I recently read an article in Style about David and Victoria Beckham’s Health and Wellness lifestyle (https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3210850/inside-victoria-beckhams-posh-health-and-wellness-regime-spice-girls-daily-dish-revealed-david,).
I had a smile on my face as I was reading the article because there were similarities between my daily lifestyle and theirs, as shown in the article (yes, even without the millions).
I’m 65 this year (where has the time gone), and like many women my age I want to stay and be as fit and healthy as possible, as I get older.
My biggest goal when I started my menopause was to maintain a healthy menopause lifestyle throughout and after my menopause, so that I could be as healthy and strong as I could.
I realized reading this article on ‘Posh and Becks’ Health and Wellness routine, that their lifestyle approach it was not just about how much money you have in the bank, (although it helps of course), but it’s more about a discipline, it’s about being consistent and about following a regular lifestyle routine that becomes an integral part of your daily life. So here is my version of the ‘posh and becks’ lifestyle routine published in Style.
1. I start the morning with hot water with fresh lemon
For years, I’ve been having a glass of hot water with half a fresh lemon to cleanse and rejuvenate my body before I shower or eat anything. I’ve started the day with this hot drink since I was in my 20’s. It helps to rehydrate my body, stimulates my digestive system and cleanses the inside of my body, at the start of each day.
2. I take a couple of spoons of apple cider vinegar daily
I started taking small amounts of apple cider vinegar daily each morning about 5 years ago. Yuk, I just cannot drink it neat, it’s too sharp for me. Good on you ‘posh and becks’ if you can take it neat, I just can’t do that. I add 2 tablespoons of acid cider vinegar to my hot water and lemon infusion for my morning cleanse, it’s still sharp but just about drinkable.
Apple Cider Vinegar has so many benefits including, helping to promote weight loss, it helps to improve heart health, it can reduce blood sugar levels and can help to control diabetes. It’s great for the skin too, as it removes toxins from the body which can cause premature skin aging.
3. Probiotics are the key to a good start to the day
For years, I either didn’t have breakfast or just had coffee on the run, or a slice of toast now and then. During my menopause, I changed my morning routine for a healthier one. Now I enjoy having breakfast which consists of organic Greek yogurt, blueberries, fresh mango and a high protein seed mix that consists of pumpkin, chia and sunflower seeds. It’s filling, healthy and full of natural goodness.
4. I have a daily talk with my ‘green Goddess’
Green juices are all the rage now, but as a descendant of Caribbean parents, I’ve been having green and other fruit juices since I was a child. Fresh homemade juices were, and still are part and parcel of my daily diet and a Caribbean lifestyle.
My mother made a mean carrot and ginger juice, and what Caribbean’s refer to as ‘Guinness Punch’ a concoction that your parents gave you when you were feeling a little under the weather. It consists of Guinness stout, mixed with a beaten egg, fresh milk with a little cane sugar or condensed milk or honey instead to sweeten. It was a great pick me up, and is like a meal in itself.
My green goddess is my own version of a ‘green juice’. I blend kale, spinach, cucumber, an apple, a little coriander and a sprinkle of a mixed seed blend. I make a batch for 3 to 4 days and keep it in the fridge. I only need to make my green goddess twice a week. I then top up my blend with a mixture of fresh cranberry and apple juice. It’s tasty and it really works for me to flush out whatever is bad and helps me maintain my weight. I drink it throughout the day and it’s a great replacement for snacks, as it’s snack in itself.
5. Turmeric the wonder root herb
If there’s one spice that you should have in your kitchen cupboard then it’s turmeric. It has everything to offer for heathy living. It also great for enhancing the taste of your cooking, adding flavour to curries and detoxes and rejuvenates the body. It is also known to help with joint pain relief.
I love turmeric and I use it almost every day in my cooking, even when I’m making gravy, I’ll sprinkle a little turmeric powder in it. I use the powder or paste for curries, drink turmeric tea, and take capsules as part of my daily health lifestyle.
Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric. It has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant, so it helps to remove all the bad free radicals in the body and can help slow down the aging process. So the next time you do your supermarket shop remember to grab yourself some turmeric powder, turmeric paste and a box of turmeric tea, you won’t regret it.
6. Eat protein build muscle
I’ve always had a high protein diet, most Caribbeans (if they are not vegan or vegetarians), love meat and fish and eat at least one of these protein rich foods each day. I can never remember a day when I was young that my mother did not cook a meal with either meat or fish with some kind of vegetables. I never grew up eating processed food, it’s just not the Caribbean way. So, cooking healthy meals comes naturally to me.
I try to keep my meals simple, and limit my time to cook a meal within 20 minutes during the week, and award myself more time at weekends to do more elaborate meals, such as Jamaican meat curries, tropical steamed fish, and some vegetarian dishes to go with the meat or fish.
When I started my menopause, I increased the amount of protein rich foods that I ate daily, and now I have meat or fish each day with a selection of vegetables and no carbs. Reducing my carb intake was one of the main positive impacts on my menopause healthy lifestyle change as it helped me lose weight, especially around my waist and feel less bloated after meals.
Now my main meals mainly consist of just meat such as chicken, lamb or grilled steak with mushrooms and fresh tomatoes, or grilled fish such as salmon, seabass or red snapper, with sautés vegetables such as pak choi, mange toute, red peppers and mushrooms, with a glass of red wine.
7. Exercise, Exercise and Exercise
I’m not fanatical about exercise, and I’ve never had a personal trainer, I’ve just managed my own exercise routine, and it’s worked for me.
I’m 65 this year and a UK size 6, so my healthy eating lifestyle, seems to work for me.
There’s this thought that when you get to a certain age you don’t need to exercise, or you adopt a slower less cardio and strength focused type of exercise routine.
Personally, I find that it’s not enough for me. I like to feel as though I’ve had a good work-out, boost my cardio and make my muscles work harder for their dinner. I’ve learnt that as you get older, you lose bone density, the arms can look flabby, and the thighs start to show more cellulite.
To stay fit I do 3 sessions of strength training, one yoga and one Pilates session a week. I have a couple of rest days to let my body recover and then I’m off again. I cannot imagine my life without doing any exercise, and it works for me. At nearly 65, I’m a size 6, (I was a size 8 when I was in my 30’s), and my muscles are leaner and firmer. I feel more confident when I’m in my swimwear and feel fitter, stronger and heathier.
A menopause healthy lifestyle is not exclusive to celebrities, it’s available to us all. It doesn’t have to be complicated, it’s more about being disciplined and consistent each day, and once you start your menopause healthy lifestyle journey, you’ll soon reap the benefits. That in it itself is motivating enough for your menopause lifestyle change to become part and parcel of your daily routine, no matter what age or body shape you are, it can work for you.
To me a healthy menopause lifestyle means investing a little more time to prepare and cook fresh healthy meals, exercising regularly and getting as much sleep as I can. I love what ‘posh and becks’ have said and do about their wellness lifestyle choices, but most of us can have that too, We might have cheaper healthy meals to suit our budget, but we can still adopt the same, healthy wellness lifestyle approach.
