9 Tasty Tips To Help You Stay On Plan When You Have A Cold
The seasons are changing, kids are back at school and the lovely cold viruses are alive and well. So, you’ve succumbed to a cold while on plan! Your nose is running, your throat is sore and you’ve a hacking cough – what’s to be done? Sadly, there’s no simple cure for the common cold, but read on for some New You top tips that might help you to stay on plan.
Having a cold is absolutely no fun. You feel terrible, have little energy, and sometimes you crave foods that are definitely not on your weight loss plan. Sticking to your diet when your nose is running, and you feel lousy is challenging but you can do it. Here’s why it’s hard to stick to your diet when you have a cold and what you can do to avoid blowing your diet.
Why Having a Cold Makes You Want Certain Foods
There is no definitive answer to the question of why being sick makes you want certain foods, but there are three likely causes:
1) Childhood Conditioning
Hands up who was fed scrambled egg on toast and a huge slug of Lucozade when they were sick? Whatever the ‘cure’ was in your house you can guarantee that will be your ‘go to’ for when you are sick.
2) Hormones
When you have a cold, you might have trouble sleeping. A lack of sleep increases your cravings because of the two hormones ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin tells your brain when it is time to eat, and the hormone increases when you haven’t gotten enough sleep, which makes you want to eat more often. To make matters worse, leptin, the hormone that helps you know when you are full, decreases when you are sleep deprived.
3) You Believe The Old Saying “Feed A Cold, Starve A Fever.”
Although there may be some scientific truth to the adage, if you feed your cold with too much junk food, you can easily gain weight while you are recovering. Although you could lose it with some effort, gaining weight when you want to lose it can cause you to falter in your weight loss effort.
Which Comfort Foods Work for Colds and Weight Loss
Some people like salty foods when they are sick and others prefer sweet foods. No matter which type you prefer, there are New You packs that will satisfy cravings without blipping!
Try some of the following:
1. Chicken soup is always a winner, try our Homely Chicken soup with a pinch of curry powder for extra heat
2. The spice of the New You Delicious Vegetable Chilli pack will help get those sinuses flowing again. Pair with a packet of our savoury Thai Sweet Chili Tortilla chips for the perfect comfort food.
3. Make up a hot Pineapple Boost. Not only will hot drinks ease a sore throat, there’s something comforting about simply holding a hot drink when you are feeling under the weather
4. Hot Chocolate – New You style. Make up the any of our delicious hot chocolate shakes with warm water and enjoy a chocolatey boost. Choose from Creamy Chocolate, Tempting Chocolate Orange or Refreshing Mint Chocolate
5. Sore throat? Make some New You water flavourings into ice lollies or slushies. Perfect for numbing a painful throat
6. Hot tea. Herbal teas are great to give you that hug in a mug. Peppermint and liquorice tea is a favourite at New You HQ
7. Create your own Lemsip. Some cold remedies can knock you out of ketosis which might make sticking to plan more difficult. Instead make up a hot lemon drink using Orange Lemon Zing water flavouring and take some paracetamol
8. Try a hot bath and add some warming essential oils such as eucalyptus. It will help with the blocked nose
9. Rest! If you can, get an early night and sleep it off. Our bodies repair best when we are at rest.
Feel better soon!
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