Worksheet 3

Looking after yourself (nutrition and a healthy lifestyle)

If you are going to function at your best you need to look after yourself. This worksheet poses some questions to help you look at your overall health, and gives some suggestions about how you could improve your general health and well being.

Nutrition

Breakfast / Answer
Do you have breakfast every morning? / Yes No
If yes, what do you have? / Type here...
If no, what do you eat or drink before lunchtime? / Type here...
Lunch questions / Answer
Do you have a lunch break at work? / Yes No
Is this every day? / Yes No
What do you usually eat or drink at lunchtime? / Type here...
Where do you normally have your lunch? / Type here...
General diet questions / Answer
Do you manage to eat five portions of fruit / Yes No
And vegetables a day? / Yes No
Do you rely on microwave / convenience foods? / Yes No
How much tea/coffee do you drink per day? / Type here...
How much alcohol do you drink per day / week? / Type here...
How much water do you drink per day? / Type here...
Exercise questions / Answer
Do you do any form of exercise? / Yes No
How often do you do this? / Type here...
Sleep questions / Answer
How many hours do you sleep per night? / Type here...
How would you describe your sleep? / Type here...
Relaxation questions / Answer
How do you like to relax? / Type here...
How often do you try to do this? / Type here...
Smoking questions / Answer
Do you smoke? / Yes No
If yes, how many per day? / Type here...

Now make an action plan - Things to consider

·  Have a regular time set aside per day to rest.

·  Keep a diary to see if there are any patterns of when you feel unwell / below par and see what you can do to minimise the bad times. One way would be to plan your holidays across the year so that you have a regular opportunity to recharge your batteries, and have something positive to look forward to.

·  Don’t put everything down to MS.

o  Having MS doesn’t mean that you are protected from other conditions, so it is important to ensure you have regular screening and other health checks as you would if you didn’t have MS. Also listen to your body – if it doesn’t feel like MS is causing the problem, get it checked out.

o  Consider what else in your life might be affecting how you feel. It’s easier to do all the “right” things to look after yourself when you feel good, it can be harder when you feel below par, yet that is the very time you need to make sure you are looking after yourself.

o  If you’ve never taken regular exercise or eaten healthily before, then it’s not all down to MS if your general health and well-being are not as good as they might be

·  Consider your work-life balance. Are there changes you could make that would contribute to your overall well-being? Take a look at the Work-life balance tool in the other tools section.

Notes

Nutrition

Develop ways of improving nutrition that fit in with work / lifestyle e.g. have breakfast bar / piece of fruit on arrival at work, preparing lunch the night before, reducing caffeine and increasing water intake.

Resources: http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/healthydiet/eighttipssection/8tips/

Healthy living leaflets

Exercise

Regular exercise has many health benefits including helping manage fatigue and reduce stress. A low key exercise plan that fits in with your lifestyle will have more chance of success. Find out if your employer has an arrangement for reduced entry costs at a local gym.

Resources: MS Trust book and DVD of exercises for PWMS

Advice from your physiotherapist about appropriate level of exercise to undertake at a local gym / sports centre, or at home (walking, use of DVDs etc)

Relaxation

It is important to make time for some work-life balance, and to do something enjoyable. And do it regularly.

Sleep

Poor or disturbed sleep due to MS symptoms could be explored in more depth. If stress is the cause see the stress management worksheet. Having a regular routine may help, such as going to bed and getting up at the same time every day. Find ways of winding down before you go to sleep.

Smoking

There are many ways to stop or reduce smoking. The NHS website below describes the different ways in which the NHS supports smoking cessation. Many of these are free, or as in the case of nicotine replacement at a reduced cost. Your GP can also refer you to your local smoking cessation service for support and advice. gosmokefree.co.uk

Alcohol

The Government recommends that men drink no more that 3-4 units of alcohol per day and women drink no more than 2-3 units per day. It is recommended that you do not “save” your units in order to drink more in one go, as this can have a serious effect on your health. You can check out how many units you are drinking on the NHS Direct Online website

www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/magazine/interactive/drinking/

A brief guide to units is shown below

·  A pint of ordinary strength lager = 2 units

·  A pint of strong lager = 3 units

·  A pint of bitter = 2 units

·  A pint of ordinary strength cider = 2 units

·  A 175 ml glass of red or white wine = 2 units (approximately)

·  A pub measure of spirits = 1 unit

·  An alcopop = 1.5 units (approximately)

·  A can of beer or lager = 1.5 units

(Information taken from NHS Direct website)

If you are worried about the amount you drink, you should discuss it with your GP. NHS Direct also has information on other resources available to anyone who is concerned about their drinking.