Is anyone else feeling the January blues AND feeling a bit bleh trying to eradicate all the extra sugar and alcohol that became the norm over the Christmas period? And does anyone else hate the word ‘detox’? Don’t be too hard on yourself. Don’t over compensate in January for your Christmas diet. Achievable goals and balance are key. There’s really no point in ‘cutting’ or taking carbs and sugar out of your diet completely. Your body will want to shut down after a few days.
These are a few tips for getting through January, and all year for that matter, without cracking open a tin of Quality street that was left over from the festive period.
· Be sensible. I know this sounds like an obvious piece of advice, but so many people do extreme dieting and exercise regimes that are so unrealistic, you are setting yourself up to fail straight away. Have 3 main meals a day and include nutritious snacks between each meal too.
· Make sure each meal contains all of the essential food groups to keep you feeling fuller for longer. Include carbohydrates (some brown rice, brown pasta, whole wheat noodles or quinoa), a good source of protein (chicken, turkey, tuna, prawns, lean mince beef, lentils or beans), some good fats (cook in some olive oil, rapeseed oil or coconut oil) and include loads of veggies for all the nutrients. Your plate should be pretty much half full with vegetables, a quarter with meat, fish or beans and a quarter with some sort of carbohydrates.
· Eat plenty of fruit. Don’t go T-Total, when you have probably had a lot of sugar over the last few weeks. You will most probably end up getting a migraine that will leave you far from productive! Fruit still contains sugar, just in a better form so consume a few different varieties of fruit with some yoghurt and nuts as a snack throughout the day. Fruit and veg is a great way to keep us topped up on plenty of nutrients at this time of year too if you’re not taking a multivitamin.
· Add something in, instead of taking away. Do something that you love to do every day, that will give you a bit of a feel-good factor. Go to the beach for a walk if you have access to one, go to the park with the dog, have a coffee out at your favourite café (minus the cake😊)
· Hydrate! A lot of the time, our brain tricks us into thinking we’re hungry, but a lot of the time we’re simply dehydrated. Drink plenty of water with lemon/mint/cucumber, or herbal teas.
· Bring snacks to work. Always always have emergency snacks with you! Bring homemade (energy balls) or shop-bought (nakd bars etc) nutritious snacks to work so that you don’t run to the vending machine for a chocolate bar to have with your coffee when you’re starting to feel the 3pm slump.
· Get as much fresh air and exercise as possible.
Stick to simplicity and don’t over-complicate things.
Happy January!