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A very happy New Year from Rosemary and the team
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I hope you had a fabulous Christmas and feel somewhat relaxed after all the festivities.
Now that we are approaching a brand-new year it is time to consider what we are hoping to achieve in 2024. Maybe a slimmer and fitter body? Maybe a new hobby?
I have to admit that I tell myself that I will achieve all kinds of things each year but, I guess like most people, it’s easier to think it than actually do it!
I have to confess to overeating over Christmas and I really do need to knuckle down and shift those extra lbs. I hate it when my clothes feel tight. So, I have decided that from tomorrow, 30th December, I am getting rid of anything that’s in the fridge that is Christmas orientated. My New Year New Me starts right here! I will shift those inches and I will get back to being fit again.
Up until there was all that rain that we had running up to Christmas, and that we are still experiencing, I was feeling fitter than I had in years. In the late summer I decided I would make a really big fitness effort and I did. What was exciting was that I was amazed how quickly I became fitter and felt so much better for it. It didn’t take long before I could feel and see the difference.
The great news for everyone is that once we start to make that fitness effort, we can see the progress much faster than we expected. No matter what age we are, (and unlike losing weight which seems to take longer the older we are), we can see fitness progress within a few days at any age. This is so encouraging and helps us to keep going.
Top tips for this week:
- Clear your fridge of any leftovers.
- Give any unopened boxes of chocolates/biscuits/sweets/nuts away to your local hospice.
- Put your Christmas presents away.
- Shop for healthy foods and only what you need.
- Get out your Portion Pots and your Magic Measure to start afresh!
- Decide on a plan to eat healthily!
- If you need an eating plan, go for The 28-Day Immunity Plan. It is super effective and remember that in trials, volunteers lost 10.5 lbs in the 28 days!
Let’s make 2024 a year to remember for all the right reasons!
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Serves 1. (For two or more portions, duplicate main ingredients)
Per serving (excluding rice): 276 calories, 2.4g fat
Per serving (including rice): 432 calories, 3.4g fat
Prep time 10 mins
Cook time 12 mins
1 Chicken breast, chopped
½ red and ½ green pepper, deseeded and chopped into bite-sized squares
4 button mushrooms, halved
2 sticks of celery, chopped
½ red onion, coarsely chopped.
1 clove of garlic, crushed
A little fresh ginger, grated.
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chilli and garlic dipping sauce
Fresh coriander (optional)
55g (dry weight) basmati rice
1 vegetable stock cube
Black pepper, freshly ground
Rapeseed oil spray
Rice:
- Place the vegetable stock cube with water in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
- Add the rice to the boiling water and cook for 12 minutes.
Stir-fry
- Heat a non-stick frying pan with a spray of rapeseed oil and some freshly ground black pepper. When the pan is hot, add the crushed garlic and the chopped chicken and fry until almost cooked.
- Add the chopped red onion, peppers, celery, mushrooms and toss with the chicken. Do not over-cook the vegetables.
- Add the grated ginger with the honey, soy sauce and fresh coriander and mix well. Serve immediately. Serve with soy sauce if required.
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Fun, Facts & Fitness with Mary Morris MSc.
As we start a new year with great intentions, here is an idea of how to start on the right path:
Start walking for 30 minutes every day and if the weather is too awful, walk up and down stairs 3 - 5 times consecutively.
Here are my 10 Mary’s from a few weeks ago. Try to do these three times this week!
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10 Mary's
- Shoulder mobility. Sit upright in the front third of the chair seat and place your hands on your shoulders and rotate your bent arms (forward, up, side and back) in a BIG circle slowly 8 times.
- Hands/Wrists. Clench your hands into a tight fist then open the fingers w-i-d-e. Pause for a second then go even wider! Do it 3 times then rotate your wrists 3 times in each direction.
- Spine. Still sitting upright, put your hands on your shoulders and turn your head and shoulders to the right as far as you can and then to the left. Do 8 altogether (4 right and 4 left).
- Posture. Now keeping your hands on your shoulders, or better still behind your head, pull your elbows back drawing your shoulder blades closer together behind you, then release. Do it 6 times slowly.
- Posture. Bend your elbows and 'fix' them to your waist with your palms up in front of you (as if you are holding a tray). Now keeping your elbows fixed to your waist pull your hands wider apart and sit up taller. Come back to the 'tray' position. Do it 6 times.
- Thighs. Still in the front third of the chair seat, straighten your right leg fully, lifting it off the floor and pulling your toes towards you. Hold for 2 seconds then slowly lower. Do 6 then repeat with your left leg.
- Tummy. Sit right back in the chair seat, pull in your tummy and breathe in. Now, as you breathe out, gently press your lower back into the back of the chair, hold for 2 seconds then relax. Do it 6 times.
- Sit to Stand. Back to the front third of the chair seat, cross your arms across your chest and take your feet back a little. Lean forward and with one swift movement stand up. Now slowly lower again and smoothly return to the seat. Do this 5 - 10 times.
- Press-ups. Place both hands shoulder-width apart against a wall, window ledge, sturdy table or desk, and with feet as far back as suits you (approx. 1 metre), bend your elbows outwards and lower your chest towards the surface and back again. Breathe in as you lower and out as you push back. Do this 8 times.
- Balance. Stand up with a good posture, preferably without shoes, and pull your tummy in. Now lift one foot off the floor and hold for as long as you can. Time it and aim for a full 30 seconds on each leg! Practice every day if you are not good at it!
Finally, when you have finished, do a Posture Stretch: Stand up straight, clasp your hands behind your back, and pull your arms up and further back behind you.
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Did You Know...
This year’s New Year’s Eve ‘bongs’ from Big Ben will mark 100 years since the iconic sounds were first broadcast to the nation, ringing in the start of a new year and signalling the beginning of a tradition recognised across the UK and around the world.
On New Year's Eve 1923, BBC engineer AG Dryland climbed onto a roof opposite the Houses of Parliament with a microphone to record the strikes of Big Ben and the quarter bells. Since then, the sounds of ‘the nation’s timepiece’ have been broadcast every year.
The regular striking of Big Ben and the quarter bells was ceased in 2017 to allow for conservation works to progress. However, during this period, Big Ben continued to be heard on New Year’s Eve, Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday, as well as for the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II - using a specially designed ‘temporary mechanism’ that could strike the bell. Even for most of the Second World War, the sound of the bells continued to be broadcast to listeners at home and abroad.
The bells returned to regular service after 4 days of tests on Remembrance Sunday 13th November 2022. The live sound of the bells resumed regular broadcast on the BBC on Monday 6th November 2023, and can be heard on BBC Radio 4 at 6pm and at midnight, as well as at 10pm on Sundays.
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And finally...
Happy New Year from us all – Mary, Peter and from me. May you have a truly blessed, healthy and happy year in 2024. Let’s enjoy every moment!
With love and best wishes,
Rosemary Conley CBE DL
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LIVE LONGER | LIVE HEALTHIER | LIVE HAPPIER
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