Rising temperatures can shift your internal microbial balance, potentially increasing harmful bacteria and bloating. Heat may cause a "leaky" gut, allowing toxins to pass into the blood more easily, increasing inflammation. Travel, disrupted sleep, and changes in routine can further knock your digestive rhythm off course.
Caroline Hurley AFN RSPH, Nutritionist and Wellbeing Practitioner at Healthwell Solutions
Style of Wight Magazine – June 2026
Feed Your Microbiome
Stay Hydrated, Inside and Out
Lifestyle Habits for Balance
Smart Swaps for Summer Fun
Your Seasonal Commitment
Your gut is your second brain, influencing your mood, immunity, and energy throughout the sunny months. By incorporating these small, seasonal changes, you can transform summer from a time of digestive distress into a period of gut-thriving vitality.
Many start their new year with a goal to lose weight and improve their wellbeing, focusing attention on what they eat. However, one of the most powerful tools for sustainable weight management is not found in your diet plan at all. It is found in your mind.
Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present and aware in the moment and it can transform the way you eat, think, and relate to your body. It helps shift weight loss from a cycle of restriction and guilt to one of awareness and self-compassion.
Understanding Mindful Eating
Mindful eating means paying attention to your food and your body’s cues without judgment. Instead of eating on autopilot, scrolling on your phone or rushing through meals, you slow down. You notice textures, flavours, and how your body feels as you eat. This simple shift helps you recognise true hunger versus emotional or habitual eating.
When you eat mindfully, you tend to stop when you are satisfied rather than stuffed. You savour smaller portions, digest food better, and naturally make healthier choices. Studies show that mindfulness-based weight loss programmes can help reduce binge eating, emotional overeating, and long-term weight regain.
Why Mindful Eating Matters When Using Weight Loss Injections
Weight loss injections can reduce appetite, but mindful eating helps you make the most of their benefits. By slowing down and paying attention to hunger cues, you learn to recognise when you are truly hungry and when you have had enough. This helps prevent overeating, discomfort, or nausea, which can occur if you eat too quickly. Mindful eating also encourages better digestion and satisfaction from smaller portions. Together, injections and mindfulness create a balanced approach that supports lasting results and a healthier relationship with food.
Managing Emotional Triggers
Many people eat for reasons that have little to do with hunger such as stress, boredom, fatigue, or even celebration. Mindfulness helps you pause before reacting to these triggers. That pause gives you the space to choose a different response, like taking a walk, breathing deeply, or journaling instead of reaching for comfort food.
Building Long-Term Success for 2026 and beyond
Unlike fad diets that rely on willpower, mindfulness builds awareness that lasts. It helps you become more attuned to what your body truly needs, and more accepting of yourself through the ups and downs of your journey. When you approach weight loss with curiosity instead of criticism, progress feels more natural and far more sustainable.
In summary, mindfulness is not about perfection. It is about presence. Every time you pause before eating, breathe deeply, or listen to your body’s signals, you strengthen your connection to yourself. Over time, that awareness becomes your greatest ally not just in losing weight, but in maintaining balance, confidence, and wellbeing for life.
Caroline Hurley AFN RSPH, Nutritionist and Wellbeing Practitioner at Healthwell Solutions
Style of Wight Magazine – January 2026
As the days get shorter and the leaves begin to turn, there’s something powerful in the air: an invitation to reset. After a busy summer full of socialising, holidays, and late nights, autumn offers a unique opportunity to slow down, get grounded, and refocus on your health. Autumn can fit into our lives in a similar way to that of a birthday or a new year. Psychologists have identified these as temporal landmarks, or moments that create a structure for how we see and use time. Research shows that experiencing temporal landmarks can boost motivation to pursue goals and autumn, we associate with going back to school—that motivation may be directed toward our careers in adulthood.
Many of us have good intentions in regard to improving wellbeing through weight loss, which, for some, are hard to sustain. This has led to the growing interest in the trend for weight loss injections (like Ozempic and Mounjaro) which have surged in popularity.
These injections are clinically proven to help with significant weight loss. Drugs like semaglutide (found in Ozempic and Wegovy) were originally developed for type 2 diabetes but showed strong results in reducing body weight, leading to FDA/UK regulatory approval for obesity treatment They mimic a natural hormone (GLP-1) that regulates hunger and satiety. Those taking the injections find that it reduces hunger and cravings. This naturally reduces how much you eat, without relying purely on willpower. It slows stomach emptying giving a prolonged feeling of fullness leading to more stable blood sugar levels.The medical community increasingly views obesity as a chronic metabolic condition, not just a lifestyle issue. This has opened the door for pharmaceutical interventions to be seen as legitimate and necessary — not as shortcuts.
By eating less — and feeling full sooner — your overall calorie intake drops, leading weight loss to but it is important to know that these medications work best when combined with healthy eating, movement, and behaviour change. They're not a magic fix — long-term weight management still relies on sustainable habits.
Here are some sustainable habits for this season which are perfect for a health reset:
Caroline Hurley AFN RSPH, Nutritionist and Wellbeing Practitioner at Healthwell Solutions
Style of Wight Magazine – Autumn 2025
1. Goal Setting
Autumn can be an opportunity to figure out what you want to focus on in the upcoming months. Determine what your goals are, why these missions are important to you, and specific steps to make them happen. Completing goal setting exercises now can also help you stay on track if you begin to feel stagnant in the winter.
The first step is to be identify your goal ask yourself “why” that goal is important to you and what positive benefits will you gain from this. Once this has been identified it has been suggested that there are five principles of effective goal setting. These principles, are the necessary components when setting, working towards, and achieving a goal.
While identifying your goals to go after is an important first step, it's also important to know how to pursue your goals. A few tips to maintaining goals or adopting healthy habits include,
It has been shown that there is an association between writing down your goals and eventual success rather than merely formulating and keeping them in your head.
2. Routines Return
With summer disruptions behind us and the children back at school, you may notice more structure in your day. That makes it easier to reintroduce:
Small, consistent routines = powerful long-term results.
These whole foods support digestion, immunity, and blood sugar balance — ideal for weight loss or hormone regulation goals.
Autumn is rich in grounding, immune-supporting foods like:
3. Seasonal Foods Are Naturally Supportive
4. A Gentler, More Nurturing Approach
Autumn is about replenishment. Think:
Just like nature sheds its leaves, this is your time to let go of habits that no longer serve you. Whether it’s irregular eating, skipping workouts, or stress snacking, autumn reminds us to return to what nourishes us — inside and out. This is your season to reset and restore.
For many, the festive season is a time of celebration, getting together with family and friends. But for those on a health or weight loss journey, it can also bring a sense of anxiety, guilt, stress, and old dieting fears. Do you find yourself spiralling into “I’ve ruined everything” thinking after a mince pie, or promising yourself you will “start over in January,”?
Caroline Hurley AFN RSPH, Nutritionist and Wellbeing Practitioner at Healthwell Solutions
Style of Wight Magazine – December 2025
1. Ditch the All-or-Nothing Mentality
One festive meal does not undo months of progress — but harsh self-criticism might. Remember: progress is never linear. Health is not about perfection. It is about learning to make empowered choices, even in imperfect moments.
These habits create a sense of control without restriction.
Instead of obsessing over what is on your plate, focus on who is around the table.
2. Choose Presence Over Pressure
3. Do not Let Old Diet Stories Run the Show
Maybe past years were full of binge–restrict cycles. But your past does not define your future. You are writing a new story — one based on self-respect, not punishment.
Affirmation: “I trust myself to enjoy food without guilt and return to balance with ease.”
4. Focus on Habits, Not Rules
Rigid food rules create rebellion. Instead, anchor yourself with gentle routines that ground you through the holidays:
5. Eat Mindfully
Eating mindfully is one of the simplest, yet most powerful tools for long-term health and sustainable weight loss. Mindful eating invites us to slow down and truly connect with our food — and ourselves. This is especially a challenge during the season of parties and celebrations.
Unlike dieting, mindful eating is not about restriction or rules. It is about awareness. It is the practice of being fully present while you eat, noticing the flavours, textures, hunger cues, and satisfaction signals your body gives you.
Why It Matters:
How to Practice Mindful Eating:
Even starting with one mindful meal a day can make a huge difference in your relationship with food.
Your health journey is not “on pause” at Christmas — it is evolving. Every choice, reflection, and mindset shift counts. Instead of setting yourself up for a guilt-fuelled January reboot, choose to close the year with compassion. You are not off track — you are learning how to live well with freedom, joy, and trust.
You deserve to feel peace around food and confidence in your body — even at Christmas. So let this be the year you stop fighting with food and start leaning into your growth. Not through deprivation, but through self-leadership. Not by restriction, but with intention. Because the most powerful transformation does not come from dieting harder — it comes from thinking differently.
6. Celebrate the Journey, Not Just the Destination
As the speed of life becomes ever more chaotic, taking time to rest and be mindful mindfulness are playing an important role in maintaining equilibrium for both physical and mental health.
The human body is built to thrive on series of shorts sprints followed by rest so ignoring this basic requirement will be detrimental to your health. The amount of rest will vary from one person to another, but it is still an essential part of each day for everyone. In today’s achievement-based society, there is often an expectation that if you’re not doing something then you can be made to feel guilty. Do you think you are being lazy when you sleep in or do not get much done that day.
Restful periods are when you replenish your physical, mental, and emotional energy stores which are crucial to being productive and successful, whether in work, relationships, or anything else you wish to accomplish!
Adequate rest will help your body activate its inner healing and return you to a balanced state. When you are resting, this is the time your body can repair itself.
This is why massage therapy is so popular. One of the immediate benefits of massage is a feeling of deep relaxation and calm. This occurs because massage prompts the release of endorphins – the brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that produce feelings of wellbeing. Levels of stress hormones, such as adrenalin, cortisol and norepinephrine, are also reduced. Studies indicate that high levels of stress hormones impair the immune system.
Some of the physical benefits of massage and myotherapy include:
Caroline Hurley AFN RSPH, Nutritionist and Wellbeing Practitioner at Healthwell Solutions
Style of Wight Magazine – Spring 2025
How can mindfulness help? Mindfulness involves paying attention to what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment. It helps us to stop getting caught up in our thoughts which can be draining. Mindfulness can help us reconnect with our bodies by paying attention to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the present moment.
Try this exercise: First thing in the morning stand outside or open a window, take several deep breaths in and out. Think about what you can hear, see and feel. This will help calm your mind and connect you with the new day .
It is key to your health that you allow yourself time in the day to rest, recover, unwind a busy mind, let anxieties slip away for a renewed sense of positivity.
Most of us realise that getting enough high-quality sleep is essential in almost all aspects of health, from improving mental wellbeing to avoiding long term degenerative diseases. Although we might think we are getting enough rest, many of us are not experiencing the full benefits of a good night’s sleep.
With sleep deprivation being a contributing factor to depression, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and cancer, we need to see how we can get a better quality of sleep to protect and improve our health.
When we think of sleep deprivation, we often assume this term only applies to those with sleep disorders like insomnia, new parents, or shift workers. It is recommended that we need 8 or more hours a night, so what surprises most people is that sleep deprivation can apply to anything less than 7 hours a night on a consistent basis, in fact the average amount is 6.5 hours a night. Some of the causes of this are our access to technology, busy work schedules and more sedentary jobs.
Here are a few simple suggestions which can help.
by Caroline Hurley I.I.H.H.T ART(Reg)
Style of Wight Magazine – Autumn 2020
Try a warm bath or shower before bed or use some aromatherapy. I personally like to use ESPA’s Soothing Bath or Soothing Body oil. It is an aromatic body oil that helps relax a busy mind. Sandalwood, Rose Geranium and Frankincense help unwind with their soothing and restful properties. Myrrh helps ease the mind, while Sweet Almond Oil deeply nourishes for beautifully skin. This calming bath oil can be used whenever you feel the need for a sense of peace. Draw your bath, add one or two inner caps of oil, immerse yourself then deeply inhale the aroma. You can find the ‘Soothing’ collection at BeCalmed in Cowes. In the collection you can choose from bath oils, body oils, candles, and fragrant reeds. Available in store or via their on-line store: http://phore.st/loNTd
So, make the most of the autumn evenings, curl up with a book, enjoy a relaxing bath and sleep well.
How to look after your immune system is in the forefront of many people’s minds at the moment. Here are a few simple suggestions which may help you:
Sleep
Sleep is essential to help repair and restore many of the body’s functions. Lack of sleep can affect our immunity, leaving us more susceptible to illnesses including viruses. While we sleep the immune system releases proteins called cytokines which not only help us response to stress but are also important for fighting infections and inflammation. I like to think of sleep as your shield against stress and will help protect you.
VITAMIN C
Vitamin C has long been recognised as helping to build up your immune system. Vitamin C is thought to increase the production of white blood cells which are key to fighting infections.Popular sources include: grapefruit, oranges, lemons, limes, kiwi and leafy greens
Because your body does not produce or store it, you need daily vitamin C for continued health. Almost all citrus fruits are high in vitamin C. With such a variety to choose from, it is easy to add a squeeze of this vitamin to any meal. If you are unable to get enough vitamin C from your food, then try supplementing.
Microbiomes.
Our bodies contain more cells belonging to microbes, such as bacteria and yeasts, than human ones meaning that we live in a symbiotic relationship with our gut bacteria. Not only do our microbes form protective barriers, they also programme our immune systems. So, it is important that we look after our gut bacteria to help us fight the viruses that are constantly around us. To feed your gut flora, eat a more varied diet rich in plant food and lots of high fibre. Supplementing with probiotics can have some benefits but not all will survive the journey through your digestive tract, so it is more effective to change your diet. Kefir yogurt and pickles such as sauerkraut and kimchi are among the fermented delicacies now fashionable thanks to our increasing knowledge of the microbiome. For those who are vegan or have a diary intolerance, why not try water kefir. Water kefir is a probiotic beverage made with water kefir grains. Water kefir grains can be used to culture sugar water, juice, or coconut water. You can grow the kefir at home, creating lots of lovely ways to add this to your diet.
So, make sure that looking after your personal health and wellbeing is a priority to keep you well and able to fight off this virus.
by Caroline Hurley I.I.H.H.T ART(Reg)
April 2020
There is one gift worth giving yourself this year and it is a gift that keeps on giving, treat yourself with compassion. Kindfulness is mindfulness’s more compassionate sister, it means being consciously kind to others and yourself. Kindfulness incorporates two important things, being kind to yourself and others, and mindfulness where you bring the busy mind back to the present moment in a non-judgemental way.
I have written in this column before about the benefits of mindfulness. Kindfulness can also help us to change the negative voice in our head so it becomes calming and supportive rather than critical and undermining. This will give us the space to become aware of our own personal patterns of self-criticisms and unhelpful beliefs. Taking a step back to observe will stop us getting lost in our negative thoughts and will be replaced with a friendly supportive voice. As with mindfulness, this will take practice but building moments of awareness into your day, will give you a boost. Many of our clients at BeCalmed, use their time with us to help support this process as they realise the importance of being kind to themselves. They have given themselves permission to stop, allowing their body and mind to relax.
Let us start 2020 by accepting that we are a work in progress and not perfect. Focusing on what is wrong with us whilst waiting for the final goal to be achieved will waste the valuable time you have right now. This approach can boost motivation making you more likely to achieve the goals you are setting yourself this year. So today try and accept who you are and whatever comes your way then take a moment to notice how you feel. Making the change to ‘Kindfulness’ will help boost your happiness, reduce stress and is known to be one of the most psychologically liberating things you can do.
So, if you want to have someone in your life, who always has your best interests at heart, accepts you for who you are and helps you reach your full potential, look no further than yourself.
by Caroline Hurley I.I.H.H.T ART(Reg)
Style of Wight Magazine – January 2020
Many people dread the winter, wishing away the days until the warmth of the sun returns. I prefer to embrace this season and have a more ‘hygge’ approach. The Danes created hygge to help them survive the cold, dark winters. It is a word for a mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment. The simple act of enjoying a warming cup of coffee in the morning, a home cooked meal with friends or lighting candles in your home to create the perfect mood.
There are many things we can enjoy this time of year, the smell of the season, a walk in the woods, a hearty meal, the light on a freezing cold morning, winter woollies, Christmas Markets, the list goes on. American Travel writer Paul Theroux says that ‘Winter is a season of recovery and preparation’ and for many of us this is true. Many choose this time to tuck themselves away in a warm and cosy treatment room and enjoy some time to themselves with a spa treatment. This can be a time to recover from the season of shopping and party going, time to recover from the stress of everyday life. Winter is also a great time to give your skin that little extra treat. Facials are perfect for this as they not only allow you a little ‘me’ time and an excuse for a good pamper, but they actually work wonders for your skin.
I agree with English Poet Dame Edith Sitwell who wrote "Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home”
by Caroline Hurley I.I.H.H.T ART(Reg)
Featured in Magpie Anthology Autumn 2019
What are the health benefits of sailing?
There are several components to fitness. They include aerobic fitness, cardio-vascular fitness, anaerobic capacity, and muscular strength. Sailing affects aerobic capacity; the oxygen uptake during sailing is greater than when you play tennis or baseball. The more physical the class you are in, the greater development of your cardio-respiratory fitness. Muscle strength is another of the health benefits of sailing. Muscle strength will increase the body’s metabolic rate by helping your body burn more calories. Muscle endurance is very important during repetitive movements. This can be accomplished by moderate resistance training and a moderate amount of repetitions. Muscle endurance refers to how much exercise and movement your muscles can take. Sailing is great for this and it will also improve flexibility and agility! Just remember that those muscles also need to be taken care of. Here are my top tips to keep you out on the water for longer and reducing the risk of injury:
Stretching – most sailors forget that sailing is a sport so stretch those muscles before and after you sail
Posture – it is virtually impossible to watch your posture while sailing so work on those core muscles off shore. This is best achieved through Pilates, or working on the abdominal muscles in the gym.
Massage - is a great way to stop lactic acid building up so reducing aches and pains after your sail.
ESPA ‘Just For You’ Massage is a personalised therapeutic massage using the skill of your therapist to select the most suitable combination of essentials oils and massage techniques to suit your individual needs. The depth of the treatment will be adapted to your needs
So - do you need any more excuses to get out on the water?! And we will be here to help you feel and look good when you get ashore.
by Caroline Hurley I.I.H.H.T ART(Reg)
Featured in Cowes Port handbook – Spring 2010
01983 243 183
info@healthwellsolutions.co.uk
Healthwell @Parklands, Parklands Resource Centre, Park Road, Cowes, PO31 7LZ
