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Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Alternative Resolutions

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Alternative Resolutions 🎉

New Year, New start… it’s a cliche isn’t it?Having said that it IS a good opportunity to refocus and think about what you want to achieve over the next few months. So instead of the usual eat healthy/exercise more, here are some resolutions for self improvement that are doable and a bit more interesting:

#1 Switch your phone off

Put your phone away a bit more – whether for meals, after dinner, when out – whatever – you and your friends and family will enjoy more real face time than FaceTime.

#2 Read

Ditch the telly and read a book – an actual book – be it on paper or kindle. It could be a classic or something newer.

#3 Grow something to eat

Seeds cost pennies and you don’t need to be green fingered – get some vegetable or fruit seeds, pop them in a pot on your windowsill and grow something yummy.

#4 Cook a new recipe every week

Just one recipe, one meal a week – it doesn’t need to be complicated or lengthy – dust down your cook books, or get online for inspiration.

#5 Walk

Walk somewhere you would usually drive or take public transport to. Get off a stop early or park further away if you can’t replace the whole journey.

#6 Plant bulbs

Buy some bulbs (they’re cheap, and some newspapers give them away free at this time of year too!), dig them in (pot or garden), wait – and enjoy some spring/early summer colour!

#7 Say hello

A simple hello, a please, thank you, or even a smile at someone, in a shop, cafe, passing on the street – wherever – will brighten your day and theirs.

#8 Try something new every week

Anything new, doesn’t need to be big – a new food, a new activity, a new route to work, anything!

#9 Focus on others

Do something nice for someone every day/week – a simple compliment, helping a friend, or something bigger and potentially life changing like donating blood, sponsoring a child in need or volunteering.

#10 Celebrate you

Who says you need to change, anyway?! Perhaps you’re perfect the way you are: even with flaws. Maybe these are to be celebrated as unique aspects of you, so focus more on the things you like about yourself!

Happy 2019 everyone 🎉🌟

xxx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday tip: Merry Christmas!

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday tip: Merry Christmas! 🎄

It’s Christmas Day! So my only tip today – is to enjoy your day! However you are spending the day – have a lie in, spend time with friends, family, (or animals) that you love, maybe take a gentle walk, enjoy yummy food, watch Christmas tv etc.

If you’re working then take some time out this evening to do something that you enjoy. Don’t stress about what you’ve eaten, or how little exercise you’ve done, just enjoy the tastes and yummy food, a day or two won’t kill you! Get back to your normal eating and training pattern tomorrow and you’ll be back on track in no time.

Hope you have a lovely Christmas 🎅🏼🎄xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Coping with Xmas Stress

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Coping with Xmas Stress 🎄

Stress levels can soar at Xmas, with the pressure of expectations, exchange and excess. Here are some tips to help!

#1 Limit spending

Gift buying and entertainment costs can spiral quickly, so make a budget and limit spending by only taking cash on shopping trips. Make 1 financial decision at a time to avoid losing willpower and overspending. Remember your relationships with friends and family are more important than material objects!

#2 Manage expectations

Wanting things to be perfect can lead to more stress. Dinner being late or a less than perfect xmas tree won’t ruin your day – it may even give you fond memories to laugh about in future! Be realistic with children: they don’t need everything on their list! Xmas is about being together, so plan lots of fun family activities to do.

#3 Take time out

Factor in some time out for yourself – a bath, watching a movie, reading or a walk. You will feel better and be less likely to take your stress out on the rest of the family too.

#4 Don’t fall totally off the wagon

Plan, eat well outside events, stay active  – check out my article (here) for more. If you do find yourself overindulging just remember 1 day of indulgence won’t make you fat, just get back on track the next day and don’t make it a month!

#5 Go for a walk

Studies show physical activity reduces the brain’s response to stress, even more so with other people (by 26%). So try to fit a walk in to your day even if it means walking to work, or school pick up, or just around the block.

#6 Have fun

Laughter is a fab stress reliever. It releases endorphins, boosts circulation, helps muscles relax and reduces physical symptoms of stress. Make sure you have some fun; whether it’s your favourite movie, jokes with relatives, or a fun activity with friends or family.

At the end of the day remember, its just one day, it doesn’t define you or your life. Your friends and family are there all year round and if things don’t go as planned you can always get together in January or Feb instead 🙂

Happy Tuesday 🤗

xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Avoid the Protein Hype

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Avoid the Protein Hype 🍞

Protein enhanced products are everywhere now – protein chocolate, protein porridge, protein crisps…. but is there really any benefit? Or is it just a marketing ploy?

Protein is important for muscle repair and growth so it’s vital for those wishing to build lean muscle. It also helps to keep you fuller for longer, so can aid in weight loss as it means you’re less hungry, and less likely to overeat. This has lead to widespread hype and a proliferation of protein-enhanced versions of existing products. These obviously appeal to people interested in weight loss and fitness but are they really worth the calories?

Well in most cases, no they’re not, and you’d be better off making different choices for those calories. Just because the word “protein” is on the side doesn’t instantly make it healthy, or low calorie (in fact in most cases they’re higher in calories) and often not even a great choice for protein content either!

For example in a special K Protein bar you would get 4g protein, 123 cals and 6 g of sugar… great … but a slice of bread will give you 5g protein for only 95 cals and 2g sugar (and at 5% of the price!). If you wanted to get a typical serving of 25g protein you’d have to have 6.25 bars, nearly 770 cals and 37.5g sugar!! Other examples – branded protein smoothies provide about 8g protein, 220 cals and 33g sugar, Snack packs (e.g graze) give about 7g protein, 130 cals and 1g sugar whereas a glass of semi-skimmed milk is 13g protein, 180 cals and 17 g sugar, and a packet of salted peanuts is 8g protein, 171 cals and 1g sugar etc

So if you enjoy these products – then go for it! But if you’re consuming them because you think they’re healthier or better for you due to the protein content then you’d be far better off saving your pennies and calories and just having a piece of toast instead!

Happy Tuesday – Enjoy your toast 🤗

xx

Recipes

Amazing Protein Packed Flapjacks

Dr Nancy P

I get hungry, especially after a workout and I love a good flapjack or energy bar but I hate the fact that so many of the store bought ones are just full of sugar. Many of the ‘healthier’ versions I’ve bought are tasteless and unappetising so I thought I’d create some homemade protein flapjacks – full of good things!

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These don’t take long to put together and you can always substitute things if you don’t have them in the cupboard or don’t like them.

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You will need:

300g rolled porridge oats (gluten-free or spelt if you want)

100g desiccated coconut

100g flaked almonds

100g Pumpkin seeds

215g dried, soft Prunes

315g dried dates

175g Almond butter (or your nut butter of choice)

100g Liquid sweetener (I used rice malt syrup but you can use agave, maple syrup, honey etc)

2 tbsp Coconut oil (measured when solid)

4 tbsp Vanilla protein powder (any brand you like – you can also omit this is you want)

4 tbsp Water

2 generous tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

Preheat the oven to 170 C.

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Line a baking tin (I used a 20 x 20cm one) with baking paper. Mix the oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds and coconut together and pour into the baking tin. Place in the oven for 20 mins or until starting to brown. Make sure you turn regularly with a wooden spoon so the whole mixture gets toasted.

While that’s in the oven pop the dates and prunes into a blender or food processor and blitz to a paste. You may need to keep stopping to scrape the mixture back down in to the bowl. It doesn’t need to be completely smooth – a few lumpy bits are good!

Remove the oats from the oven and stir the protein powder through the mixture. Allow to cool.

Put the date mixture, nut butter, liquid sweetener, coconut oil, water, cinnamon and salt in to a large saucepan and heat very gently. Stir and allow the mixture to come together. Remove from the heat and pour the oats into the liquid mixture and mix really well.

Using a spatula scrape the mixture back into the lined baking tin and press down firmly. Then allow to cool and pop in the fridge. Do make sure you lick the saucepan (once it’s cool enough!!!) because the mixture is divine when warm! 🙂

Once it’s chilled you can cut in to slices. It makes the perfect post workout snack on the go and is great to pop in to lunchboxes too!

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