Throughout this blog I’m going to be talking about how you can balance your:
-Sleep
-Nutrition
-Exercising
-Recovery
We all have busy schedules but we should all try to fit the above, into our day. Whether that means getting up earlier, prepping food for a few days in advance, cutting down on the amount of commitments you have or just learning to balance them all in the short 24 hours we have in a day.
How to Balance Sleep.
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We should all get around 8 hours of sleep a day, for many people this is a huge amount and for others this is normal. If your not getting around 8 hours a night your body just cannot function properly. If you feel you need more or less then 8 hours that is perfectly fine, if you are getting good quality sleep and your body can function on those hours then there is nothing stopping you. Check the list below and see do you fall into any of these factors.
- Tired all the time
- No motivation
- Hungry a lot
- Black bags under your eyes
- Lack of concentration
If you feel you have any of these symptoms then my recommendation would either to go asleep at an earlier time or reduce the amount of ‘screen time’ before you go asleep. Everyone probably heard this before, don’t go on your phone an hour before you go asleep, and it’s true. If you watch a device before going to bed, and you reduce this, you will have a more beneficial sleep, with less distraction and most likely have more energy the following day.
What to do if your “sleep schedule is a mess”
Try these tips:
- Turn your phone off before you go to bed.
- Set an alarm for when you should go to sleep.
- Wake up at time that will allow you to get everything done that day and have the energy to do it.
- Write out an actual planner, this can be as simple or as complex as you want. Include the quality of your sleep, how busy you were that day and if you had healthy foods that day, as nutrition can also play a huge part in sleep.
How to Balance Nutrition
I know when people hear nutrition they think it’s an “effort”, and it does take time but it will help you achieve your goals. Having a good nutrition means you’re getting the essential nutrients, minerals and making sure your body has enough sufficient fuel. Meaning it isn’t filled with junk food.
But don’t panic, I’m here to help. With a few simple tricks you will be able to manage what you eat, a lot better and be able to keep it up long term.
If you want to lose weight or even tone up, the chances are you most likely thought about cutting out all sugar, all carbs. Seems like a good idea?
WRONG!!!!
If you want to achieve your goals and keep it up, you have to choose a plan that you can stick to long term, (this is one of the hardest parts).
Unfortunately there is no one size fits all but you will be able to adjust the following tips and information to balance lifestyle better.
Check out these tips!
Tip 1!
Plan out your meals.
If you have a plan of what your going to do and when it will be a lot easier for you to fulfil. Check out a planner below. If you feel you cannot decide on healthy meals then check out the recipes online you can then filter in what you would like to search for. E.G pasta, burgers, snacks etc.
Tip 2!
Prep your meals.
Ok you have your plan for the week, but you are busy during the week. What are you going to do?!!
Prep out your meals. For example if your working Monday to Friday then on a Sunday, prep your meals and put them in reusable containers so all you have to do it cook it or heat it up when you come home. This saves time, effort and will help you to eat healthier, more nutritional meals.
Tip 3!
Think simple.
Not everyone is a world class chef like Gordon Ramsay so it is your job to cook something that you are able to cook well. There is so many simple healthy recipes online, go check them out!
How to Balance Exercising
Definition of exercise: “Activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness”
*dictionary.com
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle means both eating healthy and exercising. If you don’t like exercising then you may struggle with these tips but check out the blog getting started with exercise.
Here are a few tips to help you keep going with your fitness, exercise etc.
Tip 1!
Do not over do it!
You do not need to be in the gym everyday and then cardio on top of that. All this will do is damage your muscles as you aren’t giving them time to recover and it will decrease your motivation to keep going with exercise. Stick to 3-4 exercise days a week, maybe 2 in the gym and 1 or 2 cardio such as running, cycling or even a home workout.
Tip 2 !
Track your progress!
By tracking your progress you will be able to see how far you have come helping you to continue. If you don’t see much of a difference physically see if you feel better, have more confidence etc.
Tip 3 !
Get help off others!
If you are working hard and can’t see results you mightn’t be doing the right exercises or maybe not doing them correctly. Get help off someone. If you need a hand make sure to give me an email.
I know a lot of people don’t want to go to the gym as they may prefer to do their exercises and workouts in the comfort of their own home, if you are one of these you may feel that there is little you can do.
You are wrong, there is so much you can do in the comfort of your own home.
Check out any home-workouts on YouTube. Someone who I find great is Joe Wicks, the body coach here!
How to Manage Your Recovery
This to me is probably one of the most important but most lacked out of everything in this blog. If you are exercising there is no way around it, your muscles need recovery time.
When you come back from an exercise or workout you should eat within 30 mins to replenish your glycogen stores for optimal recovery.
You should have a mix of carbs, proteins and some fats. Carbohydrates contain glycogen which will help you regain energy, protein rebuilds muscles and helps give results from your exercise.
Glycogen is stored as energy in your body, but an excess will be stored as triglycerides which will then be stored as fat.
Fats on the other hand should be taken in very small amounts or even none at all, the reason is, fats are a slow burning fuel and does not affect muscles protein synthesis or glycogen replenishment.
Good snacks for recovery are:
Low fat-Chocolate milk.
Bananas.
Nuts and seeds.
If you are planning on having a meal after a workout:
Pasta.
Potatoes.
Chicken.
Beef.
These are just a few recovery food ideas, make sure you change it up to balance your diet.
Recovery does not mean just after your workout that day, you will need at least 2 rest days during the week.
If you are worried about not exercising then maybe go for a small light walk, this will keep your body active but you are not exercising intensely.
But do not think that you have to workout 5-6 days a week, that is for athletes and professionals.
Maybe you workout 2-3 times a week, maybe once a week or maybe even none at the moment.
You will need recovery days if you exercise, plan these at the start of your week so you know exactly when your body can relax and rebuild for the next activity.
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If you still have a question or have another topic you would like to see a blog about, drop me an email at, support@nutravice.com