Lifestyle and Wellbeing

Lifestyle & Wellbeing

Today’s society is one that demands the impossible of us, we work 40-60 hours a week, we are parents/guardians, friends, taxi’s, cleaners, house keepers, sometimes all as a one man band, and yet we read and hear in the news that stress is the biggest factor in causing heart attacks and that we should exercise and eat healthy!!!  Exercise “with what time I hear you shout”, eat healthy “I barely get time to stop for lunch and I’m always in too much of a hurry to eat breakfast”.  This is the 21st Century how can we manage it all and reamin sane?

I’m here as a fellow busy, “I have no time” person to give you a few bits of practical yet essential advice…

Breakfast 

Make time for breakfast and make it a good one – this meal IS without a doubt THE MOST important of the day. Try wholegrain cereals like Weetabix, Shreddies or possibly the best breakfast out there – porridge oats.  AVOID muesli, sugary cornflakes, or other fakes masquerading as healthy fruit clusters – it looks healthy but mainly consists of sugar.  All you need is an extra 10 minutes to force some well needed breakfast down you before you rush out of the door.  DO NOT leave the house saying “I’ll grab something at the shops on the way” because that something will inevitably turn out to be a pastry of sorts, packet of crisps, or if you’re lucky a token apple or banana, none of which have the energy required to kick start and fuel your body for the mad day ahead.  So EAT BREAKFAST – fuel your machine in the mornings – you will feel better for it.

Make Time

If you spend your day rushing around like a mad person from place to place and get the feeling that you never get chance to stop and breathe – factor a mere 10 minutes in to your day where you leave the office and walk outside and breathe in fresh air, if you’re a mum, put a DVD and baby monitor on and walk out in to the garden with a cuppa and sit and listen to the birds and look at the sky – breathe, if you’re a teacher, manager, administrator – find 10 minutes in your lunch/mid morning break to stop, tell people not to disturb you and breathe, you ARE entitled to that break.  Read that magazine article you’ve been looking at for ages, or call your friend in Australia that you’ve been meaning to call. Take time for you!

The idea is to make just 10 minutes for yourself, just 10 tiny minutes where you stop the action, step out of the madness and in to your world of tranquillity (whatever tranquillity looks like for you).  I would encourage where possible that you use nature or people as your source of relaxation.  Try and just sit quietly outside and breathe, notice how much you have going on in your mind, notice how your mind will try and convince you to go back inside “you have too much to do”, notice how rarely you are really aware of what’s going on around you.

This stress and noise in your head prevents you from appreciating the smaller things in life.  STOP look around, fall in love with the smaller things again.  We are only here once and no-one knows when their time is up – we all kid ourselves that we will be around forever, well if you like I have experienced the death of a loved one before their time was up, you will understand that life is short, shorter than you know.  So the next time you don’t have a lunch break, or miss your kids sports day because you couldn’t get out of work, remember… You only have one life – live it for now, every moment is precious.

I finally have Free Time – What do i do?

Some of us are lucky enough to have created a life that gives us some rest and relaxation time, now if like the rest of the human race you are confused as what to do when you actually have some time to yourself, here’s some ideas:  Don’t sit and read gossip mags and don’t watch daytime TV, these things are short term entertainment at someone else’s expense, but more importantly this doesn’t give you true relaxation.  To relax and unwind, to get centered and back you, to re-charge those weary batteries you need to shut off to everything and reach a state of deep relaxation.  I find this incredibly hard and tell you this only from my own turbulent experiences.  I used to think that relaxing was coming home at 10pm putting the TV on sleep timer and falling asleep to whatever was on.  I also used to think unwinding was going out every friday night after work and getting drunk and dancing, to ‘let off steam’.  Now, neither of these are wrong and we all need a healthy balance, but in my opinion are not to be mistaken with relaxation.

Distractions are NOT Relaxation – don’t kid yourself

TV and partying are what I would call entertainment and the definition of entertainment has absolutely nothing to do with relaxation, quite the opposite in fact, so what is relaxing?  Playing a computer game, having a glass of wine and something nice to eat – nope all entertainment – by definition something to amuse people, something to occupy them.  This would suggest that these activities are designed to occupy the mind, the exact thing we are trying to escape.  We want tranquillity, shut off, relaxation.  Or do we???? As society evolves we have shaped it to provide us with 24hour entertainment – as if we are scared to stop and listen to our mind, like we are distracting ourselves from… well ourselves.

The Body WILL find a way – Look for the Silver Lining

I stopped, well was forced to stop because I burnt out – in 2010 I sustained a major knee injury that ended my professional Taekwondo Career, it stopped exercise full stop in fact.  Even walking was an impossibility for 6 months – I still maintain that although it closed many doors at the time, without it I would never have been forced to stop and see what I was doing to myself.  I was working and training myself in to the ground.  My obsession to fill my day up so that I didn’t have to deal with my mind had finally taken it’s toll.  Every day I am grateful to the scar on my left knee because it gave me perspective, it forced me to step out of the box and see that there was more to life.  I now MAKE time to relax and unwind, here are some of the things I love to do that get me centered and back to me.

Relaxation for MInd and Body – Treat yourself

Sauna and Steam Room sessions where I just sit breathe, stretch and think.

Walk my dog through muddy fields.

Find a particularly scenic and inspiring view and sit in my car with my feet up and the windows open admiring the view while taking in the fresh air.

Sit outside with a big coat on and a blanket wrapped around me and read a book just enjoying the sound of the birds and hearing the bushes sway in the wind.

Bodyboard at my favourite local beach.

I  borrow my friends camper van and pitch up somewhere beautiful, open the side door and have a cup of redbush tea while watching the people walk past.

My favourite would have to be sitting on Gwithian Towans with my dog watching the sunset – there’s nothing like it.

Some of you might say that some of the things I’ve mentioned are activities and possibly class as entertainment but the difference is – I have learnt to use these activities to get me back to me. To re-charge my mojo if you like.  You’ll find your own too.

So try some, make up your own, but try and find some that actually allow you to be present to you, your mind and present to what’s going on around you.

Diet and Nutrition

Diet and Nutrition

Why Eat Healthy?

There is a common misconception that you only need to exercise to lose weight. Healthy eating is a lifestyle choice that provides you with elevated levels of energy, vitality and happiness. Healthy eating is very simple, eat as close to source as possible, varying the types of food you eat on a regular basis and dont eat to excess.

     

Side Dishes

Cous Cous

50gms Cous Cous, Toasted sunflower seeds, Salt and Hemp oil to taste.

Lemon Quinoa

Cook 50gms Quinoa with ½ lemon once cooked, add toasted seeds.

Ratatouille

½ Red onion, 4 mushrooms, 3 over ripe tomatoes, ½ Courgette sliced, ¼ Pepper diced, 100gms Tomato passata, Worcestershire sauce to taste, Herbs to taste – mixed – oregano – parsley – basil, Cook in a saucepan until the vegetables are soft.

Mediterranean Veg

1 Red Onion, 1 Pepper, 1 Beetroot, 3 Carrots, ½ Butternut Squash, 5 small mushrooms, 1 Courgette, 6 baby tomatoes, Bake in an oven, this can be served with any meat or as an accompaniment to salad.

Sweet Potato Wedges

Cut an unpeeled sweet potato into large strips, Drizzle with hemp oil and herbs (basil, parsley, oregano), Microwave for 4 minutes, Place microwaved potato onto a baking sheet and place into a pre-heated oven (200’c) and bake until brown, approximately 15 – 20mins.

Herby Boiled Potatoes

Boil new baby potatoes drain and add herbs (parsley and basil) and drizzle with hemp oil. As an alternative after boiling and adding oil and herbs, these little potatoes can be baked in the oven to add a crispy coating.
 

Party Food and Snack Food

Prawn and Avocado mini skewers

Alternate prawns and pieces of avocado on a cocktail stick and drizzle with lime juice.

Homous

Serve with – Carrot Sticks, Mange Tout, Baby Corn, Broccoli Stems, Baby tomatoes, Sliced Peppers

Chicken and Apricot on sticks

Sandwich a dried apricot in between 2 slices of chicken breast and hold  together with a cocktail stick, bake and serve on the stick.

Fruity skewers

Any fruits on a cocktail stick, strawberry – pineapple – Grape – Kiwi – Mango – Pineapple.

Rice Cracker Toppings for a tasty snack

Here are some tasty healthy ideas to top rice cakes for a daytime snack.

Avocado and Marmite

Love it or hate it? If you love it, this combination certainly hits the spot.

Peanut butter and Marmite

Again this is one for the marmite lovers

Almond Butter and honey

An tasty less nutty alternative to peanut butter, add a little honey for a sweet snack

Homous and cucumber

Top the rice cracker with some homous and add a few pieces of fresh cucumber

Injury-proof your body with barefoot running technique

Barefoot Running Technique

80% of runners are injured every year, yet running is one of the most natural things a human can do – something has gone wrong!

In a nutshell we have forgotten how to run thanks to the invention of overly cushioned and supportive shoes. Our feet simply need protection from the elements, they do not need support. In fact supporting the feet (our body’s foundation) will weaken the feet and result in overuse of other muscles causing unnecessary injury. The cushioning in the latest state-of-the-art running footwear prevents the 200,000 nerve endings in the soles of our feet from sending feedback to the brain and controlling the way we move – imagine wearing mittens on your hands all day and trying to perform even the most simple of tasks! We rely on sensory feedback to enable us to be the amazing machines that we were designed to be. Dumbing down that feedback creates unnatural movement.

To improve anything in life there has to be change. To take a leap forwards with your running and to strive for a lifetime of efficient and injury free natural movement, you need to take a small step backwards and remember how to move as a child. Barefoot.

For more information please visit: www.barefootrunningcoach.co.uk

Jonno Gibbins – VIVOBAREFOOT Technique Coach

Get back to basics with the raw food diet

Raw Food Diet

Ok so where do you get your carbs? Fruit and veg. Fruit especially has all the carbs you’ll ever need to live and thrive as an athlete. As well as healthy amounts of fat and protein. Vegetables have plenty of the micronutrients you’ll need, but there aren’t enough calories in fruit are there?

How many do you need? Depending on my training in a day I can easily consume up to 3000 calories of nutrient dense whole healthy life-giving foods. Very different to the life-taking nutrient empty processed foods that most people eat. Fair enough but I know that you need meat for protein, you can’t live without meat. Even if it is horse.

Really? All plant based foods contain protein. Don’t believe the hype – we do not need anywhere near the amount of protein that we eat. Ok I realise that we are not the same as other animals but just think about the largest and strongest animals on the planet for a minute. Yes, they are vegetarian!

Wow, ok, so you’ve got me thinking now – what are the benefits of a plant based diet? Optimum health, not just for sport but for life. Yes, lots of people live a long time with an unhealthy lifestyle including junk food, smoking and alcohol. But do you simply want to survive or do you want to THRIVE? Most people these days just take a long time to die and don’t make the most of their potential to be strong and energetic centenarians. Plant based diets have been proven to reduce the risk of western diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

But RAW! I still can’t get over that you eat RAW food! So think about all the food that you can eat raw – tonnes of delicious fruit and veg can be eaten raw. The foods that you can’t eat raw from the plant probably shouldn’t be eaten! Add some nuts and seeds and you can create all kinds of amazing meals. Just like anything else, change can be difficult and doesn’t happen overnight but if you want the best for your health then adjust what you eat from processed foods where you have no idea what is actually in the ‘food’ to whole foods that you recognise and can pronounce the name!

But as an athlete don’t you need supplements? Again, don’t believe the hype! Clever marketing has us believe that we can’t run around the corner without popping a chemical gel beforehand and then downing a recovery shake immediately afterwards. How on earth did we survive before processed supplements? How did cavemen cope? Fresh, raw, healthy food! Fruit is nature’s energy provider – some even come in their own bio-degradable wrapper, like a banana! Try this for size – soak some dates in water overnight, blend until smooth then fill some mini zip lock sachets and hey presto, high performance gel!

Does it really work? Personally I never promote anything with first being my own guinea pig. Before coaching barefoot running I spent two years making sure that it was the real deal. Same with RAW food – I am training for the the summer triathlon season and I’m putting in some good miles, all fuelled by raw energy. So yes I can safely say that it works. Energy levels are high and recovery is insane. But, as with barefoot running, don’t leap in until you have all the facts – there’s a right way and plenty of wrong ways. The reason for most RAW failures is not eating enough – there are no counting calories, apart from making sure that you have eaten plenty! This is not a temporary restrictive fat loss diet. This is a lifestyle change that will result in a lean and energy packed body that will thrive for a lifetime.

For more information on the raw food diet click here

Where do I sign up?!

Jonno Gibbins – RAW Vegan Athlete