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Last week we talked about setting goals. Whether it is to lose weight or get fitter or be more organised, having a goal is a very positive step.
How are you getting on?
No matter how determined we are there will always be occasions when things don’t quite go to plan and all our good intentions fly out of the window. That’s normal and that’s life, but it doesn’t mean we have to give up. If we do falter, we should try to pick ourselves up and just carry on as if nothing has happened. Whether you ate more than you planned or missed your exercise session for a couple of days, that’s OK. Don’t worry. It will correct itself in no time, in fact sometimes I think it can be a good thing as it makes us more focused afterwards.
I am determined to make a really conscious effort this year to get fitter. After my leg injury last September, I felt I lost my level of fitness during its recovery and now I am determined to get it back. This is my goal for 2023.
I presume by the very nature of your subscribing to this Newsletter, you really care about your health and well-being and are prepared to take action to preserve it – and that’s brilliant - and I think it is also helpful to keep track of how our health and fitness compares with how we were a year ago. Making a note of your blood pressure, blood oxygen level, (if you have DIY home monitors) and your metabolic age (if you have appropriate scales to give you this calculation) is good information to record. Even if you are unable to get these statistics, at least noting your weight, height and inches (the most critical body measurement is your waist so at least record this one) in a little book. It will become a great record to keep so that you can compare the figures year-on-year.
Why not try the DIY Fitness Test that Mary designed for The 28-Day Immunity Plan book? Mary and I demonstrate it on our website. It doesn’t take long but gives you an idea of your stamina, strength and flexibility. Record your results and see with your own eyes how you improve over time as you become fitter. It is hugely motivating.
Going back to when we had our magazine, every January we announced our Slimmers of the Year awards. I remember one year asking Dr. Hilary Jones to meet all our super-star winners. That year we selected 10 of them in different categories and their cumulative weight loss exceeded an extraordinary 100 stone!
Each of them had a chat with Dr. Hilary about their health and he explained the benefits they would be enjoying now that they were slim and fit – but the most important point was that by losing so much weight and becoming fitter they were likely to have added 10 years to their lifespan. Amazing!
I remember the press attending our annual Awards event and the photographers from the national newspapers saying to me ‘Your Slimmers of the Year are so different from the others we are asked to photograph. They are always in such great shape’. And that was totally due to the fact that they had lost weight by following a healthy low-fat diet and exercising regularly. It isn’t rocket science but it really, really works, and it applies as much today as it did back then and at whatever age we are.
As we grow older the hoped-for length of our life takes on a whole new level of importance and that is good. We still have time to make healthy choices and take appropriate actions to keep us youthful and active.
The combination of eating healthily and exercising regularly is fundamental to our basic health and well-being and we will be doing the very best we can to help ourselves to live longer, healthier and happier if we prioritise both of them!
As the UK’s Chief Medical Officer said a few years ago: ‘Exercise is like a super-saver bank account that pays double dividends’. Let’s keep investing!
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Serves 6
Per serving 500 calories, 15g fat
Prep time 15 mins
Cook time 40 - 55 mins
1kg (2lb) lean braising beef
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsps chopped fresh thyme
2 beef stock cubes dissolved in 300ml (1⁄2 pint) water
2 tbsps plain flour
1 bottle red wine
300ml (1⁄2 pint) tomato passata
4 large carrots
3 celery sticks, cut into 5cm (2in) batons
175g (6oz) button mushrooms
20 baby onions/shallots, peeled
freshly ground black pepper
bouquet garni
chopped fresh parsley to garnish
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas Mark 4. Cut the beef into 2.5cm (1in) dice, removing all fat and sinew.
- Season the beef with freshly ground black pepper and place in a preheated, non-stick pan.
- Seal the meat on all sides in small batches until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the onions, garlic and thyme to the pan and cook gently for 2 - 3 minutes until soft.
- Add 2 tbsps of stock, then sprinkle the flour over, stir well and cook for a further minute to ‘cook out’ the flour.
- Gradually stir in the remaining stock along with the wine and tomato passata.
- Cut the carrots into 4cm (1 1⁄2in) lengths. Using a small sharp knife, carefully peel away the outside skin to form the carrot pieces into barrel shapes.
- Add the carrots, celery, mushrooms and baby onions to the sauce.
- Place the beef in the bottom of a large casserole dish and pour the sauce and the vegetables over.
- Add the bouquet garni and cover with a lid. Place in the oven for 35 - 40 minutes until the sauce has reduced.
- Remove the bouquet garni, and garnish with parsley before serving.
THICKENING AGENTS
Even though most casseroles use flour in their initial making, sometimes it may not be sufficient to thicken the finished dish. Just add 2 - 3 tsps of cornflour or arrowroot mixed with cold water to a smooth paste before the end of cooking and simmer for 2 - 3 minutes. Add it gradually while continuously stirring the casserole.
CHEF’S TIP
To ease the peeling of small shallots, cover them with boiling water for 1 minute before draining. They will then peel easily.
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Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.
Now that we are well into the first month of 2023, I hope you have a clear vision of how you plan to go forward for the next three months. Be quite specific and put a time-frame on it - because that is what is needed here.
Whether you are about to embark on The 28-Day Immunity Plan for the first time, or to do a repeat 'blast' (because you know it works!), then that takes care of the first month. But, if you have clearly set a three-month target in your head, then you have an amazing opportunity to make a significant and long-lasting difference to your overall health and well-being. And that’s exciting.
Month 1
Follow The 28-Day Immunity Plan in every detail in terms of both eating and exercise. The eating plan is very flexible in allowing you to select recipes and meals that suit you, and the exercise covers all that is required to make every day a good calorie burner, at the same time ensuring you build strong muscles throughout the whole body which is significant for good health.
Month 2
Through this second month you may relax some of that fairly strict regime – but be careful here as a return to your old ‘bad’ habits may spoil much of what you have gained over the last month. You need to still be on 'high alert' and stick to the elements of the Plan you can manage well. Still give yourself a 'good talking to' on a regular basis, as the way we talk to ourselves every day keeps us motivated and on track. Of course, some more relaxed days will be inevitable but these can be easily remedied by getting back on track the following day. The key is to stay focussed!
Month 3
This is the critical month but also the best one! It is the month in which real change can take place forever more – yes, forever more! Those who lead the healthiest lifestyles are constantly on this moderate alert level, conscious of what they have eaten each day and questioning whether have they done enough exercise. I do believe you have to reach this stage to feel you can forever control your behaviour in a way that maintains a healthy lifestyle.
Over my career I have regularly come across people who get fed up, and I mean really fed up, of thinking that forevermore they have to be constantly aware of how they manage their weight, their eating habits and how much exercise they take. But this idea of taking a decent length of time to make lifelong changes can really work for you. This 3-month strategy is backed up by plenty of good scientific research. For too long many folks have tried the 'quick fix' only to end in disappointment when they go back to their old habits. Make this time different. Make the permanent transition from leading an unhealthy and possibly overweight life to transforming your life to feeling confident that this is the new, and best, way you want to go forward.
Start talking to yourself in a positive and motivating way from today! We are what we think!
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This Week's Fitness Challenge
- The 28-Day Immunity Plan Workout offers four progressive workouts. Because our fitness levels vary, start at a suitable level for you (Week 1 if you are not used to exercising or perhaps Week 3 if you are quite fit already). When you are ready, progress to the Advanced Whole Body Strength Programme. Do 3 strength workouts this week.
- Go for a 30+ minute walk every day. If you can't go outdoors then choose a favourite fitness DVD as an alternative. Aim to do 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day – that’s anything that lifts your heart rate and makes your lungs work harder.
Working out regularly will transform your health, your fitness and your weight.
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Did you know... 
Life Expectancy vs Lifespan
The old adage that you might expect "three score years and ten" and live to be 70 seems outdated now that the average lifespan is around 79 years for men and 82 - 83 years for women.
200 years ago, in the 1820s, life expectancy at birth was just 29, but this didn't mean that most people would die before they were 30, only that the average life expectancy figures were skewed by the very high number of infant deaths. Most people that survived childhood still lived to be at least 55 - 60.
Since then, the significant improvements made in hygiene, medicine and the understanding of how the body works and how to keep it in good shape have significantly increased your chances of living a long and healthy life and the longest verified lifespan for any human is that of Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who lived to an age of 122 years 164 days from February 1875 to August 1997.
By following Rosemary and Mary's advice who knows - that record could yet be beaten!
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And finally...
Keep up the great work with your weight-loss and fitness efforts and measure your progress by acknowledging how much weight you have lost cumulatively.
Finding a strong ‘bag-for-life’ and placing in it cans of food or bags of rice equivalent to what weight you have lost, and adding to it each week, is hugely motivating. Why not start your ‘weight-lost-so-far’ bag today!
Have a great week and look toward your goals.
With love and best wishes,
Rosemary Conley CBE DL
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LIVE LONGER | LIVE HEALTHIER | LIVE HAPPIER
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