I’ve written before about why we should get outside in nature more.

Unfortunately more and more evidence is coming to light about the increasing sickness due to the lack of outdoor time. There is now the term “nature deficit disorder” which suggests children who spend too much time indoors on screens may develop attention deficits, hyperactivity, or depression. 

You can look at all the studies and science you like but when you use common sense you know you feel better when you’ve been out in nature- calmer, happier, more focused, you sleep better and there’s a sense of belonging.

Are we becoming desensitised? Are we so distracted we’re losing the ability to sense the world around us?

It seems more and more difficult to be fully immersed in conversations. You can almost hear the noise coming from the minds of those “busy” people who see conversing as either a necessity to getting something achieved or an inconvenience as it’s halting their productivity. Now, this is not about idle chat about what junk food John from reception might be eating or the latest reality show gossip but proper discussions with a colleague, friend or family member.

If we’re not present, we’re disconnected. If we’re disconnected we’re isolated. If we’re isolated we lack a deep support network and when we lack that we get lonely, anxious and depressed.

I came across the “New 24-hour movement guidelines” for Aussie children a few months back- 

“Sixty minutes of physical activity, less than two hours of screen time and around nine hours of sleep a night - that's what school kids need according to new national guidelines. Link here.

In my opinion, if this is what we’re aiming for, then we’re a way off creating fully functioning kids. 

Thankfully more and more information is coming out as to why women are different from men and why women need to eat, train and recover differently to men but not only that- why women need to adjust these factors with each day.

I’ll be writing more about some of these factors in the near future but here’s an interesting article called Here's What To Eat At Every Step Of Your Cycle that’s well worth a read.

This blog is designed to create lasting and successful behaviour changes. If your change your mindset and behaviours you’ll be able to fit in enough wellness measures into your day to see good health and fitness improvements in your life without necessarily needing more time.

Take this scenario-

I tell you to stretch your neck out daily because otherwise it will lead to lack of mobility, pain and possibly degeneration of the spine but then the thought goes out of your mind despite an email reminder and week in and week out you forget even though you mean to do it each week and it’s causing you discomfort.

When you think of fitness what springs to mind? Running 10 k’s, bootcamps, spin classes or all of the above?

Fitness can mean so many things to different people but I like to put into the everyday life so answer me these 10 questions and let me know how many out of 10 you say yes to-

Being that I research daily on all health related topics I sometimes get asked what professionals I follow. The list is quite vast as I love hearing the many varying opinions on subjects but I’ve listed just a handful of them below with links to their websites. It’s worth mentioning that although I have catergorised them into separate health headings, there is usually a crossover with the other headings, for example, Chris Kresser has information on nutrition, sleep, movement and much much more.

I hope you find these resources useful.

Ok, so we’re surrounded by them- that’s a weird thoughts. And we need to look after them right. So does this mean that we should use clothing to hold them up and keep them from moving anywhere? The answer seems to point to no- not for most of the time anyway.

If you were to use a back support to help support your spine all day every day, what do you think would happen to your muscles around that area? Your body would assume they are no longer required and your muscles would weaken (atrophy).

I’m actually writing this blog while being a little unwell. I don’t get sick very often but I had to convince myself, even with everything I know, that I should take the next couple of days off to rest and recover. It’s sometimes really hard to stop. You may say to yourself you’ll just sweat it out with a workout but when you read this article, you’ll find you’re not just wasting your time exercising when you’re unwell but hindering your recovery.

This is a question I’ve been asked more than once and with the Ketogenic diet gaining popularity I thought I’d share this article addressing this topic.

I see so many health and movement issues in my clients that are driven out of lack of movement or those who do single repetitive movements.  The simple notion of moving more feels too hard in the ever increasing demands on our free time.  All this busyness drains the brain which makes the body feel tired… yet the whole body hasn’t likely moved much at all! 

So ask yourself this - How much of you are you moving and how often?

I never start the new year with resolutions to change. For me, starting to implement health changes whilst on holiday just isn’t going to succeed. Others do have good results with this focus but the evidence seems to point to those successful people are in the minority.

So when embarking on a new health kick here’s a few things to consider-

In the world today there are thousands of chemicals and other toxins that can affect our body in many ways. A common one used in our food supply and in many households is Roundup by Monsanto. This product has recently been proven to cause cancer and yet some still use this product every day without caution.

It’s always a bit nervy for me doing public speaking but I do it as I’m on a mission to help give people practical ideas in the hope it will give them a better quality of life.

And last Saturday was the latest such session with the topic being “how healthy do you feel?” where I gave a short talk on a few things I do in my life to create a healthier and calming lifestyle.

We all like to think we can get away with things without there being any consequences- maybe driving too fast, taking risks at work or lying about something to make life easier for yourself.

One mindset in the health and fitness world is calories in calories out. If I eat this cake I can skip dinner or run it off and all is well.

How often you go to the loo, the smell and the texture can tell you a lot about a person’s health.

We can quite happily talk about detox with diets but sometimes we don’t like to talk about one of the most important forms of detox, which is going to the loo. Weeing and pooing are not only great ways of finding out more about how your body’s doing but are key for eliminating toxins from your body.

If there’s one statement my clients have heard me say on more than one occasion is that it’s not so much how you move in that short time when I’m with them coaching them but more how they move on everyday movements such as eating meals, cleaning teeth, putting on shoes, gardening, playing with kids etc.

There are many different ways to train. Your training method can depend on the results that you are after. So, if you’re doing body building type exercises in the gym or at home then you should expect those kind of results. If you run a lot then you’re training for just that type of exercise.

The funny thing about health and fitness (apart from my title) is that no matter how deep I dive into the research about what’s good for us, what’s not and why, it all comes back to some simple things I’ve talked about in previous blogs like moving in nature, eating fresh local produce, sleeping a restorative sleep and having a happy community around you for support and friendship.

Are you sure what you’re doing is correct when you have an injury like a swollen joint? The RICE concept may or may not be the best go to for healing your body.

What could possibly be bad about having regular green smoothies? Well, as you know from my approach, anything can be problematic, it just depends on the person and the situation. I’ve recommended having smoothies as it can be a great addition to some, some of the time.

Overtraining is just for the professionals. It's becoming more and more common in the general public with the likes of Crossfit and bootcamps. I think there are great components to Crossfit and bootcamps and that’s why they've taken off globally but it also means you can work out at a very high intensity every day.

In a world of technology we can be consumed by it leaving no time for actually living your life. Saying that it can also be very useful for your health and fitness in the right doses. One size doesn’t fit all but if tech is your thing then this podcast interview with Josh Trent from Dr Michael Ruscio’s show discussing tools that you can use to help you on your health and fitness journey might be just the ticket...

We know that getting outdoors in nature is a good thing yet we do it less and less because it’s becoming part of our culture.

What a great line- “Rest nurtures creativity, which nurtures activity. Activity nurtures rest, which sustains creativity,” - Kim John Payne

In this interesting article from Green Child Magazine it looks at how simplifying a child’s life for better growth and wellbeing is key in a world with so much stimulus. 

Trying to balance your blood sugars is hugely important. Blood sugar levels that are too high or too low can be dangerous but with restful sleep, regular movement throughout the day, being mindful of your stress levels and eating “whole” foods can help you achieve good blood sugar levels without the need of medication.

In a country with access to so much food, it’s sometimes easy to forget where the food comes from, how it was processed and who was involved from start to finish.

Tuna- a widely thought health food is the topic of this video called Caught.

This is a great article on why sleep matters for better health (as we all know), what we can do about fixing it, but also the vicious cycles we can get caught up in with nutrition, exercise, relationships and our social network-