Health comes first

by | Mar 22, 2021

What a strange week it has been for all of us.

The reality is really kicking in now that we are in our second wave and all of that uncertainty is coming flooding back into our lives.

This week I thought I would chat about a value that is core to Optimise Aesthetics…

‘YOUR HEALTH comes first’…

There is no better time to optimise your health and to encourage those around you to do the same.

If you have a consultation with me I will be asking you in detail about your medical and mental health history. This is vital in order to make sure you have no contraindications to treatment and that the treatments offered to you are appropriate for you at that particular time.

Optimising your health is vital to all of us and can bring us so many benefits…more energy, better focus, improved mood and it will have the fantastic side effect of enhancing your aesthetic goals too.

It may be that you have no particular health concerns but that you know you are more overweight than you would like to be.

Did you know that by losing weight:

  • You can lower your blood pressure and even eliminate high blood pressure. This reduction in BP reduces your risk of heart attacks and strokes in the future.

  • You can reverse pre-diabetes and get your blood sugar back into normal range. How amazing is that…instead of taking tablets for the rest of your life you might be able to avoid that through dietary changes.

  • You can significantly reduce your risk of developing cancer.

  • For women you can reduce the severity of heavy periods (so long as there is no underlying cause that has been found e.g. fibroids).

It might be that your physical health is ok but that the pandemic and the stresses that have come with it have affected your mood…now is the time to take stock of this.

We all need to try and give ourselves a bit of time to build up reserve and resilience.

Taking the time to do this is so much easier said than done but something as simple as scheduling in weekly phone calls to your closest friends or family, taking 15 minutes a day to do a quick work out or making sure you sit quietly..read a book…meditate…whatever takes you away and allows you time to focus (even if just for a few minutes) on YOU…this is the key to building resilience.

Physical and mental health are so closely linked that often when mental health isn’t optimal neither is physical.

During the summer I decided that it was time to try and get a little closer to my previous very active healthy self. I used to compete in running races regularly and did the London Marathon a couple of times and various triathlons too. I put on around a stone more than I liked after having my third baby and felt my energy just wasn’t what I wanted it to be. I wanted to feel more sprightly for my family. I had my bloods done by my GP and found out that I had very low iron and vitamin D so got going with my supplements and increasing iron and vitamin D in my diet. In addition I checked my BMI and I had just tipped into the overweight category and so that was it…I decided it was time to practise what I preach!

I’ve reduced refined carbohydrate in my diet and have managed to shift that stone through a combination of dietary change and 10-15mins a day of high intensity training and/ or a quick run on my foldable slightly narrow and wobbly treadmill!

With my family and work I still find it difficult to find the right time in the day to do this but after trying different things I often just try and get up a bit earlier than everyone else. I find that the quiet time is so great at focusing my mind and just helps me get ready for the day ahead.

Go on..give it a try…carve out 10 minutes a day just for YOU and the results will surprise you….

Take care of yourselves everyone.