14 days to a hap
It’s easy to fall into the same routines when it comes to food. You pack the same lunches, eat the same dinners. Today, it’s time to turn meal planning on its head.
Instead of writing a list, go to the supermarket and shop the rainbow. Fill your trolley with as many different colours of veg as you can, then come home and research simple recipes for using them up. That way, you inject excitement into dinner, as well as giving the vital and varied nutrition your gut – and its good bacteria – needs to stay healthy. ONE TO TRY: Use our eating the rainbow chart to challenge your housemates, other half or kids to eat as many colours as they can this week. Stick it on your fridge, and whoever has the most ticks next Sunday wins a prize. You don’t need to do an hour in the gym every day to reap the benefits of exercise. Having “exercise snacks” has been proven to be extremely beneficial. These little nuggets of movement across the day and week need only be a minute long, but ideally add up to 150 minutes of moderate exercise – increasing your breathing rate without getting out of breath – over seven days.
Try to tick off as many of these as you can. You can use the free My Fitness Pal app to log all your movement so you don’t have to keep a tally.
In the kitchen As many squats as you can while the kettle is boiling
In the bathroom Hop on the spot while brushing your teeth
Out and about Ditch escalators and lifts, parking as far away from the doors as possible
At your desk Three sets of 10 x leg extensions (it takes two minutes) When you have 15 minutes Come out of your house and run as fast as you can. See how far you can go. Take a two-minute pause, repeat and see if you can go a little further each time. Repeat three to five times. Imagine your body is a car. For it to run as fast as possible, you need to put the high performance fuel into it. Your body needs a blend of vitamins and minerals to run in tip-top condition.
You also need phytochemicals to combat damage at a cellular level.
Today is when Monday’s rainbow food shop comes into play. Veg are high in phytonutrients and have the power to undo the damage and inflammation caused by eating overly processed food.
The midweek slump is hitting but stay strong and fill up your bowl with as many vegetables, legumes and beans as you can.
Swap that ele chocolate bar for sugarsnap fibre, with a great crunch.
Ditch set up a walking meeting tod talk through a meeting for 30