Getting SMARTER with New Years Resolutions

Good morning people, happy Thursday and welcome to our first blog of this year.  Happy new year to you all and here’s to wishing you a happy, healthy 2016.

Naturally as this is the first blog of the year we have to talk a bit about new years resolutions, especially the ones that promise self-improvement!  Some make them, some people avoid them, some say they don’t make any but they really do – in secret. Personally, I always make them.  I procrastinate from September, tell myself by November / December it’s not worth bothering getting anything new started now, I should just leave it until the new year – when of course miraculously – I will be feeling fresh and new and fighting fit and enthused and energised and inspired.  Then January hits and enthused, inspired or energised are not words I use to describe myself in January at all!

January.  It’s cold and grey and damp and as we all placed such hopes on it, it’s a let-down.  I feel sorry for January.  This year in particular – Jan 4^th has been the worst.  It was the Monday from hell that we all went back to work.  The trains weren’t running, it poured from the heavens, some smug sods were still on holidays or had returned from winter breaks with a tan, an engagement ring, a new puppy…whatever. 

I digress, but because January is always a little shocking and because I’ve had the same new years resolutions for about the last decade – none of which I have ever accomplished or stuck to – I decided this year would be different.  This Jan, before making new promises to myself I would try and understand why I keep making the same ones and then why I don’t keep them.  Isn’t the ultimate definition of madness doing the same thing over and over again yet hoping for a different result?  Well yep, then call me mad, because that’s been me (and I’m sure you relate) for too long.  This year I’m sharing my old and my new resolutions with you, plus the reasons why they have changed and how I changed them.  I’m hoping this will give you some food for thought in making promises to yourself anytime this year.

OUT WITH THE OLD:

My top 10 old resolutions, in no particular order, went something like this – year in, year out….

1. Get fit
2. Lose weight
3. Get healthy
4. Get a better job
5. Save money
6. See family and friends more
7. Get a boyfriend
8. Learn to drive
9. Don’t drink and smoke so much
10. Take my make-up off each night before going to bed

I’d start each January getting up nice and early each morning, arriving at the gym onto the treadmill and pounding away.  I’d contact one friend (that I’d probably seen over xmas/new year anyway) and set up an eve to go for dinner – not drinks as was trying not to drink/smoke so much.  I’d rewrite my CV and look online for jobs.  Actually I was lucky enough with this one to find suitable openings, go for interviews and get the jobs in most cases.  I’d rethink the “learn to drive” thing while I was still in London, I probably couldn’t afford it anyway, at the same time realising I couldn’t save much money as took a pay cut in my new role.  I’d take my make-up off most nights, until the one when I met my friend for dinner, ended up going for a few drinks anyway and coming home too tipsy to care.  Then I’d be upset that I was 3 weeks into the year, I’d been out once and didn’t have a love interest or been swept off my feet my prince charming yet.  Come Valentines day in February (or honestly a few weeks prior in most cases) ALL resolutions were over.  Does any of this sound familiar to any of you?  If so read on because I’ve found a way to stop all of this by adding value and reason to resolutions – thinking about why I was making them in the first place made all the difference this time.

IN WITH THE NEW:

This years top 10 is similar but check this out:

1. Find and run a 5k race for charity
2. Shift a stone/6.5 ish kilos before turning 39 (5^th September)
3. Eat something green with every meal!
4. Focus on my business, passion and creativity, finding paid work that’s fulfilling and fun – ensure I do one thing every day to get closer to this goal
5. Save enough money for a summer holiday
6. Meet at least one family member once a month / Meet a different group of friends each month too
7. I’m in a relationship now (whoop – sounds strange saying that and even stranger writing it down) so make sure we get time alone to build our bond – date nights, mini breaks, duvet days etc at least once a month
8. (Learn to drive when I need to – this isn’t a priority for me this year unless my situation changes)
9. (I’ve managed the not drinking so much already and smoking went hand in hand with the alcohol, so that’s cut down too – not a focus for me this year) Instead – drink at least 1 litre of water each day
10. Take my make-up off each night before I go to bed!

I would like to add as a quick aside; there are lots more things I’m hoping for this year too and not all are as self-centred as the above!  These however work for the purpose of today’s topic so stick with me:

I hope you can instantly see most resolutions are now more focused.  Adding value to each promise and reasoning with myself as to why these were a priority, I then used my own adaptation of the SMART goals technique to get to these. I thought long and hard about why I was making such promises to myself and why I wanted to do/change/better these things and even though I wanted to before, why hadn’t I succeeded?  

Well to start with lets look at SMART goals.

SMART stands for

Specific

ie lets get specific with each one – eg “Get fit” turns into “find and run a 5k race for charity”

  

Measurable / Meaningful

ie “save money” turned into “Save enough money for a summer holiday” so it was something meaningful that I was saving up for and I knew how much I needed to save too - making it a measurable goal

 

Achievable / Attainable

ie “lose weight” turned into “Lose a stone by September” which when you break it down is a sensible and achievable weight loss goal per month and even per week (if this is one for you too and you’d like more info on healthy weight management please contact us info@nitakothari.com) 

Realistic

ie “find and run a 5k race for charity” is something a lot of people do and a very realistic goal for me considering my current fitness levels

Timed

ie “lose 1 stone by September” gives me a clear goal of how much and by when

I’ve gone and added an extra E and R to make my goals SMARTER

is for End

Know when to end it, to stop, to change your mind and adjust your rules.  Sometimes with even the most amount of willing things just don’t get done or turn out how you planned.  You need to know, when the time comes, that you can adjust your goals/resolutions/promises and there is no harm, no shame and no sense of failure attached in doing so.  Letting go can be just as hard as starting up, but knowing that you can, sometimes prompts you to try harder at the start.

is for Reason

Make sure you have your own personal and real reasons for your new resolutions.  Make sure they are for you and for your benefit.  For example, when I really think about it my get fit and get healthy goals were both geared towards the “lose weight” one.  Really I didn’t care if I was healthy, I just wanted to be slimmer.  The reason I wanted to be slimmer was totally wrong too.  This year I understand fitness, health and weight go hand in hand but are NOT the same.  If you would like more info on this or how to succeed in your own weight management journey, fitness and/or realistic health goals please contact me on info@nitakothari.com for a free initial consultation, or for any advice and further info on this article. 

Remember, each goal is specific and measurable.  It has it owns reason and value.  For example: 

• I want to run for charity to give back to Macmillan cancer support – they helped me so what better way to raise money and give back than to do it with my fitness after recovery from cancer!  
• I am in a relationship with a guy who loves my lumps and bumps, but I’m still not at a healthy weight so have worked out a reasonable and healthy height/weight ratio I’d like to stick to. Also my focus is on getting the full nutritional value from the foods I eat to aid not only weight management but my fitness and health goals too.  Again for info on achieving healthy weight loss, or more details about nutrition and finding the best foods for yourself and your health, please just get in touch – info@nitakothari.com
• Saving for a holiday – of course there is a reason – I need a break! 
• Seeing the family, friends and building our relationship well the reasons here are the same for each.  Keeping good relationships is what keeps me happy.  In fact it’s a proven point that this is true for most, so working on relationships as a resolution for this year is my number one focus.  

Check out this TED talk about what makes a good life –

http://www.ted.com/talks_robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good_life_lessons_from_the_longest_study_on_happ 

Finally, let’s think about how we get to these new, focused, goals.  We have managed to redefine them this year, but how are we going to achieve them all if we didn’t manage it before?  Well step one is done here – making them SMARTER helps a great deal to focus our energies and have that end point to aim for.  Do not expect instant results – this is another major reason a lot of us do not succeed in keeping to our resolutions.  Each promise needs commitment and work from you to achieve.  Building good goals and turning the process of getting to them into good habits is the best way I have found to proceed, so the next step I’ve found is to break down our resolutions to small and even easier achievable chunks.  For example when thinking of saving for a summer holiday – that holiday may realistically be in let’s say August. 

- So it gives you 7 months to save. 

- You may have to pay earlier but could do a finance deal if it’s a big holiday/hotel/operator/airline etc.  Find out. 

- Make a budget of your expected salary and outgoings and see where you can make the savings. 

- Seek out a high interest savings account or such, to help grow your savings as much as possible over a short time period. 

These are 4 steps already that you can think about for just one resolution.  If you give yourself a week or 2 for each step everything will be in place in a couple months and it will just be the saving to actually do and the holiday to book! 

There is a great blog piece here from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition – short, sweet and to the point - they talk about having one resolution and 12 mini goals – one for each month of the year.  I love this idea: http://www.integrativenutrition.com/blog/2015/12/the-truth-about-new-year-s-resolutions-and-some-useful-alternatives

Lastly Mind Tools have also offered a great piece on common goal setting mistakes that I found useful in setting my resolutions this year - https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/goal-setting-mistakes.htm  so I thought Id share this with you too.

So good luck with your resolutions and relationships and your 2016.  I hope this year is fulfilling, happy and ultimately healthy in all respects for all of you.

If you’d like more info on achieving a happy, healthier year, please get in touch info@nitakothari.com where we can discuss our health coaching service and weight management program.  Or like and follow us on social media for regular recipe and tip updates:

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**Please remember this is advice ONLY (as is all other information contained in this blog, the website and social media related to it) None of the info or advice is intended to override any recommendation from your GP or health professional**

Diabetes: Type 2, Part 2: Creating Awareness

**Before we start - Please note – this blog is gonna be fact heavy, link heavy, lots of writing and reading and not many pretty pictures – I will try and keep things light, but I don’t want to depreciate Diabetes – it is a serious and growing illness in the UK, so really this week (after last weeks headlines re diabetes and the NHS) we are trying to create a little more awareness of the symptoms and what you can do to help yourself.  We’ve had over 192,000 views to our blog and page so far, so if that many people see this, then fingers crossed the message will be getting through.  Let’s do our bit – read on, like and share **

Diabetes risk factors (those at higher risk):

Type 2 diabetes (as explained in last weeks blog (http://nononsensenita.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/diabetes-could-bankrupt-nhs.html) accounts for about 90% of all diabetes in the UK.  Our NHS has clearly stated now that increasing levels of obesity, lack of exercise, an increase in unhealthy diets all coupled with an aging population means type 2 diabetes is on a dramatic rise.

The problem is, type 2 diabetes takes time to develop, it comes on slowly usually after the age of about 40 but the tricky thing is it can take a good few years to realise that’s what’s causing your problems as the signs/symptoms may not be very obvious at first. It is very important however, that diabetes is diagnosed as early as possible because if left untreated it will get progressively worse.

The good news is, these days we are becoming slightly more aware of the risk factors as well as the symptoms, so earlier detection or indeed prevention can come into play. 

So to make sure everyone reading this is aware let’s highlight the risk factors.  Some risks are genetic and some preventable.  You are more at risk of type 2 diabetes if:

• You are overweight – this is one of the leading factors – a high BMI or being overweight/obese is the number 1 risk factor leading to diabetes.  You are even more at risk if you carry that extra weight around your middle – for a woman a waist circumference more than 80cms (approx. 31.5 inches) and for man a waist higher than 94cms (or 37 inches) puts you at a higher risk.
• You are from any of the following ethnic backgrounds – African, African-Caribbean, Chinese, South Asian (type 2 diabetes is 6 times more likely in people of South Asian descent, and India and China are currently regarded as the diabetes capitals of the world!)
• If you have a parent or sibling with diabetes
• If you have (or have ever had) high blood pressure and/or suffered a heart attack or stroke
• If you are a woman with a history of PCOS or gestational diabetes (as mentioned in last weeks blog too LINK)
• If you have a mental health disorder such as depression, bipolar or schizophrenia that you are taking medication for

I found a couple of handy tools at www.diabetes.org.uk and at www.nhs.co.uk where you can measure your risk factor

Try http://riskscore.diabetes.org.uk/start 

Or http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Diabetes-type2/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Just make sure you have your height, weight and waist measurements to hand and DON’T FREAK OUT if it looks like you are high, moderate or increased risk.  Testing myself I’m at the “increased” stage, but I know there are things I can do now to help. In fact the websites of course give you help, ideas, eating plans and even charts etc to help you help yourself should your results appear anything but low. Also, please remember this is only a home test, please take into account the other risk factors above, and at the symptoms listed below as well and of course see your doc if you really are worried. 

Type 2 diabetes symptoms:

The main symptoms of type 2 diabetes occur because glucose is staying in your blood, rather than being used as fuel/energy, therefore your body tries to get rid of it by urinating, leading to:

• Urinating more frequently (especially at night)
• Feeling thirsty all the time / increased thirst
• Feeling tired particularly during the day and/or after meals
• Unexplained weight loss / loss of muscle
• Cuts or wounds that take a long time to heal
• Dry eyes and/or blurred vision
• Frequent episodes of thrush, or itching around the genitals
• Often feeling hungry (shortly after eating)

Now we know who’s as risk, we know the symptoms to look out for and we can test ourselves (online), so before we look at what we can do to reduce our risks and avoid these symptoms – just so you know why we are banging on about it so much - here is what having type 2 diabetes can lead to and why we want to avoid it:

Type 2 diabetes can cause serious long term health problems (info points from www.nhs.co.uk / 2014)

• The most common is visual impairment and eye problems – for a fuller understanding please visit this link:   http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-complications/eye-problems.html
• It can also lead to amputation of the lower limbs. For people with diabetes this is due to nerve damage to the limbs, making them less aware of any minor injury or wound – in particular wounds effecting the feet.  This is often referred to as PAD – Peripheral Arterial Disease – you can find out more about it here: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-complications/peripheral-arterial-disease.html  and see how to take care of your feet here: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/foothealth/Pages/Diabetesandfeet.aspx
• Diabetes is responsible for most cases of kidney failure or CKD – Chronic Kidney Disease. If you have been diagnosed with diabetes you will be screened for CKD annually.  CKD risk increases with age as well so an older person with diabetes will be most at risk. For further info - http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Kidney-disease-chronic/Pages/Introduction.aspx
• And currently people with diabetes are 5 times more likely to suffer cardiovascular disease and/or stroke.  There is a video here from the British Heart Foundation that tells us more: 

You can download a booklet about diabetes and your heart from them too - https://www.bhf.org.uk/publications/heart-conditions/diabetes-and-your-heart

OK – that’s the scary stuff over with – but we need to know it so we understand WHY we need to look at preventing type 2 diabetes.  As we said upfront there are genetic risk factors we can’t do anything about.  But the good news is that on the other hand there ARE factors that the NHS have explicitly linked now with type 2 diabetes that we CAN totally do something about.  We can change/update lifestyle factors to keep us safe and out of trouble for as long as possible (and of course in the long run that will help avoid end stage or emergency treatment and therefore reduce the cost to the NHS – remember last weeks headline??)

The main preventable risk factor is OBESITY

If you measure over 30 on the BMI scale and especially if you carry the extra weight around the middle as already pointed out, then you will be at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.  You can check your BMI on this chart:

or via the nhs BMI calculator here:  

http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyweightcalculator.aspx 

 

HOWEVER – just a 5% reduction in body weight can lead to a 50% reduction in developing diabetes, as lower body weight improves blood glucose levels.  

QUESTION:

So if you need to lose this 5% body weight – how do you do it?

ANSWER:

There are no short cuts, it’s the same old mantra I’m afraid – you need to eat healthier, probably eat a little less and take regular exercise.

There are soooooo many DIETS out there that promise weight loss.  I’m not sure any of them are 100% effective and won’t go into pros and cons of any here, what I do know is that you need to find a healthy eating plan you can stick to – something that works for you, for life. We don't promote rapid weight loss diets, but healthy eating.  Rapid weight loss leads to yo-yo dieting as we are probably all aware off, loosing the weight, then piling it all back on again - plus some - this is NOT healthy and especially bad when considering diabetes risks.  PLUS everyone is different, weight loss / weight management is not a one size fits all scenario.  At no nonsense nutrition we do provide an 8 week weight management programme to kick start you into healthy eating habits as we realise it’s not easy, that everyone will need to do it differently and most need a little help and support in getting started on something that they can keep up for a long time to come.  We focus on simple, easy lifestyle changes and I’m happy to share a few common weight management tips here:

• How about reducing portion sizes – most of us are guilty – even if we eat fruit and salad and all the things we think are good for us, we generally (as a nation) eat too much of them.
• How about basing meals around the green stuff – ie filling half the plate with veggies before adding protein, carbohydrates – leaving less room for them means you will have to eat less of the foods with the higher calories!
• How about avoiding, or at least cutting down on refined carbs/sugars – ie avoiding the white stuff – white bread, rice, pasta, flour and reducing your snacking on pastries, biscuits, cakes etc? 
• It’s probably a good idea to keep an eye on your alcohol intake too – thinking about alcohol ‘portions’ too.  If you’re drinking at home maybe pour a smaller glass of wine, add more tonic and less vodka, and just a small bottle or half a beer/cider/ale yeah?  Remember alcohol is very high in calories and sugars and good for not much else (apart from giggles and hangovers obviously!)

For more tips or to find out more about the 8 week programme, or one to one consultations you can email us info@nitakothari.com

What about exercise and activity?  Movement is something we all lack too these days – more and more of us, especially those who are older (and at higher risk of diabetes) are leading a more sedentary lifestyle.  We rely on public transport or the car, we don’t tend to walk as much.  Not as many of us are in manual labour, but more are at desk jobs meaning we are sitting down pretty much all day.  We need to get moving.  What’s the best way?  WALKING FOR HEALTH.  At no nonsense we recommend walking as the easiest, cheapest and therefore most accessible form of exercise to incorporate into your daily/weekly schedule.  Check out more about walking for health on our website here: http://www.nitakothari.com/walking-for-health/

You can also check the details in this video from diabetes UK which will give you more ideas on how to lose that 5% too if you need.   

For more tips and info diabetes specific - see https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Managing-your-diabetes/Healthy-eating/Top-tips/ for tops tips for eating healthy and https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Managing-your-diabetes/Exercise/ for top tips on getting more exercise – both from diabetes UK.

For more info on a healthy diet if you have already been diagnosed with diabetes – you can download a guide here: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet-basics.html

OK - Lots of facts and links and a lot to take in there so thanks for sticking with us, I hope we’ve highlights the risk factors and outcomes of diabetes.  As this is such a growing disease and will apparently bankrupt the NHS if we don’t do something about it now, I really wanted to focus on it these last couple of weeks.  Of course, as usual there is so much more we could talk about – the treatments for diabetes, the glycaemic index and glycaemic load of foods, which ones to eat and to avoid if you are diagnosed, how and when to have checks, what diabetes tests involve at the GP…..etc.  As this is NOT a medical blog though these things are all better discussed with your health professional.  This we hope serves as a 2 part guide to the basics of diabetes  to raise a little more awareness and encourage you to look into your own risk factors and lifestyle changes that can help prevent the disease.

We would therefore encourage you to read the links, share this and help others become more aware – you can do this via our social media outlets:

Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest / Google+ / Blogger / www.nitakothari.com

Or by emailing info@nitakothari.com  for further info and/or a consultation and look at the 8 week weight management programme.

(If you are local to Reading and the South east of England see this link for volunteers: http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/diabetes-uk-looking-volunteers-tackle-9887870 )

www.nitakothari.com

 

**Please remember this is nutritional advice ONLY (as is all other information and advice contained in this blog and the websites and social media related to it) – none of the info or advice is intended to override any recommendation from your GP or health professional**