Feel Better In 5: Your Daily Plan to Feel Great for Life

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When I finally got her onto the internet, and just as I told her it would, it opened up a whole new world to her. I learnt at the time that it is insanely difficult to explain to someone ‘in theory’ why they will like the internet. She would ask me what I did on the internet and when I would tell her, she would basically just yawn. Feel Better in 5 is the first daily 5 minute plan that is easy to maintain, easy-to-follow and requires only the smallest amount of willpower. It’s funny, Marie, I was thinking in the hour before this call with you, I went for a walk. I thought I was going to clear my mind because I’m under a lot of work pressure at the moment that’s unrelated to this. I just thought about it. I thought, wow, you know what my book is really about that I didn’t realize when I wrote it? It’s about helping people change their identity through action. I usually roll my eyes at this kind of titles even though I'm aware they're catchy and people like doing as little as possible (quilty!) and get the most/best results. I really enjoyed this book and found it helpful. I already want to re-read it, as I think it’s very useful and informative. I like the way it’s written and easy to take on board the information/advice.

Rangan Chatterjee: Thanks for that. It’s funny that this was the last thing that went into the book. I actually thought I’d finished the book, and I was like looking at my manuscript. I thought, yeah, okay, I’ve finally done it. Then it came to me, then I thought… I’m not sure there’s a doctor on the planet today I have more confidence in than Rangan. We all need to hold a megaphone to this man’s powerful voice.” Marie Forleo: Yeah. I love that. I have to tell you, during this whole pandemic and the global experience, I have been inserting, for me, I have these little yoga videos that I watch, and they’re literally 10 minutes, and I can do it. It makes me feel fantastic.This book is brilliant! Great tips for so many areas in your life that all need a holistic view to work together to achieve optimum health and happiness. He also says that to establish a habit, all that is necessary is to set aside five minutes a day – he says this because no one is too busy to not be able to find five minutes. Many of the things he advises people to do to change their lives involve self-care – like, exercise, for example, or just being kind to yourself. To establish yourself as someone who exercises, he gives a series of simple things you can do in five minutes that, if you have been doing no other exercise at all for years, will improve your strength. He suggests linking this five minutes to some other habit you already have – like waiting for the kettle to boil. As soon as you put on the kettle, you start some stretching exercises, for example. The point is to make a start. And his point about making a start is that doing one thing is likely to then snowball into other things – and so five minutes of light stretching, might encourage you to fit a walk into the day too, or it might make you think twice about eating a second biscuit. We are complex creatures, but one change in our lives can rippling in ways we can’t anticipate. thank you to Netgalley, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee and BenBella Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I spent time talking to him, and it was pretty clear to me that there were various aspects in his lifestyle that were contributing to the way that he was feeling. So I discussed a number of options that he might want to consider. He loved the idea of strength training. He said to me, “Yeah, Dr. Chatterjee, I’ve not done that since I was a teenager. It’s going to give me more energy.” He said, “It’s going to improve my moods. It’s going to help me look better. I’m in. What shall I do? Shall I do 40 minutes, three times a week, at the gym?”Wrong. I know from my own life, and the experiences of patients I’ve helped over 20 years as a GP, that simple, small changes to your health are what add up a sustainable difference. That’s why I’ve written Feel Better In 5, a book that breaks down the most important aspects of health into five-minute chunks – no willpower or instant transformation required. From Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, a pioneer in the emerging field of progressive medicine and star of BBC's Doctor in the House, Feel Better in 5 draws on his 20 years of experience, including real-life case studies from his medical practice, to identify simple, effective strategies that will help you become healthier, happier, and less stressed. We kind of understand that, but we somehow think that a five minute workout, or five minutes of breath work, or five minutes of meditation, or five minutes of nature won’t have the same impact, and it absolutely will. Good habits build up in exactly the same way as bad habits. I really think that’s an important point to grasp. Rangan and his wife, Vidhaata From your perspective, how do you see the increase in mental health awareness playing out in your practice?

I can’t do each of these exercises for five minutes but I can do a minute or two of each one, the one after the other. A regular face on our TV screens, Dr Rangan Chatterjee knows better than most what good health looks like. Here, we talk about the importance of making connections, and his revolutionary new book: Feel Better in 5 Hi Rangan! 2020 has just begun – what are your thoughts on New Year’s health trends? Ma, no one’s asking you to do the stuff I do on the internet – there’s so much more… you can…you can’ and then I would go on and on, giving an endless list of things she could do. None of which interested her in the least.I didn’t like it so much at first because there isn’t much text and it thus isn’t like the other books. But the great thing about it is that it helps us all to really get started on doing things to improve our life (or find new ways to do so). We should do one of each kind a day. I understand this completely as an optimal solution, but my suggestion is that we could begin by doing the ones we feel for, no matter which category they fall into. Sadly, good health has become far too confusing and we’re up against bad information. How to best take care of yourself seems to change all of the time and doctors don’t appear to agree on anything. We’re still using 20th century thinking to solve 21st century problems. For years, my mother has been at me to significantly change my diet. I’ve been very resistant, not least because I don’t actually think I have such a terrible diet. Over a decade ago, I talked her into getting the internet. You see, both of us are Irish, and we remain Irish despite having lived most of our lives in Australia (she’s much more Irish than I am, of course, even if we both were born there) and so our being bloody-minded just goes with the territory. You know, there are very, very good reasons why the Troubles lasted 30 years…