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?

[quote rainbowninja]@jeffersonsam, your garden sounds amazing! I'm guessing you're not in the UK 😂 glad the hard work has paid off! [/quote]
Thanks for your reply @rainbowninja .Yes, I m doing hard work everyday in my garden. It gives me more peaceful mind and also gives good results. You are Right , I m not in U.K.

Hi Rainbow

Wow you've been super healthy with your granola and asparagus soup. I've done well with walking to and from work this week and I'm back to doing my Zumba classes. I did some baking after work on Thursday. Made some chocolate dipped shortbread for work 😋

I applied for a job at the special needs centre on Monday. Doing my usual work on Saturdays and during holidays but as bank staff instead of agency. I have an interview on Thursday.

Work went well today. Spent most of the morning outside with the children. It was a lovely sunny day. Getting home didn't go well unfortunately. It took me nearly 4 hours to get home! Going to try getting a different bus next time or do a train journey. How has your week been?

Hi Loki,

Well done for walking to work! Sounds like a great start to the day and the chocolate dipped shortbread sounds amazing, wish I worked with you 😂

I'm doing ok thanks, the nice weather over the weekend gave me a boost. I've been quite motivated on the healthy eating too, I made frozen yoghurt bark again and have also got into the habit of buying a chicken crown and roasting that so I have it for lunches as I'm at home.

How's your week going? Good luck with the interview!

Hi Rainbow,

I love walking to work when I feel up to it. It helps clear my head. That would be nice if you worked with me, we could share our food 🤣

The weather has been lovely. It's gone cold again today. That's a good idea roasting the chicken for lunches.

My week isn't going well. My landlord wants to increase the rent by £70 because of the cost of energy rising. I'm rarely at home and don't use a lot of gas or electricity. I can't afford this increase and it's causing me a lot of stress.

I need to focus on my application form and interview but really struggling.

Hi @Lokikitty,

Sorry to hear that about your rent, sounds stressful and unfair given that you don't use much energy. Do you pay a set fee or is it according to how much you actually use?

I'm having a bit of a rough day too, really bad PMS this evening and feeling that I've brought it on myself a bit because I've given in and had chocolate again this week and I know it makes it worse. Feeling sorry for myself 😕

Hi Rainbow

It's a set fee that I pay which is unfair. Especially in the summer when I don't have the heating on.

Sorry to hear that you had a rough day. I had PMS at the weekend. Made me realise that I need to go back to doing keto.

I've got some good news. My interview went really well. I've got the bank job at the special needs centre 😊. Updating my CV and filling in a really detailed application and worrying about the interview was so stressful. I feel great now so it was definitely worth the stress 😊

I'm so tired and my brain is so frazzled that I've ended up having frosties for tea!!

Hi @Lokikitty,

I keep hearing such good things about keto and mental health. I think what I'm doing is more paleo but not really sure tbh!

Congrats on getting the bank job, you've made so many positives changes in your life since we've been chatting on here!

I've been feeling quite motivated since my last bout of PMS too, I've been pretty good on the sugar front although I am craving it a bit. I'm going to do some healthy baking with my daughter tomorrow as it's half term here, we're going to make a chocolate banana bread.

Also, haven't updated you on my walks! I can go about 5 mins from home now and although it's taken me ages to build up to it it seems to be helping so will keep it up.

Hi Rainbow,

Well done on your walks 👏. Keep up the good work.

What's paleo? Not heard of that one. I've been doing keto on and off for a year now. It's great for anxiety and weight loss.

The past 2 years have been really tough. In a strange way, this has motivated me to make positive changes. When you hit rock bottom, the only way is up.

Well done on cutting down on sugar. How did the chocolate banana bread go? I'm struggling to control my sugar intake at the moment. Feeling pretty run down.

I've done 2 really intense days at the special needs centre. The child I was working with was really challenging and left me physically and emotionally exhausted. I had a lovely 2 days at work, doing swimming, football and drumming. It's just really wiped me out. One of the new bank staff has started giving me a lift partway to and from work. This is making the commute so much easier.

Thanks @Lokikitty ☺️

Paleo is basically eating how your ancestors would have done so real food and not lots of refined sugar/carbs etc. I don't think it focuses on fat as much as the keto diet does, would love to hear any good keto recipes you recommend?

I'm sorry you have had such a tough couple of years, I felt that way too, hit rock bottom and had to make changes.

The chocolate banana bread was good - think I enjoyed it more than my daughter though 😂 she has been eating healthy pancakes though so I'm happy about that!

Gosh that does sound intense, glad someone can help you make the journey a bit easier.

Hi Rainbow,

Paleo sounds good and very similar to keto. The high fat part of keto is only really important when doing it for weight loss. If you don't get the protein, carbs, fat ratio right, you don't lose a lot of weight.

I like the keto cauliflower and broccoli bake recipe. Other than that I just adjust my own recipes to make them keto.

Glad you enjoyed the chocolate banana bread. I haven't done any cooking or baking since Monday.

I started feeling a bit out of it on Thursday and couldn't pinpoint why until a friend asked if I was worried about what I would do on my days off. I've been a bit low for 3 days. Hoping my mood will start to improve tomorrow when my DD is with me. I've got 2 more days off and want to at least be productive.

I've been practicing the dotting painting technique, so I can teach my art club. It's proving to be challenging!

What have you got planned for half term?

Thanks Rainbow for being there for me. It's made feel less alone. I've just realized that I started chatting to you a year ago!

Hi @Lokikitty,

Yes I realised that too! So glad this thread has helped you and thanks for sticking with me! We've had some ups and downs haven't we? 😄

I've had an interesting day, met with the functional medicine doctor and it seems I have a condition called pyrrole disorder which means I need higher than average amounts of zinc and B6. The main symptom is feeling stressed all the time. I'm glad to have found out but it's thrown up a whole bunch of other emotions too.

How is your half term going? I've never tried that dotty painting technique, I bet its harder than it looks.

I've just made 'raspberry bliss bars' as I was craving something sweet. They're made from raspberries, mashed banana, lots of different seeds and nut butter. Will let you know if any good!

Hi Rainbow,

Sorry to hear about your pyrrole disorder. Hope the extra zinc and B6 help you to feel better soon.

My first week of half term didn't go well. I was really lonely and ended up feeling quite low. I've been trying for years to figure out how to enjoy my days off work but it just doesn't seem possible. Having no routine and no company is triggering for me.

This week is going well so far. I worked with a different child, who wasn't as challenging. She engaged really well in all the activities. We did gymnastics, yoga, cricket and drumming.

Today is my first day off this week. All the plans that I had made with friends have been cancelled. I'm disappointed but coping well so far. The grey,drizzly weather isn't helping. Hoping it will improve.

How did your raspberry bliss bars turn out?

Hi @Lokikitty,

Sorry to hear you were feeling lonely and down ❤️ glad that this week started a bit better.

How is the weather where you are? It's mixed here but warm when the sun comes out.

The raspberry bliss bars were quite nice but didn't quite live up to the name!

I've had my in-laws staying with me for the past couple of days, I found it a bit much tbh, I manage to cover up my social anxiety quite well but it keeps me tense all the time.

I'm sorry your plans got cancelled, hope you find something nice to do.

Hi Rainbow,

This week has been better. I was on edge for most of Thursday, knowing that my days off would be hard for me. In a strange way, it was better to accept this, instead of pretending that I was okay.

I went to an art class on Thursday. Still haven't got the hang of pointillism 🤣. I treated myself to lunch on Friday. I haven't felt up to eating out alone for a while, so felt proud of myself.

My sister is at my mum's for the weekend. Went to see her this evening. Got my head bitten off for no good reason but went fine up to that point! Seeing her again tomorrow!

The weather is up and down. It was warm for parts of the day. The kind of weather where you don't know what to wear.

Glad the raspberry bliss bars were nice. To be fair, without lots of unhealthy ingredients, it would be hard to live up to the name!

Sorry about your in laws visit causing you anxiety. I feel your pain. I struggle having visitors for a few hours. I feel it's something I have to do though, as it would be strange to never have anyone around.

Hi Rainbow

I thought I had lost this thread. Glad I've found it 😊

Hi @Lokikitty,

Thought I’d lost it too! And the app hasn’t been letting me post 😩

Hope the rest of the holidays have been ok?

I have a sister too! Is yours older or younger? Sibling relationships can be challenging!

My husband and daughter had takeaway pizza tonight but I kept to my plan and had quinoa burgers which I was actually happy to do.

I did an online life drawing class this evening which made a nice change.

Hi Rainbow

Glad you found the thread. The changes to the site are really frustrating.

The rest of the holiday was better. I had plenty of cleaning and batch cooking to keep me busy!

My sister is older. All my family are challenging! Is it just you and your sister? I'm one of 8.

I bet your quinoa burger was nice. Take away pizza can be really disappointing and expensive.

Your online life drawing class sounds interesting. Glad you enjoyed it. My daughter had to do it as part of her course.

I've just spent over an hour filling in more forms for the special needs centre. I didn't know they existed because they went to my junk mail. I got a voicemail today asking me to check my junk mail. Feeling really stressed and tired now. I hate technology this week!!

Yes have given up using app for now 🙄

Wow, you have a big family, I’m not surprised that comes with its challenges! I’m one of 4 plus 3 half siblings, 2 of which I’ve never met. It’s complicated 🤣

I’ve signed up for another life drawing class tomorrow, hoping to try and do it weekly. It got me in a good frame of mind.

Sorry about the forms 😩 hope you’ve got nice weather where you are today. It’s lovely here, I’ve already had 2 ice lollies - they are fruit and veg flavoured with no added sugar! I’ve also ordered some carob bars, it’s supposed to be like chocolate but it’s healthier.

Hi Rainbow

I haven't used the app. A lot of people seem to be having issues with it.

Your family seems as complicated as mine . I'm the middle child from my dad's first marriage. The other 5 siblings are half siblings and there is a big age difference. I do see them but not very often.

Glad you enjoyed the life drawing class and have another one to look forward to.

I had to redo the occupational health questionnaire today! They said that I needed to give more information about my autism and anxiety.

My art class went well today. I'm finding out what the children's strengths are weaknesses are and trying to plan with this in mind.

I had a rough weekend. My misophonia gets worse when I am hormonal and I just really struggled. Only got around 4 hours sleep last night. Felt a bit drowsy during my Zumba class this evening 🤣

How was your weekend?

Hi Loki!

Thats another thing we’ve got in common! Families eh? 😂

Did life drawing again this week and really enjoyed it despite finding it quite difficult.

Hope the form wasn’t too laborious!

interesting that you’ve made the link between hormones and misophonia.
I’ve just started reading a book that might interest you ‘women, food and hormones’ by Dr. Sara Gottfried, it seems to centre around how to adapt a ketogenic diet for women so that it’s more hormone friendly.

Hi Rainbow

I would probably find life drawing difficult too. Glad you still managed to enjoy it.

The book you mentioned sounds interesting. I have definitely found that keto helps with PMS.

I've been sent more forms to fill in today. It feels never ending. They wouldn't have taken too long on paper. But it's so much more time consuming and stressful online. Hoping there are no more forms! Also recieved a 114 page employee handbook!

Hi Loki,

well done for getting through those forms, I agree, online forms can be so stressful.

Hope you’re having a good weekend?

I made a frittata earlier, I’m not that keen on eggs but I can manage a frittata. I used leftover roasted vegetables and some spinach and wild garlic, felt like I was doing something healthy for myself!

Hi Rainbow

Your frittata sounds lovely and healthy. I've only used courgette. I should try something different.

My weekend has been a mixture of good and bad. Work went really well yesterday. It was the first Saturday that I've done for 3 weeks, so was good to see the children.

What didn't go well for me was being on my own this weekend. My daughter went to her friend's house. Although I was really happy for her, I found it difficult, spending so much time alone.

How was your weekend?

Hi Loki,

Mixed weekend here too, I went for a walk with my daughter and husband and then we drove to the local farm shop. It was quite a lot of being ‘out’ for me with my anxiety but I pushed myself as wanted to do it for my daughters sake. I’ve felt quite down and anxious since and can’t really pinpoint why as it was a sign of progress.

Sorry to hear you were feeling lonely without your daughter, I get lonely too sometimes, it’s hard. You’re welcome to message me anytime on here x