Una Healy shares tips on how to stay positive in the bad weather
Wednesday 25 July 2012
While the majority of the UK is currently bathing in sunshine, there's no denying that the summer of 2012 has been a bit of a bleak one when it comes to the weather. And new research from Alpro has shown that the terrible summer weather has left seven out of 10 Brits feeling depressed.
There's no chance to wear your sweet summer dresses, it's tricky to plan a day out and it just leaves us leaving a little hard done by! So how do you stay on top when the clouds are weighing you down? Alpro fan, Una Healy from The Saturdays shares her top five tips on how to beat the summer blues and stay on “top of the morning” with these mood-boosting ideas:
Give yourself a giggle over your morning coffee: download an app such as ilaugh which is packed with daily jokes that you can share with friends on facebook and twitter. Speaking of coffee, start the day with a helping of plant power. Soya milk has 4 times less saturated fat than dairy. Plus, every soyaccino uses 80 litres less water to make than a cappuccino. So it’s better for you, better for the planet – plus it tastes good too.
Colour therapy is a great mood lifter. Red is associated with vitality and ambition. Yellow is proven to lift your mood and purple is known to stimulate intuition and imagination. Research from Alpro has found that one in three of us are still wearing our winter clothes and two out of five women still haven’t brought out their summer wardrobe! And if you’re stressed, go for green – it’s a great colour to create feelings of calmness and relaxation.
Don’t skip breakfast! A good brekkie of slow release energy food can set you up for the day and avoid those sugar highs and lows from bad snacking. I try to choose plant-based foods, which are becoming more and more popular. In fact, six out of 10 of us are eating more vegetables, fruits and plant-based foods than we were five years ago. Plus, they’re lower in sat fat – something I swore by during the run-up to my big day. I like to get experimental and combine two of my favourite things: a fruit smoothie made with Almond milk (which is lower in sat fat than dairy) swirled into a bircher mix – a combo of Alpro Pouring yogurt, muesli, oaty granola and fresh fruit, sprinkled with a few chocolate chips or coco nibs, toasted pecans and chia seeds which aid weight loss and boost brainpower. So a smoothie and a bircher, which together I’ve called a “Smircher”!
Una recently married Rugby player Ben Foden, the pair have a little girl named Aoife
Meditate your way to a good mood. Your surroundings have a huge impact on your mood, so try taking five or ten minutes of calm for some meditation. Choose a comfortable area and have some lavender
If it aint raining, it aint training! If you can brave the rain, getting 20-30 minutes of exercise will release endorphins into your system and the good news is, if you are new to exercising you may experience a stronger endorphin rush!
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