What's one health habit you've started that's actually made a difference?

Shinamae my mother-in-law was an ex-smoker who had COPD and lived till she was 98. She had inhalers but was never an active person!
Sounds like you're doing the best you can, keep it up 🙂

Having a bowl of rice crispies before bedtime, I get a really good night sleep.😴

I gave up alcohol in 1984(recovering alcoholic )and then I gave up smoking about 15 years ago, I just wish I’d given up the smoking before
I smoked for 40 years and last year was invited to go for a chest x-ray had a special Clinic. I think they were looking to see what damage smoking had done so it was all X smokers that were called.
Anyway I was very relieved to get the results. I didn’t have lung cancer but I did have COPD. I’ve known for awhile that I get quite breathless and I’ve got a friend who’s got it a lot worse than me and can hardly walk now has to use a stick and is thinking of getting a mobility scooter.
However, I’m not complacent as I know that COPD can develop and get worse or even progress to lung cancer so I will have regular checks…
I think it’s absolutely marvellous now that so few people smoke…
I do still work three afternoons a week 2 pm till 8 pm in a high dementia care home. There is a lift but I tend to use the stairs unless I’ve gotta take someone or something up in the lift and even though it leaves me breathless I know that it’s better for me to keep moving… it’s quite a physical job and that’s all the better for me. I’ve been there nearly 8 years now. (73 now)

It was Tai Chi for me. Gentle e4xercise with nothing too extreme but even at my first session I just felt so much better for just getting up and moving about. I also made some new friends there which is a bonus.

1summer

Thank you
I can honestly say it’s not been easy, but being told last year I was now classed as obese and my pre diabetes was tipping over to type 2 diabetes was a wake up call.
I am definitely not perfect and learning all the time about food, I follow one or two good nutritionists on Instagram which is very interesting. Reading labels in supermarkets is very time consuming but getting easier.
I have said on here before I want to make my own sourdough bread, that’s my next step.

I’ve changed my diet completely thanks to instagram. I got locked out of Facebook and switching to instagram was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Get lots of recipes and advice on additive free food etc. One of them said Tescos are now selling an additive free wholemeal loaf but I usually buy an Aldi Protein sourdough loaf ( again recommended on instagram). Read today on how you can replace eggs with chia seeds when baking ( I still eat cake but use wholemeal flour and add flax nuts etc). I’m a bit evangelical about instagram! Tescos are selling more organic foods too.

Thank you
I can honestly say it’s not been easy, but being told last year I was now classed as obese and my pre diabetes was tipping over to type 2 diabetes was a wake up call.
I am definitely not perfect and learning all the time about food, I follow one or two good nutritionists on Instagram which is very interesting. Reading labels in supermarkets is very time consuming but getting easier.
I have said on here before I want to make my own sourdough bread, that’s my next step.

I think I will need to print and post 1summer's post on my wall to remind me of what I should be doing.

1summer

About a year ago I decided to pull myself together and improve my health and fitness. I have high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, diverticulitis, bursitis, was pre diabetic and classed as obese.
I have cut out highly processed food, red meat, refined sugar, carbs and concentrate on protein and fibre, lots of vegetables and fruit. My one vice is I still have a couple of glasses of wine a week. Also, like today, I will go out eat sometimes have what I want but try and choose wisely.
I take vitamin D, omega three supplements, B12 (I was diagnosed as very low) and turmeric- which I now swear by has eased arthritis and bursitis pain.
I swim 3 times a week, go to aquacise twice a week and lift weights for 20 minutes most days.
I have lost 2 stone, half a stone until I am a healthy weight. I am not now pre diabetic, blood pressure and cholesterol has come down. I feel so much better.
The struggle is to now maintain the enthusiasm to keep it up.

1summer, I am in awe. Very impressive regime. You have given us all something to strive for.

MayBee70

1summer

About a year ago I decided to pull myself together and improve my health and fitness. I have high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, diverticulitis, bursitis, was pre diabetic and classed as obese.
I have cut out highly processed food, red meat, refined sugar, carbs and concentrate on protein and fibre, lots of vegetables and fruit. My one vice is I still have a couple of glasses of wine a week. Also, like today, I will go out eat sometimes have what I want but try and choose wisely.
I take vitamin D, omega three supplements, B12 (I was diagnosed as very low) and turmeric- which I now swear by has eased arthritis and bursitis pain.
I swim 3 times a week, go to aquacise twice a week and lift weights for 20 minutes most days.
I have lost 2 stone, half a stone until I am a healthy weight. I am not now pre diabetic, blood pressure and cholesterol has come down. I feel so much better.
The struggle is to now maintain the enthusiasm to keep it up.

Well done! Just don’t feel guilty about your couple of glasses of wine and meals out. For most of my life I’d feel guilty about eating something naughty and then go completely off the rails for the next day or so. I wish I could turn the clock back and eat the way I do now which no longer means I go to pieces if I eat something I feel I shouldn’t.

Thank you, yes this is the hard bit. I am trying to get used to making good choices but not to deny myself treats. And not think if I have one biscuit, one chocolate or a few chips the day/week is ruined.

Now I wonder if histamines cause our nightly trips to the loo or if its lack of physical fitness. Hmmm.

1summer

About a year ago I decided to pull myself together and improve my health and fitness. I have high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, diverticulitis, bursitis, was pre diabetic and classed as obese.
I have cut out highly processed food, red meat, refined sugar, carbs and concentrate on protein and fibre, lots of vegetables and fruit. My one vice is I still have a couple of glasses of wine a week. Also, like today, I will go out eat sometimes have what I want but try and choose wisely.
I take vitamin D, omega three supplements, B12 (I was diagnosed as very low) and turmeric- which I now swear by has eased arthritis and bursitis pain.
I swim 3 times a week, go to aquacise twice a week and lift weights for 20 minutes most days.
I have lost 2 stone, half a stone until I am a healthy weight. I am not now pre diabetic, blood pressure and cholesterol has come down. I feel so much better.
The struggle is to now maintain the enthusiasm to keep it up.

Well done! Just don’t feel guilty about your couple of glasses of wine and meals out. For most of my life I’d feel guilty about eating something naughty and then go completely off the rails for the next day or so. I wish I could turn the clock back and eat the way I do now which no longer means I go to pieces if I eat something I feel I shouldn’t.

About a year ago I decided to pull myself together and improve my health and fitness. I have high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, diverticulitis, bursitis, was pre diabetic and classed as obese.
I have cut out highly processed food, red meat, refined sugar, carbs and concentrate on protein and fibre, lots of vegetables and fruit. My one vice is I still have a couple of glasses of wine a week. Also, like today, I will go out eat sometimes have what I want but try and choose wisely.
I take vitamin D, omega three supplements, B12 (I was diagnosed as very low) and turmeric- which I now swear by has eased arthritis and bursitis pain.
I swim 3 times a week, go to aquacise twice a week and lift weights for 20 minutes most days.
I have lost 2 stone, half a stone until I am a healthy weight. I am not now pre diabetic, blood pressure and cholesterol has come down. I feel so much better.
The struggle is to now maintain the enthusiasm to keep it up.

Drinking cows milk to avoid stomach cramps might indicate a stomach ulcer. I think broccolli is a good source of calcium but I dont know if we can grow strong bones at our age. I think its more of a development in the womb and during childhood.

I have no medical background.

Mmc123uk

Try Medjool Dates, Sainsbury's Taste the Difference ones, better than chocolate imho!

Oh thank you. I hadn’t thought of dates. They’ll be on my shopping list this week.

Try Medjool Dates, Sainsbury's Taste the Difference ones, better than chocolate imho!

Some great ideas here but can anyone tell me how not to crave sugar. After every meal I just want something sweet.

MayBee they have for me. I started with day time ones which stopped me rushing to the toilet added the night time ones. I pay £99 for a three month supply which gives me enough for two daytime and two night time capsules a day. I was up two, or more and more often three times. Last night I slept 7hrs 45 minutes and didn't need to dash to the toilet then. I feel it's worth just over £1 a night for that. Don't know if it works for everyone but it has been a game changer for me.

theworriedwell

Also Jude night time supplement means I sleep all night instead of getting up two or three times a night for a trip to the bathroom.

Do they really work? They seem so expensive but then again I’m paying for soya and pumpkin supplements in the hope that they’ll help.

Also Jude night time supplement means I sleep all night instead of getting up two or three times a night for a trip to the bathroom.

NHSActive app. It has motivated me to walk every day and make sure it's a brisk walk. I can walk faster and for longer, no breathlessness. I feel be5er.

I'm 85 now and I can honestly say that the single best thing I did was take up tai chi when I was 58 or 59. I'm now an instructor. I read a few years ago that if you take up tai chi when you are 60, by the time you are 80 you will have the vitality (as in heart and lung capacity) of a 40 year old. I can't of course say that if I hadn't taken it up I wouldn't be as fit as I am now, but I just know I did and I am! I also live in a house and am up and down stairs several times a day, and of course do all my own housework. Oh dear, don't I sound smug 😂

I've just lost 5 stone, now my main focus is protein. I have been vegetarian for over 50 yrs and I got all my energy from sugar, and carbs. I now have black edition HUEL which is 40g of protein complete meal drink, plus add collagen powder 12g protein. I only eat something now (apart from fruit/veggies) that contains protein like protein bars and snacks like nuts. I have tons more energy, no more sugar spikes, so much healthier. Did not even catch a cold/flu this winter and usually every year I am ill from Sept to March. Best thing I ever did!

I got diagnosed with Coeliac around 2006 so about 20 years ago, it was a bit of a life changer for diet but I got used to it having no choice. My son who is 54 was diagnosed a few years back. I never eat out, I just get too nervous about how the food has been prepared and if it has come into contact with gluten from other foods. I religiously stick to a gluten free diet but most days I will get stomach cramps to start with, every day is different, but I am retired now, so don't have the worry of sudden bathroom dashes like I used to when I was working. I am grateful it is just coeliac and not something really serious like some poor souls have to face or live with.

Yes motion is lotion and movement is medicine as told by my physio and yoga teacher.

Setting a timer so that I don't sit at anything (especially watching TV) for more than 30 minutes. A little walk around my home before I sit down again. ("Motion is Lotion", so I've been told!)