The January Blues!

Hey People!

How are those resolutions going? Its five days into January and I'm not doing to bad! It’s a crazy 41 degrees in Melbourne at the moment, which certainly makes ice cream tempting! Frozen yoghurt and fruit is a great alternative to keeping yourself cool.

I started back at work on Wednesday, and noticed that the Christmas spirit is well and truly gone; people were walking around the office with grumpy faces and tired eyes, making no effort to disguise the fact they would much rather be anywhere else. So begins the January blues. It is often commented on that January is the most depressing month of the year, the excitement of Christmas and New years is over, you’re skint and your clothes are too tight. But fear not dear readers, I'm on a mission to change that, after you have read this post it will be the January cheer!

First things first, let’s get moving! 

It’s true what they say, you will feel much better after going out for a walk or down to the gym for a workout session. Exercise is key to your happiness, decreasing Cortisol your stress hormone (Boo!) and increasing Endorphins, Adrenaline and  Serotonin... your happy hormones (Wahoo!) which work together to make you feel your best.

So begin your morning with a cardio workout to get those hormones bubbling and to kick start your metabolism throughout the day, elevating your mood. Plan to wake up 30 minutes early and go out for a run or down to the gym for an instant 'pick me up'. If you really are pushed for time in the morning then do not worry! As even a 10 minute vigorous workout session is enough to get your hormones working, do 10 star jumps as soon as you get out of bed and run to the shower! 

Exercising before breakfast has a lot of benefits, not only will your body be buzzing with positive energy but you will burn off fat rather than the calories from your breakfast. As well as this, when exercising in the morning your body gets into the habit, and you will find waking up much easier after the first few super early starts.

Eat yourself happy. 

Often people reach for their comfort food when they are feeling stressed or down, but comfort food such as Milk Chocolate, white Carbs and Caffine will put you on a stimulant cycle, giving you a high for a couple of hours or so before dropping you back down.  Luckily, there are healthier options. A recent Finnish study found that foods rich in Folate and Vitamin B12 will help ward of depression as serotonin is produced.  

So how do we make sure our diet is full if these little bits of happiness? Here is a simple guide of how to add more Folate and Vitamin B12 to your diet, and keep your grumpy hormones at bay:

• For Breakfast - Pour yourself a glass of orange juice which is bursting with B12 and munch on fortified cereals such as all bran, or scramble up some eggs with some wholemeal toast. 
• For Lunch - Add spinach to your sandwich instead of lettuce or some juicy lentils to your salad. 
• At Dinner - Cook up some oily fish such as salmon on a bed of asparagus and broccoli.

                                                                                                     

You can also treat yourself to some pudding! Dark chocolate is packed with anti oxidants and is a much better choice than milk or white chocolate as it has more of the cocoa bean and less of the fortified fats (good news all round).  

Below is a list of foods which you can incorporate into your daily life to elevate your mood.  

Dairy (hello Macaroni and Cheese)

Liver

Blue potatoes

Coconut (no wonder tropical islanders are so happy)

Greek Yoghurt

Clams and oysters

Red Meat (Spag Bol with wholemeal pasta is a winner) 

So take my advice and start the year on a high! You can beat those January blues and still be healthy, just make better choices!

Thanks for reading, please feel free to leave a comment.

Sarah Clarke

xxx

What works for you when curing the blues? Please leave a comment below.