‘Go with your good gut instinct’ – Kilkenny health and nutrition expert publishes free book to help people stay healthy and happy during New Year lockdown

An award-winning health and nutrition expert has published a free new online book to help people to get in shape as the country enters another lockdown.

As Ireland begins 2021 under the full Level 5 restrictions, with movements curtailed and gyms closed, Laura Warren of Elite Living Nutrition says maintaining a healthy diet has never been as important.

To help people who want to switch a healthier lifestyle in 2021 but are perhaps worried about the impact of the third lockdown on their daily lives, Laura has just published her ‘7-Day New Year Cleanse’ – a 44-page book that is packed with delicious, healthy recipes which is free for anyone to download online.

The e-book features an easy to follow 7-day meal planner, which also includes helpful shopping lists of which foods and ingredients to buy at your local supermarket. The book is tastefully illustrated with photographs and helpful icons to show readers which recipes are dairy or gluten-free, as well as vegetarian, low-carb and high-protein meals. The book also includes a free guide on how to achieve a good night’s sleep for anyone who may be feeling streesed during these difficult times.

Laura said she wanted to “give something back” to help people kickstart their healthy New Year resolutions after receiving several calls from women and men who were feeling down in the dumps about weight they put on in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.

“Many people, quite understandably, found themselves under a lot more pressure because of Covid-19 and the restrictions and rolling lockdowns that we have had to get used to over the past year,” said Laura.

“This inspired me to put together a simple e-book featuring a whole range of delicious and easy to follow recipes to suit all tastes that will perhaps give people a starting point to work from as they try to follow a heathier regime in 2021. If you can start the year with a good gut instinct it can make all the difference.”

Laura, who was named Health & Nutrition Influencer of the Year (Ireland) at the prestigious Global Health & Pharmaceutical Awards 2020, said the pandemic has impacted on many aspects of people’s lives, including their financial, mental and physical well-being. She said traditional Christmas ‘binge’ drinking and eating has also contributed to people feeling bloated and unhealthy as we face the prospect of at least= another month under full lockdown.

“Of course, it’s natural during difficult times such as these for people to indulge in binge eating and drinking, in many cases choosing the types of food that may initially unlock endorphins that give instant gratification – or ‘food high’ – but ultimately depresses the immune system and contributes to obesity,” added Laura.

The nutrition expert said people will be amazed when they realise that they can drastically improve their quality of their lives without having to undertake radical dieting measures, simply by getting to know their bodies a bit better and choosing the right foods to suit their individual nutritional needs.

She strongly rejects the notion that healthy eating is about “punishing” yourself and dismisses yo-yo dieting and short-term weight-loss programmes as “dangerous fads”.

Laura, who is a member of Harvard Health Medical School, said: “Healthy eating and living is not about defining your shape or size – it’s about nourishing your body with the right food, nutrients and vitamins to have
a meaningful and happy life.

“When people lose weight they feel confident and proud, they have more energy, they are more mentally equipped and able to take on the tough challenges that everyday life throws at us all as we get older.

“Everybody deserves to feel confident and to look good. Depression and obesity feed each other. Being overweight affects the parts of the brain that regulate your mood: when we become depressed we can feel unmotivated and depressed and this, in turn can lead to us being less active and turning our backs on exercise, which can lead to bigger problems.”

The Elite Living ‘7-Day New Year Cleanse’ is FREE to download on www.elitelivingnutrition.com
All recipes in the book contain a barcode that readers can scan on My Fitness Pal to allow them to track their calories and macronutrients

PHOTO: Dylan Vaughan Photography