Tag: annelouiselittlejohn

Stop and listen!

The theme of this month is nutrition & fitness and I am sure you have been bombarded with many challenges, programs and promotions to get you started into a fitness regime and eating healthy! This is great and I am also one of them 😉 However, today I want to challenge you in something a little different.

I want you to think about a self-care challenge! Yes, think about yourself for a change! Not in a selfish way, but in a –take better care of myself, so I can take better care of you- way!

A few days ago, I was craving a snack. I was craving something not healthy! I am trying to eat gluten free this month which makes unhealthy snacking quite hard! It was bugging me so much. As I was trying to find the least damaging snack, I stopped and tried something else. I tried asking myself what I was really craving. Was I really craving something to eat? Or was it an emotional craving? I tried to look inwards to find out what it was. What would make me happy right now?

I allowed myself to give an honest answer. I allowed all my saboteurs to be quiet for a while and really hear what was going on inside. For some reason, what came up was that I wanted a warm soothing bath! My saboteurs were saying, no you don’t have time for that and it is a waste of water! But I didn’t listen to them. I then asked myself, if taking a bath would keep me from snacking and the answer was YES!

OK, let’s go.

It was so relaxing and so wonderful. After the bath, the same feeling came back. I instinctively went to the kitchen, but then stopped and tried this exercise again. This time I wanted to go for a walk. So, I did! I felt really good. I know, that I felt much better than if I had snacked or forced myself to do all the things I should have or could have done!

Sometimes it is OK to stop and listen. I think my body needed to relax and to have some fresh air. My whole body got a fresh perspective and some time to regenerate!

Your turn

Now I challenge you to do the same! Look inwards and see what comes up! Ask yourself what does your body really want? Are you really lacking a nutrient? Are you really hungry or is it an emotional need? If yes, what emotional need is it? Some nurturing? To express something? Anger? What is going on? Be honest and let your true self talk. Let the saboteurs and the guilt be quiet for a while. And see what comes up. You may be surprised.

 

Anne Louise Littlejohn – HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

HealthyLux January theme – New year, new resolutions – Nutrition and Fitness challenge

 

About hygge, Christmas Traditions and being together!

It is finally December!!! This means Christmas, family, friends, good times, presents and just being together. I am Danish and Christmas is always a very big deal in Denmark; it is probably our biggest and most important holiday. Personally, I think it is because it gets incredibly dark in the winter months and the Danes need something to light their spirits. Already in November it gets completely dark at 16h30 and it only gets worse after that. By Christmas Eve it gets dark at 15h!!

So, you see, they do need some (Christmas) lights to be able to see in the streets! My mother lives in the countryside and just the other day a friend visited her in the afternoon and when he left he asked to borrow her flash light to be able to find his house.

The real Christmas countdown starts on December first. When I was a child my mother prepared small presents for us, one for each day counting down to Christmas Eve. I intend to do the same for my boys this year. On the 13th we celebrate Santa Lucia, where kids dress up in white and walk around with candles and sing. This is a very fond memory I have from my childhood. I went to the European School and all the other sections still remember the Danish girls walking around singing to this day!

Somewhere in the middle of December we get a real Christmas tree and decorate it in a special way. Yes, there is a Danish way to decorate the Christmas tree. The colours must be red and white and some also add Danish flags. We hide candy in the cones for the children, which they are allowed to eat during Christmas Eve day.

The 24th is the sacred family day. The whole family gathers and there is cooking in the kitchen all day long.  After dinner, when the presents which have magically appeared, we sing and dance hand in hand around the Christmas tree! During the final song, we run around the house in one big line. It is so much fun and I have very warm memories of my grandfather running around sillily making us wait even longer for our presents! Finally, we are done singing and the children get to pass out all the presents.

The night ends when all presents are opened and all bottles are empty. We all pass out extremely satiated from both food and presents! But Christmas isn’t over yet.

The infamous “Julefrokost” is a very big deal in Denmark, which translated as a Christmas Lunch. It is not really a lunch, but rather an entire day and night of eating and drinking. The menu is quite interchangeable and so are the drinks. During this event only beer and snaps are served. The snaps you may know from Germany is nothing compared to this one. You may know it as Akvavit and it can taste quite vile, but by the third one they go down quite easily! For me personally the snaps needs to be ice cold and downed while eating herring. Herring is a very important part of the Christmas Lunch menu and goes down beautifully with Akvavit. Every company, University and other institution will host a “julefrokost” for the entire staff. This is the night where it is accepted and even expected to let loose and live a little. This is where office affairs start and embarrassing stories are remembered throughout the year! This party is usually held in November or even January depending on the type of business or when exams are held, etc. and is usually held with family and friends on the 25th or 26th of December.

Christmas in my family would last until the 6th January, day of the 3 kings. This is where my mother would take down the tree and all the decorations. We lived in Luxembourg, so we didn’t have too much of a reason to keep the lights out longer than that, but I do believe that now as she lives in Denmark she keeps them out a lot longer.

The Danes have so many traditions around this holiday and each family also add on their own routines and customs, but the most important aspect of the entire season is to be together! This is so essential. In Denmark it is cold, dark and wet during these months and people need to come up with something to compensate. In a sense “hygge”, which is the Danish word for cosiness, is turned up a notch. And I believe the Danes are doing a great job! After all, it is not for nothing that they have been crowned the happiest nation so many times 😉

This year, I wish for you all to embrace your own traditions and spend lovely times with family, friends and loved ones. Embrace some HYGGE and just BE TOGETHER!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

 

Anne Louise Littlejohn – HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

HealthyLux December theme – Let’s hug

 

Bikini Season is upon us! Are you ready?

My mother in law loves taking lots of pictures of us on holiday, including pictures of me in my bikini by the pool! I still remember the first time we went on holiday together and she was taking photos of me. I didn’t like it one bit. She likes “in the action” photos, so most of the time I didn’t even know she was taking them. I had to reassure that she would not post any of them on Facebook!! She promised she wouldn’t. I actually just wanted to burn (delete) them!

This year however, things were different. In March we went on holiday together and again she was taking lots of pictures. This time, when going through them I wasn’t all grossed out about seeing me in a bikini!

YAY!

First of all, what a terrible thing to think about myself! Is it really that bad to look at my own body? Well yes it is! And I am sure I am not alone! But really! Would we say that we are grossed out about seeing our best friend in a bikini if she is a little bulky and overweight? I recon not!

Second of all, did my body really change that much? I have lost some weight but I am surely not skinny and I do not look like the woman in the picture.

So what has changed?

 

My confidence and how I view myself has changed! All the holistic work I am doing for myself is really working! I am so happy that I am finally accepting and loving my body the way it is.

So can you! Here is the good news!

If you are unable to look at yourself in the mirror and hate seeing photos of yourself, especially in a bikini, you too can start to love yourself, just the way you are! You are worthy of love and you are beautiful!

 

Here are 5 small things you can do start loving your body:

  1. Take a yoga class.  Doing yoga forces you to connect with your body in a different way and you will start to see your body differently.
  2. Get to know Louise Hay! Click here to listen to one of her many lectures or guided meditations you can find on youtube.
  3. Schedule something good for yourself at least once a week. It can be a massage or other treatment, try something new like Reiki, go for a walk, reconnect with a friend – anything that makes you happy! Go on, schedule it in now!
  4. Eat more vegetables! When you fuel your body with delicious nutrients, vitamins and minerals, your body will glow and you will start feeling different.
  5. Stop comparing yourself to others! You are and look the way you look and that’s the end of it! Cherish yourself! You are worthy!

Oh dear, there are so many more, it is hard to choose just 5! Be good to yourself! How do you expect other people to love you if you don’t love yourself? You can start now!

 

Anne Louise Littlejohn, HealthyLux passionate contributor

Owner at GetReal.lu

 

Five actions to avoid drowsiness after lunch!

Do you know the feeling, when you get really tired after lunch? You’ve just had a big lunch, feeling really good about yourself and you are ready to face an afternoon full of delicious work challenges.

And then it hits you! You get tired, your eyes start closing and you may even be a little grumpy.

Do you know that feeling?

Why does this happen? Well, the short story is that you body is digesting the food you ate and most likely you are experiencing a sugar crash. There can be other causes, such as just plain tired if you haven’t slept well in a while or something else that is nagging at your life.

But no matter the cause, what do you do in these situations?

I used to (I still sometimes) grab the first sugary treat I could find and down it with some coffee! I am sure some of you do or have done that too!

Unfortunately this is the worst thing you can do! If you are experiencing a sugar crash, then adding more sugar is like adding insult to injury.

But what can you do instead? Here are 5 suggestions.

1 – Avoid refined sugar. If you are experiencing a sugar crash, then avoiding sugar for lunch, will avoid the crash! Easy, no? 😉

2 – If you are still experiencing this classic fatigue, even without sugar, then maybe it is a different kind of sugar. CARBS! Carbohydrates are also a type of sugar and will also lead to sugar crashes! This one is hard to avoid, since the most common quick lunch is a sandwich! Try to avoid eating bread and have a salad instead!

3 – If you are already avoiding these two foods but you are still getting tired after lunch, then try to have a nap! Sometimes we are just tired and a 20 min nap can work wonders. So if you are in a position to take a nap, then do it! Even nodding off in a conference room at the office can work. A trick to avoid falling deeply asleep is to hold your keys in your hand. When your body is falling a sleep you will drop the keys and hopefully the noise will wake you up. At this point you should get up and feel more energized. Do a few stretches and you are good to go!

4 – Talking about stretches: a good way to get over the nagging sleepiness in the afternoon is to move! Do some stretches, go for a walk or take a fitness class! Your body will feel more energized afterwards! I promise you. So even if this is the last thing you want to do, give yourself a kick in the butt and off you go!

5 – If none of these things work, then try talking to someone. Maybe you just need a different perspective and change of pace or a friendly conversation with someone. People can give you so much energy, it is amazing. Try it!

So, what do you think? Can you try some of these? Do you have other ideas?

 

Anne Louise Littlejohn, passionate contributor to HealthyLux

Owner at GetReal.lu

Anne Louise’s approach to a healthy lifestyle

Give a short description of what you do

I am a Holistic Health Coach and owner of Get Real with Anne Louise. I am the creator of the Ideal Weight Management Program. I help women, specifically mothers, find their new true identity. Tony Robbins says, if we don’t grow, we die. And I truly believe this. I believe we are here to live our best life! Through small changes in diet and lifestyle EVERYONE can achieve maximum level of health and happiness!
I work in a holistic manner meaning that I look at all aspects of life. Everything in our life that is not food, feeds us in a different way but all affects our health and wellbeing. Everything from relationships, career to how you get up in the morning feeds your life and affects how you feel and ultimately your health and wellbeing. Healthy living is about so much more than nutrition and exercise!

Why, in your opinion, should people give up the food and activities they like to live healthier?

I don’t think that people should give up anything they love. I think it is all about adding in. Add in more vegetables or healthy habits and the unhealthy habits will slowly leave your life. I think it is about tweaking all your favourite foods and activities and turning them into healthy and fun activities or foods.
If you love watching TV in the evenings instead of taking that exercise class, why not bring in a treadmill and walk or run while you watch TV? It is much harder to snack while you walk or run 😉 Or if burgers are your favourite foods, there are millions of recipes out there to make the greasy unhealthy burger into a healthy yummy burger with lots of greens.
Everything can be tweaked. Never restrict yourself!

Why and how did you accept to live healthy?

I used to be really unhealthy. I used to party a lot and drink a lot of alcohol. The next day I would self medicate with greasy burgers and fries and finish off with crisps in front of TV. I would definitely not like getting much physical activity. Needless to say I was not very happy.
My life changed completely when I became pregnant. Suddenly I couldn’t hide behind alcohol or cigarettes and I had to find out who I was without it. It was a scary process but I went through it and it has been so worth it! I no longer smoke or drink (that much), I am eating and living healthily and feeling amazing! During this process I found the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, IIN. The courses, new friends and new things I learnt really helped me get through this process. It taught me how important it is to have support from someone who is knowledgeable and can hold your hand through it all. They have helped me find my new true identity as a parent and to finally live a healthy and REAL life!

Is it challenging, expensive and time-consuming?

I don’t think so, on the contrary. Living healthy and vibrant brings so many great experiences. I don’t get sick, as often as before, so that’s fewer trips to the doctor and less medicine. I don’t party as much as before which is great for my wallet and for my liver 😉
The biggest challenge is really to be true to yourself and to find the REAL cause behind the unhealthy habits. This requires some deep digging, which can feel scary. But boy is it worth it! And having someone to hold your hand throughout the journey can really help a lot!

Does it really work?

Of course it works, but you need to think of all factors. Healthy living is not just about nutrition and exercise, there is so much more to it. Your relationships, your career and everything else that feeds your mind and soul are contributing to your health and wellbeing. Make sure you take good care of it all!

What were the key factors that lead you to start a new healthier life?

My children! It was easy to be accountable to them, much easier than to myself. But, today I understand why in an emergency situation in a plane you have to put your own oxygen mask on before you help a child. You need to take care of yourself BEFORE you can take care of others!

 

Anne Louise Littlejohn, HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

Owner at GetReal.lu

 

Our Unique Wonderful Gut Microbiota!

We are all wonderful, unique and beautiful beings with very different needs! What works for one person doesn’t have to work for another! This is why diets don’t work!

One of the reasons, I think, why we all need very different diets and lifestyles is due to our gut microbiota. We all have a different unique composition of bacteria residing in our gut. As unique as our fingerprints! Isn’t that amazing? Factors like lifestyle, food and what we surround ourselves with influence our gut microbiota!

Some of the benefits provided by our gut bacteria are listed below:

  1. Our intestinal system is where most of our nutrients are absorbed and enters the blood stream. Our gut bacteria help us make sure that only what is meant to enter the blood streams actually enters. It is very important that big harmful compounds do not enter the blood stream as the body will see it as foreign and attack itself.
  2. The gut bacteria help us break down some of the foods that we cannot break down ourselves. For instance, they break down most fibers that we cannot break down ourselves providing us with vital nutrients.
  3. They provide us with some vitamins that we cannot produce ourselves. Vitamins B and K, for instance.
  4. They communicate with our immune system by producing certain cytokines that brings messages to cells inside the body.

The gut bacteria have so many additional functions and are useful in so many ways. It’s all quite fascinating and we are learning more and more about our microscopic friends. Every hour a new paper on our gut bacteria is published!

I hope by now that you can see the importance in taking good care of our gut bacteria, as they can be really important to our health.

So how do we take care of them?

Well, it’s really quite simple!

The good gut bacteria like to eat vegetables and fruit. They don’t like processed foods or sugar. Therefore, by eating real food, food that our ancestors would recognize as food, will feed our good gut bacteria and they will thrive. However, feed the bad kind with processed foods and sugar, and the effect can be quite harmful. They can signal wrong messages to the immune system, they can allow harmful substances to enter the bloodstream and they can deprive us from some really important nutrients. All factors that can result in lifestyle related disease, like obesity, auto immune reactions, allergies, asthma and food sensitivities.

So be good to your gut bacteria and eat your veggies!!

 

Anne Louise Littlejohn

Owner at GetReal.lu

 

 

How to stay healthy during the Holidays!

I love this time of year! Christmas lights are out and kids are getting excited about Santa! It is the time for joy, being with loved ones and PRESENTS!!! I love getting presents!

However, it is also the time for challenges to our health. Christmas is often the time where we let ourselves go and eat whatever we want and forget to take care of ourselves. One too many trips to the Christmas market or to a Christmas party and our balance of healthy living is totally off.

So what are you supposed to do to stay healthy? How are you supposed to not fall into the stress-trap? Is it even possible?

I think it is. Here are some of my favourite tips to stay healthy throughout the holidays!

 

  • Stay hydrated

Too much alcohol and salty food will throw you off completely. Make sure to balance it out and hydrate before and after a night out. You should be drinking around 2 L of liquid every day, but think about increasing a little bit on the days where you know you will be indulging on some GlĂŒhwein or other alcoholic beverages. Dehydration can cause headaches and is often mistaken for hunger, so we eat more. Don’t fall into this trap!

  • Drink smart

When you are drinking, go for lower calorie drinks. I only drink wine on a night out, because it has less calories and I drink less as opposed to when I drink beer (which I must admit my digestion system cannot take anymore). If you are a long-drinks-type, then mix your alcohol with sparling water and lime, this limits the calories and helps keep your blood sugar stable. And remember to drink water in between drinks, it will keep you hydrated and pace your alcohol intake. Keep in mind that GlĂŒhwein contains a lot of sugar, so enjoy one, but then go over to something else.

healthylux-xmas-tree

  • Stay active

Christmas is no excuse to stop exercising! Even if your regular fitness class pauses throughout the Holidays, you can still go swimming, go for walks, go ice-skating and lots more. No excuses! Why not dance the night away at the Christmas party? It is fun and you burn calories! Win-win! Exercise also boosts your immune system to fight off nasty colds and flu’s! And if you do overeat, then do yourself a favour and stand up and walk around. That will signal your body that your cells need energy and it will ease your digestion and you will feel better.

  • Get your zzz’s

Make sure you get enough sleep. Stress is almost inevitable during Christmas, but you will be able to handle it much better if you get enough sleep. Sleep deprivation is also often mistaken for hunger, so enough zzz’s will help you make better and healthier choices!

  • Focus on the fun not the food!

Christmas food is mandatory and Christmas wouldn’t be the same without it, but that doesn’t mean food has to be the main focus. Why not focus on some other things instead? How about carolling with your kids or decorating the tree? Or focus on great conversations with loved ones. Some of us only see our families during the Holidays, so why not really get to know them? Find out what your cousins do and what makes them tick. Start listening and being more mindful of the people around you. They may surprise you!

  • Go for quality over quantity

We all know it is coming; the cookies, the alcohol, the roast and gravy, etc. My advice is to go for quality instead of quantity. Skip the store bought cookies and go for delicious homemade cookies made with love. Go for the treats that are special to you and your family. Think of it as if you are on a budget and you have to make the money last for the whole month. Which treats and foods would you like to spend your money on? Go for the good stuff!

  • Balance is key

Have you heard of the 80/20 principle? You eat healthy and conscious 80% of the time while leaving space for delicious treats for the remaining 20%. Don’t deprive yourself of your favourite holiday snack, but do it consciously. If you‘ve had salty, greasy food one day, then balance it out and have fresh salads and fruit the next day. Listen to your body and find out what is wants and needs.

 

Remember – it’s not what you eat between Christmas and New Years, but what you eat between New Years and Christmas.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

healthylux-christmas

 

Anne Louise Littlejohn

Owner at GetReal.lu