10 tips towards health & vitality

On the 20th October, Murray from Peak Performance Bubble entertained TRI with a presentation about health and wellbeing. An ex-chef, Murray is now a life coach focusing on health through food. He talks about the importance of taking care of ourselves, especially in a world where medical research has us living longer. Reaching 50 was once a chance to slow down, to look to retirement, but with the average age reaching 80 and many of us living to 100, 50 is the new 30! 

Below are Murray's top 10 tips towards living a healthier live. 

1- Start with being grateful for your body

Think about everything you’ve put your body through and it has stuck with you, so celebrate that you are wonderful right where you are! Yes, there may be some things you’d like to improve and that’s absolutely possible. You can’t change the past and you can change the future so be grateful, optimistic and future focussed, you can do it!

2- Build a list…

of 30 benefits of improving your health that don’t involve losing weight. As you focus on your overall wellbeing, you’ll feel empowered to achieve other goals you set for your health.

3- Have vision…

What does healthy longevity look like for you? We are all generally living longer, working longer and getting heavier. Prevention is better than cure so you may decide that absence of ill health, flexibility, energy, optimism, fun, healthy joints and a strong back are assets you’d like to encourage into your future and lay the groundwork now. You are precious to the people around you so look after yourself!!

4- If you're having a “this is it” moment…

feeling compelled to improve your wellbeing, work with your GP who generally has a global view of your health. That way you can celebrate the improvements along the way

5- Eat real food as much as possible. 

The main thing is to find a way of eating that you enjoy, makes sense to you, makes you feel healthy and is sustainable. We found the Well Fed books really helpful when we wanted to improve the quality of our nutrition. They are Paleo inspired and provide a good foundation to eating more real food. If you like things that Paleo style eating avoids just add them in, listen to your body and see how you feel. They are under $20 and good value. http://meljoulwan.com/wellfed/

6- Plan your meals…

especially lunch at work and healthy snacking options

7- Drink water

Avoid drinking too many calories; keep an eye on the sugar content of soft drinks, sports drinks and commercial fruit juice. On a food label, 1 teaspoon of sugar = approx. 4g so 40g of sugar on a label is approx. 10 teaspoons. The World Health Organisation suggests no more than 6 teaspoons of additional sugar in your diet every day (that includes sugar in bread, breakfast cereals, pasta sauce, cakes, biscuits etc.). If you’re thirsty, drink water. If you like, add lemon, lime or kiwi fruit slices to a jug of water and it’s delicious.

8- Move

Find some physical activity that you will continue to want to do. Cardio (like walking), strength building (working with weights or Thera bands) and flexibility (stretching) are all helpful to explore. Make sure you work at a steady pace, don’t overdo it. If you haven’t exercised a lot in recent times, work into it gently. Excersise with your partner or a friend and enjoy yourself.

9- Listen to music

With the waves of digital distraction and screen time overwhelming us all, it’s important to make time to sit, relax and listen to music. If you haven’t done that for a while, you’ll find yourself thinking “I must do this more often!”

10- Your environment

Curate your environment as an art gallery would curate a magnificent art show, bringing together the best! Surround yourself with things that support your goal. Many people find having goals written down and some aspirational pics on the wall help keep them focussed. You may choose to listen to podcast’s and read books that are about supporting your health and wellbeing goals. Advertising affects us all so it’s very helpful to set up your own ‘advertising campaign’ and choose what’s coming into your environment.

Designate a few people in your life as ‘cheerleaders’ if you’re embarking on a new goal. Their job is encouragement; to convince you that you are wonderful, smart and courageous for setting a goal and working towards it. Improving your health improves so many areas of life; it’s such a wise investment of intention and focus. It raises the ceiling on what you can accomplish in your life.

You are made for amazing and You can do it!