12 ways to be healthy now

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New Year's resolutions fail as time and time again. It's because we set unrealistic goals for ourselves, which aren't sustainable for our busy lives as mums. And so we've usually given up on them by mid January. It's why I've called BS on them. Hi guys, Wendy here. Welcome to the healthy and thriving career moms podcast, your weekly dose of inspiration and motivation.

for thriving with your healthy habits, especially in the midst of the crazy mum

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juggle, I get that you're busy and that taking time for you is not always easy, but I'm here to help. So let's jump in.

So hi everyone, and welcome to episode 10 of the healthy and thriving career moms podcast. I'm so delighted to have you here. And this is actually our final episode of season one. For the podcast and I'm just so grateful for all of your incredible support, your reviews, your ratings, all the lovely shares

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on social media.

ateful to you as we close out: 2021

So I'm just not going to say anything. I'm just going to tiptoe quietly into 2022, which is actually my

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40th birthday year of celebrations. And that's what I'm going to be focusing on being a healthy, thriving best version of me, Wendy Griffith. So let's get stuck in to today's juicy topic and it's one that.

Oh, it just is really a bug bear in mind at this time of year when our social media becomes absolutely flooded where it's coming at you with every email, every angle, and it's this whole new year, you need a new you and this whole thing. And I just

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can't bear it. Because as you know, I totally advocate for sustainable healthy habits to see you through your life, where every day you're getting that bit better version of yourself than you were yesterday.

It's not about needing a whole new you. It's about creating two to three healthier habits, which is why I hate that whole message at this time of year. So as a busy mom, I want healthy lifestyle habits that will be sustainable and be easy for me to implement into my life habits that

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don't add to the overwhelm and busyness of mum life, but help create time and calm through consistency.

It's why I'm into busy moms to aim for two to three healthier habits that serve your lifestyle and that give you energy and a healthy body and mind. Most importantly, to support you in achieving what you want for your. Not what you think you should be or have, or do, or all the 'should-ing' on yourself that we do as moms.

But unfortunately the new year always brings about a

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barrage of info that pushes us towards fast solutions and it plays right into our insecurities and that sort of diet culture that infiltrates our everyday. And it really makes my blood boil. And so I'm also calling BS on diets too, by the way, I don't want to diet.

I've spent far too many wasted years doing these. And diets for weight loss often felt with deprivation and lead us to wanting what we've eliminated and negative self-talk and poor self esteem. And really, we've just got to ask ourselves, for example, if we

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want to lose weight, why is that? Like, what is it that we want from that weight loss in us often the confidence and the self-esteem that we build through doing that.

e, not one where in December,: 2022

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implement more health into your life.

n a new habits resolution for: 2022

You could give to you and [00:04:30] the ones that you love the most. And just as example of this, so often people would maybe say starting the year with a goal of say, I want to lose weight, or I want to get fit and healthy. And again, that's your brain. Doesn't really know what to do with that. It's too obscure.

It's too big. It's too overwhelming. So say it is that you want to lose weight. Well, you know, to do that, you're going to need to eat better, move more. And again, even that can seem so overwhelming to some. So here's a tip. If you focus on a

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healthy breakfast, you've changed one third of the way that you eat.

Isn't that so much more effective in the longterm than any short-term diets. And that is why it all comes down to habits. So let's get started habit, number one or idea, number one that I wanted to give you today. And some of these are not going to be new to you, but they might just be those little reminders that you think.

Actually I have let that slip. Maybe I do need to focus back on that again for the year ahead. So number one is water

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now. I'm definitely not telling you anything. New. Our bodies cells need water to thrive at least two liters a day. I personally aim for three liters, but it's not a competition. I just love water.

I love to drink it. And if you someone maybe who doesn't love drinking water, you can also eat your water by filling your plate with lots of water dense foods like cucumber, watermelon, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, apples, or make soups or broths. Cause that's hydration and aim to drink a glass of water. First thing in the morning

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to rehydrate yourself after you've slept.

One of the things I love to do in the morning is have a hot water with some lemon and ginger in it, especially in the winter months here in the UK. And that's just such a great way to give your body that great start to the day. It's so good for your gut health and great to just give a lovely morning cleanse to really set you up for the day and can even pop some honey in there or something just to give it a little sweet kick or something, just to really give it a zing or some chili or some ginger or tumeric, all sorts of.

Number two is

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protein. Protein is king, especially first thing in the morning when you eat sugary cereals in the morning, or start your day with high sugar foods, your blood sugar spikes, and the crash leads to craving more high sugar foods and even overeating. So an average sedentary woman should have a minimum of 46 grams of protein per day.

So an egg contains approximately at least six grams. Just to give you an idea. So I love an egg with some fresh avocado and tomato. So I've got the water dense plus the protein, or

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if you're not a fan of breakfast or you're pushed for time, like most busy moms, I love a protein breakfast smoothie. So I personally use my Arbonne vegan protein, which one serving has 20 grams of protein along with adding fruits or vegetables.

And this is another way to drink more water. And it's light on the digestive system. So I like to ease myself into the day and make digestion for my body easy. And the protein also helps keep me fuller for longer. So find I'm not snacking mid-morning and reaching for the

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biscuits or wanting to have those high sugary foods.

So protein really is king and there's all sorts of other ways that I use it. I put protein in to some of my oat porridge. We can make smoothie bowls or we can make protein, pancakes. There's all sorts of incredible ideas that you can use and you can get these all in my recipe, book of my healthy habits toolkit.

So I'll link to that in the show notes. Tip number three. gut health. Now I did a whole episode about this already, so you can go back and look at that. And if

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you haven't already listened to that, I highly recommend it's how to get more energy. And it's looking at gut health. I am obsessed with gut health. It's one of my fave health topics.

If anybody knows me, I know it's not super sexy, but honestly it is so important. And just as a little refresher of that episode, if you didn't happen to catch it yet, gut health refers to the balance of the microorganisms that live in the digestive tract. So looking after the health of the gut and maintaining the right balance of these microorganisms is vital

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physical and mental health immunity, and so much more so to support your gut health, I recommend eating lots of vegetables, legumes, beans, and fruits.

They're also the best source for a healthy gut. Also eating fermented foods, such as kimchi and sauerkraut and kefir and kombucha because they are rich in lactobacilli, a type of bacteria that can benefit your gut health. And eating prebiotic foods that promote the growth of beneficial microbes in the gut. So many fruits and vegetables and whole grains contain

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prebiotics.

And then finally, you could take a supplement. I take a gut health supplement every day, which is the pre and probiotic, which is really beneficial to supporting that balance of my microbiome, my gut health, and just giving it a big hug. Looking after it and just giving it everything that it needs. And collagen is also beneficial to gut health because it contains large amounts of amino acids, glycine, glutamine, and proline, which can be beneficial to the intestinal tract as well as the stomach.

So foods that are rich in

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collagen are things like fish, chicken, egg, whites, citrus, fruits, berries, red and yellow vegetables and garlic. So something I do every morning, which you may have seen on. My reels or social media is my daily green gut shots. And I love this, what I call a glow up drink, which contains my digestive gut health supplements, collagen builder, a scoop of greens, which has got lots of antioxidants and phytonutrients and fiber in it.

And a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, which is great for gut health. So I mix this

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all up in a glass of water and drink it back. So I'm getting my hydration and my gut health in one quick time-saving easy solution for me as a busy mum. That's huge fan of that. Tip number four is to enjoy your food. As busy moms, we are so often rushing around that.

We rarely sit down and stop to eat and enjoy our food and our tummies and our brains don't even have time to register that our body has been fed and we're far too often on autopilot eating at our desks, or even

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yourself the gift of that in: 2022

So it takes 20 minutes for your brain to signal to your body that you're full. So if you've gobbled your food in five minutes, you could be completely overeating without even realizing it. So being more mindful with your eating. For this year is something I

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would highly recommend. Number five is cook smart.

So when you cook aim to cook extra, so this allows for the leftover lunch, the following day, healthy snacks, like pan roasted veg in the fridge for nibbles or leftovers that can be frozen and pulled out for a quick reheat and enjoy it again. I never cooked enough for only one meal because when I cook surplus, I spend less time in the kitchen.

I also eat better because I'm not scrounging for food when I'm hungry. And I'm such a firm believer

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in batch cooking. And I go into a lot more detail on this in my meal planning episode. So that's episode number seven, if you haven't already. So I'll link to that in the show notes, have a listen and download my free meal planner resource and get yourself organised

for the new year and really it's about progress over perfection. I only meal plan about three to four days in advance. So it's not like you have to be this perfectly organized supermom who does a week at a time and shops for everything perfectly. It's just about having that guide to

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help you make better choices.

So tip number six is fat. Okay. That isn't bad. And it isn't the enemy. If it's a good fats, in fact, we need healthy fats. They provide energy support, cell growth, protect organs, and keep your body warm. Add the good stuff to your diet, like avocado olive oil to your diet. These fats also help satiate and bring flavor to our meals, which help reduce cravings because your meals are more balanced.

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So aim to eat oily fish like salmon or makarel once a week, it's packed with omega three fatty acids, protein and minerals. And one of my favorite go-to dinners and I've actually got a YouTube video on how to make this it's actually from our cooking show that my husband, my daughter and I did last January, which was so, so popular.

And I was really tempted to bring it back. Maybe if I knock peer pressure, I might, but my pesto salmon with crispy potatoes is my 20 minute dinner. So

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these, my cooking show was all around 20 minute dinners. And I did them live to show you with a four year old, there distracting me and a husband, how we made our dinners in the kitchen with the chaos in 20 minutes.

And we made these healthy dinners. So have a look at my, pesto salmon with crispy potatoes are linked to it in the show notes, and you can check out some of my other healthy dinner options. But all of these, as I say, these recipes are in my healthy habits toolkit. Tip number seven: dairy. So dairy gets a bit of a bad rap nowadays.

It isn't bad,

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but often has a high saturated fat content, which we want to have in moderation. So it can also often disagree with us. I know it does with me. I know when I eat a lot of dairy, I feel very sluggish, tired and bloated. But you may be fine with dairy and that's because it's quite, you know, if it doesn't agree with you, it could be quite aggravating on the gut.

And as it is quite a dense food, it takes quite a lot of energy for your body to digest. So smaller amounts is generally better for your

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body. And cutting dairy out for a period of 30 days, will really help you see how you respond to it? So doing that elimination of it. And I know that when I do my nutrition reset, like I do every January, may and October usually, or when I do it, I cut out dairy for a full month and, oh my goodness, the benefit that I feel that the reduced bloating, it's just something that doesn't agree with me.

But as I say, you might be fine with it, but if you are someone who's prone to bloating or struggling with your skin reacting, things like that. Yeah.

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It's often a good one to just cut out for 30 days and see how you get on. And nowadays there's so many great dairy free alternatives. I mean, I have oat milk most days, and this hour, there's so many great products out there now that are dairy free.

It really is so easy to cut it out for 30 days and see how you feel. So tip number eight is fiber. So most of us need to eat more fiber in our diet. So eating plenty of fiber is associated with a lower risk heart disease stroke type two diabetes and bowel cancer.

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And foods that are high in fiber or things like brown rice and whole wheat pasta, whole grain bread, and oats, barley and rye fruits, such as berries, pears, Mellon, oranges, vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, sweetcorn, peas, beans, pulses, nuts, and seeds and potatoes with skin.

One of the things that I also do is I use a gut health fiber supplement, which is a product I use from Arbonne, which has got 12 grams of fiber. So nearly half the

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daily requirement in one scoop. And it's derived from grains and fruits and vegetables. And this flavourless soluble fiber can be added to all foods and beverages.

And I put it in my morning breakfast smoothies just to really increase that density. And also just to keep things regular, to keep me feeling fuller for longer and all the good stuff associated with fiber. But one thing I would say is that when you do increase your fiber is to make sure that you're increasing your water intake, because what you don't want is to become blocked up then from having too

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much fiber, you want to make sure that you drinking more because that's just sometimes a side effect.

So tip number nine is time be aware of the times that you eat. So we're all a bit different. We all have different schedules in the day, but some of us like a good three meals a day and don't snack. That's usually me, others like snacking and some like doing intermittent fasting. There's all sorts of different ways, but whatever your thing is, there is a pretty universal piece of advice, which is to aim, to give your body a

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good 12 hour break from your last meal for digesting.

So if you eat dinner and say seven, Um, not to have your breakfast before 7:00 AM the next day, because when you eat late at night, your body is digesting food. While you're sleeping. Instead of doing the other important jobs, it needs to do like producing hormones or creating long-term memories or repairing cells and decreasing your cortisol, your stress hormone to mention just a few things.

So it's giving your body that maximum

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turnaround time to really. To a digest your food, break it down, but then also give your body that opportunity to repair itself. Be mindful of that 12 hour break from your last meal to your first meal that you have the next day tip number 10 is to eat. It's important to eat enough food, which is why I hate diets because of the deprivation.

You would probably be surprised how much food your body wants and needs when you're giving it the good

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stuff. I, people can't believe the amounts of food that I eat, but when you're focused on eating the right things and eating regular meals and a balanced diets, which gives your body, all the fuel and energy and balance.

It needs honestly, your energy just soars is it just goes through the roof. And if you allow yourself to eat when you're hungry and before you're starving. You are more likely to eat in moderation and reach for foods that nourish you. So when you reach for dense and highly saturated foods, your

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body has to work harder to digest them, and they tend to leave you craving for more and makes you tired and sluggish.

So dense foods can also lead to overeating and it makes it more difficult to listen to your body's hunger and full cues. So it's just something to be really mindful of is, is eating to enjoy your food, being mindful of eating. And then also the type of food that you're eating, but making sure that you're eating it at the right point before you reach that starvation point.

And then you're just like, ah, give me all the stuff in the fridge.

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So tip number 11 is sugar. Really, and truly I am the sugar police when, oh, I just, I wish that society did more to talk about the effects and the detrimental health effects on sugar. And this is the only one of the tips that I'm really going to jump on my soap box about this, and you know, what sugar actually does to our body and what it does to our children's growing brains.

And honestly it stimulates it. If I've seen these images where people that are ingesting cocaine,

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And being given sugar and how the brain is reacting in exactly the same way. It's absolutely scary. You can Google it. It's public information available. And I just think goodness, like sugar is found very deep in so many things, especially in processed food.

And that's why really when you're wanting to be eating. And especially when we do our nutrition reset, we're focusing on eating clean whole foods. As best we can cook from scratch because that's when we know that what is going into it, it's when it's been pre-packaged or pre-made that you can't control how much

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salt and how much sugar and how much excess stuff has gone into that food.

So aim to reduce the amount of added sugar to your diet. So otherwise you're on this constant roller coaster of your next fix. You know, sugar is just as powerful as a drug that you can become addicted to. And sugar is all too often, added to so many of our foods that we are silently consuming in large amounts.

So reduce and remove sugar from your drinks, like teal coffee and be mindful of the amount of sugar you're eating and drinking and other items like

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convenience foods and jars of sauces and things like that. And it's just so scary when you actually start to learn about the different names for sugar and what they disguised under.

So you're looking for the word sugar, but actually there's so many crafty little ways that they can disguise it. The food manufacturers. So think about healthier source of natural sugar is fruits, for example, and this can help curve sugar cravings that you might have, or you might use a little bit of honey to sweeten or a little bit of Stevia.

I know that Arbonne

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use so much naturally based sugars like plant sugars, Stevia, things like that in our supplements, because sugar is not bad for you. Like our body needs sugar for our brains to work and energy and all that kind of thing, but it's the right kind of sugars. And it's just being mindful that you might think, oh, the obvious sugars, like eating a bar of chocolate or something like that.

But actually it's all the hidden sugars that are so dangerous in the long-term compounded over time. Which leads me onto the final tip, which is alcohol. Now you

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may have consumed a fair amount of this. I have certainly enjoyed a few Bailey's GNTs and red wine over the Christmas period. And I'm not saying give up drinking.

However, it's definitely something we need to be consuming in moderation. So not only is alcohol devoid of proteins, minerals, and vitamins that actually inhibits the absorption and the usage of vital nutrients, such as thiamine so vitamin B one, vitamin B 12, that's the energy

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folic acid and zinc. And it also dehydrates your skin.

So think wrinkles and how those can become so much more deep set. If you are somebody who drinks a lot. Also alcohol contains a lot and I mean a lot of sugar and we've already talked about why that can be a tricky thing. So I've saved the ones that are probably the hardest to hear for last, just because I know that it is difficult when we've got certain ways and round doing things.

But really my

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lly going to encourage you in: 2022

Cause the worst thing that we can do is try to boil the ocean, thinking we need a new you in the new year and all that stuff that we overwhelm ourselves with. So

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sent for you to take you into: 2022

So it's just all in one easy place for you. So go ahead, click on the link, get this. I'll always be talking

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about it on social media a lot over this period, just to really encourage people to really break it down in its simplest form. So let me know what you think of the 12 ways to be healthy guide. And I hope that that is my gift to you.

to be back with you later in: 2022

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lots of content from me and you can go back and relisten to the episodes because I think sometimes when you listen back, you might take something different that you didn't hear the first time. But as always, please, I'm so grateful for all of your ratings reviews, sharing this with your family and friends, sharing this 12 ways to be healthier. Let's start a revolution, a new habits resolution, and let's kick the diets and all that BS to the curb. And let's go into 20, 22 controlling what we can, and that is those

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sustainable healthier habits for our futures.

our healthy living journey in: 2022

Because 80% of new year's resolutions fail. Why on earth would we even

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, you don't need a new you in: 2022

The third of. This is healthy, supportive environment, where we will teach you how to use food for fuel and for energy and a program that helps you in resetting your body with clean

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eating and mindful habits, giving you what your body, what it needs and eliminating the things that it doesn't. So if you are someone who is wanting to improve your health, you'd like to improve your eating habits, boost your energy, identify food sensitivities.

Oh, you're ready to find for weight management system without a diet, then this could be for you. So I'll link to this in the show notes, and we would love to see you getting started with us on Monday. The third of Jan.