Inspiration!

"Right! I shall start the diet on Monday!"

Very familiar words I hear said.  In my previous blogs I have talked about learning to love yourself.  But I also recognise that people are unhappy with various aspects of their life.  That is something you do not have to live with.

Life is full of choices.  The "quality" of your life is directly reflected in making the right choices for you and your family.  However, sometimes we do get bogged down in the turmoil of not being good enough or "if only I could lose a few pounds/ a stone, I would be happy" - REALLY???

There are many things in life that we can buy and are thought to improve our happiness - cars, clothes, gadgets, boobs!  But, does it make us contented and happy or do we seek the next best thing?

I caught up with a client this week whom I hadn't seen in a long time.  She commented on how much she enjoyed reading this blog (from another continent!).  So I took the opportunity to ask what else would she like to see on it.  I was delighted with her feedback and it really inspired me.   I sometimes struggle to see the wood for the trees so this was a great light bulb moment.  I got to reconnect with my dream in life of coaching others!

  

So how can you find your "lightbulb moment" and make a change in the right direction?

There is something inside us that makes us feel "right that's it, I'm .............."!

This point is crucial and it's different for each of us.  For some it's hitting rock bottom, for others it's through inspiration from another source.   

Change can only happen when you know what you want; when you find what your dream or one love is.  There is much adage to the saying - "if you don't know where you are going, you will never get there".

So:

What gets you out of bed in the morning (and I don't mean an alarm clock or the fact that you HAVE to appear in at work)?  We all live for something or someone!

1.  Decide what you want or where you want to be (your passion, your love, your drive).

2.  Decide what it takes to get you there (relationships, money, time).

3.  How much responsibility are you willing to take in order to get this?

Once you have decided your overall passion/drive for life - now you can put the littler steps in place - the details.

And guess what? 

YOU get to chose how long it takes and what steps to take. The key to each little step is that it has to be achievable and realistic.  There is no point blowing yourself out the water on the first hurdle and making life so difficult it is miserable for you and those around you!  I read an article about there being no such thing as "falling off the wagon".  How true! we only live life; there is no perfection, so by allowing life to continue, it allows us to enjoy our amazing journey.

Then:

Reward yourself with something at the end of each small goal - a massage or a lunch/dinner out, nails done - something like this makes us feel good and also reinforces the belief that we are worth it!

Remember:

With having a main goal - we have a focus.

By rewarding ourselves - we reinvest in our happiness and worth.

By choosing to make positive change - you make a positive YOU.

  

Be responsible for your own health and happiness (as you are who it ultimately lies with).  

You cannot change others, however you can inspire them.  

Go for it (write it all down).  

Seek your dream and make your journey fun!

Sam xxx



How to warm up like a champion

A few weeks ago I explained to you why I think that it is so important to warm up before you start your workout.  Today I am going to clarify the type of thing that your warm up should consist of.

Broadly speaking, your warm up should take you about 5-10 minutes to complete and contain the following components:

Pulse raising exercises

Mobility exercises

Preparatory stretches

Why 5-10 minutes?

There are several factors that affect the exact length of time you need to warm up for, for example:

Temperature – In cold conditions a longer warm up will be necessary to suitable “warm the body up”.  The opposite is true in warmer conditions.

Intensity of the session – if the session is going to be very demanding and challenging more time should be spent in the warm up phase.

Ability levels – Sedentary individuals will require a longer and more gradual warm up.  Similarly, older adults, as well as ante and postnatal participants, will need a lengthier warm up phase.

So what exactly is a pulse raising exercise?

A pulse raising exercise is something that gradually elevates the heart rate and warms up the muscles of the body.  They should be of a low to moderate intensity, rhythmical, continuous and progressive in intensity.  For example, start with a walk (very little impact on joints), then progress into a light jog before adding in arm movements (like punches out to the front/side/above).

And mobility exercises?

Before any activity it is sensible to prepare the body’s major joints.  A ‘whole body’ approach uses warm up exercises that involve multiple joints, increasing the range of motion without loading them by using weights or impact.  Examples of such exercises are knee bends, ankle circles and trunk twists are.  Many of these exercises can be incorporated into a pulse raiser.

Do you really need to do Preparatory stretches?

Preparatory stretches prepare all the major muscle groups to be used in the proposed activity.  The aim is to prepare the muscles for exercise by taking them through their full range of motion.  We achieve this by doing dynamic stretches (stretches with movement which also help keep your heart rate elevated).

Dynamic stretches typically involve performing eight to twelve repetitions of controlled, full range movements.  They should only be carried out when your body temperature has been increased and all the major joints mobilised.  Dynamic stretches can prepare the muscles for the exact joint actions and muscle contractions performed in the exercise session by replicating some of the movement that will be used.  For example, concentrate on lower leg stretches before going running.

So there you go!!!

Aileen xxx

"MUM, I'm hungry!"

The school summer holidays are now in full swing for us mums.  I do love the holidays because firstly, the kids get the freedom to play (and weather permitting) remain in the great outdoors and secondly, also for my own selfish reasons, I get to cut back on my running around to various activities as well as the daily drop offs and pick ups.

There is also something I definitely notice hearing far more often in the holidays too (usually balled at 90 decibels).  

"MUM, I'm hungry!"

...followed by the fridge door being opened them slammed shut (because the food has not leapt out onto their hand ready to be eaten).

So what can we do about this?  

Mums, I suggest the following - let's nourish our kids to the max and reduce these hollers of hunger!

A little experiment for you:

Make a small selection of meats and veg and place on the table.  

Ask your children to choose what they would like to eat.  

Now stand back and watch what they are drawn to.  

My youngest loves his red meat and, if allowed, is also attracted to sugar - this is somewhat typical of a protein type.  My eldest son is not so much drawn to sugar.  Granted he is more aware of the nutritional benefits of food and his palate is a little more advance.  Generally he is drawn to a wide variety of foods, but on certain days he favours some foods over others.  He would be classed as a mixed or balanced type. 

So what am I proposing?

I think firstly we need to ensure we max out on a good breakfast (no surprise there).

I have recently invested in a nutri blender - another gadget to add to my already cluttered utility room - anyhow it seems to be of great use.

If my boys choose to have some organic yogurt and fruit for breakfast I have used the blender to add extra nourishment.  So far I have managed to disguise celery, avocado, some seeds and occasionally a little super green organic protein powder that is packed with plenty vitamins and minerals!  Another very good thing to add would be some fish oil - I recommend Eskimo Brain Shark for kids - incredibly good for their brain power and a good start to the day.

Today I made a snack bar for the kids, using a recipe from "Get the Glow" by Madeleine Shaw - seen below (along with some of my other recently acquired cook books from my mum).

It had a variety of nuts, seeds, dates, coconut oil, cinnamon, ginger and maple syrup, again blended altogether.  

Lunch

Seeing we don't often get heat waves for long periods of time I still aim for soup at lunchtime. If possible I try to make it contain meat too, either chicken or pea and ham.  If soup is not possible chicken legs, pate and oatcakes makes a great alternative!

Dinner

The best advice I could give you here is to try and encourage the children to help.  The holidays is a great time to start this (added bonus is it is an activity and helping you out) and you can really see what they would prefer to eat.

A favourite of mine to make is chicken goujons, the coating is chicken dipped in egg then some ground almond and parmesan and seasoned with salt and pepper. All topped off with a homemade tomato sauce (again a multitude of veg blended through it).  

Chicken and apple meat balls are another easy one as you just blend all of what you want together, then roll into little balls altogether and roast in the oven.  

What about snacks?

A firm favourite of mine is buckwheat crepes (can be a welcomed meal or snack).  The recipe for these can be found on our recipes page.  If I do these for breakfast I will make them sweet with some banana and agave or have them with scrambled egg and bacon.  

So, what I try and achieve at every meal and snack is that there is a healthy fat, some greens and some meat.  I don't overload on dairy and try as best I can to remove gluten. My kids don't get fizzy drinks and are limited on fruit juice, which I water down to reduce the sugar hit! They are greatly encouraged and are very good at drinking water now.  I think by adopting a very strict policy of water they now know when they need to take it.  This alone is worth persevering with over the holidays as often when people think they are hungry all they actually need is better hydration. 

I would love to know how it all goes for you and am happy to help suggest more ways to "sneak the goodness" in.

Happy holidays and hopefully the hunger shouts are not so often!

Sam x