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11/23/20

#66 Healthy Habits During the Silly Season

 Having good habits that are part of a routine is so important during the silly season.

My morning and evening routines are non-negotiable. I have them written in my diary and love ticking them off as I go along. I really believe the key is in writing them down! Think about the habits you can change at this time of year. 

Morning Rituals (Monday - Friday )

  • 5:30 am Wake Up, Coffee in my travel mug, off to the gym
  • 40-50 minute work out (I add in ten minutes of HIIT cardio on a SPIN bike three times a week)
  • Walk with the dogs for 40-60 minutes
  • 10 minutes of yoga. I'll be honest, I don't love it but I want to be flexible and I really don't want to hunch and shuffle as I age.
  • Journal and cross-off the rituals above 
  • Plan my food for the day
  • Start my workday  

Evening Rituals (Monday - Friday)

  • Reflection on the daily tasks I've completed and those that I haven't managed to get to. For the ones I haven't been able to do, block in time in my diary when I think I am going to able to achieve them. Clear my emails and put a line under my workday. I need to do this to help my mind settle at the end of the day and stop me from thinking about work instead of winding down
  • Take the dogs for a walk for about an hour
  • Evening Meetings if I have any scheduled. Often these are zoom calls as part of any programs running 
  • Water the plants
  • Jump in the spa
  • Plan food for the next day (check I have what I need for tomorrow)

My weekends are a little different, on Saturday mornings I go for a run, and on Sunday I try to get to the market. 

Now write your's down. For me this is key! You might not have as much time as I do but make a plan and practice it for seven days. Make a few tweaks then do it for 30 days. After 30 days, reflect on it and change it to suit. I change mine all the time and it's important to reflect to make sure your routine works for you and you're able to stick to it. 

Then give yourself a reward for sticking to it.

Alcohol

There are few options for some healthier decisions around alcohol especially as we slide into the silly season. We covered alcohol in more depth in last week's blog #65.

A good option is to try not drinking from Monday to Thursday or if you do still drink during the week, make some changes in what you are drinking and how much. 

If you have a beer, a stubby, that's 150 calories. If you swap that out for a low alcohol beer, you've gone down the 70 calories and removed a unit of alcohol that stops you from burning fat. Try using part beer, part zero sprite, or a sugar-free mixer. I still feel like I'm drinking because I have a shandy and I've removed a kilo of fat across a month even if I only drink twice a week. 

An RTD is on average 250 calories. 250 calories is a Krispy Kreme donut. I'm not going to eat 5 donuts in an evening so I'm certainly not going to drink the same calories either. Long White or Clean Collective RTDs are only around 80 calories so a great swap option. Even better, pour yourself your own nip and top it up with a zero or sugar-free mixer or sparkling/soda water. You've moved from a drink that's 250 calories to one closer to 50 calories! Over time, this can equate to 4-5kgs of extra weight you aren't putting on or trying to exercise off, across the year.

 

Snacks including Potato Chips (Crisps) and Crackers 

When you make these choices, take a look at what's on the back of the packet in the nutritional table. Pay close attention to what makes up each 100g. 

Bluebird Ripple Chips are 34% fat or 34g of fat per 100g. I should get 4 serves out of a bag of chips at 40g per serve. That's 220 calories per serve. 

Shifting down to Kumura chips instead of a standard potato chip and your shifting down to 23% fat or move from 220 calories to 200 calories for a 40g serving.

Fantastic Seaweed Crackers your shifting to 145 calories for a 40g serve (that's about two rows). You're still getting an insulin spike which is going to make you want to keep eating more.

Poppadoms are my go-to at 128 calories. They're made from lentil flour and I microwave for 10 sec each side so they puff up. I can have four of these for the same calories but typically will only end up snacking on one or two. 

If you want to make even better choices you can simply swap out standard snacks for chopped-up vegetables like Celery, Cucumber, and Baby Tomatoes that way you are getting some great nutrition at the same time!