When it comes to our health and fitness, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. The options are endless, the confusion is palpable and it can be tricky to know where to start. But if you’re a woman looking to optimise health, here’s 3 things you should know.
1. Lift heavy stuff
There are many reasons for this: resistance training helps you build lean muscle, it helps you build stronger bones and it helps you burn more calories.
For women it’s especially important as we lose 5% of our muscle mass every decade. And that starts in our 30s! We need to work to reverse this atrophy so that we can optimise health, and live full and active lives.
The way to achieve this is resistance training – lifting heavy stuff. You don’t need fancy equipment or complex movements. In our classes, we use a kettlebell (or two!) and simple but effective exercises, like squats and lunges. This method of exercising gives your body a clear signal that it needs to adapt and build stronger muscles.
And the good news is that you don’t even need much time. A recent study found that 1 to 2 hours per week is effective at warding off many diseases like diabetes or obesity.
2. Eat proper food
We live in an obesogenic environment. Our food is designed to be easily accessible, extremely palatable, and easy to consume. Millions of £££s go into developing this kind of food and making it completely irresistible.
This ultra-processed food is bad news if we want to optimise health. It is exactly the type of food we should be eating less of. Although ironically it takes up around 80% of a supermarket’s floor space.
We should instead be eating more vegetables, fruit, nuts, pulses, and good sources of protein too.
My top tip here is to try to eat as close to nature as possible – so nuts and fruits rather than a cereal bar. Chicken breast rather than chicken nuggets. Fruit rather than fruit juice.
3. Prioritise rest
Now I know that for some readers with young children, this might seem impossible. But let me tell you why this is important.
When you lift heavy stuff, you damage your muscles. This is the signal your body needs to build back stronger. And this building can only happen when you are resting.
The other reason is this: bad sleep = unbalanced hormones, especially the hormones that regulate fullness and cravings. This might mean you’re more likely to crave sugary treats, making it harder to stick to No. 2 above.
So if you want to optimise health: prioritise your sleep. Put your phone away, leave the tidying for tomorrow, switch off the telly.
And get yourself to bed early instead.
BONUS TIP!
Here’s a bonus tip to optimise health: avoid overhauling too much in one go. Instead pick something small to change first. Make it as small change, so small that you cannot fail to achieve it.
Some of my favourite examples to start with are:
- Ensure protein and vegetables with at least 1 meal per day
- Go outside for at least 30 mins a day.
- Go to bed 20 minutes earlier than usual.
It should feel like an easy change. One that you can do consistently. And once you achieve it, you’ll feel amazing. And you’ll be excited to do more!
And you’ll be amazed at how quickly these little changes add up.
