5 things to influence your shape

by | Nov 13, 2023 | Blog

I love an anagram to keep me right and to give me some solid reminders of the basics.

Here’s one I made up about the shape we get ourselves in.

It’s based upon 5 things that we very much control.

And if we give them all a lot more focus and attention, consistently, not just in the run up to a summer holiday or when we feel fat, then we’ll get ourselves into, and maintain a shape, that we’re far more proud of.

S = Sleep.

H = Hydration.

A = Activity.

P = Posture.

E = Eat.

They’re all so simple and self-explanatory really.

Sleep – Get a good nights sleep. Feeling tired, under-slept and low mood will make you feel crap, grumpy and more likely to eat crap. Get to bed earlier, that’s it. Get at least 7hrs sleep. Don’t fuel yourself on stimulants all day.

Hydrate – drink water. That’s it. When you feel hungry, drink water. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty, just hit at least 2litres a day. Of water. Not tea or coffee or fizzy drinks or Red-Bull.

Activity – Move your body. Movement really is the best medicine. It will make you feel better. Its hard to do when you just cant be arsed but go with how you WANT to feel, not how you already feel. You never regret the workout you do.  ‘Activity’ can be anything, whatever you prefer, the gym, yoga, a walk, a run, rowing, cycling, boxing, just do something.

Posture – think about your posture during everything you do, bad posture will strain and mis-shape you. Notice how many people have ‘phone-neck’, where their head is bent down so much that their neck is almost horizontal.  Stand tall, with head up and shoulders back.  Get a decent bed/mattress and have good posture when you’re sat at your desk, in your car, on the sofa, and how you stand and walk. And when you’re active, think posture, and don’t injure yourself while trying to keep fit.

Eat – very obvious I know, just avoid being overfed and undernourished.  You’re allowed some ‘treats’ of course, but eat fairly clean wholesome foods for say 80% of the time and you’ll be doing way better than most.

There you go, that’s it, very simple I know.

If you focus on these 5 things on a daily basis, give them your attention, then your shape will change for the better.