Nice to Meet the New You!

As a child you moved for fun right? Regardless if you were playing tag; swimming; riding your bike or climbing trees, you knew the pleasure of movement. You were not thinking about burning calories or strengthening your muscles.

Apply this principle to your life today. Exercise is meant to be fun so find something that you love to do and enjoy!

Take time to consider how you interact with yourself and with others, as this can have a big impact on your life. Think about what body kindness and body positivity means to you. Use your own positivity to support others and treat others how you would like to be treated. Remember one kind word, can make someones day!

Create a list of all the things you think will make you healthy. This may include sleep quality, food, muscle strength, mood, etc. Then formulate a plan of how you are going to keep in tune with your health as YOU see it. This isn’t about weighing yourself on the scales, it is about taking positive action and building your resilience to stop body image negativity.

This is all about finding your inner body wisdom to make the right food choices that feel good.  It is not about losing or gaining weight or muscle.  It is about understanding every nutrient the body needs to work properly and then fuelling it accordingly. It may take some research, but those who take time to learn about nutrition and the way the body works, are more likely to enjoy good mental health; emotional awareness; life satisfaction; self-esteem and optimism.

Concentrating on your flaws has really come into its own since the borne of social media. However, you can turn this on its head by spending two minutes each day to find your favourite body feature. Identify one physical aspect of yourself that you like and explain to yourself why you are thankful.  This will challenge the way you think on a conscious level and reduce anxiety around the way you look.

One of the best ways to appreciate your body is to do something nice for yourself! Whether it is to eat the right foods for a week; join a local sports team or go for a relaxing massage, doing something you enjoy or you know is good for you will lower stress levels and increase your self-love!

We all hear the mantra of eating 5 fruit and vegetables every day. We suggest you always ensure a handful of your plate contains fruits or vegetables, every meal time including snacks! These are your carbohydrates which gives you your energy. In addition, each meal or snack should also contain a palm size and thickness of protein and some healthy fats to provide you with your balanced meal. Did you know every system in your body depends on water? Your body typically needs between 3 and 4 litres of water every day. Add some flavour to your water with some sliced lemon, a slice of ginger or some mint to help increase your daily intake!

We mentioned before that exercise should be fun. Take exercise to the next level and you will not only develop your physicality, it will also improve your mental health. Drop in some yoga and you are on your way to feeling ‘zen’!

If you eliminate one habit a month it doesn’t feel as intense and gives you a better chance of sticking to an overall healthier approach. Reduce your junk food first. This will help get your salt and saturated fat intake down. When you do your food shop, try and take a bit longer to read the food labels.  The majority of packaged foods now contain a traffic light system so it is easy to remove products high in salt; saturated fat and sugar.  Drink less alcohol and try, if you are a smoker, to either give up or reduce your cigarettes!

Your body is unique as are your goals. When you compare yourself and your body to others, this can potentially create negative feelings. By focusing on you and your goals, you will achieve more and experience your own body kindness.

And finally… relax. Your body needs rest. Whether you meditate, listen to your favourite music, read a book, watch a film or just take a leisurely stroll with your family, make sure your body has that important downtime to recover both mentally and physically from the busy week.