SCREEN TIME, HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

We spend - on average - 2 hours 28 minutes a day on our smartphones. Shocked?

Research by Ofcom found that 15% of UK adults feel they are always at work because of constant phone access. More than half admit that their devices interrupt face-to-face conversations with loved ones. 

If you’re worried about spending too much time on your phone, here are some things you could do instead.

How much time should we spend on our phones?

Currently, there are no set guidelines from the NHS on how much screen time adults should have. Experts suggest that it’s more important to find a balance between screen-based and non-screen activities. If you find yourself drawn to your phone when you’re having a conversation with someone, for example, that might suggest the balance is off.

The NHS recommends that children should have no screen time until age 2, and for no more than an hour a day after age 2. The NHS doesn't have any recommendations for children aged 5-17, but some research suggests they should spend no more than 2 hours in front of a screen.

How to cut down on screen time

If you’re looking to become less reliant on your phone (or other device), here are our top tips to help you avoid using it.

• Keep track of how much time you actually spend using it. You can easily monitor screen time with Apple’s built-in feature, or for Android you can download Google’s Digital Wellbeing app

• Set usage limits. You can do this in your settings in Apple, or through the Digital Wellbeing app for Android

• Delete any apps that make you feel stressed, or take up too much of your time (you can always reinstall them later)

• Disable notifications to stop your device from distracting you

• Put it in another room – out of sight, out of mind

• Find other things to do instead…

7 things to do instead of going on your phone

If you’re worried that you or your family are spending too much time on your phones, here are some things you could do instead…

1. Read a book

Books encourage relaxation and also hone your ability to concentrate. Reading books may also have further health benefits. A Yale School of Public Health study found that adults who read for three and a half hours per week or more could expect to have a longer lifespan than those who did not read books. Try a book swap with a friend to expand your library for free.

2. Develop your skills

You’ll find you have more free time as you use your phone less. Invest it into developing your skills, especially if there’s any you haven’t kept up with. Dedicate time to practicing the skill that you’ve been ‘too busy’ for.

You could also try learning something new. You could meet with a friend to learn a new skill together or to teach one another a skill you already have.  As we get older, learning new skills can help keep the brain active and stave off age-related cognitive decline. A new instrument, language, life skill or even how to play a new board game could help to keep your mind sharp.

3. Take up exercise

Instead of sitting on the sofa staring at your phone, get moving. Studies have shown that a sedentary lifestyle can lead to all kinds of health problems. These include obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer. So, put down your phone and get moving.

If you’re new to exercise, challenge yourself to walk more each week. Walking for just 10 minutes a day can have health benefits. Try going for a jog if you’re feeling more confident. If it’s possible in your area, and safe for you to do so, consider signing up to an exercise class.

4. Have a conversation

When we have our eyes down on our phones, it’s a signal to whoever we’re with that we’re not properly listening. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that having little face-to-face social contact nearly doubled older adults’ risk of depression. Try putting your phone to one side and giving your full attention to who you’re speaking to.

5. Get some sleep

More than a third of people look at their phones just before going to sleep. But the light the devices emit can suppress the body’s production of melatonin – the sleep hormone. Putting down your phone an hour or so before bedtime is recommended in order not to disrupt your sleep cycle. This can ensure you have the rest your body needs to be healthy.

6. Look after your posture

According to the British Chiropractic Association (BCA), 22% of people have experienced back pain after using a smartphone. So rather than hunching over a device, do some simple stretches. You could even book in for a yoga or Pilates class.

7. Get out into nature

Nature can’t be fully accessed via mobile phones or screens. It is best experienced through being out in the world and using all five senses. Nature-deficit disorder has been identified as a growing phenomenon among children. However, adults also benefit from time in natural environments.

Positive ways to use your phone (and other devices)

Cutting down your screen time doesn’t mean swearing off all technology. There are plenty of healthy things you can do using your devices, such as

• Connecting with loved ones using video call

• Learning a new skill on YouTube, or apps like DuoLingo or SkillsShare

• Checking in with your mental health, with apps like Headspace

• Boosting your wellbeing with online classes. Remember, if you’re a Benenden Health member, you can access free online wellbeing classes on diet and nutrition, mindfulness and exercise sessions too.

Why people become overweight

Everyone knows some people who can eat ice cream, cake, and whatever else they want and still not gain weight. At the other extreme are people who seem to gain weight no matter how little they eat. Why? What are the causes of obesity? What allows one person to remain thin without effort but demands that another struggle to avoid gaining weight or regaining the pounds he or she has lost previously?

On a very simple level, your weight depends on the number of calories you consume, how many of those calories you store, and how many you burn up. But each of these factors is influenced by a combination of genes and environment. Both can affect your physiology (such as how fast you burn calories) as well as your behavior (the types of foods you choose to eat, for instance). The interplay between all these factors begins at the moment of your conception and continues throughout your life.

The calorie equation

The balance of calories stored and burned depends on your genetic makeup, your level of physical activity, and your resting energy expenditure (the number of calories your body burns while at rest). If you consistently burn all of the calories that you consume in the course of a day, you will maintain your weight. If you consume more energy (calories) than you expend, you will gain weight.

Excess calories are stored throughout your body as fat. Your body stores this fat within specialized fat cells (adipose tissue) — either by enlarging fat cells, which are always present in the body, or by creating more of them. If you decrease your food intake and consume fewer calories than you burn up, or if you exercise more and burn up more calories, your body will reduce some of your fat stores. When this happens, fat cells shrink, along with your waistline.

Genetic influences

To date, more than 400 different genes have been implicated in the causes of overweight or obesity, although only a handful appear to be major players. Genes contribute to the causes of obesity in many ways, by affecting appetite, satiety (the sense of fullness), metabolism, food cravings, body-fat distribution, and the tendency to use eating as a way to cope with stress. The strength of the genetic influence on weight disorders varies quite a bit from person to person. Research suggests that for some people, genes account for just 25% of the predisposition to be overweight, while for others the genetic influence is as high as 70% to 80%. Having a rough idea of how large a role genes play in your weight may be helpful in terms of treating your weight problems.

How much of your weight depends on your genes?

Genes are probably a significant contributor to your obesity if you have most or all of the following characteristics:

• You have been overweight for much of your life.

• One or both of your parents or several other blood relatives are significantly overweight. If both of your parents have obesity, your likelihood of developing obesity is as high as 80%.

• You can't lose weight even when you increase your physical activity and stick to a low-calorie diet for many months.

Genes are probably a lower contributor for you if you have most or all of the following characteristics:

• You are strongly influenced by the availability of food.

• You are moderately overweight, but you can lose weight when you follow a reasonable diet and exercise program.

• You regain lost weight during the holiday season, after changing your eating or exercise habits, or at times when you experience psychological or social problems.

These circumstances suggest that you have a genetic predisposition to be heavy, but it's not so great that you can't overcome it with some effort.

At the other end of the spectrum, you can assume that your genetic predisposition to obesity is modest if your weight is normal and doesn't increase even when you regularly indulge in high-calorie foods and rarely exercise.

People with only a moderate genetic predisposition to be overweight have a good chance of losing weight on their own by eating fewer calories and getting more vigorous exercise more often. These people are more likely to be able to maintain this lower weight.

What are thrifty genes?

When the prey escaped or the crops failed, how did our ancestors survive? Those who could store body fat to live off during the lean times lived, and those who couldn't, perished. This evolutionary adaptation explains why most modern humans — about 85% of us — carry so-called thrifty genes, which help us conserve energy and store fat. Today, of course, these thrifty genes are a curse rather than a blessing. Not only is food readily available to us nearly around the clock, we don't even have to hunt or harvest it!

In contrast, people with a strong genetic predisposition to obesity may not be able to lose weight with the usual forms of diet and exercise therapy. Even if they lose weight, they are less likely to maintain the weight loss. For people with a very strong genetic predisposition, sheer willpower is ineffective in counteracting their tendency to be overweight. Typically, these people can maintain weight loss only under a doctor's guidance. They are also the most likely to require weight-loss drugs or surgery.

The prevalence of obesity among adults in the United States has been rising since the 1970s. Genes alone cannot possibly explain such a rapid rise. Although the genetic predisposition to be overweight varies widely from person to person, the rise in body mass index appears to be nearly universal, cutting across all demographic groups. These findings underscore the importance of changes in our environment that contribute to the epidemic of overweight and obesity.

Environmental causes of obesity

Genetic factors are the forces inside you that help you gain weight and stay overweight; environmental factors are the outside forces that contribute to these problems. They encompass anything in our environment that makes us more likely to eat too much or exercise too little. Taken together, experts think that environmental factors are the driving force for the causes of obesity and its dramatic rise.

Environmental influences come into play very early, even before you're born. Researchers sometimes call these in-utero exposures "fetal programming." Babies of mothers who smoked during pregnancy are more likely to become overweight than those whose mothers didn't smoke. The same is true for babies born to mothers who had diabetes. Researchers believe these conditions may somehow alter the growing baby's metabolism in ways that show up later in life.

After birth, babies who are breast-fed for more than three months are less likely to have obesity as adolescents compared with infants who are breast-fed for less than three months.

Childhood habits often stick with people for the rest of their lives. Kids who drink sugary sodas and eat high-calorie, processed foods develop a taste for these products and continue eating them as adults, which tends to promote weight gain. Likewise, kids who watch television and play video games instead of being active may be programming themselves for a sedentary future.

Many features of modern life promote weight gain. In short, today's "obesogenic" environment encourages us to eat more and exercise less. And there's growing evidence that broader aspects of the way we live — such as how much we sleep, our stress levels, and other psychological factors — can affect weight as well.

The food factor as one of the causes of obesity

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Americans are eating more calories on average than they did in the 1970s. Between 1971 and 2000, the average man added 168 calories to his daily fare, while the average woman added 335 calories a day. What's driving this trend? Experts say it's a combination of increased availability, bigger portions, and more high-calorie foods.

Practically everywhere we go — shopping centers, sports stadiums, movie theaters — food is readily available. You can buy snacks or meals at roadside rest stops, 24-hour convenience stores, even gyms and health clubs. Americans are spending far more on foods eaten out of the home: In 1970, we spent 27% of our food budget on away-from-home food; by 2006, that percentage had risen to 46%.

In the 1950s, fast-food restaurants offered one portion size. Today, portion sizes have ballooned, a trend that has spilled over into many other foods, from cookies and popcorn to sandwiches and steaks. A typical serving of French fries from McDonald's contains three times more calories than when the franchise began. A single "super-sized" meal may contain 1,500–2,000 calories — all the calories that most people need for an entire day. And research shows that people will often eat what's in front of them, even if they're already full. Not surprisingly, we're also eating more high-calorie foods (especially salty snacks, soft drinks, and pizza), which are much more readily available than lower-calorie choices like salads and whole fruits. Fat isn't necessarily the problem; in fact, research shows that the fat content of our diet has actually gone down since the early 1980s. But many low-fat foods are very high in calories because they contain large amounts of sugar to improve their taste and palatability. In fact, many low-fat foods are actually higher in calories than foods that are not low fat.

The exercise equation

The government's current recommendations for exercise call for an hour of moderate to vigorous exercise a day. But fewer than 25% of Americans meet that goal.

Our daily lives don't offer many opportunities for activity. Children don't exercise as much in school, often because of cutbacks in physical education classes. Many people drive to work and spend much of the day sitting at a computer terminal. Because we work long hours, we have trouble finding the time to go to the gym, play a sport, or exercise in other ways.

Instead of walking to local shops and toting shopping bags, we drive to one-stop megastores, where we park close to the entrance, wheel our purchases in a shopping cart, and drive home. The widespread use of vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, leaf blowers, and a host of other appliances takes nearly all the physical effort out of daily chores and can contribute as one of the causes of obesity.

The trouble with TV: Sedentary snacking

The average American watches about four hours of television per day, a habit that's been linked to overweight or obesity in a number of studies. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a long-term study monitoring the health of American adults, revealed that people with overweight and obesity spend more time watching television and playing video games than people of normal weight. Watching television more than two hours a day also raises the risk of overweight in children, even in those as young as three years old.

Part of the problem may be that people are watching television instead of exercising or doing other activities that burn more calories (watching TV burns only slightly more calories than sleeping, and less than other sedentary pursuits such as sewing or reading). But food advertisements also may play a significant role. The average hour-long TV show features about 11 food and beverage commercials, which encourage people to eat. And studies show that eating food in front of the TV stimulates people to eat more calories, and particularly more calories from fat. In fact, a study that limited the amount of TV kids watched demonstrated that this practice helped them lose weight — but not because they became more active when they weren't watching TV. The difference was that the children ate more snacks when they were watching television than when doing other activities, even sedentary ones.

Stress and related issues

Obesity experts now believe that a number of different aspects of American society may conspire to promote weight gain. Stress is a common thread intertwining these factors. For example, these days it's commonplace to work long hours and take shorter or less frequent vacations. In many families, both parents work, which makes it harder to find time for families to shop, prepare, and eat healthy foods together. Round-the-clock TV news means we hear more frequent reports of child abductions and random violent acts. This does more than increase stress levels; it also makes parents more reluctant to allow children to ride their bikes to the park to play. Parents end up driving kids to play dates and structured activities, which means less activity for the kids and more stress for parents. Time pressures — whether for school, work, or family obligations — often lead people to eat on the run and to sacrifice sleep, both of which can contribute to weight gain.

Some researchers also think that the very act of eating irregularly and on the run may be another one of the causes of obesity. Neurological evidence indicates that the brain's biological clock — the pacemaker that controls numerous other daily rhythms in our bodies — may also help to regulate hunger and satiety signals. Ideally, these signals should keep our weight steady. They should prompt us to eat when our body fat falls below a certain level or when we need more body fat (during pregnancy, for example), and they should tell us when we feel satiated and should stop eating. Close connections between the brain's pacemaker and the appetite control center in the hypothalamus suggest that hunger and satiety are affected by temporal cues. Irregular eating patterns may disrupt the effectiveness of these cues in a way that promotes obesity.

Similarly, research shows that the less you sleep, the more likely you are to gain weight. Lack of sufficient sleep tends to disrupt hormones that control hunger and appetite and could be another one of the causes of obesity. In a 2004 study of more than 1,000 volunteers, researchers found that people who slept less than eight hours a night had higher levels of body fat than those who slept more, and the people who slept the fewest hours weighed the most.

Stress and lack of sleep are closely connected to psychological well-being, which can also affect diet and appetite, as anyone who's ever gorged on cookies or potato chips when feeling anxious or sad can attest. Studies have demonstrated that some people eat more when affected by depression, anxiety, or other emotional disorders. In turn, overweight and obesity themselves can promote emotional disorders: If you repeatedly try to lose weight and fail, or if you succeed in losing weight only to gain it all back, the struggle can cause tremendous frustration over time, which can cause or worsen anxiety and depression. A cycle develops that leads to greater and greater obesity, associated with increasingly severe emotional difficulties.

This blog was written by Harvard Health

How to deal with a fear of judgement whilst exercising

According to a King's College London and Ipsos MORI survey of 2,254 people, 48% said they put on weight during lockdown - and the same percentage reported feeling more anxious or depressed than usual.

Very few people stride into a gym or set off for a run feeling confident every single time. You may worry about being unfit or looking silly in front of other people - and it can be daunting to join a new class with people you don't know. Even wearing an old pair of leggings or lycra sports clothes can make you feel awkward and uncomfortable.

Why do we feel judged?

A fear of being judged can lower our self-esteem and affect how we feel about ourselves. We can feel that others are evaluating our weight and how we look.

We can feel that others are judging our lack of fitness or even our old sports clothes and this can make us feel unsure about ourselves and question our behaviour, It can also prevent us from adhering to an exercise programme as we lose our confidence in being able to stand there in the clothes we have.

With gyms combining lots of unknown people with some people just concerned about how they look and posing in the mirrors, (you know who you are) you can see why people’s fears can really see why peoples fear surfaces. Fear is meant to be uncomfortable to make sure you do something about it. It usually wants you to avoid whatever it sees as causing the discomfort.

Even if you manage to overcome the fear and get to the gym, it can make peoples experience so uncomfortable there unlikely to want to repeat it.

Doing exercise isn't just about improving your physical health and trying to shift any pounds gained during lockdown, but it's essential for people’s mental health too. It releases brain chemicals such as endorphins, which help to relieve discomfort and boost your mood.

Find a class you love

Find something you love doing, rather than forcing yourself to an abs class that you hate, the key is when it comes to overcoming worries about exercising is to maybe try something you have never done, you can always change class, one of the bigger gyms will have multiple classes over the course of the day. You will also meet like minded people. remember your not the only person in that situation.

Look after yourself

To feel more confident in general, people need to learn how to relax and enjoy yourself, even when things are stressful. Most of us though will feel more balanced after mindfulness and meditation, a walk in nature and spending time outdoors. Getting enough sleep, good nutrition, drinking plenty of water and spending time with people we love are also key. Reading, dancing and listening to music and, particularly, being physically active all help too

C.R.A.P FOODS

Limit your CRAP intake

• Carbonated drinks. These are high in fructose, a type of sugar that is produced by the lover as a toxin when your muscles don't use it and then stored as fat. It is thought that one of the main causes of today's obesity epidemic is the high consumption of soft drinks and fruit juices, including natural orange juice.

• Refined sugar. There is a saying “The whiter the bread, the fatter you get” This category includes white flour, white sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. All of these are often combined in pastries, cakes, cookies and some cereals.

• Artificial colours and flavourings. These are anti-nutrients which are often included in confectionery products, soft drinks, party foods and snacks such as crisps. “A” also stands for Alcohol, which is processed by the liver as a toxin and promotes fat storage.

• Processed foods. Heavily processed foods such as party foods, sausages, hames and deli or smoked meats are more likely to contain all of the the above, plus trans fats, which cause weight gain and are considered a danger to health.

Why we can't resist C.R.A.P foods. So why don't people just stop eating high fat and sugar if they know they cause physical problems?

• Scientists are still researching for the answers, but it appears that our brains have been wired to encourage the consumption of calorie-rich foods, even at the expense of good health, simply put, these foods bring us pleasure.

• One recent study revealed that an area of the brain related to addiction and reward, the nucleus accumbens, lights up when a participant is shown calorie rich, fatty food compared to healthy food.

• Another area of the brain associated with pleased tastes and rewards, orbitofrontal cortex, is activated when we eat fatty foods.

• People are increasingly being exposed to food but living more sedentary lifestyles and therefore burning fewer calories.

• In fact some argue that the rise in obesity is a result of our bodies inability to adapt to the changing environment. (Which is the side I fall on)

KNOW YOUR FOOD LABELS

The most important job for any food label is to tell you exactly what the food is. The label has to tell you if the food has undergone any kind of process such as being smoked e.g. smoked mackerel, or dried e.g. dried apricots etc. The pictures should not be misleading, for example, a yoghurt that has only raspberry flavouring must not have a picture of a real raspberry on the packaging.

The law also states the name should not be misleading, for example, whenever the name of the food contains the word “flavour”, the food does not have to contain any of that ingredient e.g. smoky bacon flavour crisps, however, a food that is labelled cheese and onion pasty must contain cheese and onion.

Labels on all foods list the ingredients in descending order of weight.
The dates marked on the labels are an important safeguard against food that may be unfit to eat and they help us maintain food safety and hygiene. The “use by” date mark is for highly perishable goods, which would become a severe health risk if eaten after the recommended date. The term “best before “means exactly that. It would not be dangerous to eat that food after this date but it would indicate that it is perhaps past its best.
Reading food labels can be very confusing and one of the most contentious issues is whether a food product is high or low in fat. To assist you with this process you can apply the fat formula which will enable you do decide whether an item really is low fat.

The fat formula for calculating low fat foods is:

1 gram fat = 9 calories
1 gram cholesterol = 4 calories
1 gram protein = 4 calories
1 gram alcohol = 7 calories

Terminology

A food that claims to be beneficial as part as a healthy diet may well be, but there are no specific rules covering these health type claims, however, any claim must be true and the manufacturers can’t claim a food can treat, prevent or cure any disease

• Free from alcohol means that a product must contain no more than 0.05% alcohol

• An organic product must consist of 95% organic ingredients and the UK requires producers to obtain special certification in order to market food as organic within their borders

• Farm fresh is a meaningless term with no legal definition and can mean whatever the manufacture wants it to mean

• Unsweetened means no sweetener or sugar has been added

• No added sugar means the product contains no sugar, but sweetener may have been added

• Low fat food should contain 3 grams per 100 grams of product or less

• Fat free means food should contain 0.15grams per 100 grams of product or less

• Reduced salt means that food should contain than 0.5grams per 100gram of product or less. You should aim to have no more than 2 grams of sodium in your daily dietary intake

As you can see food labels can be very confusing, but hopefully this has made it a little clearer.

10 Rules For Fat Loss

The following 10 rules are the starting point for an effective weight loss programme:

Drink at least 2 litres of fluids daily – water, zero-calorie flavoured water, herbal or fruit teas.

Fill up your stomach with large amounts of dark green, leafy, or root vegetables first, such as broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, green beans, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, peas, bell peppers, courgettes, aubergines, watercress, onions, carrots, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes.

Minimise the consumption of refined carbohydrates such as white bread, white rice, and pasta.

Instead, include beans, lentils, quinoa, and whole-grains (brown rice, millet, rye, oat, whole-wheat).

Each day, eat at least 2 servings of fresh fruit such as apples, berries, pears, or citrus fruit.
​
Avoid sugary drinks, orange juice, natural or concentrated fruit juices and adding sugar to drinks.

Avoid sugar, sweets, cakes, biscuits, desserts, and pastries.

Avoid fried, burnt or browned food, hydrogenated fat, and excess animal fat.

Minimise the consumption of processed meats (sausages, ham, deli meats, and smoked meats) and party foods with chemical additives or artificial colours and flavours.

Limit alcohol intake to one alcoholic drink a week.

I hope these simple rules are of some use.

Gary

9 simple health goals that you can keep

Try these small changes to improve your health in 2021

1. Walk more

Brisk walking, even for just 10 minutes a day, can improve your circulation, boost your mood and improve your sleep. If you want to start walking more in 2021, try doing it in 10 minute chunks to make it less daunting. 

Remember, you can tell if you're walking briskly enough if you're able to talk, but you're breathing faster than usual.

2. Experience nature

Mental health charity Mind found that proximity to nature can have positive wellbeing benefits, including helping you feel more relaxed and less angry.

If your able visiting green spaces more often can be really beneficial. One study found, for example, that just hearing birdsong can boost mental well-being for four hours or more.

You can bring nature into your everyday life by having flowers in the house, looking after house plants, growing your own food or exercising outdoors.

3. Spend less time sitting down

Sitting is the new smoking – the body wasn't built for spending hours at a desk or in front of the TV. It increases your risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and breast, colon and colorectal cancer. Why not try the Pomodoro method to break up desk time.

Set a timer to break each hour into two 25-minute blocks separated by two five-minute breaks. Work intently during the work periods and move about during the breaks. Use your breaks to stand up, do a quarter squat, do some rotations, or just go for a walk round the office. This technique can also boost your focus when you're working.

4. Get good sleep

Being sleep deprived can negatively affect your mental and physical health. It can even make you prone to major illnesses, from obesity to depression. Reducing screen time before bed, sleeping in a cool room, and going to bed at the same time each evening all help with a good night's rest. Apps such as Sleep Cycle can help you pinpoint any issues and help you to improve your sleep. For more tips, see our article on how to improve your sleep.

5. Stretch

Many of us want to become more flexible and introducing stretches into your daily routine can help you achieve that. Dynamic stretching can help improve flexibility and range of movement, and decrease the risk of injury.

Make a habit of stretching when you wake up, or while you're waiting for the kettle to boil. Discover more ways to boost your flexibility, including stretches to try.

6. Make food more fun

Challenge your self to cook and eat something one new recipe every week. As well as vitamins and minerals, there are hundreds of micronutrients known as phytochemicals in food. Eating a wide variety of food is an easy way of ensuring we get a good nutritional mix. If you're looking to shake things up, why not try one of our delicious, healthy recipes, with ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

7. Plan meals

A focused food shopping list cuts calories and waste, and saves money, as you only buy what you need (and throw nothing away). Take the time to plan your meals, and write out a list before you go to the shops.

8. Reach out to others

We're all busy, but in 2021 take time out for your relationships. The Mental Health Foundation says that having good quality relationships can help us to live longer and happier lives with fewer mental health problems. 

Try to schedule calls (or in-person meetings) with your friends on a regular basis rather than leaving it up to chance. You can increase your sense of belonging by joining clubs or volunteering in your area. If you can't get out and about, there are plenty of online communities you can join - from book clubs to parent/grandparent groups. For your romantic relationships, reflect on whether you're in a healthy relationship.

9. Drink plenty of water 

Drinking enough water is crucial to good health. The NHS recommends drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day (or 1.5 to 2 litres in total). This includes lower fat milks, and low sugar or sugar-free drinks, tea and coffee within this intake. 

You can meet this target by buying a reusable water bottle and keeping it with you throughout the day. If you know your bottle holds 500ml, you know you have to refill it 3 to 4 times to drink the recommended amount. Don't forget that you need more water if you exercise, or on hot days.

Men’s Belly Fat

If you're carrying a few extra pounds, you're not alone. But this is one case where following the crowd isn't a good idea. Carrying extra weight — especially belly fat — can be risky.

Michael D. Jensen, M.D., an endocrinology specialist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., answers common questions about belly fat in men.
The trouble with belly fat is that it's not limited to the extra layer of padding located just below the skin (subcutaneous fat). It also includes visceral fat — which lies deep inside your abdomen, surrounding your internal organs.
Regardless of your overall weight, having a large amount of belly fat increases your risk of:

• Cardiovascular disease

• Type 2 diabetes

• Colorectal cancer

• Sleep apnea

Your weight is largely determined by how you balance the calories you eat with the energy you burn. If you eat too much and exercise too little, you're likely to pack on excess pounds — including belly fat.

However, aging plays a role. As you age, you lose muscle — especially if you're not physically active. Loss of muscle mass decreases the rate at which your body uses calories, which can make it more challenging to maintain a healthy weight. In addition, in some men fat cells in the arms and legs lose the ability to store fat, which causes any excess fat to go to the abdomen.

Your genes also can affect your chances of being overweight or obese, as well as play a role in where you store fat.
Drinking excess alcohol can cause you to gain belly fat — the "beer belly." However, beer alone isn't to blame. Drinking too much alcohol of any kind can increase belly fat, although some research suggests wine might be an exception.

If you drink alcohol, do so only in moderation. The less you drink, the fewer calories you'll consume and the less likely you'll be to gain belly fat.
So how do you know if you have too much belly fat? Simply measure your waist:

• Stand and place a tape measure around your bare stomach, just above your hipbone. If your belly droops, lie down to take the measurement.

• Pull the tape measure until it fits snugly around you, but doesn't push into your skin.

• Make sure the tape measure is level all the way around.

• Relax, exhale and measure your waist, resisting the urge to suck in your stomach.

For men, a waist measurement of more than 40 inches (102 centimetres) indicates an unhealthy concentration of belly fat and a greater risk of health problems.

You can tone abdominal muscles with crunches or other targeted abdominal exercises, but just doing these exercises won't get rid of belly fat. However, visceral fat does respond to the same diet and exercise strategies that can help you shed excess pounds and lower your total body fat.

To battle the bulge:

• Eat a healthy diet. Emphasize plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and choose lean sources of protein and low-fat dairy products. Limit saturated fat, found in meat and high-fat dairy products, such as cheese and butter. Choose moderate amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — found in fish, nuts and certain vegetable oils — instead.

• Keep portion sizes in check. Even when you're making healthy choices, calories add up. At home, slim down your portion sizes. In restaurants, share meals — or eat half your meal and take the rest home for another day.

• Include physical activity in your daily routine. For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends moderate aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, for at least 150 minutes a week or vigorous aerobic activity, such as jogging, for at least 75 minutes a week. In addition, strength training exercises are recommended at least twice a week. If you want to lose weight or meet specific fitness goals, you might need to exercise more.

To lose excess fat and keep it from coming back, aim for slow and steady weight loss — up to 2 pounds (1 kilogram) a week. Consult your doctor for help getting started and staying on track.
Remember, you can lose belly fat — it just takes effort and patience. In fact, shedding even a few extra pounds can help you feel better and lower your risk of health problems.

Goal Setting

Well its that time of year again and all you think is “I`ll do this exercise” “do that exercise” “eat this” “eat that” it can be overwhelming and what’s worse most of the time there are no realistic time scales, you read the headline and that’s it, you want that type of body.
Wanting and getting the body, you want are two different things, but it is achievable if you follow a tried and tested way. Goal setting.
Goal setting is important to any person or athlete, to get further on new lifestyle you need points or goals to aim for weather its losing that last few pounds of winning that next medal. One goal setting technique is made up of the acronine S.M.A.R.T Goals.
Remember this and you won’t go far wrong, so what does SMART stand for?

• S- specific

Be specific in what you want, its no good saying “I want to lose a few pounds” you need to think “ I going to lose 5lbs”

• M- measurable

Be measurable, is your goal obtainable, can you measure it in stages, will you find out when you have hit your goal.

• A – achievable

Think about it, are you going to be able to reach your goal, start small and get bigger. Don’t make your goals too big.

• R- realistic

Be realistic, don’t just say I’m going to lose 6 stone or I’m going to run a marathon , these maybe your end goals, but I serious doubt you’ll do in in your first month.

• T- time related

Be time related, how long is going to take you, for example, a health way to loss weight is 2lbs a week, so if you wanted to lose 1 stone this will take you 7 weeks.