Health - Small Actions Matter

11 August 202218 August 2022

Get fit, get healthy, get disciplined for your own good

Yes, it’s that time of year again. It’s hot, it’s stuffy and I’m sweaty. It’s summer time in the northern hemisphere and it’s hot right now. That can only mean one thing: time to reach a healthy weight and then stay there.

Just like last year… and the year before and the year before.

Why would it be different this year?

This year is different because this year matters.

There are increasing food prices for one and increasing petrol prices on top of that. Inflation has only started and technological unemployment will continue reducing job opportunities. That is why this year matters and every year from now on.

The main reason for getting healthy is the fact that a healthy mind needs a healthy body. After all, the brain is a part of your body. Therefore, it’s necessary to keep both of them running as well as possible.

Just look at Julia ‘Hurricane’ Hawkins who recently set a new world record – in the newly established 105+ category. Yes, she is 105 and only took up sprinting at age 100, after leaving cycling time trials behind because “there wasn’t anyone left my age to compete with“. I just hope I’ll be as fit and healthy as she is at her age.

Exercise also makes you feel good and is as effective as anti-depressants in mild to moderate cases. The endorphins created by your brain whilst engaging in exercise will give you a confidence and mood boost. When I was younger and went running every morning, I used to call it my “happy juice” that I ran on.

Most importantly, exercise makes you more disciplined. It may not feel like it in the beginning when you start out but stick with it. The more often you work out, the more energy you will get from it. Keep doing your exercise of choice every day. Start where you are, no matter where that is on the fitness scale. Simply start and then turn it into a habit. Do it every day. Sometimes it may be as little as a few minutes, sometimes it may be a few hours.

A lot has to be said about working out at approx. 80% of capacity. This does not mean that you are slacking off or that you are holding back. It simply means that you are working out in a way so that you can work out again the next day and then the day after and then the day after again. It also allows you to listen to your body better since you should not ever be in a situation to need half a week in pain to recover from any specific workout.

YES, you absolutely can go full out and hit your 100% effort. However, keep that for race day / competition day. Even professional sportspeople won’t go to 100% effort every time and keep their best performances for when it counts.

Let me say it again: Consistency is key.

Keep working out regularly and build a habit. Once the habit is established, you no longer have to think about it, you will simply do it because it is what you do every day. That is ultimately what discipline is all about: doing what is good for you even if it means establishing a new habit over a few weeks and months.

Discipline ultimately leads to a better life overall. If you are disciplined with keeping fit, chances are discipline will spill over into other areas in your life. Of course, this is helped by feeling better and being healthier… and this is how positive spirals start. One day you go for a longer walk, a month later you jog for a few minutes and start taking a course; a couple of years later you run a marathon and get your perfect job.

What is it that you will achieve with a little discipline?

7 July 202222 July 2022

Sleep: a luxury or a necessity?

Last night, I couldn’t sleep. I don’t know why but sometimes I find it really hard to sleep well. I go to bed, I’m tired and looking forward to a good night’s rest. Yesterday, I still looked forward to it about 2 hours later when I check how long it’s been since I went to bed. My next move was to start reading. Yesterday, I read for only 45 minutes but previously, I managed to finish a whole book before sunrise and getting up groggy and disheartened.

This is annoying, frustrating and maddening.

It’s frustrating because I didn’t even drink coffee yesterday. I went to bed at my usual time, followed my usual bedtime routine and it still didn’t work. Two hours into lying awake and listening to the muffled night time noises, I even got up and took a dose of Melotonin, in the hope that it would help me enter that elusive dream land. I did fall asleep for a little while but kept waking up sporadically.

Why am I so frustrated by insufficient sleep? you ask.

I am frustrated because I have been cleaning up my old bad sleep habits over the past few years. I actively went out there learning why sleep is important for physical health and mental health such as your mood. I read up on the healing process which only takes place during deep sleep. I learnt what to do to get good sleep from blackout curtains to the right temperature for sleeping to eye masks to using blue light blocking glasses before bedtime etc. Keep in mind that a study found that “restricted sleep affects facial appearance negatively and decreases others’ willingness to socialize with the sleep-restricted person.“

I felt I was doing all I can. So what went wrong?

Simple. Stress and bad habits. Better said: stress and one bad habit which seems hard to shake off. My main vice has always been to push late into the night, go to bed too late and not getting enough sleep. I was forever trying to finish something even if there is very little chance that it will actually be done without needing rework. Last week, I had two nights in a row doing that when my partner and I published our first video game. It felt great at the time to finish something we had been working on for a long time. However, I’m pretty sure this has thrown my circadian rhythm off kilter and I’m still suffering the consequences even if they weren’t noticeable immediately.

Did you know, it is just as important to go to bed at the same time time every day than it is to get up at the same time every day?

So my intention is to go back to good sleep habits and go to bed at the same time every day once and for all. I even set an alarm clock for bed time starting today 🙂

Are you happy with your sleep? I hope you are but if not, what will you do to improve your sleep?

1 July 202222 July 2022

Dry July is back and I’m excited about it

Yes, it’s this time of year where the sun is out, everyone seems to meet at the riverside, beach or the local park and summer drinks are everywhere. I can’t wait! After two years of COVID restrictions and staying mostly indoors and away from people, I am really looking forward to a more “normal” summer. This year, I not only want a normal summer, I want a super summer and my first step is to start with Dry July.

Lemonade mocktail (Photo by Geraud pfeiffer from Pexels)

You heard me right: I want to abstain from alcohol for a whole month. I wouldn’t describe myself an alcoholic but who would say that of themselves? Also, many people regularly drink more than I do. This should not be an excuse though. I think it would do me good to be sober for a few weeks and learn from the experience. It shouldn’t be hard, after all, 4 weeks pass quickly. Besides, I’m not the only one who is choosing July as the go to month considering that “Dry July” rhymes.

Have you ever heard of Dry July?

I actually hadn’t but I still wanted a month without alcohol. Given the “Dry July” rhyme, I thought I’ll search if others are doing it already and I was not disappointed. In Australia, the Dry July Foundation has been going since 2008 and raised over AUD 250.000 in the first year and already over AUD 580.000 this year. What an achievement!

July is not just any month either, no! July is a month with 31 days so it’s a lot longer than say February. It is also the main summer school holiday month in the Northern hemisphere. In some regions of Spain, the holidays in July are summarized as “Festivos de julio” and the locals party for a full 3 weeks straight!

Can I do it?

I think I can. I successfully completed two “Dry January” months already and never struggled. The best result of this month was that I slept better and lost weight (about half a pound) over that month. That in itself was worth it. Yes, I was younger then but surely, age and experience will work in my favor? If not that, then the fact that I’m calmer now with fewer opportunities to go out and party.

Quick side note: I am doing this month off for personal reasons. I guess, I am trying to prove to myself that I actually can do it. No more, no less. No hidden reasons, no intention of forcing my little experiment onto others. It’s just my month off.

Right now, I’m planning how to get around being tempted to drink and it seems easy enough. In summer time, I sometimes enjoyed a Gin&Tonic, so I simply leave out the gin. Simple. There are also numerous mocktails available, that I won’t have a hard time choosing. With nice dinners out, red wine was my typical go to drink. My plan is to swap it out for tea and infusions (hot or cold but most certainly without sugar and sweeteners). The flavors should give me the same sensation as wine without the buzz.

In summary, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be to go for a whole month without alcohol.

How about you? Will you join me and thousands of others in Dry July?

23 June 202222 July 2022

Fasting and it’s many benefits

Throughout my life, I’ve only eaten one meal a day and at most one meal and a snack. The main reason was simple: I don’t enjoy cooking and didn’t have the time to spend on food preparation. Besides, at times, I didn’t have a lot of money and my food budget was one of the first things to be cut which meant that there simply wasn’t more than one meal that day, usually cheap pasta or rice.

Over the years, as my life changed, I started to eat a more “normal” way and guess what: I gained weight… and a lot of it. With the weight gain came health issues, a drop in energy and other negative impacts on my life. Now what?

About 18 months ago, I was told that I had three tumors and that nothing could be done about them. The only way to deal with them – so I was told – is to sit, wait and watch. If they grew or not and if they grew, how fast. I was not impressed and spent the next few days (weeks?) wallowing in self pity before going on the offensive.

I started reading up on my situation and how to deal with it in the most natural way possible. After all, I want to help my body heal itself and not load up on more chemicals which caused the tumors in the fist place.
Side note: as a result, I changed cleaning products, toothpaste, moth repellents… Let me know in the comments if you have positive experiences with cutting out unnecessary harmful chemicals.

For the next few months, I tried all sorts of diets, supplements, relaxation techniques etc before I stumbled across a growing number of people (including medical doctors) who advocate for intermittent fasting. One of my favorite book titles is “The Energy Paradox: What to Do When Your Get-Up-and-Go Has Got Up and Gone“. I suggested it to my partner who then promptly adopted intermittent fasting without me ever asking.
Side note: I am not sponsored by any of these people, organizations and companies. I merely mention them because they may be of interest to you. Please always make up your own mind. For me, I replaced cows milk with goats milk and I can have Caffè lattes again.

Intermittent fasting, in a nutshell, is when you eat during a certain number of hours and don’t eat (aka fast) during the rest. One of the better known versions is the 8-16 where you eat during 8 hours and then fast for 16 hours. If that sounds hard, it isn’t really. After all, on 8-16, you can fit breakfast in at 10am, lunch at 1pm and then finish dinner by 6pm. That is when I realized that possibly I simply need to go back to my old lifestyle to get back to my old healthy self. After all, there are plenty of health benefits of intermittent fasting which are being investigated and discussed in the medical community right now.

So, I am back to eating once a day at lunchtime on most days and sometimes I will have breakfast. I’m not very tall so it’s easy for me to get all the energy and nutrients I need from that one meal. Most importantly, it saves a lot of time in the kitchen and additionally, it gives me more energy. You heard right. Despite having a slightly larger meal, I don’t feel the post-lunch slump. I also don’t feel hungry – not a single time, never. My body seems to be happy to have only one meal and then digest it for the rest of the day.

Summer vegetable & pesto rose tart (Recipe: BBC Good Food)

What’s more, I am sleeping a lot better and that means I wake up without an alarm clock again. For me, sleep is really important and I am so happy that I no longer toss and turn before falling asleep or wake up in the middle of the night. Also my (menopausal?) night sweats have disappeared at long last. I am so happy 🙂

I am confident that intermittent fasting is good for me and I am ready to take the next step. This Saturday, I will be fasting the whole day. How exciting!

Try intermittent fasting for yourself! Leave out breakfast or dinner and tell us in the comments how you got on.