5 Free & Easy Ways To Get Back In Control Of Your Health

5 Free & Easy Ways To Get Back In Control Of Your Health

As we're busy adjusting to a new normal in 2021, it's easy to forget the fundamentals when it comes to protecting our long-term health. But it's the choices we make today that will impact our health in the future, so here are 5 free and easy ways you can make small tweaks to your lifestyle now for a healthier tomorrow.

1. Reduce stress to help fight unwanted weight gain

Did you know that excess stress can contribute to an increase in weight? If you're constantly stressed, you can experience an overexposure to cortisol, the stress hormone released by the adrenal glands. Since cortisol is an appetite stimulant [1], stressful situations often see us reaching for comfort food.

So what can we do to stop stress messing with our weight management? Everyone experiences stress to varying degress so it's important to recognise when you're feeling stressed and what you can do to reset. Here are simple steps you can take to calm down and recover from a stressful situation:

  • Get outdoors and spend time in nature
  • Ditch the comfort food and nourish your body with nutrient-dense wholefoods
  • Exercise for 20 minutes
  • Practice a short yoga (you can find plenty of these on YouTube)
  • Practice mindfulness through meditation or deep breathing
  • Listen to relaxing music
  • Read a book
  • Ask family or a friend for support
  • Spend time with a pet

2. Get more sleep to support your physical health and optimal brain function

When it comes to supporting optimal health, getting enough sleep needs to be a priority. Not only is sleep essential for repair and recovery, but getting adequate rest can also support weight management, mental health, immune function, heart health, brain function, the list goes on.

With an increasing body of research highlighting the link between poor sleeping habits and chronic disease, it's vital to establish healthy sleeping habits that work in tune with your circadian rhythm. By waking up at the same time and going to sleep at the same time every night, you can work in tune with your circadian rhythm and start the day feeling more energised. 

To get into good bedtime habits and enhance your sleep, switch off your devices at least 30 minutes before going to bed, hold off on caffeine after 2pm, and enjoy a relaxing herbal tea before hitting the hay.

3. Eat more plants to enhance your gut health

One of the easiest ways you can support optimal gut health is by eating a diet rich in a colourful range of plant-based wholefoods and avoiding processed foods. By maintaining a healthy balance of good and bad bacteria in the gut, you can help improve your immune function, decrease inflammation, support mental health and protect your body from certain diseases. 

"Try to get as many different plant-based foods in your diet each week, aiming for around 20-30 different foods. Variety is key, because each vegetable contains different nutrients that the gut thrives on." 

- Dr Megan Rossi, Registered Dietician with a pHD in gut health from the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

To support optimal gut health, our smoothie boxes are designed to incorporate a diverse range of plant-based ingredients that actively promote the growth of beneficial bacteria. Every smoothie box from Craft Smoothie contains 25+ different plant-based foods, making it easy to incorporate a broad range of seasonal fruit, veggies, and organic superfoods into your diet. Here's how the ingredients in our smoothie boxes can support your gut health:

  • By expanding the variety of plant-based foods in your diet and rotating them seasonally, your gut benefits from a more varied population of beneficial bacteria
  • Our smoothies are high in dietary fibre which is a critical ingredient for gut health because it feeds the good bacteria
  • All of our smoothie recipes are gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free which is key to supporting a healthy gut

Make sure you check out these simple healthy habits that you can put into practice to improve your gut health naturally.

4. Drink more water to support optimal digestion and boost your body's ability to burn fat

Drinking plenty of water is another easy way you can support a healthy gut and is also critical for optimal digestion. Water helps break down the food you eat and supports your absorption of important nutrients. Drinking water can also help kick-start your metabolism and boost your body’s ability to burn fat. For further digestive support, try adding the juice of half a lemon or one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to your water 15 to 20 minutes before eating to help stimulate your stomach acid.

Drinking enough water each day is arguably the easiest way to help detox your body naturally and make the job of flushing out toxins easier. Water supports optimal performance of the organs of detoxification, namely the kidneys, which are necessary for helping the body to remove waste and toxins from the bloodstream. Adding lemon to your water can also have detoxifying benefits, as lemon enhances enzyme function, stimulating the liver and aiding in flushing out toxins. 

5. Quit the diets and rethink your approach to detoxing

The key to successful weight loss is starting small - making small sustainable changes to your diet or lifestyle until those changes become habits. Rather than attempting to introduce a hundred and one changes at once, get comfortable with one or two new routines before taking on another.

The same goes for detoxing - there's no 3-day or 7-day detox diet that can shield your body from ingesting toxins. We're exposed to toxins every day, from the toxins we ingest through what we eat and put on our skin, to those found in our external environment, and the toxins that are made as by-products within our bodies. This is why you need to consider how to support your body's natural detoxification processes through the diet and lifestyle choices you make on a daily basis. See our guide: How To Detox Your Body Without Going On A Diet to learn how you can take a long-term and sustainable approach to reducing the toxic build-up in your body by adopting healthy habits and making smart lifestyle and food choices.

And don't forget to start your day right!

Starting your day right is vital and has a positive flow-on effect for the rest of your day. If you want to nail your first morning habit, try Craft Smoothie today and we'll send you everything you need to craft our healthy smoothie recipes at home.

 

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