Tuesday 23 June 2009

How To Eat Healthfully While You Are On Holiday

Thinking about how to eat well in advance of your holiday or day away puts you ahead of the game. So let’s look at creating a workable plan.

Firstly, ask yourself some questions:

How much time will we be spending in the car?

How often do we expect to be eating out and at what kinds of restaurants?

What type of accommodation will we have? (Self catering/half board/all inclusive)

Will we be able to prepare any of our own meals?

What activities will we be doing? (Walking, swimming, water sports, cycling etc)

What opportunities for physical activity will we have? (Are there walking routes, sports facilities, areas to play etc)

What situations might tempt us to eat poorly? (Excursions with buffet food laid on, eating out with others, restricted menu etc)

Then, plan around your answers. For example, if you will be in the car for hours at a time, bring healthy snacks such as wholemeal bagels, oat or rice cakes, fresh fruit or vegetable sticks. Plan places to stop on driving days where you can have a healthy picnic and enjoy some activity, such as a game of Frisbee or bat and ball.

If you will be eating out a lot, choose grilled or broiled foods instead of ones that are fried or that come in a cream sauce. If you and your family order pizza, get it with toppings of vegetables instead of fatty meats, ask for half the cheese and ask for thin crust. You should be vigilant about portion control.

One last thought: All foods fit in moderation. The occasional splurge is OK, but be careful that your splurges are the exception rather than the rule.


Bon voyage!

Wednesday 27 May 2009

Chocolate - The Healthy Truth

We’ve all heard about the ‘happy hormones’ found in chocolate and how our spirit can be raised by eating a few chunks, but let’s be honest, we’ve never really believed chocolate is nutritionally very good for us.

Well, a recent study by the University of Glasgow and National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research, has found that chocolate eaters have significantly higher levels of disease fighting anti-oxidants in their blood after consuming 100g of chocolate than those who don’t.

There’s a catch though!

It’s only dark chocolate that does it. Milk chocolate doesn’t produce nearly as much – which is a shame.

Also unfortunate is that chocolate brings with it extra calories unlike fruit and vegetables which supply the anti-oxidants without so many calories. However, it’s nice to know that when you do have a bit of chocolate it’s not a completely unhealthy thing to be doing.

Monday 11 May 2009

Healthy Eating Every Day and Active Living Every Day Taster Sessions

Do you want to…
Feel more energetic
Sleep better
Reduce daily aches and pains
Improve your general health
Reduce your stress levels and improve your mood
Feel more confident

Does this sound like you?
I’m already aware that I should eat more healthily and
become more physically active but…
I can’t seem to find the time
I haven’t found any activities I really enjoy
I don’t want to diet, ban food or buy expensive foods
I need motivation and support
I'd like to be more active but I don't know where to start
Moving towards a healthier life

Come along and find out if Healthy Eating Every Day and Active Living Every Day is the missing link you have been looking for...

Free’ Taster Sessions are taking place at:

The Self Centre:
Thursday 18th June 6.45pm to 8.15pm
Tuesday 14th July 10.15am to 11.45am
Tuesday 25th August 6.45pm to 8.15pm

Sebert Wood School:
Thursday 2nd July 6.00pm to 7.30pm

SK Spa and Clinic:
Thursday 16th July 7.15pm to 8.45pm

For more information or to reserve your place, please contact:
T: 07725 043902

Tuesday 28 April 2009

Food, Glorious Food!

Food is one of life's pleasures and life's necessities. It is very sad that many people spend their life either obsessed about it, or depriving themselves of or over-indulging in something that gives us life and pleasure.

Food and its representation can make people unhappy, hostile, lacking in confidence and in some cases fear of their lives.

Making behaviour changes with food (and activity) helps to create happy, confident balanced individuals who seek the most they can from life. Life becomes challenging and rewarding instead of overwhelming and frightening. However, adapting to change is never easy but always possible.

As a thought to finish...

"Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time"

Sunday 29 March 2009

First steps towards a healthier life...

If your unsure whether Healthy Eating Every Day or Active Living Every Day is the course for you, then why not try 'First Steps' a 4 week course to introduce you to the concepts of the Healthy Eating and Active Living courses in four bite sized steps. Want to find out more - then please read on...

Do you want to eat better and become more active but are unsure about where to even begin? Then get on the path to lasting lifestyle change with First Steps: Your Healthy Living Journal, the one tool you need in order to overcome bad habits permanently and shape the healthy life you want.


First Steps your healthy living journal allows you to track your progress according to your goals, preferences, and fitness level, and it is based on the life-changing principles of Active Living Partners (Healthy Eating Every Day and Active Living Every Day).

First Steps: Your Healthy Living Journal is a different and effective approach to improving your health habits. It's a facilitator lead programme over 4 weeks which encompasses the four important principles of 'First Steps', using the book for guidance and as your journal.

We’re not just going to tell you what to do; we’re going to show you how to do it. We have discovered that what you really need are some special tools that help you learn how to trade your current behaviours for healthier ones. You’ll learn how to address the underlying causes of your inactivity and unhealthy eating. And you’ll learn four important principles of improving your behaviour:

Step 1: Build awareness. You’ll identify what good health and healthy habits mean to you, what’s keeping you from getting there, and how to learn from
past experiences.

Step 2: Create solutions. You’ll discover simple problem-solving techniques that will enable you to overcome your barriers to physical activity and healthy eating.

Step 3: Boost confidence. We’ll help you increase your sense of “I can!” You’ll learn how to change your self-defeating thought patterns into empowering messages.

Step 4: Sustain commitment. You’ll learn how to make physical activity and healthy eating permanent parts of your life through simple goal-setting techniques.

First Steps: Your Healthy Living Journal along with your facilitator, are your partner and coach. It will help you in the following ways:

You will be encouraged to make positive changes in your behavior. In fact, it’s much easier than you may have imagined to improve your health habits.
You will be inspired to take the first steps to a better quality of life and better health.
You will be equipped with the tools to take those first steps.

From molehill to mountain, First Steps will help you on your way towards healthy eating and active living...

Saturday 28 March 2009

Physical activity - its easier than you think... With the help of Active Living Every Day...

Physical inactivity is a major health problem in the U.K. In fact, over 60 percent of British people don’t get enough physical activity. Twenty-five percent are almost completely sedentary. Each year, as many as 300,000 deaths in the U.K. are due to physical inactivity and poor diet.

Complicating this, most Briton’s are aware of the health benefits of physical activity but can’t seem to get active. They want to be active but have problems maintaining traditional exercise programs. Although 38 percent of inactive Briton’s say they want to be more active, 50 percent drop out of exercise programs within 6 months.

To address this problem, i am pleased to be offering Active Living Every Day classes. Active Living Every Day is a behaviour change programme, focused on helping sedentary adult’s fit physical activity into their lives in realistic ways. The programme is based on ground-breaking research that has resulted in two important discoveries about physical activity and health.

1. Physical activity need not be strenuous or time-consuming to benefit health. Accumulating 30 minutes of moderate intensity (e.g., a brisk walk) activity on most days of the week can result in significant health benefits.

2. People are more likely to become and stay physically active when taught appropriate lifestyle skills. These skills include identifying and overcoming barriers to physical activity, learning to fit physical activity into a busy schedule, increasing self-confidence, building social support, setting realistic goals, and staying motivated.

Active Living Every Day’s emphasis on moderate-intensity activity, fitting activity into life in realistic ways, and personalising physical activity programs makes it an appealing alternative to traditional fitness programs.



For further information or to register your interest call me on 07725 043902 or drop me an email sarah@bodymotion.org.uk

Change your life one bite at a time... With the help of Healthy Eating Every Day...

Levels of obesity have tripled in England since 1980, and there is no sign of the upward trend stopping. Currently, over half of women and about two-thirds of men are either overweight or obese. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of developing heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and osteoarthritis. Obesity causes about 18 million sick days and 30,000 deaths a year in England alone (source: National Audit Office). Most Britons are aware of the health benefits of healthy eating but do not have the necessary skills to eat healthily. Research shows that most people want to improve their eating habits, but experience difficulties in maintaining a strict diet.

Healthy Eating Every Day uses a unique approach to help people improve their eating habits. I knew I needed to go beyond telling people what to eat. People generally know what they should eat. But that knowledge often doesn’t translate into actually eating the way they should.

This personalised, habit-changing programme tackles the underlying causes of unhealthy eating and introduces the tools to help people counter them. I am excited to be offering Healthy Eating Every Day, because it empowers people to change their eating habits permanently and it fits my mission of helping people improve their health in effective, realistic ways.

In each session of the program, participants uncover a new skill that they can carry into their daily lives to make changes gradually for long-term results. These skills include the following:

• Identifying and learning to overcome triggers to unhealthy eating
• Learning to make healthy food choices at work, at home, when travelling, when shopping for food, and while dining out
• Discovering how to eat well, even when life is hectic
• Discerning the truth about nutrition information in the media

Healthy Eating Every Day also provides a personalised and sensible approach to eating well that people enjoy and can live with. People choose to work on any of five different goal areas, based on their needs, lifestyles and personal preferences. The programme doesn’t place restrictions on any foods; rather people learn to eat a balanced diet while still enjoying foods they like.





For further information or to register your interest call me on 07725 043902 or drop me an email sarah@bodymotion.org.uk