Five habits that can subtlycompromiseyour health

Five habits

that can subtly compromise your health

We all know that many of our lifestyle choices influence our health and wellbeing.

However,what we don’t often consider are the small things we repeatedly do that impact our health.I believeit’s importantto considerhealth andwellness changes framed froma positive perspective –for example, how youcan helptoimprove yourwellbeing witheasy habit tweaks. It’s alsoimportant toacknowledge thereare common habits thatmany ofus have, that don’t serveour health.Hereare five common habits that can compromise your wellbeing and be putting additionalpressure on your body.

That secondcoffee Caffeine in small dosescan be beneficial. It assistscognition and memory,helps with bowel regularity, mostly via enhancing bile production (blackcoffee), and obviously gives an uplift in energy– but many people regularly overconsumecoffee. Depending on the size and the strength of thecoffee served, that secondcoffee could be two additional shotsontop of the first. While it may give youan initial boost,caffeine blocks our body from absorbing nutrients, puts the nervous system into the fight or flight response, asksa lotof the adrenal glands and the liver, and has myriad flow on effectsto other body systems. Caffeine leads the bodyto make adrenalin, theveryhormone that drives anxiousfeelings, so ifyou arealready quite an anxious person, adding more adrenalincan leave youfeelingveryuncomfortable.

Wine afterwork Many people use alcohol asa reward or to winddown, yetit is not as harmlessasyou might think. Having onetotwo glasses ofwine every night afterwork quickly equates to far more than the current guidelines recommend, especially ifyou’refillingupyour glass. Current guidelines suggestonestandard drink maximum per day (which is 100ml or around four sips of wine), less if there is ahistoryof breastcancer in thefamily.Asa substance that the human bodycan’t eliminateas itis (alcohol must be converted into acetaldehyde before it canbeexcreted), alcohol needs tobe changedbythe liver before being eliminated from the body. If we areconsuming a significant amount of what Icall “liver loaders”(alcohol, processedfoods, transfats, synthetic substancestonamea few), itcan heavily impacton our biochemicalpathways and begintotakeits toll onourenergy, health, fat utilisation, sleepand disease prevention. Asa general rule of thumb, have at leasttwo alcohol-free daysa weekaswell.

Beforedinner snacks Rushing through the door and engulfing everythingand anything inyour path,is something I’m sure many peoplerelate to. Despite makinggoodfood choices allday, whenyou arrive home,nothing is safe –nextminute you’velost count of how many crackers with cheese or dipyou’ve eaten,and you find yourself finishinga bottle of wine. If you know that before dinner snacks are your downfall, beprepared. Either have asnack beforeyou leavethe office, havenourishing options on handathome, oreat afternoontea.

Eatingtakeawaysatwork With lotsof latenights,it’s easytofall into the trapofeating dinneratwork. I’msure we can all agree that havingtakeawaysmost nights doesn’tdoyour health andwellness many favours. Despite the increasing availability of options,takeaways stilltendtobehigher in poor quality salt,oils and sugars than homecooking (particularly those made from scratch).Try toplan ahead. Ifyou know you’ve got ahuge deadline andyou’ll needtowork back, make alargerbatch of foodthe night beforeandtakeleftoversor employ another strategythat worksfor you.

Omitting movement You’ve been planning on gettingtothegym all day. However, just before you slip your trainerson– youget handed another joband havetostay to completeit. Depending onyour commitmenttomovement, it’s easy inthat momenttothink– “ahwell itwasn’t meantto betoday.”Prioritising movement is essential. Perhaps, you needtoconsidergetting up earliertoensure youget movement done in the morning– on top of giving your bodythe movement it needs,you willarrive at work energised and uplifted.

Dr Libby

‘Detox by Dr Libby’ is a28day programme designedtotrulyreset your health. The next intakes starton September5 andOctober 3. Find out howgoodyourbody is supposedto feel,and formoreinformation, visit: www. drlibby.com/courses

Step into the confident woman you know you can be

A woman who’s

• comfortable in her body, • no longer held back by the critical voice of shoulds, have tos, and musts, and • ready to trade in all the people pleasing and habits that burn you out, with ones that energise you and allow you to do more of what you love.

If you’re ready to rediscover that version of you, then it’s time to start life coaching with me.

Are your choices moving you closer to what you want, or keeping you stuck?

I’ve seen so many people lately who are rundown, burnt out, unhappy,andgenerallyfeeling disconnected to their lives. Whentalkingtothem, they’requicktojumptoeverything that’s making themfeel thisway; why they’renot abletobring movement into their lives, why theirtoo stressedtotake a break, why it’s too difficulttomake achange.

Whenyou step backfor asecond,you see they’resimply gettingcaught up in what’s notworkingfor them, and focusing on the actions and behaviours that aren’t supporting them.

Asa result, life simply ends up happeningtothem and often not inthe direction they were wishingfor.

There arelotsof things outside ofyourcontrol, and difficult situations pop up all the time,yet in these moments youalways have the freedomtochoose how you lookatthe situation, how youwanttofeel about it, and what youwanttodo about it.

Some choices move you forward, others keep you stuck.So ifyou’ve beenfeeling ina rut lately, I encourage youtoreally lookatthe choicesyou’re making inyoureveryday life. Are youcommittingto things that move youtowardswhat youwant in life (the mindset,behaviours, and habits that serve you) OR are your choiceskeepingyou stuck in the same oldpatterns delivering unsatisfactoryresults?

If it’s the latter, please don’t judge yourself, itjust meansyou’rein the perfect positiontostart making a change.

Sarah is an internationally certified Life and Wellness Coach, who supports you in rediscovering who you are and how to bring greater joy, health, and fulfillment to your life.

Pick one thingyou reallywanttofocus onfor therestof theyear, and askyourself thefollowing: • What choices amI committingtothat arepulling me further away from achieving this? • What aresome healthier choicesI canmake for myself here? • What do I needtoprioritise, or seek support with,to help me in making these new choices?

Ifyou’d like to continuemaking healthier choices inyour life, and break free from the habits that areholdingyou back, getsupport througha 1:1 life coaching programme with me. Bookyourcomplimentary consultationtodayat sarahtrass.com.