Spring has officially sprung. I found the first quarter of the year weirdly long and short. Now is a great time to blow the cobwebs away and check in with yourself about where you’re at regarding health and wellbeing. There are a few things you can do to give your systems a boost and Spring is a great time for it.
Get out
Now it’s getting a bit warmer, get into the habit of spending time outside every day. It’s lighter in the morning, so you could get up half an hour earlier and take a walk around the block. Alternatively, or in addition, go for a walk after your evening meal or pop out for 20 minutes at lunchtime. Being outside for 20 minutes can give you the same energy boost as a cup of coffee would do. Your vision and immune system will benefit from the outdoors. If that isn’t enough, it also provides you with vitamin D and increases creativity.
Veg out
When it comes to vegetables, the more you eat, the better. But eating a variety of them is the way to get the biggest health boost because they all supply different nutrients. Spring is a good time of year to break out of a veggie rut and try some that may not be in your normal rotation. Seasonal is best. If you’re not sure what is seasonal, check out what’s on offer at the local farmers market or google it. A few examples of veggies that are in season in April:
Asparagus (coming into season)
Cauliflower (end of season)
Peppers
Purple sprouting broccoli (end of season)
Rhubarb
Spinach
Spring onions
Get ahead of the game by adding vegetables to your breakfast. Try a vegetable omelette or have a fry up with tomatoes and mushrooms.
Make one healthy change a day
Even a small tweak in your daily routine can make a big difference to your health. Try to change one bad habit. If you drink soft drinks, try drinking water instead. If your snacks are junk, replace with a healthier alternative, like raw nuts, celery with nut butter, boiled egg, cold meat/fish. If you’re drinking alcohol every night, try to limit alcohol to Fri-Sun. Just pick one bad habit and replace it with a good (or better) one. You don’t have to change everything in one go to make a difference. Just pick one thing and see how it goes.
Wait 5 minutes
Before you’re about to do something that you’ll probably regret later, take 5 minutes. Distract yourself, do something else or think about something else. If you feel like snacking, have a large glass of water or a cup of tea first and see if you still feel like snacking after that. Put on a face mask, paint your nails, read a magazine, sniff essential oils or anuthing else that floats your boat before you do something you know is not going to benefit you. Often you’ll find that the urge goes away once you’re distracted by something else.
Keep a food diary
Keeping track of what you consume has shown to help with sticking to a healthy diet. It doesn’t have to be a novel. Just jot down everything you eat and drink. It keeps you accountable and knowing that you’re going to have to write it down may make you think twice about polishing off a bag of Doritos. Even better if you add notes to the diary, like headaches, tummy aches, low moods, etc. This will be useful to make a link between diet and these issues.
Most importantly, be nice to yourself. The more you beat yourself up, the more you’re likely to fail. If you need a little bit more help than this pep-talk, feel free to contact me for a free wellness consult.