I have been getting lots of questions about how I stay healthy, happy and full of energy on a daily basis (well majority of the time), so I thought I would put together a blog post with my top 5 tips for living a healthy life. There are many more I could add in, but I thought these would be a good start. If you are looking to implement new habits into your daily life, you could begin with choosing one habit each week and applying that, then the next week choose another one and so on. Then in just 5 short weeks you will have transformed your life and be well on the way to making healthier choices, sleeping better and living your best life!
1.Drink plenty of water!
Water is essential. It literally keeps us alive. Our brains are made up of mostly water, so naturally, drinking it helps you to focus and concentrate better and be more alert. Water also helps boost our energy levels, flush out toxins in our bodies via sweat and urination and helps to aid in digestion and prevent constipation. The benefits of water are endless!! I recommend my clients to drink 2 litres of water everyday, plus 1L extra for every hour they are exercising. I love to fill up a 1L bottle of water and carry it around with me all day, I find it a very simple and effective way to keep track of my water intake. If I have a day where I have not drunk enough water, or have had a night of drinking alcohol, I can feel the dehydration in my body straight away. My skin will often appear dry and pale; I will have a headache and feel quite fatigued. These symptoms are how I can tell my body is dehydrated, but it is important to note that everyone is different and will have slightly different symptoms. The best thing you can do if you can feel yourself starting to become dehydrated is to start drinking plenty of water to get your bodily fluids back up to a normal state of hydration. A quick way I often use to measure how hydrated my body is, is to have a look at the colour of my urine (sorry if too much information). If you are well hydrated, your urine will be mostly clear with a slight tinge of yellow. If you see a yellow/darker yellow colour this could be a warning sign that you are dehydrated and should start drinking fluids.
2. Food preparation!
I spend 1-2 hours each weekend preparing for the week ahead. For me, this involves fruit and veg shopping at my local farmers market or grocer, a stop to my neighbourhood butcher, then finally a trip to the supermarket to get things like yoghurt, nut milk and nut butters, grains, spices and anything else we may need for the following week that can not be purchased at our local markets. Once the shop is complete, it is home to unpack all of the delicious produce, pre-cut some fruit and veggies to store in containers in the fridge to make snacking easy, and then prepare something extra for meals or snacking on during the week. This can range from my banana and dark choc muffins to banana bread, choc-nutty bliss balls, apricot and coconut balls, savory muffins, granola, zucchini slice, veggie frittata, a curry in my slow cooker or roast veggies for salads. The list could go on forever, but basically anything that will make my life easier during the week. This can be a time consuming task at first but after a few weeks you will get the hang of it and it will become like second nature. This has now become a part of my weekend that I honestly enjoy and look forward to. Like Benjamin Franklin says, ‘If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail’.
3. Move your body everyday!
Daily movement is an essential part of living a healthy life. It is so vital for our mental health, our strength, and for healthy skin and bones. By moving a little more each day, we are helping our bodies and minds to function at their best. Moving our bodies everyday also helps us to improve circulation, boosts energy, enhances your mood and helps to regulate digestion and waste elimination. The way I move my body changes daily, I like to nourish my body with a variety of different types of movement. My current exercise routine is a mixture of running, strength training, walking, pilates, yoga, boxing and HIIT. There is no right or wrong way to move everyday, you just need to listen to your body and do what it is telling you it needs on that particular day. I try to plan out my exercise routine every Sunday night for the week ahead and schedule in the time and type of workout I will do on each day just like I would for an important appointment. Some weeks I will stick to it and other weeks I will wake up some days, tune in to my body and realise that the running or boxing session that I originally had planned is really not what my body needs, and will swap it out for a less intense type of movement such as walking, yoga or pilates. The most important thing is that I am still choosing to nourish my body and participate in some form of movement for that day. Never feel guilty for needing to swap a workout you had planned for a certain day, you need to do what is best for you at all times. Your body will thank you for it later! I am a workout first thing in the morning type of girl, but again, that is just my preference and everyone is different! I know some people will tell you there is a perfect time of day to exercise to maximise health and weight loss goals, but let me tell you, the time of day you workout is completely irrelevant to your success. The most important thing is that you are moving your body at some point, weather that is early morning, in the middle of the day or in the evening. Find what works for you and your schedule and stick to that!
4. Indulge in some daily self-care time!
This has quickly become a part of my day that I seriously cannot go without. Spending as little as 10 minutes each day doing something just for YOU can honestly help with reducing stress, digestion troubles and can enhance focus and help stimulate the mind. For my daily self-care time I like to engage in some form of mindfulness activity to help ease my brain and tune out from the world temporarily. I have been practicing different forms of mindfulness for about a year now and after much trial and error I feel like I have finally found a rhythm that works for me. Mindfulness and self-care time looks different for everyone. For me, I like to mix it up between meditation, walking in nature, laying on the floor with my legs up against a wall, getting a massage, laying on my Shakti mat, reading a book or sitting down with a cup of tea in the sunshine. Over the course of a week, I indulge in a mixture of these activities for my self-care time, and this is something that unlike my exercise routine, I cannot plan in advance. I tend to have my self-care time in the afternoons, once I am home from work. This time of the day really works for me. It helps me unwind from the working day and release any stresses that I may be carrying home with me. I also find that once I have completed my self-care time for the day I am much more present with my partner and family members for the night ahead. Play around with self-care and find a time of day that suits you and an activity (or a few) that help you to switch off from the world. To feel the full benefits of mindfulness and self-care, give yourself a 2 week challenge to set aside 10 minutes (minimum, can do more if your feeling it) each day to do something just for YOU, and I can promise that your mind will feel clearer, you will be able to manage stress in a much calmer way and you will feel so much more present and alive in this beautiful life.
5. Don’t take anything too seriously!
This is something so many people struggle with but one that I see as so IMPORTANT! It can be difficult to not take yourself too seriously in a world where almost every person you come across responds to the question of ‘how are you’ with busy, tired or stressed. Like come on people, relax, love your life and never pass up on an opportunity to laugh at yourself. I used to find it difficult to ‘switch off’ from the ‘busyness’ of life and work but in the last year I have focused on becoming more playful and stepping out of my comfort zone to do things that will help me grow. I love to incorporate an element of ‘play’ into my daily life as I feel it keeps me relaxed, joyous and happy! I am fortunate enough to work with 26 fabulous children all aged 6 or 7 every day so that alone provides me with lots of opportunities to play and laugh. I learn so much from these little humans (even though I am supposed to be the one teaching them) and they definitely contribute to me making sure I don’t take myself too seriously. Another way I love to include ‘play’ and ‘laughter’ in to my life is to sing and dance (side note: I am not too flash at either). There is something so free about singing and dancing, no matter what you sound or look like doing it. I get told all the time by my family that I ‘should leave the singing to the artist’ but you know what, it makes me happy so imma’ keep doing it. I love to go on bike rides, being on a bike just instantly takes me back to my childhood and makes me feel young and free. I love to play sports, jump into the ocean, play board games, go surfing, climb trees, go on spontaneous adventures and the list goes on. Just do things that make you feel happy and carefree and do them often! Laugh at yourself when you make a mistake! Because every single one of us makes mistakes every single day, and the world would be a much better and happier place if we all laughed at ourselves more often.
I teach you how to implement all of these tips plus many more in my 8 week program. If you are interested in a free initial health consult, please contact me on ashlee.yourwellnessproject@gmail.com
Yours in health and happiness,
Ashlee xx
