It's a New Dawn, It's a New Day

Years ago when such a prospect seemed feasible, I vowed that if I married again I’d enter the register office to the glorious sound of Nina Simone singing ‘It’s a new dawn, It’s a new day, It’s a new life for me. I’m feeling good.”  That scenario is never going to happen, but I still love the idea that every single day brings the possibility of change, of renewal and of living your best life. 

We are just a few days into 2024, so what better time to think about the bit of your life over which you have most control and which, in turn, has the most impact on how you are feeling?

I am talking about what you choose to eat and drink. It took me nearly seventy years before I accepted the direct connection between what I consumed and how well I felt and looked. I ate wholemeal toast and jam for breakfast, ‘fresh’ supermarket soup for lunch and a ready meal every evening. In between those meals I snacked on biscuits and cake (shop bought). I loathed cooking, resented every second it took to slice a fresh vegetable and deluded myself that I had a healthy diet because the soup and ready meal contained recognisable ingredients. The only outward sign of physical distress was on my face, in the form of red, lumpy and painful spots.

At the age of 69, I had my epiphany. I started working out for the first time with Lindsay Burrows, and Leonie Wright also came into my life. Lindsay educated me about exercise and Leonie educated me about food. Seven years later I feel seven years younger, not seven years older! And the effect on my skin has been nothing short of a miracle, as the photographs below will attest.

So, to encourage you to think “new dawn, new day” I have asked Leonie to help you too, especially if you are struggling with your weight and would really like to eat in a way that supports your health and wellbeing for the (hopefully very) long term. 

Leonie’s Ten Top Tips:

1. Don’t think of ‘Going on a Diet’

“My best advice is to resist the urge to focus too much on weight loss.Often, the healthy habits you instil by eating a nutritious diet end up being more important in the long run than how much weight you’ve lost in the short term. If you make the changes that I am suggesting here and they become your habitual way of eating, you will not only lose weight, you will be able to keep that weight off your body.

2. Eat Recognisable Food. 

The one thing that all healthy ways of eating have in common is that they are rich in whole foods. This means that the foods have not been altered in some way via processing in a factory. Many foods nowadays have added sweeteners, thickeners and stabilisers to make them last longer and taste ‘moreish’. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, eggs, fresh animal proteins and dairy foods will all support your health in a way that crisps, biscuits, fizzy drinks and other processed foods will not. Tricia’s diet of shop-bought soup and ready meals may have been tasty, but they were also full of hidden fat, salt, sugar and empty calories.

3. Surround yourself with healthy foods

When you buy food, take a good look at what’s in your basket. There’s no harm in the odd ‘treat’, but if you always keep a stock of crisps, biscuits, sweets, ice-cream and chocolates, then temptation will never be far away. Maybe you keep these in your food cupboards in case someone drops in or as indulgences for your grandchildren, but they’ll also be there on a grey and rainy day when you feel like cheering yourself up. So, keep your fridge and pantry stocked with nutrient-dense whole foods as a constant reminder of what your body actually needs.

4. Keep filling snacks on hand

Often, it’s the moments when we find ourselves feeling extra hungry and tempted with a tasty treat that we forget about the healthy eating plans we had in mind for the day. I have already suggested limiting the amount of tempting snacks in your food cupboards, but craving certain foods from time to time is completely normal. In fact, researchers have found that in moments of extreme hunger, our cravings tend to get even stronger. One way round this is to snack on foods which are high in protein and fibre including fruit, nuts and nut butters, yoghurt, and gluten free oat cakes.

5. Allow yourself occasional ‘special treat’ foods

Have you ever felt like there’s one food you just can’t live without? Fortunately, you don’t have to! Depriving yourself of the foods you love and crave can actually end up backfiring. In the short term, it tends to make your cravings for those foods even stronger, especially for people who are more susceptible to food cravings in general. Research has even found that feeling satisfied rather than deprived while changing your eating habits is linked to a higher rate of weight loss. Rather than completely giving up the less nutritious foods that you love, try restricting them to a specific occasion maybe once a week and then practise portion control. 

6. Think twice before you crash diet

Crash diets usually rely on extreme calorie restriction to obtain fast weight loss. But here’s the thing about crash diets - actually, the thing about diets in general, from keto to Atkins and everything in between - the results usually don’t last in the long run. Over time, most people who diet by severely restricting their intake, regain the weight they’ve lost.

The one diet that has been shown over many years to work best is the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fresh vegetables, fish, shellfish and olive oil - all the whole foods that I am recommending.

7. Avoid an all-or-nothing approach

A common barrier people encounter while working toward improving their way of eating is falling into an all-or-nothing mindset. An all-or-nothing thought might sound something like this: “Well, I’ve already ruined my diet for the day by having that piece of cake at the office party earlier, so I might as well forget my plans to cook at home tonight and have a takeaway instead.” These types of thoughts usually look at situations in black and white, or as “good” and “bad.” One less-than-ideal choice doesn’t have to snowball into a full day’s worth of similar choices. so don’t let one small stumble wreck your planned eating for the rest of the day.

8. Plan ahead for eating out

For many people going out for a meal is something to look forward to. But for someone struggling to stick to a new or healthy way of eating, it can feel like another hurdle to overcome. Restaurant meals tend to be higher in calories than meals cooked at home, and they often come in large portions. Plus, in social settings, our own food choices are heavily influenced by the choices of the people around us. 

Still, there are ways to make it easier, so here are a few of my favourite tips for eating out:

- Have a look at the menu before you go

- Eat some protein ahead of time.

- Stay hydrated during the meal with water.

- Order your meal first so you aren’t influenced by others’ choices.

- Take your time, eat slowly and savour your meal.

9. Monitor your progress

Sticking to a healthier way of eating is a marathon, not a sprint. There may be a variety of reasons for choosing to eat differently. For example, you might choose to focus on how your dietary changes have affected your physical or mental health, rather than how much weight you’ve lost. You may want to monitor any weight loss using weighing scales, but fitting into your clothes more comfortably might be a more satisfying measure of your success. As long as you set realistic expectations for yourself, remain committed, and continue to reevaluate your progress, I can promise you that eating in the way that I have suggested will almost certainly contribute positively to your health and wellbeing in the long term.

And finally….

No one diet works best for everyone.We each live in a unique set of circumstances influenced by genetics, our health, work schedules, family, cultural traditions, and so on. No single diet can perfectly account or accommodate for so many individual factors. In the end, the ‘best’ healthy diet for you is the one that makes you feel your best and that fits into your lifestyle in the long term.” 

I have followed Leonie’s advice and found her recipe books invaluable.  I am living proof that, even after many years of struggling with yo-yo and binge-starve dieting and also having the sweetest tooth in the world, it is possible to make very different choices in order to get a very different outcome. I now make my own breakfast cereal which I eat with fruit. I make homemade soups and prepare and cook my main meal every evening using whole, fresh ingredients. Crippling migraine attacks are a thing of the past and, best of all, my skin is miraculously clear of spots. 

As soon as I changed my diet in all the ways that Leonie recommends, it really was a new dawn and a new day and a new way of feeling so much better.

Find Leonie's website here: www.eatwright.co.uk 

If you would like to contact Leonie directly, email her at leonie@eatwright.co.uk

If you need help with changing your eating habits all Leonie’s programmes are on special offer this month.

Plus if you book a place at her Eat Wright & Style Right event on 26 January in Petworth you receive 10% off and her first recipe book for free using code LFFLink to book: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/eat-wright-style-right-tickets-757663942247

Tricia x

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