Ditch the diet pressure and think health this year
By Gael Myers on
It's that time of the year when we frown at the string of festive feasts and resolve to lose 20 kilos. We sign up for the gym, throw money at the fad program with the fastest weight loss claims and vow that this year will be different. Come the end of January, reality sets in and the only number going down is our bank account.
LiveLighter have shared three tips to refresh your New Year's resolution thinking and help you feel great in 2021.
1. It's not you, it's them
Most of us can stick to a crazy-restrictive diet for a while and lose a little weight. When we go back to our lifelong habits the kilos spring back on and we beat ourselves up about our lack of self-control. The truth is that being overly restrictive about what we eat does...
Mindful drinking; How to sip less and enjoy it more
By Paula Goodyear on
Signing up for Dry July - or just need more dry days in your drinking week? Either way, neuropsychologist Dr Nicola Gates can help. A researcher with the University of NSW and author of A Brain for Life, Gates also has a track record of helping people manage their alcohol use - including workers in industries like aviation that demand strict sobriety during working hours.
But whether the goal is an alcohol free month or the two alcohol free days each week recommended in Australia's alcohol consumption guidelines she suggests first getting a handle on how much you really drink.
"It's something most of us underestimate," says Gates, recalling the time she asked a group of people in one of her mindful drinking seminars to pour what they...
Why am I always tired
By Claire Obeid on
An easy example – I aim to practise yoga five mornings out of the seven. Initially I thought that a daily practise would work to rejuvenate my body and mind. It took a while, but eventually I realised that in fact practising five morning straight actually sapped me of energy. Now I break it up throughout the week, which reignites my body and therefore I avoid feeling strung out and anxious.
So, do consider all the stressors in your life, especially if you are...
How To Be Happy - 10 Routine Changes Scientifically Proven
By Juice Daily on
Nothing spells a bad day more than spilling coffee on a crisp white shirt come Monday morning, but trivial as it may seem, it can be an instant downer on your mood.
While it’s only natural to get in a funk every now and again – according to a British survey, we have at least 10 grumpy days a year (five hours a week) – it can play an unhealthy part in our overall sense of wellbeing.
The biggest mood booster for women, according to the Healthspan survey is ‘me time.’ So while you can’t out run a bad day, you can shape and mould your routine a little bit each day to care of yourself and make the overall outcome that bit brighter.
Here, scientifically proven tweaks to make life happier.
1. Do exercise you like
With...
Work wellbeing starts with team culture. Here are some practical steps to bring your team together.
By Rob Lean on
Wellbeing at work matters. We spend most of our waking lives at or preparing for work. So how can we make our 9-5 a space that enhances (instead of drains) our wellbeing? Here are some practical tools to get you started.
Wellbeing depends on our team
Our teams represent the people we spend the most time with and depend on. These people have an influence on our overall wellbeing and stress levels in the workplace. So, let’s start by reflecting on your team.
Answer the following questions on a 1-5 scale. (1 = low, 5 = high).
I feel safe to bring up tough topics when I know that the discussion will benefit our team (1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5)
When I make a mistake on my team, it is never held against me...
My problem with your drinking: Australia’s hate-love relationship with alcohol
By Paul Harrison on
In the 2015 annual alcohol poll, 34% of Australians said they drink to get drunk, 43% said they had vomited as a result of drinking and 75% said Australia has a problem with excess drinking or alcohol abuse.
But in the same Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education poll, 92% of Australians identified themselves as responsible drinkers.
As the young people might say, what the …? A majority of Australians agree we have a problem with alcohol. But almost all say it’s not a problem of theirs – it’s a problem that exists somewhere outside of their world.
There are both contradictions and abstractions in this discussion. But it makes perfect sense to me.
It’s simply easier to say others are flawed than admit you might be...
Three ways to achieve your New Year’s resolutions by building ‘goal infrastructure’
By Peter A. Heslin on
Every year most of us make New Year’s resolutions. Eat healthier. Exercise regularly. Invest more in valued relationships. Learn a language. And so on. Often they are the same resolutions as last year.
Why do our resolutions often so swiftly wither away?
A prime culprit in this annual rollercoaster of optimism and disappointment is overconfidence in the power of our intentions.
The excitement of a new year (and perhaps the fruit of celebrating a little too hard) cloud remembering a hard fact of life: good intentions readily evaporate without a trace in the face of everyday experiences such as exhaustion, temptation and long-standing habits.
Fortunately, academic research on goal-setting can help. Studies over several decades have...
Using Meditation to Curb Cravings
By Geraldine Coren on
Sugar cravings. We all know how powerful they can be, whispering to us that we MUST have that chocolate, that glass of wine, that cake! It’s like a voice in our ear – and an impulse felt in the body too – distracting us from our goals to be healthy and vital. Yet we all know where acting on our cravings too often leads us. The cycle of trying to resist, then indulging, feeling guilty and even sick, berating ourselves when we know our behaviour isn’t good for us ... and then setting up the sugar craving pattern to be repeated all over again.
Most of us have heard of the benefits of meditation, how it can slow down a busy mind and calm the nervous system. But meditation is more than just focusing and relaxing. It is a powerful tool for...
How much alcohol is OK? Balancing risks and benefits
By Emily Banks on
For many of us, alcohol is an enjoyable backdrop to life: wine with dinner, beers with friends, a glass of bubbly to celebrate a special occasion, or nip of something heavier to unwind after a long day.
But alcohol is the fourth-largest cause of disease in Australia after excess weight, smoking and high blood pressure. So, how do you decide whether – or how much – to drink?
Unfortunately, the answer is far from simple and falls into the murky realm of “it depends”. Let’s consider what the science says about the positive and negative effects of alcohol.
Injury
Drinking alcohol increases your risk of accidents and injury. Only tobacco outranks alcohol as the leading preventable cause of drug-related death and hospitalisation in Australia....