Avoid Sleep Robbers

Check out these health boosting tips - including a few from us - in the latest edition of Women's Running Magazine.

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Alcohol, Blood Pressure & Successful Strategies for Healthy Drinking

We’re often asked about alcohol.  People are usually concerned about how much is good to drink, should they abstain completely, or how many nights off alcohol they should have each week? 

There are clear government guidelines on what constitutes the recommended consumption for good health, and there has been much research done into the effects of alcohol on many areas of health, performance and sleep to name a few.

For the sake of this week’s series of blogs to coincide with Men’s Health Week, we’re looking at alcohol and it’s effects on blood pressure, primarily because we come across a lot of people with high blood pressure and alcohol can sometimes be a factor.

It’s important to point out right away thought that it’s not all bad news for drinkers as there is some evidence that moderate drinking can lower blood pressure and help you relax. 

The not so positive news however is that too much alcohol increases the tension in arteries causing blood pressure to rise.  Excessive consumption can also lead to weight gain, which in turn brings with it an increased risk of high blood pressure. 

As with much of our work, successful drinking is all about balance, so how do employees go about finding the right balance?

Many people we work with have an idea of what healthy drinking means for them but there are inherent challenges of working life that can get in the way, including:

• Work-related social events
• Business dinners (and lunches)
• Business travel

There’s also the factor that alcohol is often used as a way to unwind after a busy day or week .  This is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as you bear in mind that just because a little makes you feel good, more will not necessarily make you feel even better.

When it comes to maintaining a successful approach to drinking there are 4 simple steps to planning a strategy for balance, health and optimum blood pressure:

1. Devise a macro strategy

Most people know the consumption of alcohol that they enjoy and they also know (but often only with hindsight) when they’ve tipped the balance into the territory where they feel their alcohol consumption isn’t optimum in relation to achieving everything they’d like to during each week.  If you need to clarify the ideal consumption levels, keep notes for a couple of weeks on what you drink and when, and then make a call on how many units a week and how many alcohol free nights works best for you.

 

2. Apply a reality check

Look at your schedule – family plans, work commitments and social life – and plan your desired alcohol consumption around all of these events to ensure you can enjoy life while remaining within the limits of what works for you.

3. Develop some micro strategies

Be clear ahead of all events, social gatherings and work functions what your limits are and what your non-alcoholic choices will be.  If you plan ahead of time to have one or two drinks and then move on to sparkling water or fruit juice, then this is what will happen.  If you simply have a vague intention to moderate your intake and just hope for the best, you may not end up with the result you’re looking for.

4. Anticipate distractions

Sometimes our best intentions are waylaid by the persuasive abilities of others, so if you suspect that peer pressure or the excitement of the moment may distract you from your best intentions, be ready with mental prompt that will keep you on track.  Remind yourself that you’ve chosen your limits based on what you’ve decided, with a clear head, will give you the best result over the medium term.  Do not be distracted by what can be perceived as short-term extra pleasure. 

If you think you’ll need one, have a reason to stop drinking or not to drink in the first place that you can share with others.  Explain this to those you’re with at the beginning of the night and they’ll respect your choice for the rest of the evening.

So whatever your desired level of alcohol consumption is, even if you're aiming to avoid it completely for a given period, make your plan and review it regularly to ensure you get the right result for you and your healthy living objectives.

Image by Flickr:  isante_magazine

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Inspiring wellness success stories 3

Next up in our series, a guy who has lost 25+kg over the last 2 years and has more energy, much to the benefit of himself and his family.  Here's how he did it:

The date of your wellbeing programme:

Nov 2010 & Jan 2011

The lifestyle changes you made during programme:

Diet: avoid too much sugar, eat little and often, drink water throughout the day and stopped drinking sugary drinks

Exercise: Vary the running

The lifestyle changes you made following programme

Kept up with the diet elements as above, and have cut down on drinking (its taken a while!).  Exercise wise – kept up with varied running techniques (c. 25k a week), do stretching, weights, skipping sessions and min 60 press-ups a day (I could not do one when I was on the programme!)

The lifestyle changes that have stuck with you to the present day

No more than one coffee a day, no sugary drinks, eat little and often, plenty of water, reduced alcohol, and started to cook.

The secrets of your success with wellbeing

The programme was a key turning point and I feel healthier. Yes I may slip up on occasions (celebrating too much, a slice of cake etc..) but its all about moderation and awareness.

What advice that you received made the greatest impact on you?

The healthy eating advice

The biggest benefits of making your lifestyle changes?

Living longer I hope! Lost a lot of weight (25+kilos), have more energy for life  

Anything that got in the way of success with wellbeing

Diary challenges but I have a flexible approach to running sessions (as long as its 3 times a week)

When wellbeing is working for you, what are the key elements that make the difference?  

Running and improving my times, being able to exercise strenuously and wanting to do it again knowing that I need to pay attention to my diet if I am serious about improving. Being active feels better for both my family and myself. 

Read the previous instalment of our Inspiring Success Stories

Contact us to find out how we can help people in your organisation achieve fantastic wellness results.  info@the-tonic.com

Image by happy via Flickr

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Inspiring Wellness Success Stories 2

Continuing our series highlighting the amazing results that are possible with a wellness programme, we hear from Helen who begins the summary of her journey by saying,

'I was "Executive –pretend Fit". Fit on the outside – ticked the image boxes (went to gym, good BMI) but I was not well.

There are millions of us out there at senior executive levels – pretending we are doing the right things but feeling rubbish – especially after work when the day's stresses and poor nutrition catch up with us and we reach for a glass of wine.

I am a health professional who, despite a background in and understanding of, preventative health, still benefitted greatly from my time with you and the team'.

• The date of the wellness programme you attended

Sep/Oct 2011

• The lifestyle changes you made during programme

Better eating. I already was attending gym and doing yoga classes, my weight was fine but my nutrition was hopeless. 

• The lifestyle changes you made following your programme

I changed jobs. But I also stepped up from ordinary yoga to Bikram (hot) yoga. I try and attend 2-3 90 minute classes per week. It's been brilliant. I still do my weights resistance classes (Pump) at gym. The big change is that I seriously cut back my alcohol consumption from 1 1/2 glasses per night to maybe one glass a month. This is without doubt the best thing I have ever done.

• The secrets of your success with wellness

The Bikram yoga has really challenged my mindfulness and ability to de-stress with consciousness. The reduction in alcohol consumption was triggered by an event in Australia called "Dry July" where volunteers give up drinking for a month to support cancer research. This gave me the trigger (and the excuse with my friends and colleagues) to not drink for the month and then it was easy to keep going. It was far easier than I thought it would be.

• What advice that you received made the greatest impact on you?

Better nutrition.

• The biggest benefits of making your lifestyle changes?

Where to start? Transformational. Energy++, love the yoga and gym combination – neither one sufficient on their own for me.

• Anything that got in the way of success with wellness

I think the psychology of change is underestimated. The impact of Dry July was an important trigger for me to make the change. For example, if you say at a dinner party that you/re not drinking – you embarrass those who are or you seem a prima donna. If you have the trigger of a charity support or similar, it helps. This is just an example. But these triggers are significant enablers – or the lack of them serious impediments.

• When wellness is working for you, what are the key elements that make the difference?

Breakfast yes, no alcohol after work and a careful dinner - no snacking.

Professor Helen Chenery

The University of Queensland

Read the previous instalment of our Inspiring Success Stories series

Image by jhenryrose Flickr

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4 Top tips for making lifestyle changes

The period of Lent begins tomorrow and, whether you're religious or not, it's a time when many people choose to give up something for the duration - 6 weeks.  Someone sent me a note today that prompted me to write this blog:

'I'm not religious at all but as of tomorrow I'm giving up:

Chocolate
Caffeine
Bread
And...
Cake

Hope I can do it.'

My first thought was I wonder which will be the biggest challenge.  Turned out it's going to be cake.

For some people, the idea of giving up all of the above would be daunting.  Others seem to take on such challenges with ease.  We know because we've worked with many of them.  So I thought it worth sharing some thoughts on what makes people successful with removing certain behaviours from their life, whatever time of year they decide to do so.

1. It helps to have an alternative or substitute for each of the items that you're trying to remove from your routine.  Feeling as though you're missing out is a sure-fire way to send you running straight for whatever it is you're trying to avoid.  For the example above, this person could snack on nuts instead of chocolate, drink herbal tea instead of coffee and they'll need to plan carefully what their lunch options are if they're trying to avoid bread.  Salads will go so far but they'll also need some rice, pasta and potato options.

2. Be very clear about why you are making your chosen changes.  Remind yourself regularly throughout the day of the good reasons for sticking with your choices.  This is crucial.  Without this context to change your behaviour, you'll quickly fall back into old routines.

3) Acknowledge your progress regularly and very quickly your chosen new behaviours will become as well practiced and easy to follow as the habits you're replacing.  Tick off each day you complete as you intended according to your new plan and after just a few days you'll never look back.

And one last thing.  Those that succeed with lifestyle changes usually adopt the inner thoughts of, 'this is easy, I can do this, I want to make this work' rather than the thoughts which can limit success of others such as, 'this is so hard, I wish I hadn't started this, I'd kill for a coffee / chocolate bar / drink right now.'

Think seriously about what you want to change and when the time is right, commit to it and never doubt your ability to succeed.

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