So what does your 2008 health calendar look like?

Do you even have one?!

These days we live our lives by the calendar – school holidays, birthdays, work – we have them all neatly booked and organised. So why should your health be any different? A little prior planning can help enormously, so why not have a go this year. A good annual health plan can not only help you to achieve goals, but also make you feel a lot better about the process of keeping healthy and generally more in control. There are three areas to take into consideration:

First of all there’s maintaining your general health. What do you need to do to keep yourself well and healthy rather than leaving things until they get really bad.

Secondly you need to address any additional factors over and above keeping fit and well, for example; deciding you want to lose weight, get more energy or deal with some recurring health issues.

Thirdly there’s all the things to take into consideration that may affect you at particular times of the year such as hayfever or joint aches in the winter. It’s also worth bearing in mind lifestyle events such as weddings, holidays and parties.

So how do we keep track of all this? Planning it into the calendar will help you to know what to watch out for and what you need to do before, during or after the event. However, in our busy modern lives there’s often just too much to think about and it is easy to lose motivation. This is where a practitioner can help. Beginning with identifying targets, issues and priorities, a practitioner can be your guide, motivator and coach, keeping you on track and gently reminding you when you are wandering off.

My priority when working with clients on their health plans and devising a suitable programme for them is to make sure it is fitted within their lifestyle, not the other way round. This is really important as it can become stressful trying to keep to something that doesn’t work for you. I’m sure we’ve all struggled with diets from time to time, but these are almost inevitably difficult to keep to as they don’t often fit with lifestyles. This is also where having a longer term view of the year comes in. Trying to confront difficult health issues when there are other big things going on in your life can just add up to more stress and ultimately frustration at not meeting your goals. So pace yourself, be realistic and keep an eye on that calendar.

Whether you want to glow like J-Lo or be toned like George Clooney, it doesn’t happen overnight nor without effort. Many people invest a lot of time, money and effort into looking good, so maximise that effort and organise it. Are you going to make 2008 a time where you put things into practice?

Register for the next free tele-seminar where I’ll be helping you put your calendar together and find out more on other health topics, such as our essential weight loss programme. You can register at the website or call the number below.

 

Rumana Zahn is a Naturopath and Medical Herbalist and runs clinics in Newcastle (within a GPs practice), Darlington and Seaham Hall’s Serenity Spa. She is a leader within the field of Natural Medicine, writes and speaks extensively on the subject. She can be contacted on 01325 722803 or www.rumanahealth.com

Rumana is a member of the British Register of Complementary Practitioners.

 

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