Healthy eating/gardening/anxiety

[rainbowninja]

Is anyone interested in joining a thread about the impact of healthy eating on their mental health?

I've suffered from anxiety for years but it's been a lot worse since I became a mum.

With lockdown in the mix I just feel physically and emotionally depleted.

I've had some tests done and I know that I am low in certain vitamins etc. I've been recommended supplements to take and to 'eat the rainbow' (basically eat shed loads of veg). I want to give it a go for my own sake and my daughter because I know I'm not being the best mum to her. I'm anxious and irritable.

It feels quite overwhelming but I am quite interested in learning about nutrition, I also quite like the idea of having a go at growing some of my own veg as I've been enjoying being outside lately and I know it helps me.

I don't want to do it on my own though so I wondered if there were any other anxious mumsnetters out there that would be interested in learning/growing with me. No pressure to change anything overnight, maybe we could just cheer each other on for drinking an extra glass of water or something?

Hi Rainbow,

I'm probably going to make mince pies as usual. The gingerbread house sounds like fun. Not sure if I would have the patience for something like that! I made a strawberry cheesecake for work yesterday 😋

I luckily don't have to wear a mask all day. Just have to wear it when going from classroom to staff room or toilet. Which I know doesn't make sense but that's the guidelines.

Any plans for the weekend? I'm working tomorrow and hoping to catch up with housework and stuff on Sunday. Maybe a bit of shopping too.

Hi Loki!

Oh I love a mince pie but might be giving them a miss this season whilst I work on my
recovery. We had a kit for a gingerbread house last year and it wasn't too tricky!

Hope your colleagues enjoyed the strawberry cheesecake 😋

Hope work went well, we went to my local church for a Christmas Tree festival which was nice. It was a bit of an effort because I had a panic attack yesterday and I was a bit scared to go out again but it went ok.

Hi Rainbow

Glad you enjoyed the Christmas tree festival. Sorry to hear about your panic attack.

The special needs centre only needed me Saturday morning. I went to a Christmas market in the afternoon. Went to a few charity shops and found some great bargains.

I tried making soup for tea. It's something that I never really get right. My creamy mushroom soup turned out lovely. The carrot soup I made was bland and too watery.

Are you having something nice for tea?

Hi Loki,

I hope you enjoyed the Christmas market and charity shops 😊

Soup can be a bit hit and miss can't it? I've had success with a pepper and parsnip one but not much else. Don't think I've managed to make a decent carrot one.

My husband did roast pork on Sunday which isn't my favourite but I enjoyed the roasted veg. He also made a lamb stew yesterday which was lovely and which I had leftovers of today. My husband has been able to take a break from working at the moment and he drives me a bit mad by spending a lot of time on computer games but then he also does great stuff in the kitchen so I can't complain really.

Hi Rainbow,

I love charity shops. The only problem is that I end up spending too much and I have more clothes than I need!

I'm glad I'm not the only one that finds soup tricky. I like the sound of pepper and parsnip soup.

That's nice that you were treated to a roast dinner. I can't stand the background noise to games, so that would drive me crazy too.

I made myself chips and eggs for tea. Then spent the evening watching films on Netflix cos there wasn't anything on tv as usual.

Hi @Lokikitty,

Oh yes, that can be an issue with charity shops 😆 I used to go out with a colleague to a charity shop in my lunch hour sometimes and I would get tempted by bargains that I didn't always end up wearing.

Yes the background noise can be irritating sometimes and it's also hard being with someone who is really engrossed in a game half the time.

You do well to include lots of eggs in your diet, great source of protein 👍🏻

I roasted a chicken earlier and had it with salad and some roasted squash, it was unexpectedly nice!

Hi Rainbow,

Your roasted chicken and squash sounds lovely. I made chocolate dipped shortbread.

I've been to my pottery class today with my daughter to glaze the things that we made ages ago.

I'm looking forward to my work's do this evening. Feeling a little bit nervous too because there's a lot of staff that I don't know yet.

Hi @Lokikitty,

I hope you enjoy your works do, let me know how it goes!

Love the sound of the chocolate dipped shortbread, my daughter and I made healthy brownies earlier with quinoa flour.

I took a bit of a big step today, went out on a short drive with my husband and daughter. We haven't been out in the car together for a long time. It was scary and I'm not quite sure how I'll do it again but it's a start!

Hi Rainbow

Glad you managed to go on a short drive. It will get easier hopefully.

My work's do went really well. The food was nice and the abba tribute band were very good. I also got a lift to and from the venue.

Made Christmas cards with the children at work today. I can't believe there's only a week before I break up for Christmas holidays. This term has gone quick.

Hi @Lokikitty,

I'm really glad you enjoyed your works do.

I had another little success on Sunday, went for another little drive and this time we stopped at the local farm shop 😊 it's the most 'out' I've been in quite a while!

My husband made a lamb stew yesterday which was lovely. I also made frozen yoghurt bark again 😍

Hi Rainbow,

That's fantastic news. I like going to the farm shop near me. It's expensive but the food is lovely.

I collected my pottery items yesterday. Wondering what to try next.

I had a bad evening yesterday. I had a dentist appointment booked, which I have been waiting months for but didn't make it. 2 busses didn't turn up. I waited an hour in the cold for the bus and all the taxi ranks were busy. It was really frustrating. I now have to wait until February for an appointment.

Hi @Lokikitty,

Sorry to hear about your rubbish evening, it's so frustrating when public transport lets you down especially in the dark and cold 😞

Our farm shop has only been going for a couple of years but they are very friendly and they had quite a bit more to choose from than when I was last there.

I'm hoping to stick to my healthy eating over the Christmas period but I am missing mince pies and chocolate a bit!

Hi Rainbow,

You should allow yourself treats over Christmas. You can always concentrate on healthy eating after Christmas. What are your plans? Do you go to see family?

I've done a lot of walking this weekend. I didn't do any agency work, so had a lot of spare time. I did 2.5 hours of walking yesterday. I'm glad I've got back into walking.

Me and my daughter made red velvet cake. It was only a cake mix but it was really nice. I made mushroom soup again and took the leftovers for my lunch.

Hi @Lokikitty,

How are you finding the school holidays?

Mushroom soup sounds good, I've not made any soup for a little while now. My daughter and I made some gingerbread dough using quinoa flour today and tomorrow we're going to attempt a gingerbread house!

My husband made a beef stew today which means we will have leftovers to take us through until Christmas.

Will you be with family at Christmas? Mine are coming to me!

Can I join? I've just had 3 months off work with anxiety. I'm up for anything that might help x

Hi Rainbow,

I hope you enjoy making the gingerbread house today. Are you going to be busy cooking for your family on Christmas day? Hope you have a lovely Christmas.

It's my second day off work and I'm already struggling. I'm not good with too much spare time and don't enjoy my own company. It doesn't help that I haven't got any plans for Christmas yet. I don't celebrate Christmas but do normally have plans to see family or a friend.

A colleague said she will get in touch to meet up for drinks. Fingers crossed that goes ahead.

I made tomato soup in the slow cooker yesterday. Then went for a long walk with my daughter .We went to a lovely cafe for lunch before she went to her dad's. She does Christmas at her dad's.

I'm going for a long walk in a bit. It will hopefully lift my mood.

@pastypirate yes! Please do, there's such a connection between anxiety and nutrition, go for it!

@Lokikitty merry Christmas! How's your day going? Yes we cooked for family today and it was nice to be busy in a way. Sorry to hear you'd been feeling a bit low, I've had some low moments too the last few days. Christmas can be quite a lot of pressure can't it?

Hi Rainbow,

Merry Christmas! Glad you enjoyed cooking and spending time with your family. I'm feeling better today. I went to my mum's yesterday and I've just ust been to see my brother and nephew. It was good to have some company. I'm going shopping tomorrow with my family and cinema on Monday. So I can relax now that I have plans. I can't stand not knowing what I'm doing.

I've been doing a lot of baking the past few days. So far I've made chocolate roulade, baked cheesecake and hot chocolate brownies. They haven't turned out well but at least it gave me something to do.

It's a good job I ended up spending time with my family as my colleague hasn't been in touch.

Hi @Lokikitty,

Glad you've got plans with your family and that you've been baking, our gingerbread house didn't turn out very edible either bur you're right it's the process of doing it that's just as enjoyable.

I've had a bit more sugar over the past couple of days and I don't think it's affected my anxiety too badly but it's given me a bit of a tummy ache so I'll just have to go easy for the next couple of days.

Hi Rainbow,

Glad you enjoyed making your gingerbread house. I've been eating a lot of junk the past few days too. I've been spending a lot of time with my family and baking every day to give myself something to do. So it's been kind of unavoidable.

I went shopping with my family on Sunday and went bowling yesterday instead of cinema. There wasn't anything that I wanted to watch. It was nice to see my family and have something to do. But it was also hard because although I can't cope with too much time alone, I struggle to spend too much time around people. It affects my sleep and I find it drains me.

The shopping centre was full of really expensive shops. It was a constant reminder of how little I earn as I couldn't afford to get much. I did find a waterproof coat in the sales. Been looking for one for months, so was pleased with that.

I'm terrible at bowling! To be fair, I'm terrible at most things due to low self esteem. We played 2 games and I did gradually get better. I wish I could just enjoy doing things without the need to be good at it.

How is your week going so far?

Hi @Lokikitty,

It's good to hear from you and it's not surprising that the different routine has effected your eating habits.

I think I know what you mean about wanting to be around people but also finding it draining. It's a tough balance to get right.

We have my sister in law coming to stay at the weekend but it's just me, my husband and daughter until then. I've found it a bit challenging because I know there are family get togethers that we are missing out on because of my anxiety but I also know that I'm in a different place mentally to last year.

Thanks for supporting me with the healthy eating these last few months, let's hope we can carry on in 2022!

Hi Rainbow,

I'm in a similar situation to you. I'm in a much better place than I was this time last year but I still have my limitations. It's frustrating and positive at the same time.

I really struggled yesterday. My daughter went to her dad's and I had 4 days without any plans. I ended up feeling very low but also angry at myself because I felt like I should be doing better.

I got in touch with several people that I haven't seen for months. Luckily 2 were free to meet up. One today and the other tomorrow.

I've had a lovely afternoon catching up with my friend. Unfortunately there are a lot of train cancellations today, so that has been stressful.

I forgot to say Rainbow, thank you for all your support and ideas on healthy eating. It's been lovely chatting to you. We will carry on in 2022!

How are you doing @Lokikitty?

We've got family staying over tonight and tomorrow so I'm back in the mixed place of enjoying the company but also finding it a bit intense. I hope you managed to meet up with your friends?

We had steak tonight with celeriac chips which was nice. It's a bit strange having company and not drinking any alcohol but I'm finding it ok, I don't really miss it.

Hi Rainbow,

Hope having family over goes well. Your tea sounds nice. I haven't tried celeriac chips. How come you're not drinking?

I managed to meet up with 3 old friends. One that I haven't seen properly for over a year and 2 that I haven't seen since summer. It was nice to have some company. I got drenched in the rain meeting one of my friends, even though I was wearing my waterproof coat. The weather has been awful.

I had my booster yesterday, so have a sore arm!!