Surrey Homes | SH79 | August 2021 | Adding value to your property supplement inside

Nourish to
Flourish
Wellbeing
Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach
Charlotte Lau explores how to
recapture the joy of movement
We all know that incorporating regular movement
into our daily lives has profound benefits including;
improving physical health, reducing stress,
improving our mood and gut microbiome, and reducing
high blood pressure, yet only 5-8% of us meet the baseline
recommendations of 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity
and at least 2 sessions of resistance training per week. Longer
summer days, warmer evenings and earlier sunrises may feed
your desire to move your body more, but why is committing
to regular exercise so difficult for many of us? The way society
views movement is often one dimensional and associated
with burning-off calories and almost as a punishment for
enjoying life! Try shifting your mindset and think of movement
as a way of engaging with life, doing something you love
that makes you feel good. Recently, I was persuaded to go
off-road mountain biking by my two sons; I squealed with
joy the whole way round and loved every second of it!
Give it a go... Move more, sit less
Exercise is often viewed as something that happens
separately from the rest of our lives; wearing the
right clothes, scheduled at a specific time of day
or place. How about viewing your whole life as an
opportunity to move your body? By incorporating
more movement into your existing routine, we
step away from viewing exercise as a ‘daily chore’.
The simple act of walking can be a gateway into
moving more. Be on the lookout for opportunities
to walk more; take the stairs over the lift, walk
while you make a phone call, park further away
and walk to your destination, fill any gaps of
waiting with walking. You will start to see more
and more opportunities to make moving a simple,
yet achievable part of your day and it will start to
become second nature. Simple reminders and linking
movement to an existing habit also helps with
consistency; lay your trainers out the night before,
place a dumbbell in your kitchen, do squats during
the adverts or star jumps whilst the kettle boils!
Images: istock.com/ViktorCap istock.com/koldunova
Learn to... fuel your body correctly
Fuelling your body with the correct nutrients will give you the
energy and strength you need to support increased movement.
An essential part of a healthy diet and ensuring we have the
correct calories and nutrients to carry out daily activities, is to
build your meal around a balanced plate. Use your hand as a
guide; 1 palm of protein, 1 handful of carbohydrate, 2 handfuls
of vegetables and 1 thumb of healthy fats. Carbohydrates are
your body’s main source of energy, especially true if you exercise,
so consuming the right kind of carbohydrate is important.
Focus on eating complex carbohydrates found in whole grains,
fruits, vegetables and beans. Whole grains have more staying
power than refined grains because you digest them more slowly
and fuel your body throughout the day. Protein is essential
for building and repairing muscle so choose quality sources
such as chicken, fish, eggs, beans and lentils. Moving more,
especially in warmer temperatures, also means we need to up
our fluids; good hydration sustains and enhances performance.
Charlotte runs Plume Nutrition, where she offers support and advice
for weight management, controlling cravings, sleeplessness, stress
and increasing energy levels. Find out more at plumenutrition.com
Step away from...
using movement as punishment
Gym sessions and exercise classes are just one way
of increasing the time that you move each week,
but movement doesn’t have to be a strict, gruelling
schedule or viewed as something you have to do just to
burn off calories. ‘Non-exercise activity thermogenesis’
or NEAT for short, is the energy expended on all
forms of movement, that is not sleeping, eating or
formal exercise. It is the calories you burn whilst
walking, cleaning, dancing in your kitchen, hoovering,
gardening or playing with your (grand)children! Bring
back the joy of moving your body. Think back to
when you were young, what made your heart sing
then and can you recapture that joy as an adult?
Riding a bike, skipping, dancing to your favourite
song, spending time in your garden, swimming
in the sea or simply walking and catching up with
friends. Rekindle your love for moving your body.
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