To ask for the healthiest changes you have ever made?

[Hannajp]

Just that really. I’ve tried things but never kept them up. I know less Internet/phone and more water would be good so I might try that!

I drink a smoothie in the morning and take my supplements with it
That way even if the rest of the day goes to shit I've had protein, fruit, and my multivitamins/collagen/iron/vitamin D

I found that when I started drinking two litres of water a day, even though I finished it before 6pm, I was getting up in the night for a wee. So I stopped that.

@Mills86 I second this. Less stuff has really helped my mental health.

Physical - stopping smoking and drinking and at least 2l of water daily.

It’s a lady on insta. She does 10 minute work out videos 5 days a week (although they’re often longer than 10 minutes). You do pay but I feel it’s worth it. I tend to do the video twice so I’m exercising 20 minutes a week day and it’s the first time I’ve consistently maintained that frequency of exercise.

Bookmarked for ideas 👀

Hiking.

Green chef boxes. We ate much healthier smaller portions.

Personal trainer coming to the house.

I started walking at least 10000 steps a day. It’s easier to stick to than you’d think. I do most of it just by taking the dog on a couple of walks a day.

Definitely! It provides so much mental clarity, I find.

I’m pretty sure I have undiagnosed OCD and binge eating disorder and the excessive gifts (mainly loads of plastic toys from relatives and things like chocolate tins) felt quite stifling on Christmas Day. I hate to say that as it feels terribly ungrateful but in the spirit of being honest on here.

Giving up alcohol. I used to think it was normal to wake up with a hangover on the weekend. Now I only have one drink or so a month and amazingly I don’t miss it even though I used to love drinking. It’s probably an age thing as I couldn’t tolerate alcohol so well as I got older.

Cut down portion sizes. Sometimes I will have a sandwich with just one piece of bread. It doesn’t make much difference to how full you feel if you cut your portion size in half.

I try to drink more water but find it hard if I’m out and about as I need the loo all the time and also, I’m sure it does help but I don’t feel any benefits.

Also I sleep worse if I go to bed early so I don’t like doing that and never have. I usually wind down for the last few hours before bed though.

Doing a 20 minute YouTube workout every day as I find it hard to get to a gym class and don’t like running.

Yoga and learning to breath, properly... has helped with muscle, strength and mindfulness. Life always seem better after a yoga session be it 10mins or 1 hour. Breathing with intent has eased pain and stress.

Daily 1-2 hours walking outside -mental health, has improved.

Would you recommend collagen? What improvements have you seen?

What's in your smoothie? I really like the idea of getting all this done in one fell swoop!

And sorry, what vitamins do you take?

@MILTOBE I've only just started the collagen
So not sure yet!
I do Greek yoghurt, a flaxseed mix from Lidl, berries or a banana, milk and protein powder or collagen powder
I take with it a multi vitamin, vitamin D high dose, an iron supplement and a turmeric one (I use nutrition geeks or sealion)

This! Can easily drink a pint of hot-ish water over a pint of cold. I also add a pinch of good quality salt.

Cold showers and using my cool pod along with breathing techniques, the rush you get afterwards is just unbeatable, really helps me feel less stressed with very minimal effort.

When catch up tv came along (IPlayer and others), no more late nights for any tv programme.

Consistent sleep has worked wonders.

Specific to me: having a surgery that I’d previously deemed too risky and having a massive improvement afterwards. Going back to uni to study a subject I love. (I suppose the takeaway is take reasonable risks where the reward is worth it, and follow your dreams / do something you love.)
More general: quitting smoking ten years ago. Reading in bed each night before I go to sleep. Choosing to stay single versus putting my energy into romantic relationships. Having a crafty hobby that I do every day, even if only for a few minutes.

Giving up smoking 5 years ago

@CelieandNettie
That sounds ideal for me too!
Can I ask for recommendations for the exercise video please

I follow a lady called Monikafit on You Tube. She has lots of videos for stretching and cardio. I particularly like her because she doesn't talk ! Just exercise with chilled music - just what I need at 6am every day

Drinking more water
Weightlifting - Has TOTALLY changed how i feel about getting exercise, if you ate someone who struggles with/dreads/hates high-energy workouts like running or HIIT like me - weights weights weights! I look forward to it so much, I go slow and focus on doing it right, quality over quantity/speed anytime.

Quit drinking alcohol 7 months ago
Boxing training/running 5-6 x a week
Keto + huge volume of vegetables

Quitting drinking had a massive cascade of positivity.

I no longer made excuses, but more to the point I no longer wanted to make excuses. I didn't talk shit about myself to myself, I stopped feeling demotivated and lethargic.
My low level, alcohol induced anxiety disappeared.
I started feeling energized, clear headed, motivated, positive and engaged and I've been able to cultivate consistent discipline around this.

For me it was changing my attitude on exercising- doing it for the joy and not thinking of it as a weight loss tool. I now look forward to going for a run!

Drinking a lot less than I did - peri menopause and alcohol just do not work well for me.

As much water as I can manage every day - I really notice when I don't do this, feel very tired and sluggish.

Stopped snacking after dinner or between meals, helps keep weight down.

Have been vegan for about 7 years too and noticed a huge difference in my skin, anxiety levels and energy after that.

Regular exercise, walking, running, anything outdoors.

Got a dog. And then a second dog 🐶 - I swear my stress levels drop instantly when I cuddle them

Gave up sugar - not obsessively; I eat fruit and all the sweeter veg, but I don’t eat processed sugar, or biscuits/ cakes/ sweets/ chocolate.

The flavours of other foods are much stronger. And a myriad of tiny issues have disappeared. This is the first year I’ve kept it up over Christmas too.