9 pm Sunday night – that’s it, I am never eating chocolate again.
10 am Monday morning – I really should eat this mars bar to keep up my energy.
Is this you? It is a vicious cycle. You are up all night with the baby and then despite your best efforts, your body is craving sugar because you are tired.
I spent two years in this cycle which I now refer to as the ‘Nutella years’
But at some stage, you have to try to break the unhealthy habits and try to incorporate some routines into your own life that will give you a little more energy and oomph in the long-run.
1. Ease off the coffee
I know, I know – coffee is everything. But I’m not totally crazy – I’m saying don’t give it up, just don’t let it take over your life. Try to also drink some warm water with lemons throughout the day and switch to peppermint tea when you can. A lot of the comfort is in the warmth so changing it up the odd time really will help you in the long-run. I promise!
2. Make fruit dessert
It is so simple a concept but often after a long day with the children and well, life, it is normal to feel like you deserve a reward. For me, it is tea and biscuits after my dinner. It became a very solid habit – fast. I realised I was craving something sweet after my dinner and if I really thought about it I could have a nice bowl of pineapple instead. It is really filling and the taste of being virtuous the next day is huge.
3. Try a healthy treat
My fail-safe is banana ‘ice-cream’. A healthy creation that you can make very quickly and munch on without feeling guilty while watching Homeland. You just mash a banana with a spoon of peanut butter and add a sprinkle of cacao powder if you want chocolate banana ice-cream. Add chopped dates for extra crunch and put it in the freezer for an hour. Do it.
4. Toast is the enemy
Toast is the root of all my evil flab. It’s fine in moderation but unfortunately, I am incapable of moderation. Whenever I feel snacky (all the time) I just pop in a piece of toast and not only is it not very nutritious, it makes me feel bloated. Bad news when you need some serious energy to keep up with the tots at home. A pal of mine who is also a fitness instructor advised me recently to switch to crackers which have much less calories than stodgy old toast.
5. Try an easier fast
Obviously, if you are nursing a baby it is not advisable to limit your calorie intake like this but for those who just want a jump-start on getting out of your unhealthy funk, starting an easy fast like the 16:8 is a good way to get on track. You don’t have to limit what you eat, just eat all your meals in one 8 hour block and then let your body fast for the other 16 hours. I lost the last clingy 5lbs doing this recently. You can choose which time suits you best but for me, I started eating at 11 am and finished at 7 pm. You can eat coffee and tea outside that block of time. I never really felt hungry – just drink lots of herbal tea after your dinner.
6. Be prepared
It is so easy to just reach for a spoon and eat Nutella out of the jar when your tired (who said that?) But it is really important to have some healthy snacks prepared so when you reach for something you have a healthy option to hand. Bowls of nuts, high protein snacks and slow release energy boosters like oatcakes are a great idea.
You spend time preparing your child’s meals, don’t slack when it comes to yourself. These are long days, tired days and low energy days, but they will soon pass and when they do – it’s important that you emerge from this haze with some healthy habits intact.
Good luck mums – this week is the perfect time to start. Let’s just give ourselves a pass on the Nutella today – pancakes are not pancakes without it, are they?
