Its New Year so you decide its time for a New You!

Do you often feel tired and stressed out?

Has modern day city life encouraged you put on a few pounds?

Do you have trouble sleeping -- even though you are exhausted?

You're not alone. One of the most common complaints today is the feeling of fatigue and weight gain. Our modern lifestyle, which includes pollution, high stress levels, poor diet, antibiotics, poor quality water, processed fast food, agricultural chemicals and inappropriate rest are just a few of the things that are responsible for a wide range of symptoms and illnesses that can contribute to you experiencing some of the following:

Overweight
Gas, bloating and indigestion
Diarrhoea and / or constipation
Bad breath and body odour
Chronic fatigue
IBS
Skin problems such as Acne, Eczema
High cholesterol levels
Food cravings
Frequent bouts of illness such as colds, flu

Dehydration decreases your ability to digest food properly. This can lead to Gastric inflammation and if you combine this with stress then Leaky Gut Syndrome can occur. This leads to fatigue after eating your meals.

So what can you do about it?

Here are my tips to help you get you started:

1. Drink the right amount of good quality water for your bodyweight minimum of 2 litres per day.

2. Pay off your sleep debt. Get to bed on time! We all need a minimum of 8 hours sleep every night to help promote recovery to our bodys muscular system and our hormonal system. Without this the body will not be able to regulate its metabolism correctly, which is vital for those seeking weight loss.

3. Eat right for your Metabolic Type. Eating the wrong ratios of Macronutrients (Fats, Carbohydrates and Protein) for your body type can cause weight gain, fatigue and a decrease in energy levels.

4. Eat only certified organic food this will help remove toxins and harsh chemicals out of your system.

5. Restrict your alcohol content to less than 4 units per week. Alcohol has empty calories which the body can not use as fuel. It also elevates Insulin and Cortisol production. Both these are important hormones in the body, but if released in excess, they can cause weight gain. Alcohol also irritates the stomach lining, which can lead to digestive problems.

6. If you smoke now is the chance to give up. Long term smoking damage apart from the risks of cancer and heart disease, have now also been shown to include skin damage. An example of this is the "crow's feet" skin wrinkling that is so characteristic of people who have smoked for a long time. This is due to oxidative damage induced by the smoking.

7. Exercise right for your body, do some cardiovascular exercise such as walking for 30 minutes and introduce some strength training to help boost your metabolism. A good Personal Trainer can help you with this.

8. Practice energy boosting techniques such as Tai-Chi, Yoga and Qi Gong. These exercises help to cultivage "Chi" the natural energy source that is all around us. This energy often needs harvesting because we are always in "fast mode".

For you to become truly healthy and get the results you desire, you will need to review and consider your current diet and lifestyle habits from a different viewpoint.

Act now to have a healthy active full life doing the things you want to do and to have the shape that you desire!

If weight gain, fatigue and stress are an issue for you then seek the help of a Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach. They can help you manage these symptoms using structured techniques such as proper eating, corrective exercise, stress management and lifestyle improvements.

Enjoy the New You!