Top 5 Tips to be more productive every day

1.     The Hour of Power

Robin Sharma is a motivational speaker and essentially a productivity coach. We are big fans of his work and particularly his “hour of power” morning ritual.

As we mentioned in our blog “5 tips for the best night’s sleep ever”, do a brain dump and plan your essential 3 to do’s for the next day.

Set your alarm at 5am, (Yes we know…5am…) get up immediately and split your next 60 minutes into three segments.

The first 20 minutes is going to be either stretching or a light bodyweight circuit. Do anything and put a timer (use an IPad) where you can see it. Get a sweat on. This helps produce Norepinephrine and Dopamine, both neurotransmitters that help with focus and motivation.

The next 20 minutes should be focused on reading something that develops you or helps you improve yourself.

The final 20 minutes is a review of the goals you set yourself the night before, and then starting on the first one then and there.

2.     Eat Breakfast

A major culprit of people failing to concentrate, eat healthy foods or do their best work during the day is due to skipping breakfast. This usually leads to poor food choices later in the day (due to roller coaster like insulin levels), raised cortisol/ stress levels early in the morning, irritable moods and brain fogs.

Ideally your breakfast should consist of animal proteins, healthy fats, some veggie carbs and water/ Green tea. (Black coffee if you tolerate it and are not dependant on it for energy). Although this may shock you, Red meat is actually one of the best choices due to its effect of our brains producing the neurotransmitters acetyl-choline and dopamine (both giving us motivation, drive and focus).

3.     Know What you are Setting out to Achieve Every Day

Before bed every night, we suggest you do a brain dump and write down 3 major tasks that you feel will move your life, career or relationships forward.

Your mission the next day is to get the biggest task done first and do everything in your power to get them done. If some of these tasks require waiting time, or are people dependent, then freeze the top task and move onto number 2. When the top one can move again, get back on it and get it finished.

This will allow you more mental clarity, a feeling of accomplishment and momentum towards the life you want. You will also start building habits that will allow you to get important things done on autopilot, without the need to summon tremendous amounts of willpower.

4.     Less is More

In a world where multitasking is encouraged and we are bombarded with more information than ever before, it is very hard not to get distracted.

We receive dozens of emails, social media updates, colleague’s chatter, work deadlines, phone calls and meetings every day.

Multitasking has been shown by researchers to cause a distorted sense of how long it takes to do things, lose 28% of an average workday bouncing between activities and doing them ineffectively, make more mistakes than non multitaskers and have higher stress levels. Bouncing between windows on our browser has also been shown as an addictive behaviour as we produce dopamine when we do this and feel bored and restless without doing so. Apparently we also change windows or check email up to 37 times an hour…

Focus on your single most important task and get it done like your life depended on it.

5.     Prepare for the next day

As you may have noticed a trend developing with our Blogs and similar advice being emphasized, this is because repetition of basic habits can lead to life changing experiences without the need for crisis or huge ups and downs in our lives.

Before bed, do a brain dump in your journal (get one if you do not have one yet), of what happened during the day. Get the negative stuff or questions on your mind on paper first.

Then write 3 things you did well, 3 things you did to help other people and then write 3 goals that you feel will move your life the way you want it to go.

By writing these down the night before, you allow your brain the luxury of switching off and your subconscious mind will start working on the solutions for these goals whilst you sleep. This will allow you to wake up with a clear mind and sense of purpose the next day.

Try it for just 3 days and see how it works for you.

Top 5 Essential Supplements for a Healthy Lifestyle

1.     Omega-3 rich fish oils

Fish Oil has been a hugely popular supplement over the years and shall continue to be so due to the number of invaluable benefits it brings us. Fish oil is very commonly used to improve fat loss results as it is said to help activate our fat burning gene. Fish oil has also been known to improve our mood, increase motivation, reduce depression and improve our capacity for memory.

Our brain is primarily made of fat and increasing our number of healthy fats in fact increases the strength of cell walls and speeds up the communication of messages between cells.

Fish oil is also extremely good for our skin, hair and eyesight.

We recommend taking 6-9g a day. (More if fat loss is the goal, but speak to a health practitioner for more precise amounts).

2.     Multivitamin

Due to modern agricultural methods of farming, our soil has a fraction of the nutrient value it used to 50+ years ago. As a result our food only contains 20% of the nutrient density it once had. This means we are deficient in so many vitamins and minerals that help the body function optimally. Combine this with a poor diet, increased consumption of convenient processed foods and higher stress levels than ever before, we are in trouble. Multivitamins help fill that nutritional gap by adding to our diets (assuming they are healthy), and aiding in processes such as liver detoxification.

We recommend taking between 2-4 caps a day.

3.     Zinc and magnesium (ZMA)

Zinc and magnesium can be bought separately and taken as “chelates” (a blend of several versions zinc/ magnesium). They are commonly taken together at night.

Zinc has been known to boost brain function, detoxify the brain of heavy metals, is a potent antioxidant, increase insulin sensitivity, improve cardiovascular health, improve male and female fertility and elevate mood and avoid depression. It also improves our sense of taste and smell.

Take what is says on the label. High dosage of zinc can be toxic.

Magnesium is responsible for over 300 essential biochemical reactions in the body, reduces stress, relaxes muscles and reduces post workout soreness.

Take 400-800mg of magnesium daily

Optimally take both of them with food as taking them on their own can lead to you feeling nauseous.

4.     Greens Supplement

In a similar story to the multivitamin, we eat nowhere near enough vegetables to fulfill our body’s requirements to function optimally. We are encouraged to eat 5 a day, where in fact we need close to 20 a day just to break even.

A greens drink, is a fantastic way to help meet that daily quota. Greens drinks help with liver detoxification, improve skin and boost energy. These are best taken in the morning and/or during the afternoon. One tablespoon twice a day should do it.

5.     Protein supplement

Protein supplements have become hugely popular in the gym world and are now more mainstream than ever. They do get some bad media, especially soy based proteins (which we are not a fan of), but they do far more good than harm.

Whey protein (ideally from grass fed cows), is a great way to re stabilize blood sugar levels and fill your body with nutrients post workout. They also contain immunoglobulins which help to boost the immune system.

However, if you are lactose intolerant (feel gassy or bloated after dairy/ milk based products), then try vegan proteins such as sunwarrior, rice and pea based proteins. They do not have quite the same nutrient value but are still highly recommended.

Protein supplements are best taken post workout, or if you have missed a meal (not an excuse to replace food due to lazy food prep). 25-35g for women and 40-50g for men is a good dosage post workout.

Top 5 Herbal teas and their benefits

1.     Green Tea

Green tea is a hugely popular health drink. Some of the benefits of Green tea are increased metabolism which is ideal for fat loss, its packed full of potent antioxidants, improves bad breath, improves insulin health, aids in liver detoxification and decreases inflammation in the body, particularly after a hard training session. Aim to have at least 5 cups a day

2.     Rooibos (Red Bush) Tea

Rooibos tea encourages restful sleep, improves blood circulation, contains powerful antioxidants, has a very high mineral content and has been shown to prevent against some cancers

3.     Chamomile Tea

Chamomile tea has been proven to help improve and encourage restful sleep, relieve insomnia, decrease stress and anxiety, boosts your immune system to fight against colds, soothe an upset stomach and lowers blood glucose levels which is great for type 2 diabetics

4.     Oat Flower, Lavender and Limeflower Tea

This is a favourite night time tea that helps encourage restful sleep, stress relief and significantly calms the mind. Let this infuse in boiling water for 5 minutes for best taste

5.     Ginger tea

Ginger tea is superb for relieving nausea, it improves digestion, reduces inflammation, strengthens the immune system and relieves stress. Be careful not to drink too much as this can in fact cause nausea, make digestive problems worse and prevent sleep. Probably best consumed during the daytime

Top 5 tips for the best night’s sleep ever!

1.     Sleep in a cave

Create an environment that is pitch black and technology free. When we sleep we produce melatonin which helps control our sleep and wake cycles. If we get exposed even the slightest bit of light then it can disrupt our sleep. Use blackout blinds, switch off/ cover all lights from electronic devices. You can even go as far as to put a towel under the door to stop any incoming light should you really need to.

Wi-Fi, power sockets and electronic devices give off electromagnetic frequencies that interfere with our own. These can also be culprits for electric pollution that disrupts our sleep. Keep your room technology free and change your things in another room. If you use your phone for an alarm, try using a sunrise simulator/ lumie lamp. They simulate the sunset and sunrise and wake you up naturally without the sudden panic alarm in the morning. You can purchase them from the link here.   

Your room should be exclusively for sleep and sex

2.     Create your own bed time routine

We are creatures of habit and our ability to follow a routine allows us to form positive habits without using our will power muscle.

One hour before bed, dim the lights, switch your technology off (TV, Ipads, Computers, Phones, Video Games). Read or listen to a book (Audible is very good) that relaxes you. Drink a night time herbal tea. Prepare your clothes for the next day and even use some breathing exercises to help activate your parasympathetic nervous system and relax you.

Try Breathing in through your nose, into your belly and diaphragm  and exhaling as slowly as possible 20 times. You will be amazed by how relaxed and clear your mind is.

3.     Wear these 3 things to ensure restful, uninterrupted sleep

Wear a pair of socks to bed, circulation to this part of our body significantly decreases during the night and it is common for people to wake up (especially in winter) with cold feet. Try it and see if you wake up during the night?

Wear an eye mask. An eye mask is a great way to completely block out any light and encourages a much deeper sleep during the night. They are great to travel with to and help you maintain a deep sleep in hotels etc.

Wear ear plugs. There is nothing more annoying than getting woken up by noisy neighbours or animals outside during the night. Avoid this by completely blocking out sounds that could disrupt a deep sleep.

Although these last two may leave you feeling a touch vulnerable, the likelihood of anything bad happening today is particularly low.

You can judge a good night’s sleep, by seeing if you sleep a full 8-9 hours uninterrupted. If you wake up, even for the bathroom during the night then you have disrupted your sleep cycles.

4.     Take Magnesium, Taurine and Inositol

Magnesium is a fantastic mineral that is involved in over 300 essential biochemical reactions in the body, relaxes muscles, reduces DOMS after workouts, reduces stress, improves insulin sensitivity (good for fat loss) and Improves memory. Unfortunately today, due to poor soil and poor nutrition we are deficient in it. Aim to have 400-800mg a day (supplement form before bed is best)

Taurine raises GABA (a neurotransmitter) which calms the nervous system down, lowering stress and anxiety hormones that hinder sleep. Taurine also helps you recover better from training, reduces oxidative stress (think rusting inside the  body), and burns fats. Take 2-3grams before bed with magnesium. (Max 6g a day)

Inositol is a supplement best taken in powder form. It has a role with our bodies serotonin pathways (neurotransmitter that makes us feel good and sleepy), and also re sets our neurotransmitters in the morning so we wake up fresh. Take 5-10g with Magnesium and Taurine.

5.     Write a short journal

In today’s information packed world, we usually go to bed with our head spinning with lots of unanswered questions and things still to do on our daily lists.

Do a brief brain dump in a hand written journal. Write about how you are feeling. What 2-3 things are you really happy about, what 2-3 things did you do well to help others today and write down 3 things to get done first thing to do tomorrow. Make these important goals, with at least one being a life enhancing goal. If you have any negative feelings or thoughts, get them down on paper first so they are out of the way.

Your brain will subconsciously work on finding a solution whilst you sleep and you will wake up with a far greater sense of direction the next day.

Top 5 Tips to Clean up your diet

1. Choose Single ingredient foods

The fewer ingredients a food has, the less processed it will be. This means it will have all of the correct naturally occurring enzymes needed for your digestive system to break it down.

Avoid things on the labels such as corn flour, E numbers, sulphites, gluten, wheat, anything with an ose/ase at the end, sugar, fat free, sugar free and even gluten free depending on the other ingredients. (The food industry is getting smarter to cover up things that make the foods we eat last longer, taste better and more addictive.

For a great resource on what the best and worst healthy foods are for you check out http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/

2. Prepare your own Food

The food industry is hugely successful as many of their foods taste good, are cheap, addictive and most importantly convenient! From my experience, the only way to get into the best possible shape is to pre prepare your own food. Whether this is using a Sunday ritual, where you do your shop, pre-cut all your veggies, pre-cook all your meat and store it all in tupper ware and food bags.

Another way is simply to invest 30-40 minutes in the evening pre preparing all your meals for the next day. It completely takes the guess work out of what to eat and when. Make healthy choices convenient for you by having them ready and at your side as much as possible, because if you don’t you will choose sub optimal foods when on the go.

3. Avoid Sugar

Think of sugar like a Legal Class A drug. It is addictive, makes you feel good and the long term damage it does to your brain, hormones and body composition are startling! It is no wonder that we have more type 2 Diabetics diagnosed everyday than ever before. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27712381

Dr Robert. H. Lustig has many videos on sugar, hormones and obesity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpIDc1htJZA

Without getting too heavily into conspiracy theories the food industry certainly have a role to play in the manufacturing and selling of these foods to us. Keep your eyes open and make smarter choices.

4. Throw out the “Bad Foods” in your kitchen

If the temptation is there you will eat "bad foods” at a moment of weakness. We have all done it, and it always seems to happen when we have embarked on our strictest self-imposed diet regime ever. Shape an environment that is condusive to a healthier you. Get rid of the cookies, chocolate and “snack foods”. These will be replaced by things like celery, but butter, hummus, nuts and your newly prepared Tupperware meals.

5. Eat the colours of the rainbow

Aim to eat as at least 2 different colours of veg with each meal. The more colours you can include in your diet each day the more phytonutrients you will be exposed to. These all have their individual benefits. For a list of some check out this link