Ciaran Russell

Stragtegic quitting for fitness is a conscious decision you make based on the choices that are available to you..When people quit they are often focused on the short term benefits.”The short term benefits being, not going for the walk because it is cold out so you stay in to watch some tv with some snacks instead or opting for a takeaway every night because you cannot be arsed cooking. This all feels good in the moment, but forgets the bigger picture. When you find yourself in the dip, that is when you need to keep going! While you may not feel like you are making progress, because the weighing scales says so, you need to remind yourself that it is not just about the scales here. Being clear on what your long term game plan is and recording your daily wins will help get you through the dip.So if the scales goes up this week by 1kg but you know, you are hitting your steps every day,you are training well and you are staying in a calorie deficit, you can persevere knowing that you are showing up every day and if you keep doing what you are doing that you will achieve results long term.Whereas if you decide to quit while you are in the dip, you may be giving up too soon and will inevitably put yourself back where you started or back to something that you have always done.. joining slimming clubs or cutting out bread.On the other hand, creating a strategy for quitting something may be of benefit to you.You decide you want to start running, to lose weight. But before you start you set a reason or quitting; if you done it like it or have not seen any progress in a few weeks then you’ll quit running and try something else instead. So you are then 3 weeks into your new running programme, you’re not seeing progress and you absolutely detest putting on your running shoes.Guess what.. it is time to quit because those were the terms you decided on at the start. Think about what you need to quit and what do you need to stick with keeping the bigger picture in mind. Follow me on Instagram for more tips for simplifying weight loss. Go to this link - instagram.com/ciaranrussellcoaching/ or scan the QR code in the image.

By Dave Kavanagh

Another start of a year and despite Covid 19 still present, many people will still be intent on embarking on making some positive changes or improvements in their lives. The most recognisable of these is the ‘losing weight” one. It’s worth noting that if done properly, losing weight can have the added bonus of leaving you with more money at the end of each month. So how does that work? Well, by “doing it properly” I refer to NOT going on a diet, or buying products with magic properties that will make the weight just fall off. Instead, making small, sustainable lifestyle changes. It can be adding some exercise in week 1, drinking more water (and less alcohol/sugar laden drinks) in week 2, reducing portion sizes in week 3, substituting things like chips for wholegrain rice or pasta in week 4, breaking the association of biscuits/cakes whenever you have a coffee or tea in week 5, etc., etc. Doing it this way, makes it sustainable and when weight is dropped slower over a longer period of time, it is far more likely to be kept off. So how does that improve your wealth? When I analyse people’s spending budgets, it’s clear that takeaways, alcohol, sweets, cakes biscuits etc., pop up quite frequently. If you keep track of the savings when you cut down on many of these things, it’s easy to see how much you can save. Keeping a detailed spending budget where you log every day what you spend (not just the name of the shop, but the actual items) Lets you look back and accurately see what you have spent on the things you actually want to cut down on (one person told me “I can’t believe I ate 38 packets of crisps last month!!”) As for the xmas leftover junk, it can either go in the waste or on your waist. Make the right choices, one day at a time, and you bank account will thank you.

Dave Kavanagh QFA has been advising people financially for over 25 years. For quotes or information (with no cost or obligation) he can be contacted by emailing info@financialcompanion.ie or use the contact form on www.financialcompanion.ie or phone 087-6414570, or @Davekav_advice on Twitter and Instagram. Combined with his previous role of gym/nutrition adviser, he regularly gives talks and workshops at seminars and events for groups, companies and government departments on financial wellbeing, positivity and motivation. As heard on RTE 2FM and TV3.

By Siobhan O’Neill White

Valentine’s day is on February 14th and while many of us are still having a tough time with Covid, we reckon a dose of Cupid is just what we need right now. Whether you are part of a couple or not, why not use the excuse of Valentine’s to do something nice for someone you love or even just for you!If you are going out to dinner, get your hair done or treat yourself to a new perfume or lipstick. Lancome has a gorgeous heart shaped red lipstick called Love Bluff, just in time for February 14th Staying in by yourself? Order your favourite take away, get into your jammies and settle down in front of the TV. If you like a dark comedy, Deadly Cuts on Netflix is a fabulous Irish movie that will have you howling with laughter. Want to make it a romantic night in for two? Decide on something fancy to cook. My husband made me beef wellington recently, so I laid out candles, a tablecloth and some lovely Italian wine to make it a romantic dinner – even if it was just in our kitchen! It’s about setting the scene to make it special. If you would like to include your children in your Valentine’s plans, why not get them to help cook dinner? Our children love to make homemade pizza! We set out all the ingredients on the kitchen counter, pull up chairs for the kids and they climb up to put their own toppings on top. They feel so included and it encourages them to eat all their dinner! For dessert we make up knickerbocker glory ice-creams. Layer ice-cream and fruit in a fancy glass, add a dash of Coca-cola, and top with a dollop of cream and crushed flake. Enjoy dessert while watching gorgeous new Disney movie Encanto! Bellissimo! Want to buy a personalised gift for someone special? Lanai-Blo hairdryers can be personalised and they come in 10 colours. Noted Ireland makes gorgeous jewellery boxes, cooking sets and Galentine’s gifts too. Gift vouchers are a great gift idea. Four Seasons Hotel Monaghan has a lovely spa and afternoon tea packages. And one of the best vouchers you can get anyone is for Penney’s! It’s always a treat to head there for some shopping! Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! tel Siobhan : 087-9978418 or email: siobhan@mumstown.ie, web:www.mams.ie = Shortlisted for Golden Spider Award & Infant & Maternity Award -As seen on RTE and Virgin Media Ireland & Weekend AM. As heard on Today FM’s Ian Dempsey & Dermot & Dave; RTE’s Ray D’Arcy Show, 98FM, LMFM Late Lunch, WLRFM & Shannonside FM.

Ciaran Russell

What is a Snaccident. (pr: Snax-eh-dent). It is when food (a snack) is consumed in an accidental, often regrettable way. This can refer to accidentally eating food of questionable quality and/or quantity. Snacking can be an issue for a lot of people when it comes to trying to reach any health, weight loss or fitness goals. Here six ways to take control of your snacking habits. (1.) Controlling your food environment. The problem here is you may be surrounding yourself with the temptation that’s increasing the chance you’ll give in to those cravings. Put physical barriers between you and the food, in other words make it harder to get to. Move them from one press to another to interrupt the pattern. Or don’t buy them in the first place. Making it more difficult, you’re more likely to give up on it. (2.) Pick foods that fill you up. There’s nothing wrong with eating food that doesn’t fill you, but you’ll be back an hour later for more. Increase your protein intake, think meat, dairy, eggs, cheese, yogurt, shakes. Opt for more water-rich foods, such as potatoes, beans and fruit. Foods high on the satiety index will keep you fuller for longer. Remember carbs are not the enemy, they’re a fantastic source of energy and fibre. (3.) Beware of food that tastes amazing! Your body want energy, this energy comes from the food and drink you consume. It particularly wants food with a mix of protein, carbs, fats and salt. Eating foods containing high amounts of these and you will crave more. The solution? Don’t restrict any food from your diet, simply reduce the frequency you have them. (4.) Sort out your sleep. Maybe you’re not sleeping enough or the quality of your sleep is poor, or maybe both. This leads to you feeling tired and cranky, craving quick energy. This means you make poor food choices. What you can do is aim to get to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Your body clock doesn’t know it’s the weekend! Keep your bedroom dark and cool to improve the chances of staying asleep. Reduce your screen time an hour before bed to allow your brain to wind down. (5). Make sure you’re active every day. Part of the problem is that you’re not exercise enough and that you lead a sedentary lifestyle. Which means you’re not burning many calories during the day. Aim for 8000+ steps per day, resistance training is a great way to keep active, find something you enjoy doing and do it often. (6.) Reduce your stress levels. The problem is you’re busy at work or at home and feel like you’ve loads to do. All these stresses pile up and contribute to you eating emotionally to feel better. Tackle the root cause to reduce your overeating, the stress. Allocate time in the day just for you, to read or go for a walk. Try some meditation, headspace is a great app to use. Look back at tips 1-5 to help reduce your stress too. Find out your total daily calorie expenditure by using my Calorie Calculator here: bit.ly/ciaranscaloriecalculator or scan the QR code in the image.

Courtesy of Malahide Historical Society

Many will remember with great fondness Sammy Wells and family who ran a sweet factory and sweet shop from about 1948 at or about the former X-traVision outlet on Main Street. Sammy made the sweets from his own recipes which he had brought from England. The most popular sweets were his fruit bon bons, butter bon bons, liquorice, fruit drops, nougat bars and the most popular of all were his penny bars. The penny bars are said to have been his speciality. In those days the children of Malahide were able to walk safely from school to Sammy Wells sweet shop specially to buy those bars. Everyone used to pop in to buy their sweets on the way to Ma Walshe’s cinema. This was a big treat. To buy your sweets you had to go to the counter in the office and ring the bell for attention and when eventually someone came, the value given for one penny was well worth the delay, the best value in town! One former resident remembers that Sammy also sold fishing gear and “If you found a wasps’ nest and you told Sammy Wells, you would get a reward and he would send someone to remove it and use the grubs for bait.” Sammy and his family, including daughters Sally and Gwneth, lived at “The Haven” at the corner of Texas Lane and the Back Strand (upper Broadmeadows estuary). He became famous for his pigeon loft and was said to have been the first person to have pigeons in the area. He built the narrow concrete landing stage opposite his house, which is still used today and erected a pole with a disclaimer notice which was certainly there up to recently. The factory and shop closed in the 1960’s and the family left Ireland thereafter but we know that some of them follow this Facebook page so if you have memories to share with them please feel free to leave a comment.

Can anyone identify the staff members in the photos? If so please contact Malahide Historical Society at malahideheritage.com

Ciaran Russell

It’s January and that can only mean one thing. New Year New You. But instead of finding that the ‘new you’ has disappeared by the time the 1st February has arrived, I am going to tell you how to create some lasting change in your health and fitness for 2022. The first step is to decide what it is you’re looking to achieve. Imagine we are having a chat over a cup of coffee on 31st December 2022, what has to have happened for you to be happy with your progress? This could be ideal time to write down exactly what your health looks like in 12 months’ time. Now that you know where you want to get to, the next step is assessing where you’re currently at. Naturally this will be different for everyone so here are some things to think about. Look at what your current diet is like; do you eat fruit and vegetables every day? Do you have a takeaway more than once a week? What is your alcohol consumption like? Then assess what you’re physical activity is like. Do you have some sort of exercise regime? That could be playing a sport, going to a gym, walking regularly with friends; anything that keeps you active every day. When you now where both your current diet and exercise are at you can then start to look at what’s in the gap between where you are now to where you want to be at the end of the year. This is where you start to create the process required to get you there, more specifically what do you need to do monthly, weekly and daily in order to reach your end of year goals. This is where regularly checking in with yourself to review your progress is important. This can be done weekly, monthly and quarterly. Some questions to ask before you start; how will you know you are on track in 3 months’ time? What needs to happen for you to have gotten closer to your goals at the end of the month? How will you know you’re on track come the end of this week? And lastly what can you do daily to push yourself forward? Not only is it very useful to create the plan and know what progress you’re making along the way, it’s also important to know what obstacles you may face along the way. Sure you won’t be able to account for every little problem that comes up but by starting to think about what might get in your way, you can actively create a plan to overcome any barriers you may face. Once you’ve taken time to create your strategy for a healthier and fitter you, the next step is to take action and get started. A strategy means nothing if you don’t execute it. What can you do today that will take you a step in the right direction? I want to wish you a happier, healthier and fitter New Year. Thanks for reading. Ciaran.

Fingal County Council is urging developers to give them the opportunity to buy new turn-key homes in advance to help ease the housing crisis and deliver affordable housing for those most in need. The Council wants to be able to tap into the large number of unbuilt properties which have received planning permission It has ambitions to secure at least 10 residences at any one scheme, with it hoping that anything up to 150 dwellings could be sold to them in an advance purchase arrangement with developers. Under the proposal, Fingal would agree to purchase an approved number of properties at a development and provide payment on completion. Such an agreement also provides for the direct sale of homes by a developer to an eligible purchaser nominated by the local authority. Liam Burke, Acting Director of Housing and Community Development at Fingal County Council said: “The Housing for All initiative sets out some very clear ambitions around social and affordable housing provision. Having the new Affordable Housing Fund in place will go some way to making it possible for Fingal to deliver a greater number of homes for people at below market rates, so in securing an advance purchase arrangement with developers we not only ensure that we are providing much needed housing, but that we are also giving financial surety to developers and taking out some of the guess work that often goes along with larger developments.” The council said that Joint Venture Arrangements that include an Approved Housing Body (AHB) would also be considered as part of the initiative. Under the ‘Housing for All’ plan, significant funding streams are available to Fingal in order for it to increase the number of new-build local authority homes for social and affordable housing.The government wants to see 300,000 homes built over the next decade across the four categories of social, affordable and cost rental, private rental and private ownership. On average, over 33,000 homes will be built per annum, rising to 40,000 by 2030.Further details of the turnkey programme and local requirements for Fingal are available at:.fingal.ie/sites/default/files/2021-11/guide-to-making-a-submission-november-2021.pdf

By Siobhan O’Neill White

If we thought 2020 was tough, in many ways, 2021 was even harder. We’ve all been on a rollercoaster of emotion; worrying about catching Covid, for many people trying to get through Covid and on top of that, the stress of multiple lockdowns. It has been an extraordinarily difficult time so this January, go easy on yourself. Many of us, me included, have put on a few extra pounds since Covid barged into our lives and caused all sorts of disruption. With the levels of worry and fear we have experienced, putting on a few lbs is really not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. As January rolls around, lots of us may start thinking about getting fitter and losing weight but this year, we are suggesting that you be kind to yourself. If you want to cut back on the sweet treats a little, that’s ok. If you want to do add extra exercise into your life, go right ahead. But please remember, that we are all going through an incredibly tough time and we need to mind ourselves. Our mental health is as important as our physical health and it’s important to make the time to do nice things for yourself. Whether that’s going for a long walk, relaxing for half an hour with a coffee and magazine or taking a relaxing bubble bath – do what helps you relax and unwind.And as we are staying at home more than usual, make time for nice activities, like baking with the kids or cooking a nice dinner. Maybe have a pajama day with movies and hot chocolate or bring our some board games for a bit of fun family time.Whatever you get up to this January, remember, be kind to yourself and your loved ones. We’ve got to pull together and support each other as much as possible to get through these strange, unsettling times. For indoor and outdoor activity ideas and lots of recipes, check out mams.ie parenting website.

By Dave Kavanagh

Recent surveys by the Royal London Group, have clearly illustrated the advantages in seeking fi-nancial advice. In Ireland, it showed that of those that received advice, savings were 55% higher, the average pension pot was €128,933 compared to €62,600 with those who had not sought advice. The vast majority felt more in control of their finances and felt they were getting the best value with the financial products that they paid for. In these times, Covid-19 has made people more anxious about money. So what stops people from seeking advice in such a crucial area of their lives? Some answers were, “I think it would be too expensive”, “it’s probably not for me” (believing it’s only very wealthy people that need advice!), “my bank looks after all of that” (when the bank is likely tied to one company and cannot fairly compare options for them.) Or “too proud or embar-rassed to let someone go through our finances”. In some ways, this can be likened to some people choosing not to seek medical advice (until potentially too late!) believing that it’s trivial or they can deal with it themselves. The one constant I’ve seen in all my years of advising clients, is the peace of mind and feeling of control that they feel. Even if the exercise of examining and analysing their finances uncovers some mistakes or wrong choices, at least they can now take action to rectify their situation, and move forward with confidence. If, like many, you are considering making New Year changes to improve your life in some way, you could do far worse than include a review of that which is connected to almost every aspect of your life, your finances.

Ciaran Russell

What is sleep? Sleep is a recurring state of relaxation that is characterized by an altered state of consciousness, inhibited sensory activity, muscular inhibition, and severely reduced interaction with outside entities. This state alternates between REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, during which dreams occur, and non-REM sleep. While in REM sleep the mind dreams and the body experiences a state of near paralysis that keeps a person from physically acting on dream stimulus (this is called sleep paralysis). Sleep itself is a state in which the body builds up and restores the immune, nervous, skeletal, and muscular systems. Source: alleydog.com.Sleep plays a very important role in many aspects of daily life. Without it we become irritable, have an increased appetite, higher stress levels, are susceptible to illness and much more. All of which, over time, can have a major impact on physical health, mental health and relationships. The benefits are widely known and very well studied over many years, but here are some practical tips to help improve the quality of your sleep.Firstly reduce your screen usage for at least an hour before going to bed. The screens we so regularly use; phones, tablets, laptops, tv’s all emit blue light, which suppresses melatonin production in the brain. Melatonin is the hormone partly responsible for maintaining the sleep/wake cycle.The next practical tip is to leave your phone outside your bedroom. .It is well reported that people should be sleeping between 7-9 hours per night. However it’s just as important that sleep and wake times are consistent across the whole week, including the weekend. Caffeine is a mainstay in most people’s morning ritual but too much caffeine later in the day can have a big impact on the quality of sleep.This tip follows on from number one, find yourself a night time routine.The last tip is; upon waking in the morning time, get as much light as possible. This is also linked back to the sleep/wake cycle mentioned earlier. Ideally you go outside to get some natural light but that is very hard during the winter months. The next best thing would be to turn on all the lights in the house to get as much light as you can until early afternoon.Improve your sleep, improve your health.If you’re interested in learning more about sleep, I highly recommend the book; Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker.I will be running a FREE Active Start Challenge in January. To join the waiting list, scan the QR code in the image.