As we experience the seasonal transition it’s important to make the appropriate shift in routine and lifestyle to ensure you and the family keep fit and healthy throughout the autumn and into the winter months. Hopefully there’s a routine in place with the kids back in school, so now’s an opportunity to set small lifestyle goals for yourself. Our aim at Motivation is to inspire men and women to eat well so you can attain and maintain a healthy weight, abundant energy and excellent physical and mental health. So here’s a few simple suggestions to make sure you’re fit to enjoy all of these benefits.
1. What’s for dinner?
Thinking ahead regarding meals reduces stress and ensures the whole family get balanced meals to boost immunity in the colder months. All this requires is having a small repertoire of tasty dishes that take less than 15 minutes preparation but deliver on great nutrition. Try not to have to prepare different meals if you’re trying to lose weight, just adapt the main meal to suit your requirements. If this can’t be done maybe it’s not a great dish for anyone in the house, so drop it from the list and replace with a better option. My six favourites for the whole household are very basic, typical dinners. I find that often the more complicated the less appreciated, so just keep it simple. My favourites are:
- Salmon, vegetables and potatoes (I have more veg and drop the potato)
- Omelette with added ham, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers and mozzarella
- Red pepper and tomato soup
- Chicken curry
- Turkey burgers
- Meatballs
2. Respect your limbs
Ireland is a great country for walking and getting fit, there are hundreds of planned routes and the kids love getting out, especially with you. For your own fitness goals, aim to get exercise daily for 30 minutes, as well as the family outings. This might seem a lot but realistically that won’t happen, even four to five times would make a huge difference to your energy, mood and waistline. Routine suits us human beings, so having a set time for the gym, swim or a jog/power walk will become habit if repeated over two to three weeks. Stress can only be dissipated through physical exercise, otherwise it can attack your health, especially in the form of digestive issues, sleep problems and mood swings. You can’t afford not to exercise and stay fit, it is not a drag, it is what your body was designed to do and a blessing to be able to do it!
3. Watch the extras
It’s great to eat three healthy meals a day but research shows that adults and children are gaining weight because of the snacks taken in between. These are energy dense, nutrient poor foods which offer nothing for growth or health. The main offenders are flavoured waters, soft drinks, sugar in tea and coffee, salty processed meats, savoury pastries and pies, bought cakes and muffins and chocolate. On average females are having four of these per day and males an average of six. This is where extra sugar, salt, saturated fat and calories come in and cause the problems, often unconsciously. The only way to combat this is to reduce the number of these items bought each week, and for those on a weight loss plan to record everything put in your mouth, to show the reality of your day, not what you might hope to believe. This is the main reason weight loss stalls, the extra high calorie extras slip in and the pounds start to go back up.
If you have a question about staying healthy and fit please feel free to drop me an email at c.jackson@motivation.ie
