GREAT HEALTH: Improve Your Health and Wellness

“Improve Your Health and Wellness” written by Megan McGrath published in Great Health Guide (March 2017). There are many ways you can do to improve your health. Starting from simple things such as moving your body and drink more water. Those will offer massive benefits for your body and mind when put into practice consistently. Here are 10 simple ways to transform your wellness. 

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GREAT HEALTH: Improve Your Health and Wellness

written by Megan McGrath

Below is a list of some small, simple things that you can do today to improve your health. When put into practice consistently, they will transform your wellness.

1. Move More

There is no superfood or ‘pill’ with as much holistic benefit for wellbeing as movement. Just 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day will offer you massive benefits for both your body and mind. Maximise your success by doing an activity that keeps you motivated, interested and that you enjoy. Consistency is the key. Some is better than none and more is better than less!

2. Drink More Water

Not only will you feel better, you will look better and perform better. Many of us do not drink enough water. There is a simple formula (0.04 x your weight in kg), will give you an idea of how much you should be consuming each day in litres. You will need to drink more than this if you are exercising. You will know if you have consumed enough throughout the day because your urine will be clear or straw-coloured.

3. Ditch the Diet

Diets don’t work and can in fact harm our health. A healthier approach to weight management is to not diet but to realise our body wants us to be healthy and comfortable. Strive for plenty of fresh, colourful and unprocessed food. Ideally we should be aiming to eat 5 serves of vegetables per day and around 2 serves of fruit. Combining this with lean protein, legumes, wholegrains, nuts and seeds makes an excellent choice.

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4. Go to Bed Earlier

Sleep affects our mental and physical health enormously. It assists our ability to function well and make good decisions throughout the day. Lack of sleep is a very common problem for ‘busy women’. We need to be aiming for between 7 – 9 hours each night. Research suggests that for sufficient deep, restorative sleep we should be in bed no later than 10:30pm.

5. Turn It Off

Your phone can be a huge distraction and affects our interaction with those around us. By turning off your phone while you are with friends or family tells them that what you are doing now is most important. For you to really connect you need to disconnect.

6. Plan

It’s so important to plan time so you can achieve, unwind and feel things – or life will just go on without you. A plan is essential to staying on track. Ten minutes each day is all you need for a winning week.

7. Limit Alcohol

Time to get honest about how alcohol affects you and those around you. Besides being filled with empty calories, too much alcohol can impinge on our health and happiness. As a guide try limiting your drinking to no more than two standard drinks per day with at least three alcohol-free days each week.

8. Breathe

Breathing engages our relaxation response which turns off our reaction to stress. Try breathing in slowly for four counts and exhaling slowly for four counts. Repeat this five times and notice how much more calm and present you feel.

9. Practise Gratitude

When we are ‘busy’ it is easy for us to get bogged down, complain a lot and feel sorry for ourselves. Being grateful can put us in a very different state of mind. Taking some time out to be mindful of things we are grateful for (big or small) can really help us appreciate what we have. Start a new ritual of writing down or saying out loud each day three things that you are grateful for. Watch your perspective change.

10. Make ‘Me’ Time a Priority

For ‘busy’ people nurturing ourselves can feel selfish or indulgent; but sooner or later unless we start prioritising ourselves we can start to feel frustrated, fatigued, selfloathing with an overall lack of fulfilment. Self-renewal leads to a more balanced, happy and satisfied life. Book personal time in, as you would for a meeting and do things that make you feel rested, cared for and peaceful.

Author of this article:

Megan McGrath has a Health Science degree, is a professional accredited Wellness Coach and certified Fitness Trainer. Megan is passionate about supporting and empowering women towards achieving healthy, balanced and fulfilling lives. She is the Founder of Chasing Sunrise – a Health and Wellness Consultancy.

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