Drink up!

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Why drinking 3l of water a day is a good idea

How many times have you heard that you should be drinking more water?
I know I don’t tend to drink enough water, so this year as part of my Year of Self Care I’m going to be making much more of an effort to get this right.

Why?

It’s good for me and as such I should be trying, right?

Right!

I’ve been told all my life that drinking enough water is important, and I’ve always accepted this, but what difference will it make and how much is enough?

The amount recommended varies a bit, but from what I’ve read 3 litres or a little over 5 pints seems about right for me. So, why is it important? Obviously drinking water is super important to keep us alive – we can only go a few days without drinking before we die, but we don’t NEED 3 litres. However, by keeping ourselves properly hydrated (not just hydrated enough to function) we support our bodies in lots of different ways.

Skin is the largest organ in the human body and is also the part of ourselves that we show to the world. Properly hydrated skin looks (and is) healthier. It looks brighter and clearer because it’s more likely to be able to fight of the bacteria that cause infection and spots. It also looks plumper meaning that those fine lines and wrinkles are much less visible.

Digestion is improved. This has a number of benefits including helping our gut bacteria thrive and keeping our stools soft, stopping uncomfortable constipation. Flushing our bodies with plenty of clean water helps our kidneys and liver by moving toxins through and keeping things diluted so issues like kidney stones are less likely.

Immune systems work better when the body is balanced. Particularly at the moment, we are all thinking about how we can boost our immune systems to work as efficiently as possible. Keeping your body topped up with water means that it has the best chance to fight infections.

Pain reduction is supported by drinking enough. As well as relieving headaches and clearing cramps your body is sensitive to imbalances and the way it talks to you is often through pain and discomfort. Keep it happy by keeping your fluids up.

Drinking enough water makes you look better, be healthier and feel better – it’s a no brainer! So what’s stopping me from drinking enough?

Partly it’s drinking the wrong things. Caffeine and alcohol are dehydrating. I’m not saying that if all you drank was booze and coffee that you would turn into a desiccated husk, but they are not giving you the best levels of hydration. You know that awful headache that you get after a less than sober night – dehydration!

Partly it’s that water can be a bit boring. I’m always more tempted by a fizzy pop or a cup of coffee, but they often contain that pesky caffeine as well a containing sugars which also lead to messing up your body chemistry. Try swapping out these types of drinks with no added sugar squashes or herbal teas.

Partly it’s about being organised. If you struggle to drink enough, try setting an alarm for every hour to remind you to have a drink. It’s much better for you to keep regularly hydrated throughout the day than to neck several pints in one go. Make sure that whatever you are doing you have access to healthy fluids and drink them regularly.

This is literally one of the most basic elements of Self Care, and yet so many people are getting it wrong. I’m going to make much more of an effort to turn this into an every day habit to take care of my body and would love to know what you drink, how you keep yourself motivated to maintain your hydration and any tricks or tips you have….let raise a glass and help one another….Cheers!

How do I help someone with addiction?

One of the most frustrating things on earth is watching someone you love throw their life away on an addiction.

It seems like nothing you say or do gets through to them. In fact the more you try to help them, the deeper they seem to sink into their addiction.

Sometimes that’s just annoying. Other times it’s a life and death situation.

If someone is addicted to coffee, you may not approve, but the chance are they’ll be ok. If they’re addicted to smoking, it may well be killing them, but it’s happening slowly and it may or may not affect them. If they’re addicted to alcohol, illegal or legal drugs they could be in more imminent danger. If they’re addicted to starving themselves, you may be watching them die.

Yet, despite this they don’t seem to be able to get their heads around the damage that they are doing to themselves. It’s as though the connections between what they ‘know’ is happening and the consequences to them are entirely gone.

I know this from personal experience.

I was a smoker for 17 years. I started when I was 21 (entirely old enough to know better) and quit 5 years ago. I can remember people saying to me “you know it’s bad for you right?” as though I was a moron or lived under a rock or something. People on the street would come up to me and say things like “It’ll stunt your growth you know”. I think they thought that was funny as I’m 6ft tall and a grown ass woman. My mum (an ex smoker) hated the fact I smoked and would ask me repeatedly to quit.

None of that made any difference.

It wasn’t about education either. As I said, I started smoking when I was 21. I was working as a microbiologist in Liverpool having been to University studying Biochemistry. I knew what smoking did to a body. I knew what it ‘could’ do to me. The thing was, it didn’t really do anything nasty at first. It was just a laugh with mates when we were out drinking. By the time I’d developed a smokers cough, I was already well into the addicted part.

So what made me try to quit? For me it was my best friend. I was complaining to her about people moaning at me about smoking and she said “So, are you just going to smoke until you die?” That was it. No attitude, no lecture, just a question. A question I had to think about. As I thought about it over the next couple of weeks I realised I didn’t want to die a smoker. I could visualise what my old woman self would look like smoking and coughing, wheezing along, maybe with an oxygen tank….and it horrified me. So then I had to think, well if I don’t want to die smoking, I’m going to have to quit at some point. Why not now? I mean it’s not like it’s going to get any easier?

Here’s my advice.

Don’t

1. Don’t Nag – it’s annoying and it just makes people dig their heals in.
2. Don’t lecture – it just makes the person being lectured at think up opposite arguments, which then helps to persuade them that what they’re doing is OK
3. Don’t promise rewards for abstinence – study after study has shown that offering rewards convinces the psyche that it must mean that thing they are being asked to do is difficult.

Do

1. Model the behaviour you want them to adopt. If you have someone in your life who is drinking too much, don’t drink around them. Don’t make a thing of it, just don’t do it. If you do what you are asking them not to, it just normalizes it for them and they think you’re an idiot.
2. Spend time with them. Show them they are loved and worth loving. One of the main reasons people self harm (and addiction IS a form of self harm) is because they don’t like themselves very much
3. Do fun stuff that distracts from their addiction. The more good stuff they have going on in their lives, the less room there is for bad stuff.
4. Ask questions. Get them to think about what they are doing, in their own time, in their own way
5. Be prepared for the fact that you may never get through to them. Ultimately you have to accept that it’s their life to live.

One final note – don’t forget to look after yourself. Don’t get obsessed with their addiction. It won’t help you or them. Take care of yourself and model healthy, social behaviour. It’s more powerful than you know.

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If you or someone you know has an issue with addiction, get help. You do not have to deal with this on your own. There are plenty of support groups online and in person. There are also thousands of professionals out there who can help you.

Good luck on your journey

New Years resolutions – start now!

How have you done on your New years resolutions for 2014?

Are you making any for 2015?

Why wait for January?

We are entering into an unusual time of the year. December and everything associated with Christmas is a time that is a little outside the normal way of things. There are more parties, more food and drink, more time with families, more opportunities to have time away from work. All of these things can either help, or get in the way of, all of the resolutions detailed above.

The choice is yours.

The thing to remember is that when you made this resolution, or when you have been thinking about starting it in January, you have made the decision that this is something you want to achieve – something you want in your life.

Why wait?

If you’re thinking about the idea that December is your last blow out before you start your change, I would question your commitment to changing.

If you really want to lose weight, why spend December putting on more weight to lose in January?

If you really want to give up smoking why spend December risking your health for another month?

If you really want to quit drinking, why spend December with a hangover and an abused liver?

If you really want to get out of debt why spend December getting yourself into a worse position?

If you really want to get fit. why spend December sitting on the sofa eating mince pies and making it harder to start in January?

January is a bit depressing. All the parties are over, all the presents are unwrapped, the weather is rubbish and there’s nothing to look forward to for ages….so why would you want to make a change in your life at a time when you are already struggling? Do it at a good time – like NOW!

There is also the pressure of everyone starting their new years resolutions in January. How great would you feel when people are going on about how much weight they have to lose, and how much they put on over Christmas, if you could say that you had already lost half a stone and were feeling amazing?

If you have struggled to make the changes you wanted to this year, maybe it’s time to think about getting professional help. It’s OK to want a helping hand to make a change in your life. The important thing is that you make the changes you want to so that you can be as happy and fulfilled as possible. I think Hypnosis is a great way of getting that support, but there are lots of people ready and waiting to help you – slimming groups, personal trainers, volunteer groups, debt counsellors, life coaches etc etc, so don’t think you have to do it all on your own.

What ever you want to achieve to make your life better, think about what’s stopping you.

Remember

Don’t give up what you really want for something you just want now.