What are you taking up for Lent?

Lots of people – especially those trying to live more healthily – will be thinking about what to give up for Lent. There’re a few perennial favourites and Lent can be a useful time to break yourself of bad habits:

• Chocolate (for many of us, myself included, it’s very hard to stop at “just one”).
• Alcohol (not ruinous to diets in itself, but over-indulgence often leads to the munchies – or being too hungover to exercise).
• Crisps (I used to have a packet every day for years until I managed to break that habit)

Do something new this Lent

Over the next couple of months, how about taking up something positive instead (or as well as) giving up a vice? Think what you could add to each day or week to improve your health, whether bodily, mental or spiritual. Commit to this for the whole of Lent, then after Easter, assess whether it’s something you want to carry on with.

• Daily walk. Fit in an extra half-hour’s walking every day. Perhaps at lunch time, or by getting off a stop earlier on the tube – or go out after work, now that it’s (just about) still light at five o’clock.
• More fruit and vegetables. If you currently get five-a-day, that’s great – go for six or seven during Lent! And if you aren’t managing five on a regular basis, have a look at seven easy ways to get your five-a-day.
• Journaling or writing in a diary. I’m going to make a “What’s Better” list each day, to encourage myself to focus on the positives rather than the problems in life.
• Learn to cook something new each week. Dust off your recipe books, or search for some new ideas online. (If you’re not sure where to start, try the recipe pages.) You might discover a new favourite!