It's time to shed old habits that hinder your wellbeing for a better you this new year. Photo / 123rf
Personal trainer Samantha Bluemel shares her top tips to help you prioritise your health and wellness in a way that will support, not hinder, the busy and unique lifestyle you lead. This week, the focus is how to take an honest look at your wellbeing.
There’s no denying it - 2024 is truly under way. You’ve likely taken a little bit of time to get back into your usual grind, the temptation to cling to your holiday state of mind slowly making room for fresh energy and perspective. It’s the perfect time to throw out old patterns that no longer serve you and tackle new ways of doing things in the pursuit of your goals.
And this is exactly our cue to pause and ask: ‘What does my usual grind look like? And how does it support my health and vitality both now, and well into the future?’
Taking a step back and objectively looking at the habits and patterns that currently make up your lifestyle offers powerful insights into the unique barriers that might be in your way. From there, you can start to make small, directional changes to nudge you back on to a path that supports the best version of yourself.
To understand how your lifestyle is driving your overall health, we’re going to dive into the four pillars of wellbeing that were discussed last week and consider the habits that are having an impact on each one. The idea is to take a mental snapshot of where you’re at now, and to start identifying areas where there are improvements you can make over time. Bonus points for writing things down as you go.
A fresh approach or renewed motivation to get your body moving each day can be an instant game-changer. Exercise is the first port of call for me if I’m feeling like I’ve hit a bit of a lifestyle rut; the way its positive effect ripples out into every other area of my life is incredibly gratifying.
Use the World Health Organisation’s exercise recommendations for a healthy adult as a baseline to determine how you currently compare. These are:
How does your week stack up when it comes to hitting the above recommendations? If we break things down, that could look something like this across your week:
Or you might enjoy running, which falls into the higher-intensity category, or perhaps you’d rather head out for a hike on the weekends, which will soak up more of your cardio fitness time. There are infinite ways to break this down.
Make a note of what you’re regularly doing now, and any gaps you can identify between that and the recommended baseline from the WHO.
The whale of wellbeing - our nutrition habits can help or hinder us every time we’re hungry, every single day. Healthy, balanced nutrition habits are reflected in your energy, digestion, immunity, body weight and, more often than not, the absence of any chronic issues caused by a less-than-ideal diet. To avoid overcomplicating things, here are a few easy touchpoints to review in your lifestyle:
Eating the rainbow: Do you typically include a decent mix of fruits and vegetables in your meals every day?
Home cooked meals: How often are you eating out versus eating home-cooked/pre-prepared meals?
Carbs/fats/protein balance: Do you consider a healthy balance of these three macronutrients in every meal? A good rule of thumb is to divide your plate into one quarter of carbs, one quarter of protein and two quarters of vegetables, with healthy fats included, like oil used for cooking, or nuts and seeds for garnishing.
80/20 rule: Limiting treats to 20 per cent of your weekly consumption is a very helpful way to enjoy the things you love while sticking to your overall lifestyle goals. How often do things like processed foods, refined sugar and alcohol sneak into your week?
Energy requirements: A simple calorie calculator is a good place to start in understanding how much we actually need to consume in order to flourish. This is different for every one of us. Healthline has a good one on its website - give it a try, and see if you can estimate what your average day looks like in comparison.
Make a note of how your nutrition typically pans out each week and any areas for improvement.
Getting good-quality sleep is essential for a raft of its own health benefits - but more relevant in the context of today’s discussion is the impact it has on our ability to follow through on nutrition and fitness commitments the following day. You’ll know if you’re regularly getting a good night’s sleep or not, but think about the routine that surrounds this essential period of rest and recovery.
Are you in the habit of going to bed late, after spending hours in front of a screen, only to wake up at the very last second possible before you need to get ready for your day? A solid morning routine to set you up for the day and night ahead does wonders to increase sleep quality. Ask yourself:
These are important to note down now before you start factoring in more supportive daily patterns.
Understanding the difference between healthy or normal stress and the prolonged, creeping type of stress that impacts everything else around it can be a steep learning curve. A healthy stress response is short-term and usually fades quickly as your body returns to homeostasis (balance/stability). Longer-term stress shows up daily and requires closer management.
Ask yourself how much impact stress is having on your lifestyle right now - where and when does it occur, and what is its unique impact on your day-to-day?
Do you have any practices that you implement regularly to avoid stress, like a daily mindfulness or breath practice, or any hobbies that release stress before it can take over?
Make a note regarding how you’re feeling about your stress levels and any problems you can identify that might cause said stress.
If you’ve been working through this exercise thinking that it’s too much to consider at once, don’t despair. Lifestyle changes need not take over your entire life. In fact, charging off on a mission to become a perfect human in every way overnight is only going to hinder any real long-term progress. Next week, we’ll look at how to approach changing your lifestyle in a realistic way, with small steps that stack up over time to result in a powerfully positive shift.
For now, soak up our beautiful summer weather and get outdoors as much as you can. Daydream a little about the version of yourself you want to become. This is your year, and it’s all within reach, I promise.
Samantha Bluemel is a personal trainer and the founder of new Ponsonby fitness studio Mode.
See the first story in the series here.
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