I am not a morning person..or so I used to think.

THEN...I made 2 key diet changes

1.  Drink little and often during the day

2.  Eat low Glycemic Index foods, especially in the evening.  

The result - I wake refreshed and bright and ready for the day!

Hydration

I read all over the place that most of us are on the verg of dehydration a lot of the time. It can result in lethargy, poor concentration, poor sleep and poor health and mood.

So for the past 3 weeks I’ve kept topped up with water, diluted juice (4:1 water to juice - took a bit of getting used to) and herbal tea - cammomile my fave at the moment.  I’ve also avoided tea, coffee (including decaff for both) as these are mild diuretics and tried to stay off the wine.

It's worked - I feel fresh and alert when I wake in the morning...and bonus - I don’t feel fuzzy the morning after a wine or two.

Slow Burn Energy

I’ve believed in using Glycemic Index for managing mood for a long time - eating foods that slowly release energy into the bloodstream so blood sugar doesn’t peak and crash throughout the day.  Now I’ve realised that how I do this in the evening is really important for quality of sleep.   

I recently learnt that a heightened blood sugar at bedtime can interfere with the way the brain establishes sleep and how it regenerates and rejuvenates.  In a nutshell sleep will be lighter and less restful and the brain less inclined to use up all those good mood nutrients I work hard to eat every day.

So - I’ve been careful to eat protein and low GI carbs at supper but not too much too late. If I eat early with the kids, I do top up with small low GI snack around 9pm but again not too much too late.  I’ve cut out all puddings and don’t reach for the biscuits with my evening cuppa and Bingo! 

I sleep really well, night sweats have almost gone and I wake up refreshed and ready to go!

All of my recipes aim to be low GI.  I'll share more about low Glycemic Index foods later...