What's the one thing that has made the biggest difference to your health?

[stripeyronnie]

Feel like I'm stuck in a health rut, a stone or two overweight, drinking a bit more than I would like, not sleeping well, not finding time for exercise, flipping between just about coping with 3 kids/ work/ dog/ house and then reaching a point of almost burnout and getting ill and having to rest before getting back into it all again. I do try to make better choices- I eat gluten free as I feel better on it, get out with the kids on bikes/ with the dog but it's just so bloody hard isn't it to prioritise self care when there's so much going on? I'd love to know what one thing you introduced to your life which has made a noticeable difference to your health?
For me it was losing the mindset that I had to clear my plate/ eat at set times regardless of hunger- since I've tuned into my hunger levels I have definitely been eating less and my weight has been the most stable it has for years. However any attempts I make to drink more water/ take a vitamin/ exercise more/ meditate- I don't keep up consistently as I either don't see an immediate benefit or it becomes too hard to fit into life.

Getting enough sleep.
It has a massive impact on health and is under rated.

Cutting my working hours by half.

Getting a personal trainer.

Not eating until after midday and stopping at 8pm unless I'm on a jolly. Walking everywhere I can...

Gave up alcohol
Started running, couch to 5k then training for half marathons
Lost 3 stone

Going low carb. Taking sugar out gave me more energy and reducing carbs means i fill up.on much more nutritiinal stuff like veg and protein.

Taking a probiotic keeps everything regular. Also shown to help with mood.

Lots of water.

The biggest thing I did was go for blood tests.

For some stupid reason I ignored the letters from my GP inviting me for the 'Over 40 MOT' and then when I turned 50 I ignored the letters for that too.

Then one day I went for a coil change and for some reason, I grabbed the over 50s blood test form from reception and had them done.

It turned out I had a very underactive thyroid and that all the symptoms...aches, pains, cramp in my foot, pins and needles, foggy brain etc that I'd been putting down to peri menopause, were in fact down to that.

I take Levothyroxine daily now and after a year of it, I've never felt more healthy.

Vitamin D high strength supplements. Cutting out sugar and most bread. Upping my veg and protein intake.

Plant based isn’t just vegan it’s unprocessed whole fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds and legumes. When eating this way started to become popular the food industry saw it as an opportunity and started advertise any vegan food even if it’s really just food as plant based.😊

Loosing weight. My asthma is better. My blood pressure is not so high, my blood sugar level is more balanced and my sleep is improving too. I feel more full of energy.

I don't drink alcohol, makes such a difference.

Took a more active job, lost some weight.

I have always taken a multivitamin every day. I know we get everything from our food, but the B vitamins are always good to have and in winter, the vit D is vital.

I cut down drastically on salt. Never add it to food, try not to eat too many salt-rich foods such as crisps, bacon and so on.

Upped the amount of veg I eat, don't eat too much processed. I don't eat take-aways and have reduced the amount of "stodge" food - bread, pasta, pasty and so on. It makes me so sluggish....and I'm so full of energy again when I cut these out.

Oh ok, I didn't know that. The 'based' bit made me think it was vegan with occasional animal foods, a family member has 'plant based' on their profile and eats eggs, cheese and processed vegan food.

I mean my breakfast was mostly plants, a huge pile of steamed swiss chard with butter, tomato, and two eggs (this is not a 'huge salad' type post, my teen is away and I am using things up!).

If I had to pick one thing, it was listening to 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear on Audible. It made it easier to realise how to actually change my habits and keep them up.

I now try to sleep at least 7 hours a night, exercise of some kind for at least 30 minutes each day, take a multivitamin and drink 1.5 litres of water a day. It's taken a while, but these things are all habits now, though I do still check them off on my habit tracker app.

We also don't keep gin in the house, which helped with the habit of one/two/three G&Ts after work!