Clicks offers support for women this Women's Day

Tips for maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle for today's modern woman:

• Try to stay on top of stress: we deal with so much more and immediate stresses than any previous generation; from holding down full-time, fast-paced jobs to raising kids and keeping a clean house, as well as fitting in gym and spa treatments to ensure we stay looking good for our men and ourselves. The pace of this lifestyle and the pressure we put on ourselves to keep all of our commitments can cause huge stress. Try doing yoga or meditation as often as possible to counteract the harmful effects of stress and to keep a calm mind.

• Get enough sleep: this goes hand-in-hand with point one. If done just before bedtime, yoga can help ensure we get the required amount of REM sleep per night. If yoga before bedtime is not an option, then a long, warm bath will suffice to clear the mind and relax the body. Sleep deprivation has far more serious consequences on the body than just feeling tired, such as lack of concentration, inability to complete day-to-day tasks, and can often cause extremely emotional behaviour, especially in women.

• Eat breakfast - there is a reason they call it the most important meal of the day! Not only does it kickstart your metabolism, helping you to burn fat and stay trim, but a healthy breakfast will also ensure that your mind and body have the nourishment they need to help you get through the day.

• Eat more often, and less: Rather than the traditional three big meals a day experts now recommend that we eat six smaller meals per day in order to maintain insulin levels and as a result, energy throughout the day, and to keep the metabolism active and working efficiently. It is also preferable to try to have our last meal of the day as early as possible; this is beneficial to sleeping patterns as it prevents the body from trying to digest a meal while sleeping.

• Visit your GP and gynaecologist regularly and learn how to do self-examinations. From regular breast exams, to annual pap smears, blood pressure and cholesterol testing, it is essential to have all of the most common ailments checked by a professional. Early diagnosis is key! Also be aware of your family's medical history, and be sure to check for any disease that may be prevalent.

• Exercise - this is not only good for one's shape, but is also essential for de-stressing and switching off after a hard day's work. For many women it is also a great time to see friends and incorporate a social time to one's day.

• Drink enough water daily - the advised amount is eight glasses per day for an average sized woman. Since caffeine is a diuretic, experts recommend that an additional two glasses of water should be consumed for each cup of tea of coffee drank during the course of the day. Drinking the required amount of water will help your body to flush out toxins, as well as keep skin clear, healthy and hydrated.

• Get enough fibre - this is also to help aid in digestion and cleaning out of toxins in the body before they are allowed to be absorbed into the blood stream and ultimately the organs, and

• Smile! This seems very obvious but in reality most of us don't smile nearly enough and the benefits on both ourselves and the recipient of our smile are many and all positive. It is similar to exercise releasing our natural ‘feel-good' hormones, endorphins; so smiling gives us a natural high, plus it doesn't take any effort and is a great muscular workout for the face!

In celebration of National Women's Day Clicks is offering free breast exams for all women that visit Clicks for the month of August.

To find your nearest Clicks Clinic please visit www.clicks.co.za or call 0860 Clicks (254 257).