Thinking Of A New Year Diet? Don’t Do It - Health Experts

Looking for advice on a New Year Diet?  “Don’t do it”, say two well-known health and fitness for energy experts.

Sue Woodd and Julie Hanson say: “Don’t diet, jut clean up your act.”

“People should NOT diet in January, they should conserve their energy,” they insist.

“When people go on a diet they eat more cold and raw food,” they explain, “In the slow energy of winter this is counter productive as cold, raw food contains more water and will actually make you become bloated and put on weight.”“In fact you should eat food that is cleaner and warmer which means it is easier on the body.

“A lot of animals hibernate in winter and we should do our equivalent of that. Winter is the time for storage and energy rejuvenation. You should be doing less, getting more sleep, eating less, eating more concentrated food like root vegetables and beans,” they say.

“And, providing you don’t overdo the salt normally, this is the time of the year when you should take a bit more salt in your diet to keep the mineral balance in your body correct.”

But while many will be heartened by their advice not to go on a diet in January it does not mean that you do not need to clean up your life. Instead follow their Seasonal Living approach to diet energy and health

Seven Top Tips for the Winter Non-Diet Diet are:

  • Stop drinking for the month of January. It is great to give your liver a rest. Sue says: “If you get to 21 days you will find the rest of the month easy.”
  • Cut down on your caffeine intake – one cup in the morning if you must and try to have bean juice (fresh coffee) rather than instant. Replace caffeinated drinks with spice teas e.g. ginger and lemon, spiced fruit, cinnamon – anything with a spicy flavour will warm the body
  • Eat hot porridge and thick vegetable soup – filling and warming. Hot food gives you warming energy it is snacking for comfort that makes you put on weight so have something ready in the fridge to heat up as soon as you come in.
  • Go to bed earlier. You need more sleep in the winter, conserving your energy, more sleep equals a calmer, more controlled existence. No food three hours before sleep, spiced teas or hot water are a good bedtime drink
  • This is the season for slow cooking. Blow the dust off the slow cooker and save your own energy by find recipes that take a long time to cook or set the oven timer. Slow cookers are also great for cooking porridge all night – so quick and easy for the morning rush.
  • Anything that mobilises the spine and lower back is great for winter energy, reaching to the sky and the ground, moving your spine while sitting really helps. Be mindful of good posture. Move the joints using small, repetitive movements that mobilise the body. Energetically swing the arms from side to side around the middle of the body, looking behind you to increase rotation.
  • Do something for your mind and calm as well as your body – light a candle, sit in front of it and try candle gazing as a meditation. Make sure your back is straight and breathe calmly and deeply. Stay there for five to 10 minutes. Do this once a day and see what a difference it makes.

This approach to working with energy will be new to most of us but in fact it is based on Chinese systems that are thousands of years old. The approach is all about keeping healthy and maintaining your vitality. It is spelled out in Sue Wood and Julie Hanson’s book, Energy In Season: Five Keys To Vitality published by Lotus Publishing.

Two hundred years ago we got up when it was light, went to bed when it was dark and ate local produce when it was in season. But now, sitting in front of our computers, we can shop, eat or bank 24 hours a day and pay no attention to the flow of the seasons.

Julie Hanson, a yoga teacher and fitness trainer since the early 1980s has developed with Sue Woodd seasonal flow yoga and other approaches to health and exercise that fit the body to the natural rhythms of the seasons.

Energy In Season: Five Keys To Vitality can be read cover-to-cover or you can go straight to the current season. The book is split up into five sections, one for each of the seasons. Each chapter is then split into an introductory section (including good habits and priorities for each season), a food section, an exercise and movement section, a home & lifestyle section and a summary of that season.

Lotus Publishing spokesperson Jon Hutchings, said: “We’re really pleased to be working with authors Julie Hanson and Sue Woodd who are so well respected in their fields. The book couldn’t have been released at a more apt time, with the growing movement of people aiming to return to a more natural way of living; whether it’s eating seasonal produce or changing our sleep patterns to suit the season we’re becoming more aware of the importance of the annual seasonal cycle.

“The book offers a clear and comprehensive look at all aspects of our lifestyles in relation to the seasons, and it is designed in a clear, easy-to-read style, accompanied by a host of colour photographs.”

Newsletter text.