Health & Lifestyle: Top 5 Healthy Lifestyle Tips

 

Deciding to live a healthier life is about much more than just losing weight. Going on diets and creating short-term exercise plans can work for quickly achieving weight loss goals, but while losing weight can be beneficial for your health, improving your lifestyle in the long term is the best option. By improving your lifestyle with these tips, you can stay at a healthy weight consistently and also feel more energized and positive day-to-day.

Start exercising

Exercise is incredibly important for your health because it can lower your risk of serious complications such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and even cancer. Additionally, exercise increases flexibility and mobility, making it easier for you to complete certain physical tasks. Since exercise releases endorphins, it can also improve your mood and reduce stress, and this is all in addition to the aesthetic benefits of exercise such as becoming slimmer and more toned.

Regarding this last point, many people take up exercise in order to improve their confidence by getting in shape. However, you may find this difficult if you have a lot of excess skin from previous weight loss as exercise can’t completely tighten up this extra skin. In this case, you may benefit from abdominoplasty (a tummy tuck) to remove this excess skin if it becomes an issue for you.

Eat a balanced diet

Crash dieting may help you lose a bit of weight before an important event, but it’s not sustainable or good for your health. Although it doesn’t produce the instant results that many people crave, a balanced, healthy diet that you can stick to in the long term is much better for you. This means that instead of cutting out unhealthy foods entirely, you simply reduce your consumption of them and replace them with healthy cooked meals and snacks like fruit between meals if necessary. Banning foods often just leads to cravings and a lower chance of sticking to a healthy diet, so make sure you eat appropriate amounts of each food group instead.

Get more sleep

You should aim to get around 8 hours of sleep per night if possible as this is the amount recommended by doctors. Plenty of sleep will allow your body enough time to rest and recover each night so that you feel energized the next day. Sleep can also reduce stress and regulate your hormones and blood sugar levels, which are important health benefits. It has even been proven that chronic sleep deprivation can shorten your life expectancy!

Drink water

Water is absolutely essential for our bodies. Water carries nutrients around our bodies and helps to get rid of waste and toxins, and since we are constantly losing water through sweating and urination, we need to replace it throughout the day. Rather than drinking sugary drinks that are bad for your health, try to drink more water instead.

Focus on mental health

Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. To improve your mood and reduce stress, it’s important to practice mindfulness and take time each day to do some self-care and things you enjoy. A healthy mind and a healthy body go hand in hand.

Living a healthy lifestyle can help you avoid diseases and live a long and happy life. Try following the advice listed above to see how this can help you!

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Health & Lifestyle: New Nordic Hair Volume Supplements, Hair Volume plus Nail Strong & Hair Volume Gummies - 3 Month Trial Review

Supplements are always big news during January, as many of us wish to boost our health for the new year ahead, and the demand for beauty specific supplements continues to grow. For the past three months, I've been trialling three different supplements from New Nordic to help address a common concern: thinning hair.

Thick hair, like good skin, is often partly down to genetics and unfortunately, I wasn't blessed with masses of hair akin to a Disney Princess. That said, I was pretty happy with my hair when I was younger and only started to experience problems when I hit my mid-late 20s and began to notice that it was thinning and at times, even falling out. I had some blood tests done and discovered that I was deficient in some key vitamins and minerals due to an underlying autoimmune illness which was wreaking havoc with my hormones.

Fast forward to the present day and I've experienced several cycles of hair loss over the last five years that have had a serious effect on my self-confidence and self-esteem. My illness, diet and stress levels are better managed now (though I'm still trying to figure out what triggers certain on-going issues), and my gut health has improved enormously which allows me to benefit greatly from taking supplements, so I always recommend getting some tests done first to see if you can identify any deficiencies first.

To manage my thinning hair, I take daily supplements with Biotin and Zinc and New Nordic's Hair Volume range is full of them! I've tested out the following three different formulas over the past three months to see what effects they would have.

New Nordic Hair Volume* (30 tablets, £24.95, link)

The original New Nordic Hair Volume supplement is a bestseller and contains micronutrients and natural herbal extracts to help maintain normal hair volume and growth. Each ingredient has been carefully chosen for its beneficial properties and its these bioactives that nourish and activate the life processes of hair follicle cells. Biotin and Zinc are essential for healthy hair, and Copper has an interesting quality as it contributes to normal hair pigmentation which can help to prevent premature grey hairs.

Packaged in each tablet is 300mg Apple extract (rich in procyanidin B2), 250mg Millet extract, 200mg Horsetail extract, 60mg L-cysteine and 50mg L-methionine. These are accompanied by a large amount of Biotin (475mcg which is 950% NRV), 30mg Pantothenic Acid (500% NRV), 10mg Zinc (100% NRV) and 1mg Copper (100% NRV).

The tablets are a little larger than a standard Paracetamol, but I found them easy enough to swallow with a glass of water and they can be broken into two smaller pieces if you need to. I took one a day as recommended and found them useful to prevent my hair from further thinning, so they're something that I will happily continue to take on a regular basis. These supplements are dairy and gluten-free.

New Nordic Hair Volume plus Nail Strong* (60 tablets, £29.95)

If you want an extra boost that also helps your nails in the process, the latest addition to the New Nordic range are the Hair Volume plus Nail Strong supplements. They have the same base ingredients as the original Hair Volume formula above, but also contain 200mg Orthosilic Acid (cholin-stabilised), 45mg Propolis and 20mg Pepper extract.

I'd say that the superstar ingredient here is the Orthosilic Acid which is a bioavailable form of silicon that's been proven to help strengthen brittle nails, so if yours are feeling weak or tend to break easily, this is the supplement for you!  New Nordic recommended that you take two of these tablets a day with a glass of water and they are roughly the same size as the original Hair Volume supplements. I started to see noticeable differences to my nails after just two weeks of taking them.

New Nordic Hair Volume Gummies* (60 gummies, £19.95, link)

Taking tablet-shaped supplements isn't for everyone, but don't worry, New Nordic also offer their brilliant Hair Volume formula in a much more palatable option for anyone who struggles with, or doesn't like swallowing larger tablets. These gummies are soft and chewy with a deliciously sweet apple juice flavour instead!

Enjoy two a day with a meal and you'll benefit from 150mg Apple extract, 125mg Millet extract, 100mg Horsetail extract, 475mcg Biotin (950% NRV) and 2.5mg Zinc (25% NRV). They don't quite pack the punch of the other two formulas above, but if your hair is in relatively good shape and you simply want to continue maintaining what you have, these could be useful to you. Unfortunately, the gummies are sugar and gelatine based so they're not suitable for vegans, vegetarians or diabetics.

Shop the full range of New Nordic Hair Volume supplements at newnordic.co.uk

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The Weekend Post: Can You Heal Acne With The Right Diet? #AD

The symptoms of acne vary from mild to severe, but it can impact an adult's quality of life regardless. Although there are no cures, you can find over-the-counter gels and creams to help treat this skin condition. However, by making some lifestyle changes, you can effectively reduce the symptoms and avoid breakouts. 

While more research is needed, the right diet can play a positive role in preventing breakouts. For example, some evidence has shown that a person suffering from acne can prevent breakouts by consuming more omega-3 fatty acids and cut out dairy products from their diet. If you are suffering from mild to severe acne, make sure you read this article for the best treatment options. 

What causes acne? 

While your skin's role is to naturally shed dead skin cells, if your body is producing too much sebum or oil, the dead skin cells can remain stuck and clog your pores. As a result, these pores become inflamed and turn into lesions. 

How does diet affect acne? 

There are some foods and fruits that you should avoid in order to prevent breakouts. These include pumpkins, potatoes, melons, pineapples, white rice, popcorn, pasta, and sugary snacks. 

Dairy is another contributor to acne breakouts. Examples include ice cream, yoghurt, cheese, and milk. Chocolates can also worsen the symptoms because of their high sugar content. 

Foods that improve acne 

A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids can reduce breakouts and even improve the symptoms of acne. Some of these foods are: 

• oily fish 

• organic eggs 

• spinach and kale 

• broad beans 

• grass-fed beef 

• nuts, such as pistachios, pecans, walnuts, and almonds 

• chia seeds 

• brown or black rice 

Following an anti-acne diet plan 

By following an anti-acne diet for a few weeks or longer, you will be able to find out which foods are triggering your breakouts. Make sure you bring your anti-acne food diary with you when you see a dermatologist. Remember that diet changes don’t show their results right away. You must be patient as it can take up to 3 months for the dietary change to take effect on your skin. One good example of an anti-acne diet plan is the Mediterranean diet, which consists of fish, healthy oils, nuts, and seeds. You should consider following this diet for a few weeks to see if it makes a difference to your skin. 

Acne treatment options 

There are many over-the-counter and prescription medications available to treat acne. For example, topical acne treatments are the most common type of treatment available. Some topical creams or gels include benzoyl peroxide or retinol as their main ingredient. They work by killing the bacteria on the skin while decreasing sebum levels. 

Oral acne treatment comes in the form of prescribed medication for red or swollen spots. These antibiotic medications kill bacteria and reduce inflammation. 

To further minimise breakouts, you must wash your face in the morning and before you go to bed, as well as after exercising or sweating. If you have an oily scalp, wash your hair regularly and always use gentle skincare products. 

To avoid breakouts, make sure you don't overexpose your skin to the sun and never pick your spots. Stress is another contributing factor since it causes the body to produce androgen, a sebaceous producing hormone, which causes acne. 

The bottom line 

Acne is an aggravating skin condition no matter what your age. But this doesn’t mean you have to live with it. If all the above suggestions don’t work for you, see your dermatologist, who can come up with the best treatment option for you depending on the severity of symptoms.

[This is a sponsored post - stock imagery from Pixelbay]

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Health & Lifestyle: A Healthy Haul from LoveLula.com

Many of you will be familiar with shopping online at LoveLula for natural and organic beauty, but did you know that they also stock a range of healthy food supplements too? Here's my latest health haul from them featuring KIKI Health, PureChimp, Neocell and Terra Nova.

KIKI Health Organic Carob Powder* (185g, £7.95, link)

If you're a healthy chocolate fan, you probably already have a jar of Carob Powder in your cupboard. Similar to Cacao, Carob Powder has a sweet, but milder chocolate-like flavour. It's derived from the Carob Tree where raw, unroasted beans are left to dry and ferment naturally in the tropical sun, before being ground down into a fine powder. This one from KIKI Health is 100% organic, high in dietary fibre and can be used in virtually the same way as Cacao. I like stirring a spoonful into porridge, sprinkling a little over Kefir or Skyr yoghurts, making hot chocolate, and it's brilliant in baking too as a substitute for cocoa powder if you want a chocolate flavour without the sugar!

PureChimp Matcha Green Tea* (50g, £9.95, link)

Matcha is something of an acquired taste, but if your tastebuds like it, a Matcha Latte is a great way to start your day. This now trendy healthy drink has been enjoyed in Japan for centuries and its benefits range from boosting the metabolism and improving your concentration, to clearing up minor skin problems and helping to keep blood sugar levels stable. Rich in antioxidants and essential vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin C, Zinc, Magnesium and Selenium, it's easy to see why Matcha is so popular. I've tried various different brands and have found that no two Matchas taste the same so it's often a case of trying a few and seeing which one you prefer. PureChimp is an excellent, high-quality ceremonial tea grade Matcha from Japan and they donate 5% of their profits to charity. It has a clean, very strong Green Tea flavour and can be easily whipped up into a Matcha Latte - check out my 'How To' here. You can bake with it as well!

Terra Nova Zinc 15mg Complex* (100 capsules, £12, link)

When shopping for food supplements such as vitamins and minerals, I always recommend buying from brands that don't use any 'rubbish' in their capsules, as a lot of the cheaper ones are full of unnecessary additives, fillers and bulking ingredients such as chalk. Terra Nova are a good one to look out for and I've purchased their products for years. They have a huge range available and something that I take as a supplement every day is their Zinc 15mg Complex. This vegan-friendly formula uses a Magnifood Complex for enhanced bioavailability and contains Rice Bran, Spirulina, Pumpkin Seed and Acai Berry. One a day is all you need so it's an affordable, high-quality supplement to pick up if you have a zinc deficiency. 

Neocell Beauty Bursts 2000mg Collagen* (60 chews, £19.99, link)

Looking for a beauty collagen supplement with a difference? Try these Neocell Beauty Bursts which taste like fruity Chewits! They help to provide bioactive collagen peptides to the body, which, along with Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid, support the body's natural collagen production which declines as you get older. These are great if you're concerned about the visible first signs of ageing (such as fine lines, wrinkles and loss of elasticity in the skin), and they're free from GMOs, Gluten and Soy. 

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My Health & Fitness Journey: 10 Things I've Learnt and How I've Lost Weight (No Crash Diets!)

For those of you that follow me on Instagram, you may have seen me post a couple of health and fitness updates throughout the past year. Many of you have been asking me what exercise I do, how often, how I've lost weight etc, so I thought I'd compile a special feature on here to share what I've been doing.

A Little Background Info

Last year I turned 31, and a month or so before, I witnessed a relative spend some time in hospital. It triggered something in me - it was time to start thinking about the future properly and addressing some ongoing health concerns which had been progressively getting worse. Throughout my 20s, I've been battling an autoimmune illness which has meant that I'm prone to getting regular bouts of cold and flu, and has at times, left me thoroughly exhausted and bedridden with my whole body aching. My migraines and eczema flare-ups were becoming more severe and frequent, I was having lots of stomach pains and was eventually diagnosed with IBS, and my mental health was suffering due to Stress, Depression and Anxiety. On top of all that, my weight was continuing to go up and up which only added to all of the above problems and my self-esteem and confidence was at an all-time low.

How I Got Started

I've always followed a lot of fitness people on Instagram and one day, I decided to try out a Joe Wicks HIIT workout on YouTube. It lasted 10 minutes and I could barely get through 5, that's how unfit I was. However, I was determined not to buy the next size up of jeans and started doing 10 minutes of HIIT here and there throughout the week. I gave up a lot of times, especially during the first three months, but when I started to see the physical changes, I stuck with it. The progress was a lot slower than I wanted it to be due to these constant stops and starts, so don't worry if you're the same and struggle to motivate yourself. Just treat each day as it comes and if you didn't manage to do a workout today, make sure that you do one tomorrow.

Getting Into Healthy Eating
Much of my diet throughout my 20s was mainly based on convenience foods - anything that was ready in 10 minutes was a good thing! I picked up a lot of bad habits from my family who have never been into healthy cooking, as well as from housemates (being a student doesn't help!). I watched a lot of cooking programmes on YouTube and started to mess around in the kitchen trying to recreate some of the meals. I had a 50/50 success rate in the beginning, but I'm now a much more confident cook and when I'm in the right mood, I actually enjoy it! I've tried a lot of new foods and I'm currently focusing on improving my gut health to lessen the symptoms of my IBS.

How Much Weight I've Lost
I started this about a year and a half ago and I've managed to lose just over two and a half stone, going down from a UK size 12/14 to a size 6/8 on top and size 8 on the bottom. I no longer weigh myself and now stick to taking measurements around my waist and bum every so often, but I'm pretty happy at this maintaining stage.

The Exercise I Do Now

Doing HIIT and spinning is amazing for blasting away excess fat, but I didn't feel all that stronger in myself. To remedy this, I've added in some weight training and also do Pilates and Yoga for additional strength and a healthy mind. I get bored very easily though, so I like to switch things up throughout the week to keep it interesting. I generally workout 3-4 times a week, but this does vary depending on my energy levels and overall motivation. I try not to get too stressed about it if I miss a workout as I'll try again the next day. Side note: I do all of my exercises at home as the very idea of setting foot in a gym gives me a panic attack - that's not for me! Plus it's cheaper this way anyhow ;)

10 Things I've Learnt

1. Doing 10 minutes of exercise every day is better than doing an hour-long session at the gym once a fortnight.

You don't need to spend hours in the gym to lose weight, tone up or feel physically stronger. When I started, I only did around 10 minutes of HIIT 2-3 times a week for about a month before I started getting into it and the pounds were beginning to slowly come off just by doing that. Check out Joe Wicks on YouTube and Davina McCall's Toned In 10 to get you in the right mindset.

2. Stop Making Excuses. Seriously. Just Stop It.

The one thing that I love the most about anything do to with fitness and losing weight, is that you simply can't buy the perfect body. If you want to lose weight properly and keep it off, you have to work hard at it and anyone can do it, regardless of how much money you do or don't have; whether you have kids or not. Stop making excuses and get on with it.

3. If you can spend 3 hours a day on social media, you can do 10 minutes of exercise.

If I had a £1 for every person that I see on social media complain (constantly) that they haven't got any time to do any exercise, to meal prep or to cook a proper meal at least once a week, I'd be a multi-millionaire! You do have time - stop wasting it scrolling through mindless memes and reading the comment sections - get off your phone and go and workout instead!

4. Crash Diets & Detox Teas - They Don't Work In The Long Term So Please Stop Buying Them

Sure, only drinking laxative teas for two weeks will show you a lower number on the scales, but the minute that you start eating solid food again, that figure is going to go up and you will end up putting on any weight that you temporarily lost (and usually more). They're a stupid fad and aren't a sustainable way to keep weight off, so please stop wasting your money.

5. Look After Your Gut

You may have heard about Gut Health in the news as it's been a huge wellness highlight over the past two years and when you stop to think about it, it's actually just common sense. For a good starting point, Liz Earle's The Good Gut Guide is very useful for beginners, and both Lee Holmes and Dale Pinnock have some excellent books for more in-depth guidance. I would also recommend looking into Ayurveda which has Gut Health (or 'Agni / Digestive Fire') as one of its core concepts.

One of my Foodie Friday posts - Quinoa Pizza!

6. Learn To Cook From Scratch

This time last year I barely knew how to boil an egg, but if you're serious about losing weight and improving your health, you really need to learn how to cook your own wholesome, healthy meals from scratch so that you have full control over the ingredients and portion sizes. Cooking tutorials on YouTube are brilliant and I have a stack of cookbooks from popular foodies such as Deliciously Ella and the Hemsley sisters. I also post regular Foodie Friday features on here so keep an eye out for those.

7. A Cheat Meal Is OK - A Cheat Day Is Not

If you've been sticking to your exercise routine, indulging in one cheat meal a week is not going to completely derail your fitness goals. In fact, I find that they're a good way to stay on track because it helps keep you sane mentally and combats certain cravings. However! A whole 24-hour binge day, when you haven't reached your target weight yet, will definitely cancel out any calorie deficit that you've built up over the week so just stick with the one cheat meal. 

8. Meal Prep Sunday

I've gotten into the habit of planning my meals in advance by doing some kind of meal prep on a Sunday so that I know what I'm going to be eating that following week. It stops you from wasting food and is a great way to stick to a weekly food budget. Visit your nearest charity shop to look for cheap cookbooks or check some out for free from your local library to get meal ideas. The internet is full of inspiration as well of course!

9. Ditch The Scales

I'll be the first to admit that it's easy to become fixated on what your weight is when you can see it so clearly in plain numbers on your scales, but honestly, one of the best things that I did was to throw them away. Your weight will fluctuate throughout the month (more so with women who typically carry more water weight than men, especially when you're on your period) and let's not forget that muscle weighs more than fat anyway. I found that keeping track using a tape measure around your waist, bum etc, was much more useful for my own personal goals.

10. It's Not A Diet, It's A Lifestyle

I hate the word 'diet' because it has so many negative connotations within our society and is often associated with misery and starvation. Instead, for successful weight loss where you keep it off for good, you should think of it as a lifestyle and not something temporary. I know it sounds cliched, but you want to strive to be the best version of yourself and not a yo-yo dieter who cycles between binges and deprivation. Being healthy, for body and mind, is a long-term game plan.

Going forwards: Whilst I love the fact that I've lost the extra weight and feel physically stronger, I'm still struggling with the mental health side of things and exercise alone hasn't improved my migraines as much as I'd hoped, so there's a lot I have to continue working on. It's definitely a journey but at least I've made a start!

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