Every day you can make a decision to stay on the path you are on or do something different. We cannot help but notice that the world around us is changing at a very fast pace, and I think it is important to give ourselves time every now and again to think about what is important to us.
It is the tradition to make New Year’s resolutions, and that somehow feels very natural. The old year is passing and our awareness of time moving on causes us to reflect. By reflecting on all the good things that have happened to us in the past year, we can count our blessings. Then, it seems natural to turn the page and look forward to the fresh New Year ahead of us.
It is so easy to be busy all the time and be bombarded by media messages about the lives that we should be leading, so to occasionally take the time to think about the things we are grateful for and are important to us is well worthwhile.
I find it helpful to write my New Year’s resolutions in the front of my diary and I look at them from time to time when I have a spare moment. This year, I'm fairly sure of my goals. My youngest son is in his last year at school and has very important exams next summer, which will determine which university he will be able to go to. I want to enjoy this year with him as it may be his last year living at home, and I want to be supportive so that he can get the best grades. For myself, I would like to take piano lessons — something I have been planning to do for a very long time — and as I have a grand piano, it would be nice sit down and play nice pieces of music. Workwise, my goals are pretty much the same, as I remain passionate about educating people to lead healthier lives and avoid illness.
If your goal is to get healthy in 2012, start by giving yourself time to do that. It is so important to invest in your health and allow yourself the time to get slim, fit and healthy without feeling that it is an indulgence to spend time on yourself. Once you bring something new into your life, like taking exercise, you will need to make a space of time to do it: you will get into a new rhythm and it is amazing where that rhythm will take you. It is like joining a flowing river.
If you begin the day with a spring in your step, you will be bright and alert, able to achieve the goals you aim for.
Start the day with a cleansing glass of hot water and a slice of lemon. This is great for cleansing the kidneys and for the complexion too. Trust me, after only seven days you will start to look better. This also signals your body that it is time to start the day.
Stretch into the morning. Stretching in the morning is the most natural thing for the body. Try my award winning Mini-Morning Workout, which takes less than 10 minutes. It gets the blood flowing and helps keep your body young and flexible. Send an email to [email protected] to get a free copy, or perform your own exercises in your bedroom before you shower.
Make breakfast time a quiet, healthy ritual. A good breakfast gives you the energy to face the new day. Make your first meal of the day a really healthy one, such as fresh fruit or juice for vitamin C. Then follow with a salt and sugar-free good quality Muesli so that you get all your important whole grains and cereals at the beginning of the day. Added skimmed milk or yoghurt is great for calcium. This is also a good time to take a good quality multivitamin such as Permea Plus so that your body has everything it needs to heal and protect.
Give yourself a list of three priorities for the day and work through them.
Always keep a bottle of water by your desk and drink it!
Fizzy drinks are one of the main causes of tooth erosion among teenagers. A study published in the British Dental Journal found a strong link between fizzy drink consumption and tooth erosion. Erosion, caused by acidic substances, is a wearing away of the enamel coating of teeth. I would certainly suggest cutting down and making water your main drink of the day. For a free daily health tip, follow me on Twitter @AlvaCarpenter.
