by Heidi Dening of Jumpstart Outdoor training

Maintaining Good Health
February 2008
The Silly Season's been and gone, Summer's almost over, and Autumn leaves will soon start to fall.

"So What", you say.  Let's assess where we are at physically, weightwise and most importantly, health-wise.

The best advice I ever received was from a woman in her sixities who said:  "it's amazing how the weight slowly creeps on.  It's so easy for it to gradually increase at the rate of 1 kilo per year.  The next thing you know is that you're 20 years older and you're 20 kilos heavier!"

Therefore, that 1 kilo you maybe put on over the Christmas and Holiday season might be viewed in a slightly different light.

To achieve good health:

• you don't need to be health junkies
• you don't need to eat lettuce leaves and pumpkin seeds
• you don't need to jog 10 kilometres and lift Herculean weights.
  

You just need to:

• keep an eye on things
• be mindful of your health, fitness levels, flexibiity and strength
• eat a nutritious, healthy diet
• maybe supplement this with vitamins and minerals if you're not covering all bases
• drink about 2 litres of water throughout the day
• exercise regularly, even if that just means walking
• keep stress to a minimum
• watch your alcohol intake

Most importantly, this doesn’t apply just to you. Think about your partner, your parents, and most importantly, your children who are exposed to a plethora of advertising campaigns which eat into your wallet and often add to their waistlines.

Health Tips for a Healthy Autumn

As seasons change, so does your body and your demeanour.  As the weather starts to cool down, days are generally warm but the evenings are getting cooler, consider changing your diet and exercise routine.

Also, Autumn is a good time to maintain good lung health and a strong immune system, particularly as Winter nears and coughs and colds are more prevalent. Eating for the seasons has been a belief of Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners as well as those who will only eat organic foods. Eat what’s in season, not that which has been stored in a cool-room for the past six months, or that which has been flown in from some far away place.

Keep up your exercise routine but maybe vary it a little. Just because the days are getting shorter, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t walk or that you should exercise less.

You might consider including Yoga, Pilates or Boxing in your program – if you already have one. If you don’t, then talk with someone who can set you up with something that will suit you. This is really important. If you signup for something you don’t like, you won’t stick to it. So, get the right advice and set some goals, you’ll be happy and so will your body.