What’s the one single change you made that most benefited your health?

[ethelfleda]

I feel rubbish all the time lately. Lethargic and wound up etc. I’m sure I need more sleep, more exercise, less sugar and less caffeine etc but I’m not feeling particularly motivated!
What is the one single thing you’ve done that has made the biggest positive impact on your health or wellbeing?

I'm going to be greedy and give three:

(Accidentally) massively reducing caffeine intake = improved sleep.

Walking to work and at lunch = little endorphin and metabolism boost 3x a day.

Only drinking alcohol for special occasions = cheaper to get drunk, no 'fug' even if not a hangover at the weekend etc.

Thanks all!
I have a fitbit but haven’t used it much the last couple of weeks. I was doing ok until I got two bouts of illness in a row and now I’m back to being too sedentary!

Agree with whoever said that having your toddler in your bed doesn’t help. We have just decorated his room and hopefully he will move in there soon. He has been sleeping with me since 5 months old! I breastfed but we stopped a couple of months ago.
It’s a killer at the mo because he hasn’t adjusted to the clocks going back so he is walking at 5am

OP, regarding time, start small, 10 minutes skipping/stretching/walking etc.

Have a look on youtube, there are loads of short burst tutorials.

Good luck.

@hovatn

Weirdly, that really appeals to me! Are you in the UK? Where do you sleep? Do you have extra bedding etc to keep the cold out? And what about rain? Sorry to bombard you, but it's like you just opened a door in my brain!

Cut my working hours to what I need to pay the bills and enjoy a nice holiday every couple of years with camping in between.

Less money by way more time for the things that matter to me. Instead of working to buy clothes and gadgets I don't even much want I get to potter in the garden, go for ten mile hikes, swim, read trashy novels, hang out with friends and family.

Going vegan (from 30 years vegetarian)

Retiring.

Getting more exercise.

Order your Vitamin D from Healthspan online. Much cheaper and free delivery.

Sleeping outside from March to December....

I'm intrigued by this- where do you sleep?!

On the balcony.

Less money by way more time for the things that matter to me. Instead of working to buy clothes and gadgets I don't even much want I get to potter in the garden, go for ten mile hikes, swim, read trashy novels, hang out with friends and family

This really appeals to me - but there is always something stopping me from doing it! I guess because then DH would be the main breadwinner whereas at the mo, we are pretty much equal. And I do get to work from home a couple of times a week.

I think I need to pick one or two things to work on at first or I won’t stick to it. Perhaps just exercise and sleep! My diet is relatively good and I am good at cooking fortunately.

I like Dr Chatterjees approach to health. He has lectures on the Calm app. Just sensible and achievable.

Got a local new job walking distance from my house thus removing the need a 2 hour each way commute into London and back. Until it was over I didn't recognize how much the constant low level stress I had around travel had been affecting my overall mental health. It's amazing what having a decent work-life balance does!

Cutting out dairy

I guess because then DH would be the main breadwinner whereas at the mo, we are pretty much equal

You definitely have to take your partner into account, we both cut our hours, but some people thrive on work so it is different for every couple.

I had (mild but debilitating) CFS triggered by bronchitis but which persisted due to digestive issues. Eventually I tried low FODMAP (with the help of my GP) and identified what was triggering my IBS and my goodness, did I feel better! CFS is in remission and I am full of life in a way I hadn’t been for a good few years.

Not saying that CFS or fibro or anything like that can be cured by diet - I know it can’t, my dearest friend and her sister both have it badly and nothing has worked to help them - but it worked for me. And obv my IBS cleared up astonishingly too. It's funny but my DH notices before I do that I’ve eaten something that disagreed with me, because I go white and lethargic just as I used to before I got better. And he’s usually right!

Seeing a good osteopath regularly! Taking high dose (2-4k IU daily - life-changing!) vitamin D, and also high dose vit C, B vits and iron supplements. Getting plenty of sleep! Yoga - not daily, but regularly enough that I'm not slowly seizing up.

Now I'd like to work on exercising regularly and cutting down sugar in my diet.

Giving up alcohol.

Every so often I go back to it for a few weeks/months and the pounds pile back on. Alcohol has such an impact on my appetite/sleep/skin/wellbeing.

I feel so much better without it .... but I do love the taste

@ssd no the dose is far too low in a multivit. You can buy decent supplements online. I take 2-4,000 IU daily and it sorted me right out (according to my GP, max you can take in a day is 5,000 IU). No more anxiety and feeling like I had the flu constantly! Amazing. I really like the brand Solgar (purchasable on Amazon).

Taking b vitamins helps me hugely

If you take exercise and don't have Vitamin D, you are just boosting the endorphins but it isn't sustainable and you will still feel knackered and anxious (often you might feel anxious because exercising is so tiring on top of everything, sleep deprivation etc, and worrying about fitting it in )

If you are a newish mother(first two years), it is very common to be Vitamin D or iron/folate deficient and not realise it.

Running outside definitely for me. Now when I'm feeling meh and tired I know I haven't been for a run lately.

@Talcott2007 you are so right. My commute was 1hr15 each way if all the trains were running properly (1 train, 2 metros, and then a bus or walk). By the end I was getting up at 5.15 to make sure I got into work on time (needed to eat a good breakfast before going in as I wouldn't get to eat again until 1pm). Often fell asleep on the train on the way home (luckily lived at the end of the line so some kind soul would usually wake me when we got there). Until I stopped doing it, I didn't realise just how utterly debilitating it was.

Leaving a workplace that had become really bad for me.

I was over-reliant on caffeine to get me through the day and then sleeping tablets and/or alcohol to get me to sleep. I stopped taking the tablets and reduced my caffeine and alcohol use and after a while I felt loads better.

BUT I was motivated by trying to get pregnant, I don't think I would have changed otherwise.

You say your diet is good, but what do you actually eat?

Hi OP, I just want to second the running - or swimming or tennis or whatever exercise you love. You need to do it without you child or children so not walking with a buggy. The reason is, it is your fully alone time, for you, when you are not a wife, partner, mother, worker. You are just you, 100% working with your body and your thoughts.

How to make time? Schedule it. Agree a time with your partner/ sister/ friend/ whoever so that there are 2-3 times in the week you have time for this. It was one of the things that saved me as my MH spiralled with PND.

I always say to people who wonder about finding time, Barrack Obama ran for 45 mins every morning when he was president of the US. If he could find time, we can.