A Bloke's Guide to Surviving Dry July
By Dry July on
So the thought of drinking mocktails makes your stomach turn, heading to yoga class is the last thing you want to do on an early Sunday morning and Euro 2016 finished this morning. How do you make the most of the clear headed, hangover free mornings during Dry July? Well we rounded up the blokes in the Dry July office – who are seasoned Dry Heroes, to give us their tips on surviving and thriving during Dry July:
- Socialising doesn’t just have to be in the pub. Why not go out for a winter surf, hit the trails on your mountain bike this weekend, bring your A-game to the table and host a sober poker night.
- Host a BBQ - believe it or not there are some really good non-alcoholic beers around, We're fans or Erdinger
- Be the designated dryver to...
21 Days to Change Your Ways: Just Keep Swimming
By Kirsty Welsh on
Anything great takes time. We look at the best parts of others and compare them to the worst parts of ourselves. Quick fixes, gadgets, ab crunchers, weight-loss shakes, we are suckers for the overnight ‘answers’ to our health issues! No one is healthy and happy without some long-term effort. But the cool thing is, small and realistic changes over time can create massive shifts in our wellbeing! So no matter where you’re at in your health journey, just know that so long as you’re making consistent and positive changes, you’re doing a fab job!
I personally find 21 to be a magic number. It is well known that it takes ’21 days to make or break a habit’ although there doesn’t seem to be any clinical research behind it, but I also find that...
How to Relieve Stress without Booze
By Staff Writer on
Everybody has different methods of dealing with stress. Doing Dry July may be particularly difficult for those who use a drink or two to unwind at the end of the day. Here are some alternative techniques for stress management that don’t include alcohol:
Be Mindful
The buzzword in the mental health world lately is “Mindfulness”. Different mindfulness techniques include focusing on your breathing or other senses in order to clear your mind, doing an Adult Colouring Book (you can find these pretty much anywhere), and of course, meditation. These techniques can be done in no more than 15 minutes, so do them in the office if you have to. The idea is to get all the stressful things off your mind and replace them with calming thoughts,...
10 Routine Changes Scientifically Proven to Make You Happy
By Sam Bailey 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 music you like. A McMaster...
Who Needs A Healthy Liver?
By Dr Cris Beer on
For the first few years that I worked as a general practitioner I had understimated the liver's significant role in the general wellbeing of my patients. I had learnt that the liver was important from a physiological point of view and that it helped keep us alive, but I hadn't fully considered how it keeps us feeling well on a day-to-day basis.
I had been taught how to detect liver-function abnormalities in blood testing and how to feel for an enlarged or tender liver - all signs of obvious and severe liver damage. But as for understanding liver damage well before any obvious clinical signs begin to show, I was completely in the dark. I had seen severe liver damage from chronic alcoholism and from liver disease such as hepatitis, but the...
Tips for Surviving Dry July
By Sarah Gibson on
Taking on Dry July? Wondering if you’ve got the willpower to see it through? For so many Australians, the prospect of a dry thirty-one day stretch can seem as gruelling as any marathon. If you’re the kind of person for whom the word “dry” usually only comes before “martini”, Psychologist Sarah Gibson shares a few tips to help you rise to the challenge.
Tough goals become easier to commit to when they are closely linked to our values.
Remind yourself each and every day of how Dry July relates to the kind of person you want to be: someone who helps people who are dealing with serious illness, someone who invests in their own health, someone who embraces challenge. Remember that such values-oriented action can have profound psychological...
12 Foods to Take into Work for a Healthy Mind and Body
By Claire O'Meara on
Most people take a brief case to work, but I’m more likely to accompany it with a soft esky filled with goodies. Here are some examples of things I take on a regular basis to work. Taking everything would be overkill for the day, but picking and choosing different ones during your week makes sure you are getting a variety of healthy nutrient rich, satisfying delicious foods.
When you eat healthy foods you not only improve your physical health, but you will also help your mind and body deal with stress. When the brain gets the right nutrients, it performs better and stays alert during the day. When the brain is working better you’ll find that your thinking will be clearer and you will get tasks done faster. The morning and afternoon...
What to Eat when you Crave These Junk Foods
By Cyndi O'Meara on
A food craving is usually due to the body requiring nutrients, either macro (fats, carbs and protein) or micro (vitamins and minerals). A food addiction is where a certain chemical is in the food that passes the blood brain barrier and effects receptors in the brain.
When you begin to eat foods that are REAL as opposed to foods in packaging, which are subsequently laced with additives, preservatives, flavouring, modified foods and non food sources, then your body gives you the right cues as to the right food you need to eat. But because we don’t consider what we eat, we make poor food choices when a craving begins.
In animal husbandry, when cows start eating fence posts and rocks, the farmer knows to put out a salt (mineral) block!...
Kickstart Yourself Back Into Movement
By Leanne Hall on
We’ve all been there. Hitting the gym regularly, eating really well and feeling fabulous. Then it happens. Maybe we over eat at a work function, or take a week off the gym because we’ve been feeling unwell. Or maybe we just feel bored with our current fitness routine. Whatever the trigger, the result is the same. Motivation takes a drastic nose-dive and we find ourselves frustrated, and perhaps even depressed at the fact that we just can’t seem to pull ourselves together and get back on track.
Identify Obstacles
When motivation disappears, the first question you need to ask...