If you enjoyed the tips from Fiona yesterday, you'll be pleased to read more good advice from her about how to eat to beat the rest of this cold, grey January...and keep you going well into February and March too!
FOODS TO HELP YOU BEAT THE NEW YEAR GLOOM
There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to eating to counteract mood swings (they occur as a result of so many different personal circumstances) but eating regularly in an effort to keep your blood sugar levels stable may reduce cravings for sugary, salty and fatty foods, maximise your energy levels and enable you to cope better with the ‘daily grind’.
One way of managing this is to eat something and drink something every 3 hours. 7am:- porridge or muesli with sliced fruit and a sprinkling of mixed seeds and a pot of mint tea 10am:- bundle of raw chopped vegetables with some hummus and a bottle of water 1pm:- vegetable soup, a tuna or chicken salad sandwich and a fruit smoothie 4pm:- small tub of natural yoghurt, a handful of nuts and a piece of fruit (and more water of course!) 7pm:- brown rice, loads of shredded vegetables and a piece of grilled fish (quick, delicious and available in every supermarket), couple of glasses of wine and loads of water 10pm:- couple of oatcakes with cottage cheese or sliced chicken and a cup of ‘calming’ tea (camomile is the business as long as you let it infuse for AGES!)
Get a good nights sleep...
If you tend to get to sleep relatively easily but wake up during the night (other than to go to the loo!) have a small snack before bed. Try a couple of oatcakes topped with mashed banana, turkey or tuna or a cup of hot milk or a small tub of natural yoghurt with a spoonful of honey.
If you find it really difficult to get to sleep, make sure you have your dinner/supper at least 2 hours before you go to bed, include some brown rice, a can of mixed beans or some lentils, a bit of fish (particularly oily fish like salmon, mackerel or herring), lean chicken, turkey or game and plenty of vegetables and ensure you limit alcohol, coffee, tea or fizzy drinks in the few hours before bed
Lack of exercise and excessive stress a real culprits when it comes to disturbed sleep so do yourself a real favour and crank up your fitness level (this website is stuffed with suggestions on how to do that – so there’s no excuse!) But don’t exercise too late in the day if you have sleeping problems and experiment with some relaxation exercises for twenty minutes in the evening to help you become drowsy.