Lloyds Pharmacy have kicked off their FREE Change Your Health Direction programme once again. January is always the perfect time to kick start a health buzz for sure and this year is no different. I think year on year everyone is becoming a little more health conscious and making gradual changes to impact their life for the better, which is amazing to see! I kicked off my health journey about 5 years ago and have never looked back. Over time I introduced small changes and educated myself over the years to try and be the best version of me. I’m kinda raging I didn’t have a programme like this to help me on my way – which is why I am posting about it, because it is such a great way of educating yourself on your current health, ways to improve, and reach your goals with the help of a health coach to aid you and keep you on track. And, for FREE. The dream. You’ll be surprised how small changes can make a such a difference.
What is the Change Your Health Direction programme
It is a free 8 week programme which offers you the opportunity to visit your local Lloyds Pharmacy where one of their trained coaches will meet with you on a weekly basis about your health goals. The Health Coach is there to support you as you introduce healthier habits into your lifestyle – whatever they may be! Services include:
Weekly Weigh In
Similarly to what you would do at Slimming World and the like – but on an individual basis. Not everyone is comfortable getting weighed in a group, and that’s totally ok. You can keep your progress personal between you and your health coach. It’s not all going to be smooth sailing, life can get in the way sometimes but your coach will support you throughout your journey.
Weight Loss Diary
It might seem like such a basic thing to do but you won’t actually realise how much food you are intaking until you see it wrote down. You get a diary and lots of tips which you can also download here – discuss this every week with your coach and they can advise you where you are going wrong and what you aren’t getting enough off, giving you insight into the changes you can make for the better, to suit your lifestyle. Their booklet also gives you shopping list ideas!
Weekly 1 – 1 meeting
This is where you will meet your coach and discuss your week, your food diary, your weigh in, your health progress, your B.M.I, and your struggles. They aren’t there to give you hard time, and it is totally ok to have a bad week, chat to them on a 1 – 1 basis and discuss what’s up and how they can support in confidence.
Help to quit smoking
This is something I personally know nothing about in terms of the struggle, but when I was in with Lloyds they were able to tell me that lots of their clients are doing so well on this – so that’s a good sign! Lloyds will check in with you weekly on this to see how you are getting on and how it is they can help and support.
Blood pressure checks
I got mine checked and thankfully I am all good – but this isn’t something that should be overlooked. I have only ever gotten mine taken when I am unwell and have to visit the Doctor or hospital (which is thankfully very rarely) so this is a great opportunity for you to get it checked, and particularly if you are stressed or a smoker – check the difference between the start of the 8 weeks and the end to see if there has been an impact!
Skin analysis
Skincare is probably one of the things a lot of us don’t focus or invest on, it’s only in the last year that I did a complete overhaul on mine and finally addressed any issues and took action to prevent future issues and age impact. From the outside your skin can look ok, but this doesn’t mean that it will in the future. Your habits now can really affect you in the long term so get it checked and look to see what it is you can do to improve it! A balanced and nutritious diet, SPF, and increased water intake are some of the basic actions you can take!
Cholesterol Check
Not all Lloyds Pharmacy stores have this service but again, like blood pressure check, it isn’t something we get checked regularly. My results were very positive, I had little or no ‘bad cholesterol’ – it didn’t even show up on the test so was barely traceable. But get yours checked and chat with your coach on how you can improve. They can also provide a referral letter if they are not satisfied with the results.
If you want to check out here and here on their website for more information, and also their Lloyds Pharmcy store locator to find out which is the nearest to you so you can get started!
For me, I personally am not signing up to this programme, if you are a long time follower you will know that I am very much in control of my health and diet so I don’t need a coach and weekly check in – where I do need help is with my vitamin and mineral intake which they have kindly giving me an insight into and I have started a daily routine (which you can find out more about on my updates on Snapchat [AJFitzimons] and Instastories) If you are struggling with your weight (or smoking habit) and just feel like you need a health and skin check, then sign up to this programme and speak to a professional. It’s free, but it does come with some cost, your commitment! If anything, you won’t regret it.
AJ x