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Last week we delved into the subject of dementia and what lifestyle changes we could make to help reduce our chances of contracting this dreadful disease. These included being a healthy weight, eating healthily, exercising regularly and socialising more. But there were two really important lifestyle habits that it highlighted – two that have very serious consequences – smoking and alcohol.
We are all only too aware that smoking kills but until we did the research about dementia, I didn’t know that it doubled our chances of getting it! Thankfully, I am not a smoker so that is one area on which I do not have to take action.
Of course, we all know that too much alcohol is bad for us but we need to understand that drinking in excess is really bad for our body as well as our brain.
I have always been aware that alcohol is a poison and that the body’s digestive system prioritises getting rid of its presence. This means that when we eat a meal containing protein, carbs, fat etc., and we also consume alcohol, the body works on processing the alcohol and eliminating the toxins before digesting the food we have eaten. But it isn’t just alcohol that is harmful to our body. Regularly eating fast food, take-aways, high-fat snacks and processed food all take their toll and if you are in a career with irregular hours, it inevitably becomes even harder to eat well and find time to exercise.
It was when we launched the first 28-Day Immunity Plan Challenge with Leicestershire Police in 2021 that we truly realised the effect our lifestyle had on our bodies and our brain. It was after I had been contacted by them to see if we could help boost the health and wellbeing of their force that I suggested they organise a Challenge.
Following the principles of The 28-Day Immunity Plan, a book that Mary and I had just written, provided the perfect time scale for a focussed approach for 28 days – ideal for an initiative to help improve general health and wellbeing. And it contained a healthy eating plan that also boosted immunity - something needed by everyone in 2021. It felt like the perfect tool to offer folks who inevitably work varying hours. At least it was worth a try.
That first Challenge involved 37 officers and members of staff following the Plan in the book for a month. As well as eating very healthily, avoiding snacking, and exercising daily, they were also asked to avoid alcohol if at all possible. The team took it very seriously and the results were remarkable.
Their average weight loss was 10.5 lbs but the most encouraging revelation was their wellness transformation. At the start of the challenge, their average wellness score was 4 out of 10. At the end of the 28 days their wellness score was a remarkable 9 out of 10!
Eating healthily, drinking less, and exercising more, revealed that they slept so much better, their motivation improved, their energy levels soared and their general sense of wellbeing increased dramatically.
The aim of the Challenge was to help them to change some habits that were perhaps not as healthy as they might have been – and it worked. So much so that at the end of the Challenge, they asked if they could continue on the Plan because they felt so well. In other words, their sense of wellness made them want to make changes.
So, this week, let’s look at our own lives where there might be room for improvement. What are our weaknesses? What are those habits we know do us no good? We should be honest with ourselves and perhaps jot down those areas where we feel we could make improvements or where we know increasing activity would be helpful. It doesn’t need to be drastic but ‘every little helps’ as they say, and even if we only change one unhelpful habit for the better, that will improve our health and wellbeing!
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Watch Rosemary and Mary discuss the progress being made by Leicestershire Police as 'Team 2' embarked on
The 28-Day Immunity Plan in September 2021.
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Serves 2
Per serving: 204 calories, 1.6g fat (excl. accompaniments)
Prep time: 10 mins
Marinating time: 60 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
2 medium-sized skinless chicken breasts
1 red pepper, diced
1 small can water chestnuts
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tbsp tomato purée
freshly ground black pepper
chopped spring onions to serve
- Cut the chicken into chunks. Thread the chicken, red pepper and water chestnuts onto 4 wooden or metal skewers and place on a baking tray. Season with black pepper.
- Mix together the remaining ingredients, then drizzle over the kebabs. Leave the kebabs for at least an hour in the fridge to allow them to absorb the marinade.
- Cook the kebabs under a preheated hot grill or barbecue for 8 – 10 minutes each side.
- Transfer to serving plates and garnish with spring onion. Serve with 1 blue Portion Pot (55g uncooked weight) or 1 red Portion Pot (144g cooked weight) boiled basmati rice per person plus salad or vegetables of your choice.
Chef's tip: For extra flavour make the day before and marinate the kebabs overnight in the fridge.
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New!
Visit our new Recipe Page!
- Find recipes grouped in categories such as "Soups" "Main Meals" "Vegan Recipes"
- Easily search for a recipe by title or ingredients, or just browse over 100 tasty low-fat dishes with more being added every month!
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Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.
Do you wish you were more consistent with all those healthy habits that you know are so good for you?
Maybe you start the week with all good intentions to stick to a healthy regime of eating and exercise (that you possibly feel passionate about), but by Wednesday you know you are preferring the comfort of those less healthy habits, borne out of years of repetition. Well, you are not alone and I think it is worth exploring the way habits are formed and how, with commitment and perseverance, you can gradually move towards those new habits, sustaining them and then hardly needing to think of them at all.
It is a fact that 'old habits die hard' and the creation of new healthier habits does take time. I am sure that you have all managed at some time to create a healthier habit and you know that it is now set into your daily life. Such as incorporating more exercise into your life and eating more fruits and vegetables and buying wholegrain bread instead of white. But you may be lacking the will in other areas that you know would enhance your health even further... and that new habit has always eluded you.
For example:
- You have a sweet tooth that makes resisting sugary foods impossible... even though you know it contributes to making you overweight.
- You enjoy alcohol so much that you regularly exceed the recommended limit of 14 units.
- You have a gym membership, which was well-used initially but now you hardly ever go.
- You watch far too much television and know it makes you too sedentary.
- You drink too many soft drinks and want to change to good old plain water.
- You have too many takeaways or ready meals and wish you would cook more often from fresh.
All of us will have something we would like to change, so identify what it is... and let's explore how you can make it happen.
How Habits Are Formed
It's all to do with our brains. One of the most awesome things about the human brain is that it is ‘plastic’ – it's called neuroplasticity. Brains are very clever at changing according to our experiences. So, if we change our experience, we can change our brain. Now of course it is not that simple and requires effort but it is useful information to know that everyone, and I mean everyone, can make changes happen. It is to do with performing our new experience so often that we never even think about it.
How long that may take is like asking how long is a piece of string. But hey, if it is to do with our health, even if it takes three months, six months or more than a year, it has to be worth it.
You are the Boss of your Brain
Every minute of every day we are making decisions and choices that dictate what we do. Many of them are unconscious because we always do them, like brushing our teeth or putting on our seat belt, and of course both of those we know are particularly good habits. But what happens when we want to change a bad habit into a good one? Well, the brain’s pull to maintain bad habits is strong and will complain every time we try to change it. So, this is where we show who's the boss!
The more we resist that strong pull the easier it gets. There is a lot of science backing up this theory and it works for everyone if we work at it. Recognising the ‘discomfort’ it causes, and then managing it, that feeling of resistance will get weaker and weaker.
Let's take a fairly simple example. You have always had two digestive biscuits with your morning coffee (your mother always did when you were little!). The first time you go without those biscuits you feel exceedingly uncomfortable and your brain is telling you to go straight to the biscuit barrel NOW! It’s good to feel the discomfort... notice it... feel it, acknowledge it... but deliberately do something that distracts you – like calling a friend and drinking your coffee as you chat. By not eating the biscuits you have sent the message to your brain that your habit is not in charge, YOU ARE! When you then reflect on your ability to override that strong pull, you will feel extremely pleased with yourself and your confidence will grow.
This way of talking to yourself and being the boss of your brain can be applied to every single habit you have that you would like to change. Eventually, you will never dream of having any biscuits with your morning coffee because your new and healthier habit of avoidance is now well and truly in place.
Developing Distractions
When the going gets tough, the tough get going! So, on those occasions when you might think your brain is winning the battle of holding on to bad habits, you should consider going out for a walk or doing a job upstairs – anything to get you out of the kitchen! Move to a different room, pick up your knitting, play some music and dance, or do some 'exercise snacks'! When you realise that your actions are spending calories to make you slimmer, rather than consuming them to make you bigger, your brain, hopefully, gets it!
The journey to change will have its challenging moments but try to see the journey as an adventure and every time we take a small step towards a healthier lifestyle, we may actually start to enjoy the process as much as the fantastic results we get from it at the end.
'If we really want to change our habits, we can. Keep our changes in mind and we can change how our mind works!’
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This Week's Fitness Challenge
- On all of your daily 30+ minute walks this week talk to yourself about what you want to change. Visualize yourself doing it and really think about what that might feel like when you achieve it. Seven days, seven walks... you can reprogramme your brain and know exactly how you are going to do it!
- Indulge yourself with your favourite exercise. Or try something new. Pilates, Ballet, or Stretch.
- Choose which days you are going to do your 3 strength workouts this week and write it down.
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Did you know... 
The Numskulls is a comic strip that appears in The Beano, and was previously featured in The Beezer and The Dandy comics. The strip is about a team of tiny human-like technicians who live inside the heads of people, running and maintaining their bodies and minds. It first appeared in The Beezer in 1962.
The Numskulls are:
- Brainy – controls Edd's brain. Brainy is the head of the Numskulls.
- Blinky – controls his sight/eyes.
- Radar (originally called Luggy) – controls his hearing/ears.
- Snitch (originally called Nosey) – controls his smell/nose.
- Cruncher (originally two characters called Alf & Fred) – controls his mouth/taste.
So all you have to do to acquire a new habit is defeat The Numskulls!
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And finally...
We all develop habits that we wish we didn’t have. If this week’s Newsletter has made you think about some of yours and you would like to reprogramme your brain to cut back on some of those over-indulgences, then you will undoubtedly benefit.
Have a great week.
With love and best wishes,
Rosemary Conley CBE DL
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LIVE LONGER | LIVE HEALTHIER | LIVE HAPPIER
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