Or have you been eating lots of feel-good energy food but still feel tired and not 100 per cent?

Chances are that while you’re probably physically fit, you’re failing to exercise your happiness muscles and not achieving an overall state of wellness.

According to health guru Sonia Kakar too many people get caught up in trying to achieve either physical or psychological perfection when they should just focus on simple living.

The nutritionist and author of The Little Book of Good Health Facts, Tips and Habits, says achieving wellness isn’t just about eating right and getting fit. People need to exercise their minds as well, she said.

Ms Kakar said people can choose to be happy and set themselves on a complete path of wellness by following a few simple steps. She has 181 tips for better living; here are 11 to get you started.

1. Allow yourself to worry:

Worrying is normal but the trick is to only allow yourself to do it for 30 minutes a day, Dr Kakar says. She suggests setting aside a time each day to write down the things which spring to mind. Once done, try and move on.

And while it may sound strange at first, she says it can help actually limit worry time by freeing up the rest of the day for getting on with the rest of life.

2. Let yourself cry

The nutritionist argues that allowing yourself a good cry has both massive physical and emotional benefits. “Crying helps relieve physical tension that builds up when you’re under stress,” she said.

She says crying affects the central nervous system and can help restore a sense of balance by acting as an emotional safety valve and a “lubricant”.

3. Eat fish and lots of it

Dr Kakar said we could learn a lot by following the Inuit diet which is rich in fish and Omega-3. Not only can it reduce cholesterol but Omega-3 helps decrease the chance of a stroke and reduces your risk of heart disease by a third.

4. Choose to be happy

It sounds straightforward, but Dr Kakar says we need to learn to be happy in the moment instead of waiting for it to happen for us. This could include getting married, landing that plum job or falling pregnant.

She says we need to learn optimism in the same way we come to expect disappointment and rejection. “You can’t change what happens, but you can change how you react to events,” she says.

5. Stop overeating and starve occasionally

What? Seriously? Yes, we mean as in limit your food intake.

It is annoying for those who love their food, but Dr Kakar insists both fasting and stopping eating before you are full can be good for your body.

She says numerous studies have shown that those with a restricted-calorie diet live longer.

In her book she cites one example in Okinawa, Japan, where a third of people are more than a hundred years old. Okinawans are famous for studying hara hachi bu, or eating until 80 per cent full, and have heart disease rates 80 per cent lower than the western world.

As for fasting, she says it can act as a natural correction of physical imbalances.

This doesn’t mean starving yourself for days on end. Instead she says going without foods for a short time can help “bring about a rapid elimination of toxic elements from the body”. It also provides time for the body to clear itself of unprocessed foods and other harmful pathogens, giving the digestive system time to recover.

6. Exercise for your body type

While it’s well known exercise has massive benefits, people still slug it out for hours at the gym and wonder why they can’t lose weight.

According to Dr Kakar, the type of body type you are will affect the result. People who are endomorphs (small-boned, chubby, not muscular, and with broader hips than shoulders) benefit most from low impact activities.

Mesomorphs, who are big-boned, muscular and broad shouldered, are better suited to martial arts, tennis and running.

And ectomorphs who have narrow shoulders, long limbs and little body fat are better suited to amoebic activity such a tennis, basketball and running.

She says choosing the right exercise can make a big difference to people physically.

7. Shove the grudge

Dr Kakar says there is a lot to be said for forgiving people and letting go. Not only do you gain psychologically but physically as well. She says people who forgive, feel warmer, breathe easier, and have lower blood pressure. While mentally we feel better for letting go of pain.

8. Exercise that love muscle

No, we aren’t talking about the heart but your pelvic floor. According to Dr Kakar, exercising the pubococcygeal muscle will help with bladder control and help both men and women in the bedroom.

9. Laugh more and hard

Belly laughs boost your immune system and may help protect against heart attack as mental stress is associated with impairment of the protective barrier lining our blood vessels, Dr Kakar says. It’s also a great calorie burner with 10-15 minutes of laughter shedding 50 calories.

10. Combine aerobic and anaerobic exercise

Aerobic exercise such as biking and running is great for 30-45 minutes but people often slog it out for longer on the treadmill and wonder why they can’t lose weight.

While they may be burning calories, they may not necessarily be burning fat which is, for example, achieved by resistance training.

11. Walk for 30 minutes a day

But we’re not talking about a quick stroll around the park, we’re talking about the same sort of walking that’s so fast you struggle for breath.

“If you’re talking, you’re doing it all wrong,” Dr Kakar says. “The gym is great but once people lose their routine, they lose their muscle and gain flab.”

She says that walking is more consistent and easier to stick too, meaning results will be more consistent.

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