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Posted by Jamie McKay on January 4, 2021
Well, we made it to 2021! That should be a cause for celebration, but this year has got off to a muted start with the resurgence of coronavirus and dreadful puns. So, how about we look at some positive actions we can all take to keep us going through dark January? The month that seems to last for 64 days.
New Year resolutions are a bit like Marmite, they sit in a jar gathering dust in the kitchen…wait no, people either love them or hate them.
People often associate resolutions with drastically giving up stuff that they like, but they don’t have to be!
Rather than thinking ‘what pleasure can I deny myself?’ how about ‘how can I improve me?’
You may already go jogging twice a day, eat only spinach and drink fresh spring water, in which case I am sure we will read all about it on Facebook. The rest of us will have quite possibly overindulged during the festive period, going from eating pigs in blankets, to becoming a pig in a blanket.
Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to be healthier? Exercise a bit more? Be a bit more mobile? Start a new hobby? Finish that book you said you would write last year?
All of these are positive and more importantly, achievable. Some people plan unrealistic resolutions that start on the 2nd January and are quite often doomed to fail, giving up by the 5th January!
If you plan to give up smoking, drinking, eating meat, going to the gym, going to bed early all on one dark and cold January morning after you’ve spent two weeks attacking a mountain of cheeses, you are not really giving yourself a fighting chance!
Small, gradual changes will be easier to achieve, smoking less, maybe only drinking at the weekend, going for a walk 3 times a week. These are all realistic improvements.
It may feel like jogging is the only exercise available right now, living in perpetual lockdowns certainly limits the places you can go to exercise, with leisure centres and gyms closed in much of England.
But, last year’s lockdown in March brought out creative ways to exercise while we were stuck inside in our homes for days on end.
From Joe Wicks keeping children fit every morning, to Oti Mabuse teaching us how to dance, there is a plethora of ways we can exercise at home, all you need is a television, computer, or smart phone.
For example, there are countless yoga videos available and yoga is the perfect exercise if you don’t have much room, all you need is a yoga mat and you are good to go!
You can even exercise without having to leave your sofa, which may sound like it defeats the purpose of exercise, but you really can. Chair exercisers and hand exercisers are perfect examples of mobility aids that you can use while you watch TV.
If you can, get out and about outside for a walk. Fresh air and walks in nature are good for the mind, body, and soul. We have a huge range of walking aids, that will help those of us who may find long walks a bit of a struggle.
I didn’t expect to be writing that on a Monday morning, but there you go! When it comes to healthy eating, there is a tendency to go from eating steak and chocolate every night, to only eating leaves and carrots. Which means not only will you get cravings, but you will also always be hungry and more likely to be on the phone to Dominos Pizza by the end of the week.
We need to get out of the idea that eating healthily just means giving up nice things, instead it means improving what you eat. Plus, all the restaurants and pubs are shut, so in theory that should make it easier.
Simply by cutting down on portion sizes and having less salt, can vastly improve your diet. Eating healthily does require more effort (you don’t hear of many salad deliveries or takeaways) so you will need to plan your menus for the week, try some new recipes, make meals more interesting, it will feel like less of a chore!
The BBC good food website even has an entire section devoted to healthy meals that look inviting!
Some things are out of our control, especially during a pandemic. Hoping to go on holiday, to 4-star restaurants, the theatre, concerts, parties, meeting friends and family are what we all want of course, but we can’t control this.
When you make a list of changes you want to make this year, oh and we forgot to mention, making lists is how to start making any changes, why not make a list of hopes too?
That way you won’t be too hard on yourself if they don’t happen, when you want them to happen, and will be pleasantly surprised if they do!
Whatever happens this year we wish you a happy new year and trust that you will stay safe. If you want some helpful advice on mobility aids then please do give us a call, we will be more than happy to help. If you have your own resolutions, then let us know how you are getting on through our Facebook and Twitter pages. And do watch out for the launch of our new year competition – a new year, a new you!
