Live a Healthier Life

Four mindset shifts to experience more health and happiness 
Health doesn’t just happen — it is cultivated. It takes intentionality to create a healthy lifestyle. After all, your day-to-day decisions will drive the outcome of where you are a month or a year from now. So, it helps to pause and reflect by asking yourself: Where do I want to be? What do I want to be intentional about so that I feel more fulfilled? Being intentional with your time and what you want for yourself puts things into perspective and helps realign your priorities. Here are four ways to experience improved health and more happiness through intentionality. 
Commit to a Goal
Often, what you want to achieve seems like a great idea, but it is just that — an intangible idea. It only becomes real once you commit to a goal. With goal setting, it helps to do a judgement-free assessment of where you are now. Consider where you’re thriving, and where you’re not feeling your best when it comes to your physical, mental, spiritual, emotional and social health. 
Maybe you’re in great shape but you would benefit from a stronger support system, or vice versa. Whatever it is, think about why this change matters to you. Would having a stronger support system help you navigate challenging times better and enjoy the good times more? Would being in better shape allow you to do more activities with your family? Being intentional when setting your goal — understanding why you want that change and how you will benefit from that change — gives you a greater purpose to motivate you when working toward it. 
Make a Plan
You may have heard the saying “a goal without a plan is just a dream”. While dreaming allows your mind to wander and think of creative solutions or new ideas, the success of those dreams is found by creating a goal that has an actionable plan. One of the best ways to do this is through creating a SMART goal. This type of goal setting stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timebound. Using this framework will help you clearly define what you want and how to achieve it.   

Vague goals — I want to improve my diet, or I want more social activity — take on the lens of a dream, or a wish, rather than a plan. Instead of these, try: I will eat healthier foods five nights per week, or I will participate in one activity or association that I’m interested in per week. These examples outline the “specific” and “measurable” aspects of a SMART goal. The next step is to ensure they are attainable (or reasonable) and relevant (an appropriate next step toward your desired result), and that there is a timeline in which to complete them. Here is an example of a fully outlined SMART goal for social activity: I will join a running group and make one new meaningful connection per month for the next five months.  Consider how you can be more intentional by turning your goal into a SMART goal. 

Establish Consistent Routines

Even when you have the best intentions when working toward a goal, there are still challenges. Many struggles — such as lack of time to make healthy meals or low energy — can be avoided by establishing consistency in your routine. This can look like habits such as exercise (helps with lowenergy) and meal prep (allows you to have healthy food ready on busy days). Or, it can be having a consistent wind-down routine before bed to help you sleep better.  How you start the day also matters. The morning sets the tone for your day, so be mindful of this precious time. If you look at emails or social media when you wake up, you’re focused on other people’s agendas rather than your own priorities. Instead, nurture yourself through journaling, meditating, reading, exercising, or walking your dog. Putting consistent, intentional structures in place helps you prioritise your health and well-being, and within these structures, you can find ease and improved energy. 

Practice Gratitude

It’s no secret that writing down what you’re grateful for has a positive impact on your health. Studies show that expressing gratitude helps the brain release dopamine and serotonin, two of the “feel good” hormones. People who practice gratitude also report greater goal attainment. Beyond this, showing gratitude for your experiences — whether it’s as small as a delicious meal or as big as acareer achievement — helps you develop the skills to be more accepting of change, acknowledge yourself, and recognise growth. Gratitude relates to intentionality, too, as the act of writingdown what you’re grateful for helps you review and reflect on goals you may have set and progress you may have achieved. Intentionality is a filter that gives us greater meaning and improved results. Once you implement it into your everyday life, you’re sure to feel its positive impact. 

How DX4 Helps You To Be Intentional

DX4 is an all-new four-day programme that helps you balance and reset your body through nutritional products and supplements, guided nutrition, and mindset practices. You’ll set a goal at the start of the programme and be guided through intentional approaches to unifying the mind and body.

Head Office Team - DX4 Ready, Set, Reset
Here at Head Office, we love a challenge, and so what better than to take part in our GLOBAL Ready, Set, Reset, with our new DX4 Body Balancing System. This week we have been sharing our experience with you on social media and we thought we would do a quick round-up of how we have been feeling over the last four days.
Bob

Day One: Decide
It is time for our global Ready, Set, Reset, and alongside many of the staff here at Longbridge Manor, I am going to be taking part in DX4 this week. My goal for the programme is to help me feel better generally and also to help me curb my coffee habit. I’ve noticed recently that this has crept up, so I am hoping to reset this habit.
Day Two: Define
Defining my goal would be to reduce my daily coffee consumption, by cutting this down each day and replacing it with water or our delicious aloe.
Day Three: Discover
Day three of DX4 and it’s going good. The toughest thing so far has been missing my morning cup of coffee so I am drinking water instead. Just stay focused and you get through it.
Day Four: Dedicate
Thinking about the impact of this programme, it is important to be a product of the product and I can now honestly talk to my friends and family and tell them why they should try DX4 as a way of becoming more aware of our food choices. The potential is incredible, there are loads of people that would like to get in better shape and feel healthier, and we have a great four-day solution, so get excited and share with everybody that you meet.
At the end of day four, my tips would be that it is easier if you have someone supporting you on your journey, so try and start it with someone else, or in a group. Certainly for me having the staff team keeping me on track has been really, really good, and the second thing is to go into it with the right mindset, because as in everything we do in our Forever business, whether we think we can or we think we can’t, we are absolutely right.
Amelia
Day One: Decide
The holistic outlook of the programme is what made me decide to do DX4. We all know that leading a healthier lifestyle is more than just a quick fix. The programme’s approach to the increase in mind and body connection seemed perfect. I wanted to be more mindful of what I ate and the nutrition that I was putting into my body, as well as really focusing on proper hydration.
The booklet for me was really helpful for this goal as it allowed me to really reflect on the areas of my wellness that could use a little work. By completing the self-reflection, which makes us focus on specific areas of our wellness, helped to highlight once again that hydration was a key aspect that I needed to improve on, and also to be more mindful about what and when I ate, rather than just habitually eating when I wasn’t actually hungry. A highlight of today was definitely the Forever Plant Protein shake. It is filling, easy to prepare, and tastes good too. At the end of day one I was feeling good, I was less tired than I anticipated, and also not as hungry!
Day Two: Define Day two’s theme is Define, so the second day of DX4 is about defining our personal areas of focus from day one in the context of the SMART goal. My SMART goal for these four days was: ‘To increase my wellness through increasing my hydration. I am going to ensure that throughout DX4 I am drinking at least 2 litres of water, and to ensure I continue after the programme I have set reminders on my phone to help prompt me.

Day Three: Discover
Day three’s theme is about discovering the challenges that you may be facing on the programme, and ways to overcome these. My challenge has been habitual eating. I haven’t actually felt that hungry during the programme, however there are certain times of the day that I feel that I SHOULD be. I am more aware that I wasn’t fully present when I was eating, and it has definitely made me appreciate the food I am consuming more.
Day Four: Dedicate
When you reach day four of the programme we are encouraged to think about what we have learned during the four days, and what we will be taking forward. For me this will certainly be a focus on hydration, I will continue to drink the 2 litres of water daily as well as ensuring that I am more mindful about what I am eating, and remembering to listen to my body. The programme has helped me to re-evaluate my habits, and has built a solid foundation for creating new ones.
A tip for anyone doing the programme would be that although there is never a ‘perfect time’ to do DX4, choosing to do it when you have a quieter schedule will help you to really dedicate yourself to the programme. Also doing this in a group has been one of the biggest things that I found helped me. Motivating and inspiring each other through the days, and sharing experiences helps you to stay accountable and really dedicate to the programme. It also helps when you have questions or maybe a dip in motivation.
Spencer
Day One: Decide
I decided to do DX4 to try and lead a healthier lifestyle. I found myself eating lots of takeaways and junk food and it was making me feel tired and led to a lack of energy. On day one I found the morning the hardest. However, after the first few hours I was surprised about how normal I felt. I wasn’t hungry after having the shake in the afternoon, and actually enjoyed the taste. I feel that with there being a structure to when you take the products, this helped with any hunger issues as you are constantly taking something and have something to look forward to. I was most surprised about how normal I felt on the morning of day two. It felt like waking up after a normal day.
Day 2: Define
In order to help me lead a healthier lifestyle I am going to reduce the amount of takeaways I eat, as well as reducing my caffeine intake. I will do this by reducing the amount of coffee and tea I drink to just one per day, and to do this I will make sure I am increasing my water intake.
Day Three: Discover
During the programme I found it hard not to eat with my family, especially when they were eating, and I wasn’t. However, throughout the programme, I didn’t feel hungry due to the different supplements that you take, even in the mornings.
Day Four: Dedicate
Now that I have finished the programme, I will be making more of an effort to drink less caffeine and drink more water throughout the day. I think doing the DX4 in a support group has really helped me, and I would recommend this to anyone. Also keeping busy really helps by distracting you from any hunger you might feel.
Tyler
Day One: Decide
I decided to do DX4 to improve my eating habits and be more mindful of what I was eating. I was choosing to have takeaways instead of cooking because it was convenient, and I was starting to feel the impact of unhealthy eating so this needed to change. I felt surprisingly great throughout day one, I wasn’t as hungry as I thought I would be. My favourite part of the day was both of the Forever Plant Protein shakes, I really enjoyed these. I found that the most challenging bit for me was about an hour before I had each of the shakes as that is when I started to feel a bit hungry. I spaced out the shakes across the day, but once I had these I felt a lot better.
Day 2: Define
My goal is to improve my eating habits and eat fewer takeaways, so to do this I will ensure that I am only eating one takeaway per month. I will ensure that I am batch cooking my food to help with convenience.
Day Three: Discover
So I have faced a couple of challenges up until now. The main one was making dinner for my children while not being able to eat, however, I knew I needed to stick to the programme! And so I did! Also, when my husband sat down for his dinner, I decided to remove myself from the room to avoid any temptations. Specifically today, I found it challenging to actually finish my big green salad. I really thought that after two days of not eating actual food I would eat my whole salad, but I really didn’t feel the need to finish my plate which has made me more mindful.
Day Four: Dedicate
After DX4 I will take forward remembering to listen to my body and eat when I’m hungry as opposed to eating because I’m bored or supposed to be eating. I’m really surprised at how little food I need as long as I am getting all the right nutrients! I will now be so much more mindful of portion sizes too! My tip for anyone doing DX4 would be to do this as a group or with a friend, it’s really great to have that support and someone to talk to about how you’re feeling while doing the programme!
Charlotte
Day One: Decide
I decided to do DX4 to gain clarity and focus, and to become more aware of my eating habits. Throughout the day I have been feeling satisfied, and I was surprised by how good I was actually feeling. My favourite part of day one was the Forever MultiFizz, it is a really refreshing drink with a watermelon flavour. The biggest challenge for me was not having any tea or coffee, as I am a big tea drinker!
Day 2: Define
My goal for DX4 is to become mindful of any negative lifestyle habits that have crept in and change my daily routine to incorporate healthier choices. I would like to become more aware of my daily supplement intake and ensure I am supporting my body the best I can. I will do this by setting myself reminders, and goals throughout my day.
Day Three: Discover
My biggest challenge today was getting through my Forever Multi Fizz, as my tastebuds are changing, and over today the drink tasted quite overpowering. I struggled to drink it with the suggested amount of water, so I decided to transfer it into a litre bottle of water with a straw and drank this over 30 minutes. I found this much easier as the taste was diluted and somehow through a straw it didn’t seem so much…. Plus, I was getting more fluid for the day!
Day Four: Dedicate
Following on from DX4, I will continue to include supplements and the drinking gels, along with shakes as part of my normal daily routine. I am going to introduce Forever Therm and Forever Aloe Berry Nectar day-to-day, and also continue to drink over 2 litres of water a day with a reduced amount of caffeine. I feel I am now in a better mindset to continue with these habits.
Sam
Day One: Decide
During lockdown I got into really bad eating habits. I was unhealthy and it massively affected the way I was feeling – tired, zero energy, low concentration. I knew that enough was enough and I have decided that things have to change if I want to be more healthy, and have more energy. I think DX4 will really give me that boost I need to change my habits. Throughout day one I felt really good and had loads of energy. I even managed to clean my whole house! Having the Forever Multi Fizz was my favourite part of the day. After only having supplements and a shake I really enjoyed the flavour and felt that it gave me that lift I needed. Taking the supplements on an empty stomach is definitely the most challenging part of the programme for me.
Day 2: Define
I am going to make a conscious effort to drink more water. By completing DX4 I am already actively doing this and will ensure that it continues after I finish the programme.
Day Three: Discover
The most challenging part of the programme for me was the  Forever LemonBlast drink, I really don’t like ginger so the taste was a little strong for me, however I enjoyed the rest of the programme.
Day Four: Dedicate
What I will take away from DX4 is definitely a focus on drinking more water, and I think that this programme has really helped me with this.
Sophie
Day One: Decide
The reason I decided to do DX4 was that I am going on holiday and I want to feel the best I can possibly feel. I have also been getting some sugar cravings in the evenings, and definitely a massive energy dip after I put my children to bed at 7pm. I am hoping that DX4 can help restore my body balance, control those sugar cravings, support my energy levels, and change some of my habits. One of those is that I do not drink enough water throughout the day, particularly when I am on the go and busy. Throughout the day I have actually been feeling pretty good. I woke up this morning and didn’t feel very prepared, so I would say to anyone thinking about starting the DX4 to really read the booklet, and get an understanding of what your day is going to look like so you have that mental preparation.
All-in-all I felt fine. I had a great tip from Sam, who is also part of the Head Office DX4, to set alarms throughout the day to help remind you to take the supplements, and that gave me a plan which helped. My favourite part of the day was my shake at lunchtime, this was probably because I had it around the most challenging part of the day because that is the time I am preparing food for my children. My top tip for today is to remember you have the Forever Sensatiable, I took two mid-morning and two this afternoon and I think just having those throughout the day will really help, you are allowed up to 8 per day. I am really looking forward to the next few days.
Day Two: Define
So, it’s day two of DX4 and I feel pretty good, I have a lot more energy than I expected I would have, and I really enjoyed the Forever LemonBlast last night. I had it warm before bed and I found it really comforting. I feel less hungry today, I think that is more of a mindset shift. I already feel like I am creating some new habits and I’m not having to cook for the children which is making it a little easier. My SMART goal is to drink more water, one of the reasons I think I feel good today is because I am more hydrated. So I have decided that going forward I need to be having at least two litres a day. I have set alarms to help with this. I’m going to do this for a couple of weeks after and hopefully by that point I will have made this into a habit.
Day Three: Discover
I didn’t find day three as challenging as day one or two as I knew I could have the big green salad. My mindset has really changed from the first two days and the day felt much easier.
Day Four: Dedicate
I will try to make sure I’m drinking 2 litres of water every day and be more organised with meal prepping to help me make better choices with food. My favourite part of DX4 is how I felt on day four. I’ve had great energy and much more mental clarity about my food choices. I really want to try to keep that moving forward. Cooking for my children has been the hardest part of the challenge, especially on days one and two.
My tip for anyone that is going to try DX4 is to be prepared and organised with your supplement, shake and food schedule.
Kuldip
Day One: Decide
I decided to take part in Ready, Set, Reset to help stop my bad eating habits, and help me create new, better ones. I did have a bit of a wobble today as I really felt my sugar levels drop, but after eating a banana I generally now feel okay. My favourite part has been the Forever LemonBlast before bed, as I really like the flavour, my least favourite part of today has been the shake.
Day 2: Define
My SMART objective is to stop the bad eating habits that I have picked up, and space out my food intake throughout the day. I will do this by setting timers for myself, and make sure I am drinking enough water too. Planning out my day will also help me to achieve this.
Day Three: Discover
I have struggled every day around lunchtime, so to help with this I have kept myself busy and spread out my shake and supplements accordingly. I haven’t actually felt hungry, which has been good, and having things to look forward to throughout the day is also helpful with staying motivated.
Day Four: Dedicate
I will make sure I drink more water in future and resist unhealthy snacks such as crisps and chocolate. My favourite part has been how much better I feel and the support and motivation of the group throughout the four days. The biggest challenge I have faced has been the temptation to eat as normal, but my will-power has been strong enough to resist that. My tips would be, do it in a group, and have other people do it with you to keep you motivated.
Emma
Day One: Decide
I am doing DX4 to reset my eating and drinking habits and to reduce my portion sizes. I also want to feel more comfortable in my clothes. I have felt surprisingly good on day one, I have missed food but I haven’t felt hungry. My favourite part was the Forever LemonBlast at night, I liked the taste and felt happy to be nearing the end of day one. What I found most challenging was cooking dinner for the kids and scraping the leftovers into the bin rather than into my mouth!
Day Two: Define
My goal is to optimise my health, and I will do this by using DX4 to become more mindful of what I am putting into my body. I will continue to eat more leafy greens vegetables after the programme has finished, and work to include this into a healthier lifestyle.
Day Three: Discover
Today my biggest challenge was my energy levels as I feel they have dipped from yesterday. I have overcome this by reminding myself of why I started this journey and keeping busy!
Day Four: Going forward I will incorporate more green leafy veggies, drink more water and try not to eat when I’m not hungry. Overall my favourite part has been that I’ve not felt as hungry as I thought I would and I’ve been waking up feeling more refreshed. The biggest challenge for me has been that I’ve missed eating meals with my family. My tip would be to distract yourself with something else when you start thinking about food. Going on dog walks when I would normally eat dinner has helped.
Kate  
Day One: Decide
I decided to take part in the DX4 programme to put an end to my bad eating habits. I am bad for snacking and eating out of boredom, so I began this in the hope it would change my eating habits and encourage me to pay more attention to what I am putting in my body. Surprisingly, for most of day one I felt OK! Once the afternoon hit, I began to feel a little hungry but keeping busy soon helped with this. The best part about day one is how many steps there are to the programme – I felt this kept me distracted from constantly being aware that I wasn’t. Between drinking plenty of water, and following the programme steps, day one soon came and went! The most challenging part is 100% not being able to have a nice cuppa!
Day Two: Define
My main goal is to increase my hydration. I always used to be really good at drinking water, but I have recently noticed that sometimes a whole day will go past without a sip! Already DX4 is pushing me to complete my goal; the first thing I think to do in the morning is fill my water bottle. Day two I much preferred to day one! I didn’t feel overly hungry, and I didn’t feel the temptation to pick at anything. I felt a little tired, but motivated. The most challenging part of day two was the same as day one, I really miss a good cuppa!
Day Three: Discover
Day 3 was my most challenging day. Although mentally I felt motivated and really positive, physically I was feeling quite tired and my energy levels were low. Taking this into account, I chose my snack carefully and strategically, along with my salad, and once I had eaten I felt much better!
Day Four: Dedicate
My main plan going forward, is to never skip another day of taking the Forever Aloe Vera Gel! I do take it, but I am guilty of taking it here and there, but DX4 has reminded me of my love for the product.
My Favourite part overall? Although I have at times found it tricky, I have always enjoyed challenging myself. I appreciate the science behind this cleverly put-together plan, and I am loving how productive my week has been in general! I have two biggest challenges I faced - I think I have probably spent three of the four days dreaming of cups of tea! I also struggled with energy levels; my body just wasn't quite keeping up with my positive mentality.
My number one tip is 100% keep busy/distracted. Obviously be wary and keep an eye on your energy levels, but I found having little things to keep you distracted from the thought of food really helped... not so distracted you forget any steps to your daily DX4 routine though!
What are your tips for anyone that is looking to complete DX4? Let us know in the comments below.

DX4 Day 4: Dedicate 
The supplements and food intake for Day 4 is the same as Day 3 and I have found the DX4 programme refreshingly simple to follow and stick with. I should add that I haven’t had any social events to attend during these four days where there would have been the temptations of food and drinks. So be kind to yourself as to when you are going to do the programme; I suggest you choose a quieter few days so that you can properly invest the time in doing the mindset activities and not have to face those temptations. That said it is much bigger than not putting yourself in the way of temptation; rather it is about creating the time and space to spend with yourself and do the deep work on the mindfulness aspects including meditation and journaling. In this way you ask yourself powerful questions and some of the answers may surprise you around your motivations and your thinking.  Which brings us to Day 4 where the theme is Dedicate and the focus is mindset.  We are encouraged to think about the good habits we have introduced and want to continue after the programme. We are introduced to the nine attributes that constitute a growth mindset.  Why is that important you may ask.  Well, all change emanates from a growth mindset. If we have a fixed mindset then we think we are the finished article with a finite set of abilities, incapable of change, and we live by the mantra of ‘it’s just who I am’. The nine attributes of a growth mindset are non-judgement, patience, openness, trust, process-focused, acceptance, letting go, generosity and gratitude. The programme encourages us to look at each aspect and how we have experienced these over the four days and how we might develop these attributes further going forward. For me it’s to continue with good hydration, to be more grateful (i.e. when I’m eating to be fully present) and to reduce portion sizes. Patience is an interesting one and I have set a goal to develop patience for the changes to become fully integrated so that they are truly a part of my lifestyle and are habitual.   
I will be honest and say that at the start of the DX4 programme I was skeptical about the mindfulness aspects but in truth I have found those to be really powerful in terms of exploring my relationship with food and how I am going to live my life going forward. In contrast, when we embark on a weight management programme, we are usually completely focused on the end result i.e. the weight loss, and then hopefully we may, or may not hang on to some of the good habits. With DX4 I feel that in just four days both my resolve and motivations are stronger than ever to continue to further develop a healthier lifestyle and this has surprised me.  I’ll give you an update in a month’s time but for now I feel great and am filled with optimism about installing and continuing with even better lifestyle choices going forward.