We share tips with you on how to make positive changes that can be great for your health & wellbeing
This article is sponsored by Bassetts, Berocca, Bio-Kult, Centrum, Ensure, Haliborange, Imedeen, Nicotinell, Vitabiotics & Viviscal
Stuck in a rut and want to make some positive changes to your lifestyle but not sure where to start? We’ve all been there. From making small tweaks to setting bigger goals, our top tips will help support your health and wellbeing.
While it’s traditional to make resolutions at New Year and spring can be a great time to start fresh, there’s really no ‘right’ time to make positive changes and get into daily routines that help support your wellbeing.
In fact, starting something new part way through the week, month or even year can feel motivating and also super liberating. When it comes to making self-care plans and getting into good habits, there really is no better time than right now.
If you’re struggling to find the motivation to get started, take a look at our top tips for making it a bit more manageable…
Prioritise your health & wellbeing
When it comes to self-care and self-improvement, there’s no better place to start than with your physical and mental health.
This can look different for different people. You may decide to bite the bullet and finally join the gym, you might want to start a daily meditation ritual or it could be something like looking after your gut (find out more about how this can have a positive impact on your whole health in our gut microbiome feature)
Whatever your goals, prioritising your physical and mental wellbeing is always a great idea.
Set yourself realistic short & long term goals
If you have a big goal, it can be useful to split it up into smaller, more manageable milestones that feel achievable.
For instance, if your aim is to exercise more, you may have a long-term goal of trekking up a mountain or completing a 10k run. Breaking this down into daily, weekly and monthly milestones can help you make realistic progress and also keep you motivated.
By breaking your goal down in this way, you’ll reap the benefits of that daily check-in and it’ll also feel like your efforts are amounting to something bigger.
Don’t forget, there will be times when you can’t hit your targets, and that’s ok. Sometimes life gets in the way, but remember not to let a bad day turn into a bad week or month.
Celebrate the small & big wins
When you set yourself a goal or challenge, no matter how big or small, it’s important to recognise and celebrate your progress along the way, as this will help keep you motivated and on track.
You could always link your celebration to your motivation, for example if your goal is to give up smoking, why not use the money you’ve saved so far on something nice like a new pair of trainers or a day trip somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit? Or if you’ve promised yourself you’re going to improve your diet and start taking a daily multivitamin, you could reward yourself with your favourite posh coffee at the end of the week.
Get some group motivation
If you’re someone who struggles with self-motivation, why not set a shared goal with a friend or relative? You can have regular check-ins and encourage each other to hit those targets.
If getting active is on your hit-list but you’re not sure where to start or don’t have anyone to get out and about with, why not look into joining a local group? From walking to yoga or even a gentle game of tennis, you’re sure to find a friendly bunch who will welcome you, whether you’re getting back to a sport you love or you’re trying something new for the first time.
Products to help you hit your self-care goals
We all need a helping hand every now and again, which is why we’ve cherry-picked some of our products that can help support you, whatever your wellbeing mission.
Try: Bassetts Vitamins Woman 50+
• Size: 30 pastilles
• Suitable for adults aged 50 & over
If you’re planning on making a small tweak to your daily routine, taking a multivitamin if you are struggling to maintain a healthy, balanced diet is a great way to help make sure you’re getting all the vitamins and minerals you need. Formulated to help support your everyday health, these one-a-day vitamins are sugar free and contain vitamin D for bone health and vitamin C and D for immune support while iron and vitamin B12 help reduce tiredness and fatigue.
Try: Ensure Nutrivigor Shake Vanilla RTD
• Size: 220ml
• Helps support everyday energy, strength & immunity*
Looking for nutritional support on the go? This tasty food supplement shake contains 27 vitamins and minerals, protein and hydroxymethylbutyrate (HMB) to help reduce tiredness and support immunity and energy release.*
Try: Vitabiotics Ultra Vitamin D Tablets
• Size: 96 tablets
• 25 µg vitamin D3
Vitamin D is essential for our health, but our bodies can struggle to make enough of it by themselves, during autumn and winter months when the sun is not strong enough for our bodies to make vitamin D which is why the Department of Health and Social Care recommends everyone takes a daily 10µg vitamin D supplement during the autumn and winter months and those people who have little to no sun exposure should consider taking a vitamin D supplement all year round. Vitamin D can support good health, including the health of your bones and immune system.
Try: Berocca Orange Effervescent Tablets
• Size: 15 tablets
• Suitable for adults & children aged 12 years & over
Not a fan of taking your vitamins in tablet form? These dissolvable ones are packed with vitamins and minerals, including B1 and B2 to help support energy release, B12 to help reduce tiredness and fatigue and vitamin C and zinc help support your immune system. Simply drop one into a bottle or glass of water, leave it to fizz and enjoy!
Try: Haliborange The BIG Multi Strawberry Softies
• Size: 90 softies
• Suitable from 3 years
Looking for something that’s suitable for the whole family? These chewable multivitamins contain vitamin B5 which contributes to normal mental performance, plus calcium and vitamin D to help support normal growth and development of bones in children. That’s what we call an all-round winner!
Try: Viviscal Maximum Strength Hair Growth Supplement
• Size: 30 tablets
• Helps maintain normal healthy hair growth
Menopause, stress, over-styling, hair extensions and poor nutrition can all affect hair health. If you want to make looking after your locks more of a priority, strong healthy hair depends on a balanced diet and lifestyle. You might also want to consider a supplement like this one, which contains biotin and zinc to help maintain normal healthy growth from within.
Try: Centrum Advance 50+ Multivitamin Multimineral Food Supplement
• Size: 100 tablets
• Suitable for adults aged 50 & over
Your nutritional needs may be slightly different to what they once were. These multivitamins have been specially formulated for people aged 50 and over, with iron and vitamin B12 to help reduce tiredness and fatigue and vitamin C to help maintain the normal function of your immune system. They also contain calcium to support normal healthy bones and vitamin A and zinc for the maintenance of normal vision. Plus, you get 100 in a pack, so making a long-term daily tweak is even easier as you won’t need to worry about running out for a while!
Try: Imedeen Prime Renewal Food Supplement
• Size: 120 tablets
• Suitable for adults aged 50 & over
If looking after your skin is one of your self-care goals, a healthy, balanced diet and good skincare regime are positive steps you can take straight away. You could also consider adding a skin-focused food supplement to your beauty routine. This one is for adults aged 50 and over and helps make skin feel softer, feel more supple and look smoother.
Try: Bio-Kult Everyday
• Size: 30 capsules
• 14 strains of live bacteria
Everyday factors can disturb the balance of your gut microbiome and it takes time to restore it. Adding a supplement like this one, which contains 14 live bacteria strains, can complement your natural gut flora and support your full body health.
Consider: Nicotinell Mint Compressed Lozenge (nicotine)
• Size: 96 lozenges
• Sugar free
Quitting smoking has so many great benefits including positive effects on your health, not to mention your bank balance! Everybody’s journey is different and requires willpower, but some people find it helpful to use stop smoking aids like these lozenges. They dissolve in the mouth and release a dose of nicotine to relieve cravings when they strike. Always read the label.
*Food supplements do not replace the need for a healthy balanced diet
