Lucy Carey is part of the Puāwai Healthy Lifestyles team, a dietitian, and fellow of the Australian Society of Lifestyle Medicine. She shares some tips for health and the holidays.
What is lifestyle medicine?
It bridges the gap between preventative healthcare and treatment of diseases impacted by lifestyle choices. The six key pillars are:
- feet (physical activity)
- forks (good nutrition)
- fingers (reduced smoking/alcohol/ risky substances)
- sleep (sufficient and quality)
- stress (managing it)
- love (positive social connections).
Top tips for health and wellbeing?
Nutrition and physical activity are important but they are only part of a
bigger picture. Things such as social connections and how well we sleep have a bigger impact than we might think – and their impact is backed by robust research.
Top nutrition tips?
- focus on wellbeing not weight
- think about what to include in your day not what to exclude. If you mostly fill up on whole food and have ‘junk’ food sometimes, you are doing well
- food is more than fuel. It connects us with memories and culture. Growing, gathering and cooking kai is good for your wellbeing, as is sharing it with loved ones
- cook as much of your own food as you can and gets kids involved. They’re more likely to eat their veggies if they’ve helped cook them!
How to avoid over-eating and unhealthy behaviours over Christmas?
Don’t stress about the holidays. We put way too much pressure on a couple weeks and forget the rest of the year is much more important.
Read the full December newsletter.