Happy Healthy Living
Healthy living is for life, not just for January…! But how can you keep on track throughout the year?
Healthy living can be a bit of a conundrum. Most of us start off strong in January. Having polished off the mince pies and leftover turkey, it’s easy to work up the motivation to prep a healthy meal or two. And having sat on the sofa, binging box sets and tolerating relatives, it can be an escape to get active at the gym. But as the weeks wear on, the novelty disappears.
So how do you keep on track with living a healthy lifestyle?
Start small
There’s no point starting a grueling fitness routine that’ll exhaust you by the end of the first week! Have a good think about your fitness levels before you begin and try to plan exercises that will be manageable, and that you’ll be able to stick to.
If you’ve been inactive for a while, it’s best to ease in slowly. Find achievable exercises and work your way up: perhaps start with a short walk, then gradually increase the distance. Or, if you’ve jogged before, start with a mixture of walking and slow jogging, and work your way up to longer runs.
Have fun
You’re much more likely to stick to an exercise routine if you enjoy it. For example, if you love being outdoors, why not incorporate this into your fitness? Walking, jogging, or running around Jersey’s coastal paths are a great way to get fit, take in some fresh air, and keep yourself active. Or, if you’re feeling brave, how about taking up year-round sea swimming? The cold water has numerous health benefits including improving the immune system, boosting cardio fitness, and giving you a natural high.
If you prefer to be indoors, but want to try something a bit different, there’s plenty of classes available locally. From boxing and dance, to yoga and aqua fitness: keep trying until you find something that suits you.
Make it consistent
It can be easy to come up with grand plans at the start of your fitness journey. But being too ambitious can often be a pitfall! Instead of planning to work out every day, make sure you include at least one rest day per week. And instead of trying to force yourself to keep to a strict diet, leave a little room for treats or meals out. You’re far more likely to stick to your healthy lifestyle if you allow yourself a little reward now and then. And as long as you make healthy choices the majority of the time, you should still enjoy the benefits.
Make healthier choices
A big part of living a healthy lifestyle is making healthier choices. With so many food brands claiming to be ‘healthy’, though, it can be hard to know where to start.
Whether it’s swapping fried foods for grilled, cutting back on sugary snacks, or switching bacon rolls for a lunchtime salad, there’s plenty of ways that you can improve your diet. Our top suggestions include:
Eat more protein
Protein will help you to feel fuller for longer, giving your body important nutrients and helping to get you through without the need to snack between meals. From chicken breast to plant-based proteins, there’s options to suit every diet.
Fill up on fruits and veggies
We should all be aiming to eat at least five portions of fruit and veg per day – and some sources recommend even more. They contain essential nutrients to keep our bodies functioning as they should, to give you energy, and to boost concentration and alertness. Add veggies to every meal, and enjoy fruit as a snack.
Don’t cut the calories (too much)
If you’re trying to lose weight, you’ll need to consume fewer calories than your body is burning. But drastically cutting calories isn’t the way to go. Significantly reducing your food intake could make you feel unwell, is unlikely to be sustainable, and may mean that you put weight back on as soon as you start to eat ‘normally’ again. Instead, think about your portion sizes and about the nutritional value of what you consume. Eat mindfully, instead of making a dramatic change.
Control your portions
Over- or under-eating can have a big impact on your fitness. Make sure you know your portion sizes.
Make it easy
A healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean that you need to wake up at 5am to make kale protein shakes, and spend your Sunday prepping chicken breast for the week. There’s plenty of healthy choices available ready-to-eat; saving you time and making things easier.
At our cafés in St Helier and at Jersey Airport, all of our products are created to fit into a healthy lifestyle. From protein-packed salads to fruit and veg-based snacks, everything is available to Grab & Go: perfect for speed and convenience. And every product has the ingredients and calorie information clearly labelled, to help you make healthy choices easily.