launch that business idea, January is the perfect time to go about achieving it.
So here are 7 Tips to Achieve Your Goals in 2015
1. Have just one goal. I’ve blogged about being a scanner a few times so I know what it’s like to have so many goals to accomplish. But whilst it’s great to never be short of ideas it can also be a major distraction. So rather than spreading your focus too thinly, just have one goal so you can put your heart, soul and energy in to making that one thing a roaring success.
2. Create a new habit. It takes the average person around 66 days before a new behavior becomes a habit. Goals are only achieved by habits so if your goal is to build a brilliant blog then get in to the habit of blogging often. Maybe you want to run a marathon? So get out and start running daily.
3. Stop procrastinating. When it comes New Year we all make resolutions but what’s the point in setting out goals if you’re not taking any action. Taking action doesn’t have to be big, bold, grand gestures but small things like; sending THAT email, doing some internet research, writing up your to do list can all be forms of action that will add up to help you achieve your goal. Continue reading “7 Tips to Achieve Your Goals in 2015”
Well December has shot by! I’ve had a bit of a blog break – well, kind of, I’ve still been working on the redesign, the podcast and the second round of my E-Course Your Blog, Your Way. OH and I’m also working on a self love challenge for January, if you fancy going me then sign up to my newsletter (over there >>>) to be first to know the details!
So since you’re all hopefully still snuggled down, eating chocolates and watching crap festive TV, here are a few brilliant reads to get you through the next few days…
Well first of all, I watched Gone Girl last night and can I just say – WOW!!! It’s one of those films you just keep thinking about! Anyhow, if you too liked Gone Girl (which by the way, the book is just 99p on Amazon at the moment) then Harpers Bazaar have compiled a list of 15 psychological thrillers you may enjoy.
This casserole reheats perfectly and will keep for at least five days in the fridge
I’ve been so lucky to have travelled to Cuba several times since 1999 and also travel across the Island taking in all those non-tourist spots. Cuba is one of my favourite places on earth, until you go and experience it for yourself (and I’m not talking about drinking Cuba Libre on the beach – although that is fabulous) then you’ll never know just how wonderful the Cuban people are. So this Associated Press piece about whether the diplomatic thaw between US and Cuba open the market for hotels, coffee chains and burger joints is really interesting.
Great post from about how you can’t move on to the year ahead without addressing what happened in the year you just lived.
How To You Know.
Forget your expensive lotions and potions, find out how the Mediterranean Diet can slow ageing.
Who cares so long as people are cooking? While women are cooking much less than they did in the 1960s, men are cooking much more.
So Serial has finished but if you still want more then check out Rabia Chaudry ‘s blog. Insightful.
Whilst its nice to have a dresser full of lotions and potions, real beauty starts from the inside.
There’s no point in spending £100’s of pounds on the latest anti-wrinkle cream if you’re going to fill your body full of junk food.
This is a piece I wrote for Yahoo a few years ago but since they are starting to retire the old content, I thought that I’d share them with you…Try adding these super foods to your diet and eat your way to great skin…
Beetroot
Not only is beetroot a versatile veggie and adds a pop of colour to your plate but it’s also high in vitamin A, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin E. Combined these make a great cleanser and clean your body from the inside meaning a nice clear outside.
Red Grapes
OK I’m not talking about pouring yourself a large glass of Pinot noir here, instead treat yourself to bunch of red grapes as they contain super powerful antioxidants and natural chemicals that act as an antihistamine to ease psoriasis, acne and eczema.
Avocado
Forget injecting yourself with chemicals, the simple avocado can help stimulate collagen in the skin and help the skin moisturise itself. Guacamole anyone?
Nuts
Nuts make a handy “on the go” snack but they’re also packed with selenium which helps fight infections. They’re also stuffed with vitamin E, magnesium, copper, iron and calcium. An essential super food to snack on for optimum health.
Tomatoes
Want taut and healthy skin? Then start making the most of tomatoes. Like avocados they aid collagen production but also contain lycopene that helps stimulate skin circulation for healthy, glowing skin.
Garlic
Eating loads of garlic may not be a good idea if you’re about to embark on a snog-a-thon but eating some raw garlic (chopped finely and added to your salad or even stored in to pasta sauces just before serving) will give your skin and your health a huge boost. Garlic contains allicin which when eaten can help kill harmful bacteria and viruses including skin infections – which makes it great for clearing up acne.
Brown Rice
Love rice? Then swap your white rice for brown and benefit from B vitamins, selenium and a host of antioxidants whilst regulating your sugar levels and increasing your energy levels.
Kale
Kale is a bit of a buzz food but don’t dismiss it as just another fad because kale contains a vast amount of vitamins A, B, complex C, E and K. But that’s not all, it’s also packed full of protein calcium, potassium, iron, manganese, magnesium, folate and phosphorus all of which meals a great tonic for clear skin. Try popping it in a smoothie for a great breakfast boost.
Artichoke
For glowing skin, artichokes are your best bet. Often used in cosmetics they are crammed with antioxidants that can help improve skin luminosity.
Nettles
These aren’t just a nuisance in the garden. Make up some nettle tea or soup and you’ll discover they have a side line as an anti-inflammatory, helping calm the skin and improve conditions such as acne and eczema.
I’m a bit obsessed with chia seeds lately. They make the PERFECT addition to my morning smoothie as they bulk out and keep me full until lunch time (I’m not really one for breakfast so a smoothie is perfect).
Chia seeds are part of the mint family and originate from Mexico and Guatemala – and despite being so small they are absolutely packed full of amazing health benefits.
Last weekend I settled down to watch the live conference from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. SO many great speakers but amongst them was one of my personal favourites Dr Oz.
Dr Oz is full of so much good advice (especially when it comes to the topic of weight-loss) that when I got to the States earlier this month, his magazine was the first one I sniffed out (unfortunately, my magazine obsession is still as strong as ever).
A point Dr Oz made during his #IIN lecture was that weight doesn’t matter – it’s waist size that’s really the key. Now as a total slave to the scales myself, this seems like a sensible idea.
Weight is no longer relevant (we’ve known this for a while), BMI certainly isn’t relevant (Brad Pitt would be classed as clinically obese if you went by BMI calculations) and it’s been long standing advice that we take measurements to be able to see the true effect of any weightloss.
But whilst measurements are all very well, the question is – if we’re not striving for a perfect weight then how do we know that we’re on the right track?
Dr Oz suggests that in order to find your ideal waist size you need to:
at the moment) then 
