Darling readers, over the coming days and weeks we will be peppering our usual inspirational content with as many advice and support pieces as possible.
Please bear with us as we adjust to the These articles will be written by professionals and will provide practical advice on how you can look after yourself, your nutrition, your health and mental wellbeing during this period of global disruption.
It’s a huge pleasure to welcome Vic and Faye from Nu Day Nutrition.
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I know personally that my appetite has been affected by the events of the past week and yet I want to keep strong, sharp and focussed as I work through the challenges. If you’re wondering what to eat and how to make sure that your food really nourishes you right now, these words are for you, my loves. Please note, this is general advice, provided generously and without any financial transaction involved – these people just want to help. For more tailored, specific plans, please speak to an expert.
Advice from Vic and Faye at Nu Day Nutrition
Nutritional tips if you’re feeling a little stressed
In most cases, we would recommend putting an emphasis on nutrient dense, whole foods where possible to help adequately fuel your body in times of stress and limiting (but not banning outright!) your intake of overly processed foods, ensuring that your diet still has foods in it that you enjoy. Trying to be overly restrictive, and cutting out particular groups of food is generally what we would advise against, not least because this doesn’t allow you any degree of flexibility.
A little bit of planning can go a long way, so try and think about what can make your life easier on a daily basis. For some this is things like doing a bigger shop and cooking bigger meals and portioning these up for lunches or other meals – and done right, this sort of thing can save you money too (which in times of wedding-related stress will likely help to reduce other worries!). But we also appreciate that shopping right now may be difficult whilst so many people are so keen to stock up on food stores.
Also, and especially right now – please don’t always rule out convenience foods; if you’re careful with where you look, there are some great, well-balanced ready meals and pre-prepared, ready to cook foods that can be a huge time (and therefore stress) saver.
Nutritional tips if you’ve lost your appetite
If you’ve lost your appetite, please don’t panic and try and force it. If you start worrying about it unnecessarily you’ll likely make it worse. Obviously, we don’t want you not eating for days on end but look at the big picture. All biological processes are action over time, eating a bit less some days and more on others here and there, e.g. when your appetite comes back, is unlikely to have a long-term impact on your overall health.
If you find yourself really struggling after a couple of days, studies show that increasing food variety/palatability directly increases appetite so you could potentially look to jazz things up a little with some different flavours such as sauces, textures, herbs and spices.
If you need to ‘grab and go’, don’t be afraid of all convenience foods/snacks, there are some really good ones available these days. Read the labels, familiarise yourself with some options that align with your personal goals so you always have options. Be a little mindful that some snacks are packed with lots of what we call ‘stealth’ calories so if for example you fancy fruit, grab a whole piece of fruit rather than a bag of dried fruit; you’ll get more nutrients and it’s likely to leave you feeling fuller (and is usually cheaper!)
Nutritional tips for better sleep
Sleep (or lack of) can have a big impact on how we manage our nutrition and some of the choices we make; inadequate sleep can have an impact on hunger hormones leptin and ghrelin and this can have an impact on our appetite (e.g. making us hungrier) so this is just worth being mindful of.
There are no hard and fast rules around when and what people should eat to aid sleep, and there is no particular food or over the counter supplement that will ‘make’ you sleep – what you eat and when should be aligned with your personal goals and preferences. However, that tiredness after a big meal (a.k.a. food coma!) is caused by the digestive load e.g. increased energy required to digest the food which is dictated by meal volume and total calories and this is where the post carbs/‘sugar crash’ myth comes from!
Some common-sense advice would be to avoid eating such a big meal that you have indigestion, but to aim for feeling comfortably full as this may well bring on sleepiness. Also, if caffeine is what’s keeping you going, consider limiting this during the latter part of the day.
Nutritional Advice For Brides
We believe that no single food groups should be excluded from your diet (unless there is a medical reason, of course) in the run up to your wedding – food should still be enjoyed and restriction of single foods could lead to an unhealthy relationship with particular foods or whole groups of foods. So, try not to think about foods as being ‘good’ or ‘bad’, but look at your diet and nutrition as a whole, along with other factors of your lifestyle like sleep, exercise etc.
A varied diet with protein, carbs and fats with plenty of plants is an ideal diet for anyone wanting to feel their best inside and out on their wedding day.
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Note From The Editor (Annabel): Please remember, if you are needing to postpone your wedding, we encourage you to carry on taking care of YOU. Self care is an often overused term but in this instance, it couldn’t be more important. We understand many of you may be extremely stressed right now, please try to eat well, sleep well and look after yourself.
We love you and we are here for you. We’re not going anywhere.
Annabel xxxx
