To avoid injuries, focus on habits and not diets

Over the past eight weeks we have been focusing on how to get our immune system in top-notch shape for the New Year.

And as I was reviewing what we have been discussing, I thought I should highlight the need to focus on habits and not diets.

As I had decided to start my new year I decided to go down a route that I hadn’t before.

I penned down what I was taking and each week I focused on one habit.

This is what my January looked like … I hope you get to glean a few things you can put into practice and turn into habits for optimal health and peak performance.

Remember, small changes in our daily habits can, over time, produce quantum changes in our body and our health.

Here are some of the habits I have developed thus far:

1. I made it a must develop and keep track of my daily energy intake. Calories do count!

2. I purposed, planned and divided my calories into the correct portions of protein, carbohydrates and fats. (Increased my vegetable intake and reduced my carbohydrates as I planned to shed a few kilos. If you are bulking up keep this portions into a thirds).

3. I planned and focused on losing weight systematically at one kilogramme per week (no easy task) and pick up my water again at 12 glasses per day.

4. I would exercise and prevent injury by stretching, warming up and working out for a minimum of 30 minutes warm down and stretch again.

For you who are fitter than I am, your fourth habit should be to safeguard against injuries. We’ll spend some time here in-preparation for this year’s sports calendar, which is pretty jam packed.

What you eat can play a significant part in preventing or healing a sports injury. When injury strikes, one aspect of recovery that is often overlooked is nutrition.

Exercise-induced injuries frequently prevent optimal training and competitive success for an athlete and can limit or discourage others from enjoying the health benefits of exercise.

Enhancing recovery from sports injuries is therefore crucial for athletes and recreational trainers.

Injured exercisers often use methods such as rest, ice, stretching, etcetera in an attempt to enhance recovery from injury but frequently overlook nutrition.

Inflammation

Immediately following a severe injury, an inflammatory response is initiated, which is generally considered to be necessary for proper healing.
The inflammatory stage may last from several hours up to several days depending on the injury.