3rd January 2011

Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality. Les Brown

Well I had a huge burst of energy yesterday, not only did I empty off of the shed into my car and take it to the tip to get rid of but I also started on the house, I cleared out the big cupboard in our utility room which we call the ‘bogey hole!’ and we keep all our junk and I’ve turned it back into a pantry where I’ve put all my tinned and packet food and the cupboard in the kitchen where it had been now has the food processor and other stuff that was hanging around on the work surfaces and after about 3 hours in the kitchen, I have what looks like a brand new kitchen and I can’t wait to cook in it ;-)

Wished I’d remembered to put my pedometer on yesterday, I bet I earnt some serious bonus points as I was none stop from 8am when I walked Alfie to about 3pm when I got in a lovely bubble bath as my reward.

I also went on my Wii Fit for the first time in months, I’ve got to be careful what I do on it because of my back and also my dodgy knee (I’m a 40 yr old trapped in a 80 yr old body I thinks!) but I can do the Yoga and other gentle stuff on it, so managed about 20 minutes to start me off.

Don’t you just love it when you wake up full of energy, the holiday has certainly done me good and now it’s 4am in the morning and I’ve been awake an hour – my body clock is crazy, I managed to lie in yesterday till 7am and today I’m wide awake, hey ho I’ll just go to bed earlier tonight, especially as I’m back to work tomorrow and looking forward to my meetings, can’t wait to see and weigh you all.

So yesterday I talked about using food to boost your mood, well apparently it’s not just what you eat but also how you eat it that matters. Note I’m talking about mood not weight loss – the only rule with weight loss is the amount of food that goes in has to be less than your body uses in a day to create what’s known as a ‘calorie deficit’ and ultimately a weight loss. So back to mood eating, here are some more tips

- Always have breakfast to set up your energy levels for the day. Skip the first meal of the day and you’re likely to be reaching for a sugar boost by 11am, setting up a cycle of blood sugar highs and lows. Researchers at King’s College London found that eating a healthy breakfast - wholegrain cereal, fruit and dairy – improved short-term memory and concentration for the rest of the day.

- Eat little and often. To help you avoid the blood sugar rollercoaster and maintain your energy levels and mood throughout the day, aim to eat three good meals with healthy snacks in between.

- Avoid large, fatty meals. They can negatively affect your ability to concentrate.

- Eat carbs in as close to their natural state as possible. Wholegrain pasta, rice, oats and pulses provide a slower supply of glucose into the blood stream for a more steady release of serotonin than refined or processed foods.

- Combine protein with low-GI carbs at each meal. This will help you stay calm and alert. Carbohydrates appear to help enhance the uptake of tryptophan to boost serotonin levels, while protein-rich foods are thought to increase the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which increases alertness and concentration.

To find out more about food and mood, visit, www.mind.org.uk/foodandmood, it has lots of information.

So I’m hoping my new found energy spurt and enthusiasm for housework is going to last today too so that I can get the living room and hall, stairs and landing complete. You have to realise this isn’t a weekly thing like in most houses, hence the fact it’s taking a lot longer, plus my mother seems to save everything!!!!

Have a great day whatever you’re doing, some of you may be back at work, but others like me may be taking advantage of the Bank Holiday Monday.