and when you achieve a target, treat yourself to something nice.”
SIMPLE EXERCISES Busy mums and office workers clockingup extensive hours needn’t feel excluded. “Most of us can find ten minutes in a day to do a few simple exercises,” she reassures. “In homes or offices where no fitness equipment is available, do a few squats and dips for the triceps using your chair or desk for support. The ‘Plank’ and push-ups are also effective and there are plenty of instructional videos on YouTube to guide you through the process and get you started.” Pertl believes that ten minutes a day, three times a week is enough to produce results. “What’s important is that you find a sport or activity that you really like. If you don’t enjoy running, don’t force yourself to run. Find something else nearby and try to be happy. If you enjoy your wine, partake from time to time, and never feel that you are missing out on something”. This is sound advice from a highly accomplished trainer who regularly features on TV and radio. She’s currently working on an Ironman Triathlon series with RTL in which she is training two relatively unfit men to compete in this gruelling course on 18 June. It’s a piece of cake for Pertl who once ran 250 kilometres through the desert in the Marathon des Sables. “You have to be mad to do that,” she admits. Lynsey Baxter is a nutritional hypnotherapist and hypnobirthing instructor who shares Pertl’s passion for healthy living, but this wasn’t always the case. Born in New Zealand,
LYNSEY BAXTER Preparation makes eating right much simpler
she arrived in Luxembourg in 1999 under a short-term banking contract which ultimately turned permanent. “I lived the typical single life in Luxembourg, drinking three times a week, crawling into work the next day and eating chips for lunch,” she explains. While backpacking one holiday, she found herself dreaming about what she could cook in her own kitchen. “I felt so unhealthy so I stopped drinking and started paying more attention to food.” Initially she studied nutrition for her own wellbeing. “We see so many sensationalised images about what’s good for you and what’s not, that no one knows anymore. So I regularly review the studies and work it all out.” Her easy-peasy tips to improve your diet are surprisingly straight-forward: “Add more veg. We don’t eat anywhere near enough leafy greens so buy a bag of salad, wash it, dry it and put it in a zip-lock bag with a piece of kitchen paper. This prevents the salad from going off too quickly and makes it really easy to grab a handful from the fridge. Start your day with a big glass of water with squeezed lemon juice. It cleanses the
body and stimulates your stomach ready for breakfast. When eating fruit, eat a small amount of protein too--apple slices dipped in nut butter, for example, taste fantastic and Marianne Da Silva makes a great range that you can keep in your desk drawer. Eat different parts of the meat and not just the muscular areas. Skin, liver pâté and oxtail are all excellent, and remember that fat doesn’t make you fat, sugar does.” Baxter encourages us to plan ahead, to use our time productively and to “batch cook” for the coming week. “Cook up some bags of spaghetti bolognaise and curry, or rice and quinoa which are very absorbent and soak up all the flavours. And don’t forget to breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and have dinner like a pauper.”
HEALTHY TAKE-AWAYS I’m feeling healthier already, and it’s heartening to know that should it all seem just a tad too much effort, the staff at Happ restaurant in Luxembourg will prepare healthy lunches and snacks to take away. Their food and juice bags are filled
" DON’T FORGET TO BREAKFAST LIKE A KING, LUNCH LIKE A PRINCE AND HAVE DINNER LIKE A PAUPER." June 2016