Focus on the now!

With everything that is happening in the world at the moment, it’s really important to start focusing on what we can control, what we can influence and what we can’t control and the impact it has on how we feel and on our healthy habits.

It seems that everything we hear on the news is terrifying, your mind is going at 100 miles an hour, wondering how we are all going to cope with the cost of living, rising gas & electric costs, in short it seems all doom and gloom!!

Sadly when we are bombarded with negatives it’s all too easy to lose yourself and make unwise food choices, then we’re left feeling worse. We can’t control the news but we can influence how often we hear it and how we react to it.

Many of us are spending too much time worrying about the future, what we need to do is focus on the now we are wasting too much mental energy on things that we have no control of.

• At any given time there are things we can control, things we can influence, and things we can’t control or influence.
• The more control we feel ​we​ have over what happens in our lives, the more motivated we are and the happier and less stressed we feel. 
•  We can develop a greater sense of control by focusing our thoughts and actions on things we can control and influence, instead of the things we can’t.

It may help your progress if you take a step back and look objectively at how you feel, consider the choices and options you have for that day and maybe the next few days.

• What makes you smile?
• What would help your focus?
• How could you be creative and possibly save money with your eating this week?

Its time to start thinking about how to save money in an easy way, so why not try freezing foods that are in season and plentiful for example, courgettes/tomatoes/leeks/peppers/aubergines all of these will make a fabulous base for soups, stews, chillies and casseroles perfect for those Autumn and Winter days.

According to Google and the BBC Food site, a slow cooker uses less electric than an oven as well as being able to use cheaper cuts of meat as it cooks slowly thereby tenderising it. Maybe it’s worth looking for some slow cooker recipes so that you’re prepared? Plums/berries and cooked apples for quick and easy desserts (make up half the amount of a crumble topping so there’s more fruit, less calories, you could also do the same with a sponge topping)

Candles are cheap and plentiful, fragranced ones can also boost your mood and if you burn a vanilla one, science has shown you’re less likely to want to snack on sweet food! Got to be worth a try!!

Want to get a warm glow?

• Walking at a brisk pace helps to keep you warmer, saves getting the car out, so fuel conserving, as well as the numerous health benefits!
• Pop on some music and have a dance, good for the mind and soul!

If we do all that we can to be proactive, focus on the now, the future will take care of itself.

You don’t get results by focusing on the results.

You get results by focusing on the actions that produce results

mike hawkins