Dan is the founder of Lifestyle First. A lifelong advocate of the importance of eating well and physical activity he started Lifestyle First in response to the growing science demonstrating the power of aligning our behaviour to our evolutionary biology.
Having worked in the fitness industry and then as a teacher for 24 years Dan felt that this science was needed to become foundational in our schools. It is impossible to not notice how the health of our society is declining with ‘Lifestyle Drift’ meaning that unhealthy behaviours are becoming more and more normal. It is also obvious that those who are at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum are often the most affected and that schools are having to manage more and more disregulated behaviour.
Western culture is prioritising commercial gains, power and fame at the expense of human and planetary health! The environment we live in is set up to incentivise us with clever marketing, brilliant technology and ingenious food creations but all of this is at odds with what our bodies need to thrive.
The good news is that so much of what can improve our health is free! Movement, sleep, nature, breath work, simple whole foods, good friendship and secure connection to our families and nature are available to most of us.
With this in mind Dan has created a programme that builds awareness of lifestyle medicine and uses a health coaching approach to change behaviours. The programme started across Xavier Catholic Education Trust in Surrey and is now growing and the team is currently creating learning platforms with the BSLM and courses with the UKIHCA to train health coaches for schools.
The goal of Lifestyle First is to support a health first approach across our school communities. Too often we put ourselves and our health at the bottom of the list of priorities to the detriment of ourselves, our communities and our planet! Our children deserve a world where good health is promoted above power, excessive financial gain and fame and that starts with building an awareness of what we are currently unaware of!
Lifestyle first hopes to build awareness and empower people to take back control of their health
We believe ‘health is the most important thing you possess‘ and when you prioritise it everyone benefits.