It’s mid February 2012 and it’s time for a change. The recession presents us with the perfect opportunity to look at alternative ways to improve our health without necessarily having to join a gym or spend large amounts of money on exercise equipment. These alternative methods include home exercise, diet considerations and nutritional advice.

Lifestyle changes and resolutions don’t have to start in January, and certainly shouldn’t end there. We can all make small and inexpensive changes to our lifestyles at any stage of our lives to improve our health and help avoid pain and disease.

Physical Fitness

To increase physical fitness at home there are a number of simple steps we can take to save some pennies and improve our health. These include:

  • Walking – now the weather is becoming mild, enjoy the countryside and fresh air and take a walk.
  • Jogging in place – watch your favourite television programme whilst joggin on the spot.
  • Step up – use your stairs and either walk up and down the flight or simply use the bottom step to exercise those legs.
  • Light weight lifts – use cans of sweetcorn, bags of sugar or even cartons of milk to substitute light weights to build and tone those arm muscles.
  • Squats – bend the knees and squat on the spot, holding at the bottom for a few seconds. Alternatively simply repeatedly sit down into a chair and stand up again until your feel those thighs getting a good workout.

Nutrition and Diet

The easiest way to improve your diet is to throw away the calorie counting and adopt a new fresh approach to eating. Here are a few simple tips to make the process even easier.

  • Fresh colour – don’t dwell on content but try to make your meals varied by using fresh ingredients with a variety of colours. An example would be lovely red meat steak, bright yellow sweetcorn, vibrant orange carrots and pure white new potatoes with a splash of hearty gravy or a fruity jus.
  • Take your time – eat slowly, enjoy every mouthfull and savour the taste of your meals. It takes roughly twenty minutes for the brain to register that the stomach is becoming full so take your time and give your brain the chance to respond to what you’re eating.
  • Drink water – make sure you drink plenty of water. Hunger is 80% thirst so drink plenty of water to help keep meal sizes down to healthy portions.
  • Treat yourself – maybe once a week treat yourself to something special, be it a delicious pudding or an added starter. Reward yourself for the change in lifestyle.

 

Espina Chiropractic Clinic can help improve your lifestyle by optimising your health and divising a treatment plan tailored prefectly to your individual needs. Our Oxford Chiropractor works closely with nutritional therapists and dieticians to ensure the correct advice is given to all patients requiring nutritonal guidance.

Contact Espina Chiropractic Clinic for further information on info@espina.co.uk or telephone 01235 410708.