I am on version 20, or 21 of the new me now! Every year I make a point of saying I am going to lose a bit of weight, not eat rubbish, I’m going to do this, do that…then 4 days later it all seems like too much hard work! Why is it so hard to feel healthy? Why is my body insisting on giving me these aches and pains? People are often shocked when I tell them my age, by the amount of complaining about aches and pains they think I am in my 60s..not 30s! The other thing that was hard about the whole ‘New Year, New Me,’ is that I was so unrealistic. I study, I work, I look after a family (my other half may argue against this point, but she’s wrong), and on top of this I wanted to run a few times a week, do additional exercises, maybe go to the gym…all things that would add to my already full week!
I’ve been doing a bit of thinking about version 22 of the new me, and I am going to take a slightly different approach to it. I’m planning on not going to the gym, only going to run when there is the time to instead of forcing myself to, and I am not going to make myself feel bad for not fitting in lots of running, exercising or massive changes to my diet etc – I know, this doesn’t sound like a new version, but it will be. Instead, I am going to make little, subtle changes to my everyday life. Things that I don’t necessarily have to try too hard to achieve…’quick wins’ as a manager in my last job used to say. I hated that phrase – and now I am using it! Anyway, these ‘quick wins’… (I’m not going into all the science of it, just a bit of general info):
1 – When I am working, whether that is in the clinic or at home studying, I tend to have a lunch break and often spend it back at my desk…I am going to work hard to have a break away from my desk, and go for a short walk, 10-15 mins each time. Just having a bit of time to stretch my legs and get the heart pumping, as well as let my mind have a bit of a break too
2 – When studying, I have bad seated posture…I start off ok, but then I allow myself to round my shoulders, my head and chin drop forward and after a while I get neck and shoulder aches! I’ll put a note on my laptop, and on my desk to remind me to, ‘do a few shoulder rolls, move a little and sit up straighter,’ which will definitely help me with my pains!
3 – I have a habit of using lifts where possible – lazy! Although, in my defence, I do sometimes have a child in a pushchair…anyway, using the stairs instead of the lift all the time, and parking further away rather than the closest spot to the entrance of different places I go to so that I need to walk a bit more, will add some simple exercise into my day.
4 – I have a few cups of coffee/tea a day and usually stand there messing about on my phone…our kettle is slow to boil as well. This is a great chance for me to build in some ‘exercises.’ My balance is something I need to improve, so each time I boil the kettle at home, I am going to build in some simple balance improvement tasks.
5 – Before bed I often look at my phone, for no good reason really, and the next thing I know 10-15 mins have passed and I am no closer to relaxing…it then takes me a while to get to sleep. I intend to stop looking at my phone for a good 30-45 mins before I go to sleep – hopefully I will be able to be in a more restful state ready to sleep.
Photo by Sayo Garcia on Unsplash
These are just a few of things that will be the ‘New Me,’ – small, simple, manageable changes that will last much longer than my previous attempts at becoming healthier!
How about you, do you have anything to share with me? Is there anything you’re going to do to try and have a healthier, and happier 2020?
Some links with a bit of info if you are interested:
https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/news-and-blog/blog/why-you-should-take-a-walking-lunch
https://www.livestrong.com/article/338616-the-advantages-of-good-posture/