You want to see progress, we get it, but there’s really no point weighing yourself 3 times a day.

We use our phones for pretty much everything, so it follows that we’d use it as a tool for improving our nutrition too.

From tracking what we eat, creating meal plans and savvy shopping, our phones can help with what we eat in many ways. Here are a few of our favourite nutrition apps to help make eating healthy easier.

MyFitnessPal

If you’ve ever thought about calorie counting, chances are you’ve heard of MyFitnessPal. A popular app with over 80 million users, it’s one of the best calorie tracking apps around. It has a comprehensive food database (although we’d recommend triple checking that the info is correct compared to what you’re actually eating), a barcode scanner for easy tracking, a recipe builder for figuring out portion calories, and you can choose which macros to track. It also syncs with many fitness apps to give you a one-stop look at your day.

iOS and Android, free or paid membership

Nutracheck

If you’re not a fan of MyFitnessPal, one of the other great calorie tracking apps is Nutracheck. It’s a smaller company than MyFitnessPal, but uses this to its advantage with UK-based staff dedicated to ensuring its food database is correct. Food tracking is made easy with a barcode scanner and images of packaging so you know if you’re selecting the right things. They offer a website as well as an app, with the desktop version giving you access to a range of professionals including dieticians and medical advisors.

iOS and Android, paid membership with a 7 day free trial

Supercook

If you’ve ever found yourself looking in the fridge wondering what on earth you can make for dinner, the Supercook app is for you. Add all the ingredients you have at home and Supercook will show you what you can make – ideal for cutting down on food waste. It uses a database of over 11 million recipes taken from 18,000 recipe websites but filtering is easy, so chances are you’ll find something that takes your fancy.

iOS and Android, free

Too Good To Go

If you’re looking to save money, love a bargain or just want to help fight food waste, Too Good To Go is a great app. It lets you buy excess food from local shops and restaurants at a knock down price so that it gets eaten instead of wasted. The catch? Because it’s stuff that hasn’t sold that day, you won’t know what you’re getting until you get it, so don’t bank on getting something specific. You’re also likely to be tempted by a ‘magic bag’ from a bakery full of sugary treats, but we’ve also seen healthier restaurants and supermarkets selling fruit and veg on there too. It helps if you’re in a big town or city to get the most choice.

iOS and Android, free. Magic bags start from around £3.

Whisk

If you need a little help with meal planning, Whisk may just help you to organise your shopping lists. With this handy app, you can add recipes from the web, create your own or find new ones in its database, then create a meal plan for the week. Then once you’ve populated your meal plan, you can generate a shopping list with one click, taking all the effort out of figuring out how many chicken breasts you’ll need, or whether 6 eggs will be enough for the week. You can even share recipes and shopping lists with friends or family.

iOS and Android, free

Despite our best intentions, sometimes we just can’t be bothered to cook. When we’ve had a long busy day, we need healthy food and fast. Enter: meal prepping.

Preparing your meals for the week in one go is a great way of helping you reach your weight loss goals. If you’ve got your food ready and waiting for you, it’s much less likely that you’ll opt to eat something unhealthy because you’re too tired or busy to make something. Here are some easy ways to make meal prep work for you.

Pick and choose what to prep

You can prep as many meals and snacks – or as few – as you like.

• Struggle to get up in the morning? Prep some breakfasts in advance.
• Meal deals seem appealing on your lunch break? Prep some lunches you can grab on your way out.
• Got a busy week coming up? Prep breakfast, snacks and dinners to help you get ahead.

It’s all about making your life easier, so you choose what works for you.

Prepare food you’ll actually eat

It’s all well and good making a week’s worth of meals in one go but there’s no point if you don’t want to eat what you’ve made. Meal prep doesn’t have to mean boring food. Want burgers one night? Prepare the patties ahead of time, store them in the fridge and whack them on the grill for a few minutes when you need them.

You don’t have to meal prep everything

If you’re thinking that meal prep means eating cold food straight from plastic tubs, think again!

• You could chop salad ingredients ready for lunch
• Grill some chicken breasts to store in the fridge for an easy sandwich filling or to eat with pasta.
• Whip up a tomato sauce that you can reheat while you’re cooking pasta.

These helpful steps can play a crucial part when you come home from work and are tempted to call up your old friend Papa John.

Prepare to succeed

A little planning before your food shop can make meal prepping easier.

• Figure out what you’re going to eat during the week.
• Make an ingredients list.
• See what ingredients could multitask and change any meals as appropriate, e.g. mince could make Bolognese sauce, chilli and lasagne.

This is the best way of making sure your meal prepping is simple, effective and as easy to do as possible. As our English teacher used to say, fail to prepare and prepare to fail.

How’s your Tupperware?

Getting excited about Tupperware could be a sign of impending middle-age but trust us – making sure you’ve got decent containers is crucial to meal prep success.

Make one day a meal prep day

Meal prepping can seem like a daunting task if you’re trying to do it for the entire week, but it’s not too bad if you get it over and done with in one session. Try it on a Sunday so that you’re ready for the week ahead. Set yourself up in the kitchen with some good music, a fully stocked fridge and your meal plan and get to work. Top tip: wash up as you go along so you’re not left with the daunting clear up at the end.

Men are less likely to seek help for mental health problems, and less likely than women to take time off work to get medical help for anxiety or feeling low. Many of us are embarrassed to take time off work for mental health concerns. 

It’s incredible, really, that we still find it difficult to talk about and seek help for our mental health. If there was anything else wrong with your body, you’d seek the appropriate medical help, so your brain should be no different. And if someone was embarrassed about having a cold, you’d think they were a bit odd. Mental health issues aren’t quite as common as the common cold, but it’s something the overwhelming majority of us will struggle with at some point in our lives. 

We want to help put an end to the shame and stigma. After all, we all have mental health and we all need to make sure that we look after it as a valuable part of our body. 

Here are our tips on what to do if you’re struggling with your mental health, or just want to give it a much-needed boost. 

See your GP 

The usual tip for going for a walk is a very positive thing and getting some fresh air will always do you good, but it’s not helpful when you’re at rock bottom. It’s not helpful when you’re in a very bad place and finding it difficult to even get out of bed in the morning.  

If you’re really struggling with your mental health, you need to see a doctor.  

It’s worth remembering: 

• It’s easy to feel like you don’t warrant taking up their time – but you absolutely do. 

• You are worthy and you deserve the help you need to get better, just the same as if you’d broken your leg. 

• Whatever happens, the first step of going to get help is the hardest. Left untreated, these things have a nasty habit of spiralling out of control, so if you’re struggling, make an appointment today and get the ball rolling. 

Build healthy habits

So what are these healthy habits and how can you utilise them to improve your wellbeing? 

Exercise 

There’s a growing interest in the role exercise plays in the reduction of major mental health conditions and their symptoms, simply because it is so effective.  

It’s worth knowing: 

• The European Psychiatric Association recommends that exercise should form a core part of treatment plans for mental illness, with physical activity proving successful in improving symptoms in people with depression and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. 

• A 15-minute jog can have the same effects as 15 minutes of mindfulness-based relaxation techniques. 

Eat well 

Cheat meals, treats, and splurges are fine as long as they’re not the norm. Too many greasy takeaways will leave you feeling rough, both physically and mentally.

The Mental Health Foundation suggests that as the brain is acutely sensitive to what we eat and drink, and it needs a balanced diet to remain healthy. Some foods have a long-lasting influence on our mood and mental wellbeing because of the impact they have on the structure and function of the brain. 

Do your best to eat as healthy as you can and give your brain a fighting chance. Drink water, eat your veggies and cut down on sugar.  

Look after yourself 

Exercise and healthy eating aside, there is a lot you can do to practice a bit of self-care.   

We all need to: 

• Get enough sleep 

• Feel fulfilment at work and at home 

• Socialise 

• Do things that interest us 

All of these aspects have a positive impact on your health.  

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to any of this, but if you can find some time to figure out what you need to focus on it will go a long way towards improving your wellbeing. 

Make the most of resources available to you

We all know that GPs and NHS mental health services are stretched to the limit thanks to a decade of underfunding and the impact of COVID-19. This shouldn’t stop you from attempting to seek help from your GP, but there’s also no harm in making the most of online resources too.

See if your GP surgery has access to online wellbeing platforms (many do), or look up the ‘books on prescription’ scheme, which is a list of helpful books put together by professionals.

What’s this got to do with weight loss? 

A recent study found that there is a link between high BMI and poor mental health, which probably won’t come as a surprise. It’s easy to see that if you’re unhappy with your body, then it follows that you’re probably pretty unhappy generally too. 

 It’s worth remembering: 

• Losing weight isn’t always a cure. 

• Many find once they reach their weight loss goal they’re not as happy as they thought they’d be. The excess weight was a symptom of a bigger problem. 

• Eating well is so important, food has a huge effect on how we feel.  

Going to bed early isn’t going to magic away those pounds you want to lose, and antidepressants might not directly help you get to your goal weight. But it’s all linked and tied up together in a complicated, tangled web. It’s one piece of the jigsaw. Looking after your wellbeing is one way of giving yourself the best shot at getting healthy, both physically and mentally. 

If you’re struggling and require support now 

Samaritans 

Tel: 116 123 (24 hour line) 

Email: jo@samaritans.org 

CALM (Campaign against living miserably) 

0800 58 58 58 – 5pm-midnight every day 

SANE  

Tel: 0300 304 7000 (4.30-10.30pm every day)  

You might think you’re doing amazingly by starting to exercise, but if you’re not doing it right you could be doing more harm than good.

It’s true that anything that gets your heart rate up is a good workout. But when it comes to bodyweight exercises, you’ve also got to make sure that you’re working out with good form.  

What is ‘good form’?

Good form doesn’t mean that you have to do things perfectly, or with a professional athlete’s skill. It just means using the right technique for each exercise you do and getting your body in the right positions, allowing you to fully reap the rewards of exercise. 

What are the benefits of good form?  

It’s mainly about preventing injury. Using your body improperly can put unwanted stress on muscles and joints and lead to all sorts of injuries that can put you out of action for weeks or months at a time.  

Maintaining good form also means you’ll have proper control over your body while performing bodyweight exercises, so you won’t feel quite as undignified while you get to grips with doing something new.  

What happens if you’re not doing it right?

Well, you definitely increase your chances of seriously injuring yourself, when you should take every step to avoid that for obvious reasons. Bodyweight exercises are a safe and very effective way of exercising, but only if you do it right. 

Doing weight exercises incorrectly can also hamper your progress as you won’t be exercising your muscles as well as you could be. You might think you’re better at it than you actually are, which could lead you to increase the intensity or weight and run the risk of even more injury.  

Basically, it’s a no-win situation even if you’re lucky enough not to injure yourself. 

Examples of good form

Good form differs depending on the exercise you’re doing, and it can also look different for different people. An example of good form is maintaining good posture – stand up straight (think: shooting people in the head with lasers out of your chest), don’t hunch your shoulders and keep your head level. 

When squatting, for example, you’ll want to make sure your back is straight, your head is level and your knees don’t extend beyond your toes.  

How to tell if you’re doing it right 

Take a look at yourself performing the exercise in a mirror, if you can. Find instructional videos from personal trainers online, or if you’re at a gym see if you can get one of the personal trainers there to give you feedback on how you’re doing. 

Pay close attention to the specifics of each exercise and do your best to mimic them. It can be hard to critique our performances because you might feel like you’re doing it perfectly well, so it always helps to get an extra pair of eyes to check. 

Cutting down on the drinks can be great news for your health, but hard to know where to start.

We don’t always have the best relationship with alcohol. But it doesn’t have to be difficult. We’ve got some quick-fire tips to help if you want to cut down on the booze without going cold turkey.   

Measure up

Keep an eye on your pouring. Use a measuring beaker when you’re drinking spirits at home so you don’t end up drinking more units than you realise.   

Banish the binge

Binge drinking for men is classed as having 8 or more units on one occasion. Aim for 2 alcohol-free days a week.  

Look for lower levels

Get some lower alcohol options on your favourite drinks into your trolley. Try changing to a 4% (ABV%) beer or a 9% wine. 

Sip, don’t skull

Pace yourself and try to have a pint of water with your first drink. Then flick between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.  

Set a drinking window

You could decide to only drink with dinner, say between 6-8pm, for example.      

Know your units

Use a drinks tracker to keep an eye on how much you’re drinking. You can even set yourself some goals to smash. Try Drinkaware’s free app.   

Eat first, drink later

Eating before you drink means the alcohol won’t absorb into your bloodstream as quickly, and you won’t feel as worse for wear after a few (too many) pints.

Foods like complex carbs can even help reduce alcohol cravings. Next time you feel like a drink, have a handful of nuts or a couple of slices of cheese and see if that helps to stop the craving.  

Plan ahead

If you’re going out, make a plan and stick to it. Try only taking a certain amount of cash out with you. Leave the cocktails to others if you’re not sure how many units they contain. Or put yourself forward as the designated driver on your next night out.  

Lean on your mates

Not literally, we mean to share your thoughts with a friend who gets you. Surround yourself with people who support you and won’t judge when you order juice instead of a jagerbomb.

If at any point cutting down on drinking alcohol is making you feel really unwell, give your GP a call. We’re here to be that annoying voice that tells you to put your health first!

We get it, it’s tough to go from couch potato to man of the match, and nobody expects it to happen instantly. We’ve all been there, and everyone will understand, so never feel you must push yourself. 

It’s a good idea to try and boost your activity levels little by little over the weeks, as being inactive is linked with being overweight, type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer and even early death. Here are some fail-safe ways to do just that. 

Take the stairs 

Your first instinct is to take the escalator. It’s there, it’s easy and it’s quick, so why wouldn’t you? But making the effort to climb the stairs instead can really pay off. It’s a quick burst of exercise that’s great for building your leg strength. 

Walk more

Instead of watching TV for hours on end in the evening, try going for a walk, even if it is a short one around the block. Go with a mate and debrief together over your last match, or spend some quality time with Spotify as you walk. Either way, even if you’re only out for half an hour, it breaks up the evening and means you get some much-needed activity in. 

Park further away or…ditch the car

A parking spot right outside the shop is the holy grail, but parking further away will ensure that you’re forced to get in a little exercise. Plus you won’t get caught up in the frustrations of trying to beat other drivers to that perfect spot. 

Get used to making walking your first mode of transport wherever possible. If it’s a 5-minute drive away, ask yourself if you really need to take the car. Of course, there will be times when it’s not practical to walk, but if you’ve got time to spare and it’s not raining cats and dogs, try and walk it. 

Get up, stand up

Sitting too much is bad for our health, and studies have repeatedly shown that sitting or lying for too long can damage our hearts, make us more prone to dementia and increase our risk of developing type 2 diabetes. 

The NHS says that many adults in the UK spend 9 hours a day sitting down, which is a lot. 

The UK Chief Medical Officers recommend that you should regularly break up lengthy periods of sitting by getting active for 1-2 minutes. And no matter how unfit we are, we can all get up and move for a max of 2 minutes, right?! How about a walk upstairs, a set of squats, or even consider using a standing desk? 

Get an activity watch

If you’re a competitive sort or motivated by stats, you can boost your activity levels by investing in an activity watch to track your steps over the day. The general recommendation is that we aim for 10,000 steps a day, but any increase in your current activity levels is worth celebrating. Think about getting a watch to take note, or health apps can now do the same job on your mobile.

Don’t think of getting active as an all-or-nothing thing. You don’t need to suddenly start working out for hours on end. It’s unrealistic and if you’re very unfit you could do more damage than good. Start small and make easy-to-maintain lifestyle changes and you’ll be surprised at how much it can improve your fitness. 

We need sleep for our body to restore and repair, as well as it being vital for our brains and mental health. The (not so) secret to good sleep? Good sleep hygiene. 

Sleep hygiene is a term used to describe your practices and routines around sleep. It includes your sleeping environment, daily routines, and general attitude to sleep. 

You can improve your sleep hygiene by setting up good habits that promote consistent, restful sleep. 

On average, we need around 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Factoring in the time it takes to drift off, this means you should aim to carve out 8-9 hours to get a full night’s sleep.  

Here’s some tips on how to use the concept of sleep hygiene to sleep well.  

Wind down well

Look at what’s going on before you drift off. Is it too stimulating? Is it calming? Are you scrolling through your Instagram or Facebook feeds until the early hours? Making small changes like leaving your phone out of the bedroom, having a bath before bed or leaving serious (and often stressful) discussions about finances to earlier in the day can aid more restful sleep.  

Set up your sleep environment

It’s not always possible but aim to make your bedroom a space where you can leave your busy life at the door and retreat for optimum sleep. Switch off screens as phones, tablets and laptops emit blue light which is stimulating and disrupts your circadian rhythm. If space is a problem, try and change the space from day to night mode by changing the throw on the bed or using a lamp at night only. 

Use a sleep diary

If you’re finding it difficult to get a good night’s sleep, it might help to keep a sleep diary. Make a note of when you feel sleepy and awake to help you identify your natural circadian rhythm or body clock. You can also start to identify patterns and triggers that lead to poor sleep, like particular foods, working out too close to bedtime or room temperature. 

It can be incredibly frustrating when try as you might, you can’t get a good night’s sleep. Changing your lifestyle and setting good habits can be ways of helping yourself get the sleep you need. 

Lack of sleep can bump up stress levels and make it harder to make good choices. Poor sleep plays havoc with weight loss as it also affects our hormones. 

Studies show that those who sleep less than 6 hours per night are more likely to be overweight and find it harder to lose weight. So how well are you sleeping? 

Our hormones, which are chemical messengers, can help us to understand how sleep could be the missing part of your weight loss puzzle. 

Leptin and ghrelin 

Ghrelin is a hormone that tells you when you need to eat. The less you sleep, the more ghrelin you produce. Leptin does the opposite of ghrelin; it sends a signal to the brain to let you know you’ve eaten enough. 

The less you sleep, the less leptin you produce. Lack of sleep and these two hormones makes you more susceptible to overeating and less likely to feel satisfied afterwards. 

Cortisol 

This is a stress hormone that breaks protein down into glucose. If there’s too much glucose, it gets stored as fat. Excess cortisol makes the body use soft tissue like muscle for its energy needs instead of fat. 

Your cortisol levels increase the less you sleep at night. It also triggers a hunger response in the brain, causing you to think you’re hungry. Sneaky. 

Melatonin 

Melatonin is a powerful antioxidant that manages our circadian rhythm (sleep-wake cycle). It’s released at the onset of darkness to prepare your body for sleep. Studies have linked melatonin to increased metabolism. 

Insulin 

Insulin helps your body to absorb glucose from the bloodstream. Not enough sleep can lead to too much blood sugar, and that can lead to insulin resistance. 

This means the body will produce more and more in order to function and could eventually lead to diseases like diabetes. The dreaded D word. 

Growth hormone 

Your body creates more growth hormone while you’re asleep. It stimulates cell reproduction, regeneration and growth. More growth hormone means a higher metabolism, meaning you burn up energy more rapidly. This gives us the potential to lose weight faster. 

Value your sleep and prioritise it just as much as you prioritise your diet and exercise. Your body needs time to rest, recover and rejuvenate and sleep plays a vital part in this. So, sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite. 

You know you want to lose weight, but do you know how much you want to lose and why it matters? Grab a pen and let’s make a plan. 

Sweeping statements like ‘I want to be healthy’ and ‘I want to feel confident’ are well meant, but they do little to spur us into action.  
 
Setting yourself some healthy ambitions, goals and targets, on the other hand, can be really motivating. Finding out why you want to lose weight, really digging into the reasons behind it, can mean the difference between plodding along as you are and dropping the pounds. 

Finding a healthy weight 

The body mass index (BMI) calculator can tell you what your healthy weight range is. It’s imperfect as it’s not accurate for everyone, including athletes who have a very high muscle mass. Many experts consider the waist-to-height ratio a more accurate way to measure things. 

A healthy BMI is between 18.5 and 25, so picking a goal weight between these two numbers is a great place to start. Or aim to lose 5% of your body weight as studies have found this to be a point where you’ll see great health improvements. 

Track your progress in different ways 

This is so important as weight loss isn’t always linear. Hormonal changes, what we’ve eaten and even the time we weigh can all affect the numbers on the scales.  

Even if you’re doing all the right things, sometimes the numbers don’t head straight down. We’ve all been there and know how disheartening that is, so try taking photos to see your progress instead of relying solely on the scales. 

Sometimes losing a few pounds might seem insignificant but you’ll be able to spot the difference in a photo. Taking measurements weekly and seeing the inches melt away can also be extremely satisfying. 

Set mini goals

It can feel daunting if you’ve got a lot of weight to lose. It might be some time before you’ll get to your goal weight but break it down into manageable chunks so you can celebrate each step. 

Ticking off every 7lbs lost and every stone is very encouraging, with each mini goal bringing you closer to your ultimate goal. You can also add in a celebration when you lose 5% and 10% of your body weight. Don’t forget, every loss brings health benefits as well as goal points for your team too.  

Set SMART goals 

Set yourself some SMART goals to help you reach your weight loss targets. Don’t forget, weight loss isn’t all about the numbers on a scale, it’s how you feel, how your clothes fit etc., so factor this in too. Your goals should be:  

• Specific 
  • Be clear about what you’d like to achieve. “I’d like to lose 16lbs, which is 5% of my starting weight” is better than “I’d like to lose weight”. 

• Measurable 
  • “I’d like to be able to wear my favourite jeans again” is better than “I’d like to fit into smaller sizes” because it’s something you can easily measure. 

• Achievable 
  • Be realistic. As much as we’d like it to, 5 stone won’t come off in a week, nor will you be able to run a marathon in a month if you’ve never run before. But committing to tracking what you eat every day for a week, or sticking to the couch to 5k running plan is achievable and something you can keep building on. 

• Relevant 
  • Not everyone who wants to lose weight will have the same goals. If you’re not interested in going to the gym, that’s fine, instead focus your attention elsewhere. Don’t give yourself the goal of going to the gym 3 times a week because you think that’s what you should be doing. Make your goals as personal to you as you can. If, for example, you enjoy cooking, make it your goal to cook more healthy meals as a way of eating better. 

• Time-limited 
  • Give yourself a realistic timeframe for achieving your goal. If you don’t, you could find excuses can sneak in and you’ll easily justify putting things off for another day. 

Try writing down your SMART goals to give yourself a real goal that you can visualise and are more likely to achieve. 

Setting rewards 

It’s important to mark your achievements, you’re working very hard to get them. Try and reward yourself with things that’ll help you reach your goal. Treat yourself to a new workout shirt or a sports massage for those newly worked muscles.  

Other ideas include activities like a trip to the cinema or a gig, something active like bowling or ice skating or even just a PS5 game you’ve had your eye on.  

Another motivating way of marking special achievements is adding a pound coin to an empty jar for every pound you lose. This is a great visual representation of your weight loss and can be built on until you reach your goal weight. You can then treat yourself with the proceeds – since you’ll probably need it to buy new clothes in smaller sizes. 

Bit by bit, you can lose all the weight you need to. By setting SMART goals, you won’t feel overwhelmed by the challenge, and you’ll enjoy achieving each milestone.