Have you ever experienced the following?
- Have you ever missed a meal only to end up scavenging anything you can find later in the day?
- Missed a meal and felt slightly desperate and short tempered?
These are just some of the symptoms one experiences when you miss important meals throughout your day.
I’ll be discussing 3 Tips on how to:
Reduce Your Anxiety by Staying Ahead of your Hunger
…..taking various factors into consideration.
#Tip 1
Staying ahead of your hunger can be a challenge in any day with our many tasks we have to do our given day, children waking early, making breakfast, lunch and maybe working from home and trying to eat good food and keep up can be exhausting and stressful if we do not have enough nourishment in the tank.
We all want to discover the secret of keeping calm, relaxed and being peaceful within ourselves and our families throughout our day, especially during this time!
One thing that is emerging in the modern-day is the interplay between our thoughts, feelings and physical sensations and our body’s biochemistry.
We now know that what we think affects how we feel and vice versa. Our own biochemistry also affects how we feel and think. The worse you feel the more you turn to comfort foods, which are high in sugar, activating the loop of our pleasure brain and continuously looking for ways to numb the pain of anxiety, and the cycle is relentless.
This in turn depletes our mood, motivation to do anything feeling tired and low. The hole only gets bigger when we continue to diminish and rob our mind and bodies of nutrients.
We as humans are designed to run hunting and gathering for food and for our family’s well being. Today in the world we look for ways to quick fix our health try and bring balance to our lives.
This is the perfect time now that we are at home that if we can stay ahead of our hunger
The three key benefits to eating on time are:
- help to reduce overwhelm and anxiety
- balance our mood to naturally tune up our system
- pave the way for feeling good throughout the day.
In my clinic I always look firstly at “Designing Your Best Day” from a helicopter view what does this look like and what routine habits would you like in your day to make it easier for you to manage to feel happier and in control of the day.
I know from working with many clients it’s important to get a routine in place from the start.
The start is the most difficult for anyone, but in a short space of time the rewards will become evident and motivate you even more.
Always start with you first, once you’re all in, then it will be easier to encourage your family.
It is worth planning how this would look and feel in order to reduce any anxiety and ensure you feel good with a positive mindset through out the day.
#Tip 2
Staying ahead of your hunger and planning what changes around food you could make in your day.
I ask you to look at the fridge and food cupboards, declutter anything that is high in sugar
Why?
Sugar and false nutrients can deplete and rob your nourishment bank causing a spike in energy followed by an extended feeling of low energy.
Once you’ve done that
Make a list with a left and right column.
On the left list your foods you’re currently eating in a day, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for yourself and family,
On right list out what you could add-in by bringing more real food nourishment that will keep you going for longer.
What do I mean by real foods?
By real foods I mean food choices like; blueberries, natural yogurt, eggs and good sources of protein to get started.
To balance mood with balanced food we need to bring in real foods such as fruits and vegetables, rather than grains throughout our day.
This is based on using some of the paleolithic (caveman) way which consists mainly of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, roots, and nuts and bring great sustainability and good long-term eating patterns. Eating breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between four times a day, and adopting a nourishing and balance approach eating real foods.
#Tip 3
Thirdly, bring in exercise into one of your core habits. Get this habit nailed! Use your daily plan to list out and get you started with a walk. In the morning when you get up is best to start exercising, for about 20minutes, and or in the middle of day as exercising late in the evening can put demands on your adrenals and imbalance your blood sugar. Embracing exercise into your day will support all your body systems and will have more optimizing performance.
Energy production is dependent on many vitamins and minerals, as cofactors to support the energy pathways.
Consider the following:
- Start eating real foods with plenty of B vitamins and minerals such magnesium, iron and plenty of real fats for metabolism such as almonds, eggs, seeds, lots of green leafy vegetables like kale, spinach and quality grass fed meat to relax the muscles and calm the body and mind
- Switching to an alkaline diet getting planet of vegetables and sources of essential fatty acids in oils like olive oil, real butter, nuts and seeds to support metabolism of food and increase energy
- Ensure the gut is digesting and absorbing nutrients with proper real foods spreading meals evenly throughout day. Avoid long gaps without food in the day as this causes blood sugar imbalance and irritability in mood and increases anxiety
Bonus Tip - (Something most of us know but don’t adhere to)
Water is essential for the body as two thirds of the body consists of water, which is therefore our most important nutrient. Water has many roles throughout the body other than flushing the kidneys, including dissolving minerals, and acting as a delivery system, a lubricant and a temperature regulator.
The body loses about 1.5litres a day through the body functions of our skin, kidneys etc ensuring the toxic substances are eliminated from the body. We also make about a third of a litre of water a day when glucose is ‘burnt’ for energy. Therefore, our minimum water intake should be about 2 litres. This is best achieved by drinking eight glasses of water a day, including hot drinks and minimising your intake of alcohol, coffee and tea.
Sometimes we also mistake the thirst reflex for hunger and end up eating at the wrong times whilst also not getting enough water throughout our day. It is known also that when we have loss of body water it can result in lack of concentration, headaches and muscle strength during exercise.
All these factors are essential in creating a balanced core routine including bringing in healthier food and balanced mood in the day. Repetition is key to keeping you on track and motivated.
Be imaginative when exercising using music or positive affirmations to get you up and out! I listen to podcasts during my exercise routine and it helps me learn something new whilst hitting my daily plan and sticking to my routine.
Do whatever it takes to motivate you to eat and move throughout your day, and remember there are no bad experiences, whether a challenging or pleasurable one. Look for the value in and expand it.
Repeat it again and again and it will eventually condition you to use it and create new actions and new results in your life.
Here are some Good Mood meal ideas!
- Grill chicken breasts, season with garlic and herbs or lay a fish over sliced vegetables and an onion in a shallow ovenproof dish. Bush with a little olive oil then grill
- Eggs are a great way to start morning, boiled eggs or omelettes with vegetables and a drizzle of olive oil and or cottage cheese.
- Cooked fish, can be flacked into large pieces and served in a mixed salad with a drizzle of olive oil. Top with an omelette with salmon strips and put under the grill to heat through
- If you and the kids enjoy pasta, make a simple sauce by adding a can of cannellini beans to a home-made tomato sauce and flavour it with chopped coriander or parsley
- Soups are always a popular and can be very quick to make with a variety of pulses and vegetables. Red lentils take about 20 minutes to cook, and can be made into a tasty soup with onion celery, can of tomatoes, stock and a good pinch of chilli flakes.
All these recipes and more are available to download for free on my website.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me.
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From me Michelle Ryan
B•Nourished, B•Healthy and B•Awesome
