Get a little help with your New Year Goals from AXA PPP healthcare

(plus be in with the chance to win £75 worth of The Sanctuary goodies just by asking a healthcare question)

Everyone is doing it. Everyone does it every year. They make a pact with themselves to become a better person than they were the year before. They give up booze, abstain from fatty foods, take up a gym membership, cut out sugar, swear chocolate as their worse enemy and green juice as their best friend. But do they really do it? And for how long? Don’t we all need a bit of help along the way?

Here at Hip and Healthy we think that making New Year Goals is a great way to start the year, but sticking to those goals is an altogether different challenge. To start you off we thought that we would outline some goals that you could adopt to get you on your way. You may already have your goals in your head, in which case, good on you, you have taken the first step in the right direction. But whether you have or haven’t already chosen your NYRs, read the below, as AXA PPP healthcare are on hand to help anyone see their goals through:

1. NUTRITION
Introduce at least three antioxidant-fuelled, nutritious fruits or vegetables into your diet daily. Have one with breakfast (blueberries, pomegranate seeds, chia seeds are all great options); lunch (quinoa, kale, broccoli); and with your supper (lemons; spinach; avocados). Adding something in is so much nicer than taking something out and eventually you’ll find that the good stuff gradually will replace the bad stuff. AXA PPP healthcare have enlisted nutritional expert, David Williams, from 1-3pm on Thursday 24th January to answer all your nutrition and fitness questions live here.

2. GET HEALTH CHECKS
Too many women (and men) die in the UK due to not having themselves regularly checked. If it is down to laziness or being too busy, which most of the time it is, then this is super-ridiculous. What poor excuses! You know the drill – if you catch something early then most of the time your chances of survival increase dramatically. For example, cervical cancer is the 12th most common cancer in the UK and can be prevented with regular screening. I know it can also be scary, and many of the tests are uncomfortable but you have to put your health first. So put down the lap top / iPad / phone and book that appointment that you have been putting off for the whole of 2012. AXA PPP healthcare expert and Gynaecologist from the British Medical Institute, Justin Clark, will be available to answer all your questions that you might have with regards to cervical cancer here from 11am – 1pm on Thursday 24th January.

 3. RAISE YOUR HEART RATE REGULARLY
Gym memberships soar in January, but in February already the attendance begins to dwindle and, by March, it’s pretty much back to normal capacity. Let’s not fall into the same pattern this year. You only ever really fail when you stop trying, so if you haven’t been to the gym for a week when you said you’d go everyday – don’t worry about it – just go today. 300,000 people in the UK suffer from heart attacks every year – don’t let that be you. A good amount of exercise that raises your heart rate will keep it ticking efficiently for the rest of your life. To help you stick with your heart health goals, AXA PPP healthcare have enlisted Sarah Evans, the Learn Nurse Case Manager at AXA PPP healthcare, to answer your questions on Wednesday 30th January from 1-3pm. Click on the link here to join in.

4. PUT YOUR FAMILY FIRST
Deadlines, meetings, beers in the pub – all seem to get in the way of that all-important family time. Your family’s health and happiness should be top of your priority list, so if it isn’t you really need to rethink what is important to you. Having the lovely long Christmas break enabled us all to spend some good, quality time with family, don’t let this stop now. It’s just all about making the time and it is a lot easier than you think. Schedule time in your diary, like you would an important meeting, to spend some fun time together. And no matter what crops up, just make it work around this. Being with our loved ones is one of the best ways to relax so not only will you be making them happy you will also become a much happier, less-stressed version of yourself for making this time to connect, too. To help you with all things family and fertility related, AXA PPP healthcare have brought Jackie Hall, the Health at Hand Team Manager, on board to answer all your questions from 1-3pm on Thursday 31st January here.

And by asking questions to any one of the experts you could also be in with the chance to win some pampering goodies from The Sanctuary worth £75!

If you can’t make the live chats – don’t worry, you can ask any of the experts your healthcare questions (and still be in with a chance to with the Sanctuary goodies worth £75) by emailing them to us: [email protected] And you can find the answers to your questions here or we will email them to you!

Hip and Healthy’s question is to David Williams, Nutritionist and Fitness Expert: “When your motivation to be healthy starts to wane how do you keep on going and get that initial enthusiasm back?”

Check out this page in a coupe of weeks to find the answer… We will also post the answer on Facebook page here.

Also – Check out the AXA PPP healthcare Facebook Page here or follow them on Twitter to keep up to date with their live chats and get involved. You don’t even have to be a member of AXA PPP healthcare to respond to the live chats and get your questions answered. What’s not to love!!