Looking for a quick hit of health motivation? These three experts can help…
Our 30 days of wellness may soon be wrapping up, but it’s not too late to #StartBetter. Whether your fitness, nutrition habits or state of mind need a boost (or all three), we have some quickfire advice from a trio of infectiously positive health hotshots to inspire you to see the light at the end of the January tunnel.
Fitness- Calgary Avansino
Calgary ’s a California girl at heart who has lived in London for 14 wonderful years. She was raised in a family that passionately valued positive eating and a healthy lifestyle so she grew up believing in the power of good food, exercise and life balance. Her website is soon to launch, encompassing videos, tips, recipes and everyday advice for healthy living. She recently launched a line of healthy vegetable juices with Itsu and is working on a range of delicious and nutritious snacks that will be unveiled later in 2015. In addition, she’s writing a lifestyle book that will be published in 2016. Oh, and she’s expecting a baby. Her ultimate fitness tips are as follows...
1. Don’t allow yourself to get stuck in an exercise rut. If you do the same routine day in and day out your muscles and brain get complacent (and bored!) - you’ll have a much harder time improving your fitness level and your body. Aim to mix it up, don’t do the same thing more than twice a week! Your physique will thank you.
2. Find a reliable exercise buddy who will motivate you to stick to your plans, work harder with a little competition and help you to have more fun along the way.
3.Treat yourself to some new kit: printed leggings, a perfectly fitted sports bra or a new pair of sneakers is one of the best incentives you can give yourself.
4. Never head out on a run or a trip to the gym without a kickass playlist charged and ready on your phone. Sometimes it’s all you need to go that extra mile.
5. Try to push yourself beyond what you are comfortable doing. A light jog is never a bad thing but improvement only really happens when you exert yourself way beyond your comfort zone. Work so hard that you don’t think you can do one more move - that’s where change happens!
Nutrition- Madeleine Shaw
Even without changing your diet, Madeleine’ s boundless energy will rub off on you. She’s passionate about living life to the full- that means moving, thinking and eating positively. A qualified nutritional health coach with a sideline in yoga, Madeleine helps her clients to become healthier and happier without diets or deprivation. Many celebrities can vouch for her glow-inducing approach, as can the league of food and wellness fans that devour her blog.
Madeleine’s monthly supper club (healthy pizza anyone?) goes down a storm, with demand for her wholesome, delicious recipes so high that she’s currently writing her first book, to be published in Spring 2015. In the meantime soak up her five healthy living hints…
1. Start the day with warm water and lemon- it’s incredibly cleansing and detoxifying.
2. Always dress your green veg with olive oil to make your salad tasty and to properly absorb all the fat soluble vitamins they contain.
3. Swap your 4pm chocolate bar for half an avocado with fresh lemon and chilli flakes, as this will curb your cravings and boost your energy.
4. Laugh everyday, a happy body is a healthy body!
5. Sleep between 10pm to 6am. I’ve found that the hours before midnight count double to those after.
Mind- Jacqueline Hurst
Jacqueline is a renowned life coach, speaker and teacher rapidly making her mark in the self-development world. She is a leader in her field of mind-management, coaching people on how to think more positively and productively to achieve their goals and lead great lives.
Jacqueline is passionate about helping people and she particularly specializes in emotional eating issues and body image problems. Jacqueline’s “Life Class”, which teaches people to become life coaches or take their own personal journey to manage their mind effectively, launched this month. We’re doing some serious forward thinking and booking a space stat- we all get stuck from time to time and Jacqueline is a whiz at helping you to move onwards and upwards. Reflect on her advice to shift any mental blocks...
1. Think better. Your thoughts are SO important - good thoughts generate GOOD feelings. Positive thoughts generate positive feelings. Mind management is key to starting better. Think good thoughts!
2 .Fall in love with your life. We only have now, so be grateful for every single day. Every day is a gift- use it wisely.
3. Choose to be kind to yourself. Treat yourself exactly as you would someone you really love.
4. Think bigger and better – dream big. If your dreams don’t scare you, you are not thinking big enough!
5. Remember that fear is four letter word, you have one life, so grab every opportunity, believe in yourself and go for it!
This feature was written in partnership with Clinique
Do you plan to incorporate one (or all!) of these tips into your daily life? How have you been getting on with your 30 days of wellness? Tell us on Twitter or send us a picture on Instagram