5 Easy ways to energise yourself post-covid

5 ways to Re-energise

Marking the two year anniversary of the first covid lockdown, the three kids and I had our own turn with covid. This was on the back of what felt like a long winter. Or should that be a long two years of pandemic life. We were happy that it wasn’t too bad, and were thankful for many things (vaccines being one!), but it still managed to knock the energy out of us in a way I wasn’t quite expecting. I wanted to focus on ways to re-energise yourself post-covid, not just for me, but to help as many people out of this fog as possible.

Coming out of the haze of that has made me have to dig deep for energy and tap into as much personal resilience as I can. I want to feel my energy soar again and feel joy and excitement. Something I think has been lacking for some time now for most people.

I’m taking a health coaching approach for myself to tackle this need for self-care. Just to clarify, I don’t have long covid, I’m merely feeling wiped out from two tough years topped off with a (mild) dose of covid. These 5 easy ways to re-energise yourself post-covid should help me and I’m working on each of them. I figured they could help you too, so here they are:

Re-energise post covid listen to your body
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1. Listen to your body

At some point in the day that works for you, sit for at least 5 minutes and do a quick body scan. See how you’re feeling. Are you tense, in pain, tired or generally lacking energy? Is your mind racing, or is your body tired? Or both? Don’t ignore the signs your body is giving you. If you’re tired, try to lie down even for 10 minutes before it feels debilitating. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, see what tasks you can cut down on even temporarily. Also, see who you can ask for help from. Don’t endure hardship if it is avoidable because you will hit the wall eventually.

2. Rest

If you are feeling tired, try to schedule in small breaks frequently. And if you need it, take longer lie-downs, especially if you are recovering from any ill-health. If you still feel tired, the first thing I would suggest is talking to your doctor to rule out any medical issues. Then, assuming all is ok, try to look at the next three points and they should help regain energy – nourish, movement and connection.

A rest of some kind in the morning and afternoon will help your body recover from the exertion of your normal daily routine and your energy will grow. If you feel you need a sleep, try to do this before lunch time so as not to impact your night’s sleep. You may only need to do this for a few days, but for some it might take a little longer.

If you are back working in an office, you most likely won’t have somewhere to lie-down. So, try to switch off and take a break where you can. If you’re hybrid working or working from home, you will have more flexibility on this front. Either way, it’s a good idea to talk to your manager and fill them in on where you’re at. There’s no point in working through because ultimately it will catch up on you and you will take longer to recover.

3. Nourish

Eating a balanced diet, full of a variety of vegetables and lots of fibre will give you the right kind of energy your body needs to stay healthy and well. I always love the idea of “eating a rainbow” of fruit and veg, but also think about trying to get 30 different fruit and veg into your meals across a week as a goal. When it comes to protein, aim for lean and organic if possible. Reducing red meat is good to consider, and including oily fish is also helpful. If you are vegetarian or vegan, make sure you are eating the right amount of protein to keep healthy and energised. Staying hydrated has such a positive impact on energy too. You can talk to your health care provider about whether supplements might be right for you.

Re-energise yourself with gentle movement
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4. Move – gently

We all know that exercise is good for us, but when we are feeling properly exhausted it can be the last thing we can face. It’s ok to take a break from it for a short time from exercise. But try to incorporate gentle movement to ease you back into it and help your mental health too. Walking is such a great way to do this, and it gives you fresh air too. Also, practising yoga can be a relaxing way to move your body in a way that it needs. And Pilates is a great way to build strength back into your body.

Re-energise yourself through connection with others
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5. Connect

Surrounding ourselves with people who energise us and lift us up is a great way to build our resilience and start to feel like ourselves again. Meeting people when you feel low can sometimes feel challenging, but the right people can really give us a  boost. Consider who you think will make you feel good. You can also limit your connections to a small group of people for a little while, maybe meeting one at a time. You could meet for a walk and this helps to have a cut-off to the meeting too. Setting these boundaries helps to keep you feeling in control and will limit a feeling of overwhelm. Meeting new people can also invigorate you, so consider joining a club or group that will expose you to like-minded people.

Having a crossover of any of the above will really help too. For example, joining a yoga class will help you mind/body connection, but also help by surrounding yourself with new people. An outdoor yoga class will get you some great self-care points. Planning your approach with some thought can maximise the return on your time and get you back to feeling yourself soon.

These points are all suggestions to approaching getting out of the post-covid period (or living with covid) funk that so many of us are feeling and help to boost our resilience. I hope some of these suggestions work for you. If you feel you need a bit more help or guidance creating a plan that works for you, get in touch. I can book you in for a free discovery call to see if 1:1 coaching is the right fit for you.

Suzanne Leyden Health Coach Contact
Drop me a line to arrange your free discovery call at suzanne@thewellnowco.com

Feature image Photo by Katie Moum on Unsplash

Newstalk Lunchtime Live: 5 Top Super Foods in season

5 Top Super Foods Lunchtime-Live_Andrea_Gilligan_Suzanne_Leyden_The_WellNow_Co

By Suzanne Leyden

Last week I was asked to give my 5 top super foods and discuss them with Andrea Gilligan on Newstalk’s Lunchtime Live. You may have missed our chat so I thought I’d do a post on the topic of our conversation.

‘Super Foods’ as a concept is an interesting idea. To me ‘super foods’ is really a marketing term for nutritionally dense foods, so can be applied to a huge range of foods. There is a sense of being fad-ish, something I don’t usually buy into.

5 Top Super Foods

However, it got me focussing on what food groups are the best in terms of nutrient density. So, I thought I’d cover my top 5 ‘super foods’, or groups of foods, for this time of year as the following (and in no particular order):

  1. Leafy greens – spinach, butterhead lettuce – High in Vitamin A, C and calcium. Also source of fibre. – aim to have a handful with most lunch and dinner. Add to soups, currys and stews and have as salad (and breakfast If possible – smoothies, with eggs)
  1. Cruciferous veg – Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower – Source of fibre, vitamins A&C, phytonutrients. Thought to help reduce the incidence of cancer. Cauliflower is about ¼ protein so great for vegetarians, vegans and those looking to cut back on meat consumption.
  1. Wholegrains – oats, brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat/grain – Complex carbohydrates, high in fibre (soluble & insoluble) – great for gut health, balancing blood sugar, keeping you feeling full for longer. Suggestions: Swap pasta, rice and bread for brown versions. Try other grains. Have fun. Be experimental.
  1. Nuts & seeds – almonds, hazelnut, walnut and chia, flax, sunflower…. – source of protein, healthy fats, fibre – great for gut, skin and hair – calorie dense so be careful not to over-consume – Suggestions: add to breakfast oats, salads, have as a snack, baking etc.
5 Top Super Foods
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  1. Legumes – kidney beans, black & red beans, soybeans, peas, chickpeas, lentils – Great source of protein so good for vegetarians and vegans, complex carbs, high fibre – Add to currys, stews, soups and salads

(Note: In summer we would look at berries and tomatoes as nutrient dense also)

Balanced Approach

The balanced approach I would take to ensure a nutritionally rich diet are to consider this holistic approach when shopping and preparing food. Here are some top tips to achieve this:

  • Shop in-season
  • Shop local
  • Consume a wide variety of foods, particularly wholefoods – fruit and veg, wholegrains
  • Organic is best if it’s within budget – Environmental Working Group (EWG) have the ‘Clean 15’ and ‘Dirty Dozen’
  • Frozen foods are a good option – say berries and peas for year round use
  • Balance the macro-nutrients – carbs, proteins, healthy fats
  • Keep refined sugar and saturated fats to a minimum
  • Fish are a great source of protein and healthy fats
  • Live bio yoghurt is a great source of probiotics so good for your gut
  • Stay hydrated

Outcomes

There are so many positive outcomes to eating a balanced, whole foods, nutritionally rich diet with good portion control. Here are some of the stand out ones that are possibly more easily achieved than you might think:

  • Balanced blood sugar – consistency in energy levels
  • Balanced hormones – helps with mood, skin and hair
  • Healthy gut – impacts brain health
  • Reduce inflammation
  • Improves functionality of the many systems of the body

Next Steps

If refining and planning how you can improve what, and how, you eat is something you are looking to tackle right now, drop me a line at suzanne@thewellnowco.com to arrange your free discovery call with me. Sometimes all we need it to set aside the time, have the relevant info and throw in some focus and you would be amazed what you can achieve.

Suzanne Leyden Health Coach Contact
Book your Free Discovery Call with Suzanne today.

3 Easy Steps to Meal Planning

The WellNow Co Meal Planning

By Suzanne Leyden

As a skill meal planning may not be regarded as sexy. But it has incredible qualities that shine through and make it very desirable. What other activity can offer a combination of improving your time management, reducing stress, improving nutritional intake, cost effectiveness and is sustainable too? I mean come on, surely we should all give it a try.

The problem so many people have is that they are short on time in the first place. When it comes to meal planning people sometimes think they want to be handed a finished meal plan and that’s the extent of it. For guaranteed success, however, the reality is different. There is a bit of work involved up front but the pay-off, already outlined, is well worth it.

It really is the starting point of taking control of your health, your way, entirely on your terms. It has the best chance of succeeding this way. If it doesn’t work for you straight away, you’ve invested in it personally so you know how to go about tweaking it so that you can revise it to work for you.

The three things you need to approach meal planning for success are:

The WellNow Co Meal Planning
Photo by Ella Olsson on Unsplash

THE WHY

Set the right goals so that you stay motivated and on-track. Being clear of your objective in terms of meal planning is the recipe to success. Is there an underlying reason you want to get meal planning from a nutrition perspective? Maybe you want to eat more healthily, become more sustainable by incorporating in-season ingredients into your daily meals or you might simply want to improve the habits of your family. It could be that you want to manage your weight better, increase your energy or reduce your household costs. Knowing your why is critical to your success. It’s important to spend a bit of time asking yourself ‘why meal planning?’ because it’s when things start to falter you can remind yourself of this and get motivated to stick with it.

The WellNow Co Meal Planning
Photo by S’well on Unsplash

THE WHAT

Once you understand the outcome you want to achieve then you can have this as a focus when you are choosing your meals. Get informed as much as you can in terms of nutritional needs for your circumstances. Learning more about reading food labels may be something to consider. There will undoubtedly be taste considerations that need to be addressed also. Decide how you want to address these. You may want to push the introduction of a wider variety of vegetables into your weekly diet, or your children’s diet. This can be incorporated into your plan. You are in control.

THE HOW

Having the most appropriate tools for you is key. An approach or template or format that you can relate to and can make work for you is the first step. Then you need to make the plan work for your schedule and circumstances. Knowing the limitations and boundaries to your schedule and the people who will be impacted by your meal plan will allow you to tailor and tweak the plan to optimize success. Don’t plan to overhaul your entire diet in one go. Take on small changes and allow yourself time to bed them down and succeed at them before moving on to the next. Start with X number of dinners a week, or choose which meal to address so that it suits your needs right now. Your shopping then can become streamlined to avoid waste and maximize nutrition, maybe even taking into account what’s in season.

SOLUTION FOR YOU

To really get you in gear and help you bed down meal planning into your weekly routine then this online programme is for you. ‘3-Steps to Meal Planning for Health’ is The WellNow Co.’s video led online programme full of tools and information to get you meal planning like a pro. Check it out now, you won’t regret it.

THE WELLNOW CO 3 STEPS TO MEAL PLANNING FOR HEALTH
The WellNow Co’s ‘3-Steps to Meal Planning for Health

Featured Photo by Ella Olsson on Unsplash