2020 with COVID 19 – How our family recovered…
2020 was a tough year for the world with the COVID 19 pandemic and 2021 continues to see no end to this virus. The vaccinations can hopefully help reduce hospital admissions however we still need to keep others safe. Reflecting over the past year we have had our ups and downs but over all I am one of the lucky ones and wake everyday thankful for what we have. We are fortunate that my husband has a secure job and really glad my kids are easy to manage as teens. We are fortunate we can sleep and eat in the safety and comfort of our warm home and we have a large park beside us to walk our dog. I am also very fortunate to be have my Dietetic nutritional consultancy business www.121dietitian.com online to continue to help and advise others. I am passionate about wholefood nutrition and this really matters with our current pandemic. Not being able to visit loved ones has been very difficult. I am especially sad about not seeing my parents. My mum has Multiple Sclerosis and dependent on hoists and wheelchair and loves company. She needs many to assist her daily needs. Sadly they are 120 miles or a 3 hour car drive away in a different country – not easy to visit, so in between the lockdowns we have hopped in the car driven and spent a few hours chatting in the window to them returning home relieved they are safe and coping. Summer 2020 was a tough time for my eldest 2 children: A-levels and GCSE’s were cancelled and they were hugely disappointed. They are now doing their best to continue focused for the future but it is damn hard. I am very proud of them. Fast forward December 20 everything was going well, life was in a routine with work and school and we were preparing for Christmas at home. We managed to enjoy Christmas day and then COVID struck (brought home from my husbands work). We began to fall ill first my husband and then me. We told no one as we were scared of what was ahead. We self isolated and were fortunate to have extra food in with Christmas. The kids also had varying symptoms. I can’t say for sure but as I write this we have got away lightly. Loss of taste and smell and fatigue being the most difficult for 2 weeks. We were dreading the worst as both myself and my husband are healthcare professionals and have seen first hand what COVID 19 is doing to people. The longer term damage of kidneys, heart, brain, stroke and lungs is all too real. I have over the past year of COVID been advising others on assisting their immunity and improving their overall health. Little did I think we would be saved by it too. I personally feel that having underlying good health, eating a varied diet, taking Vitamin D, getting restorative sleep and keeping a safe alcohol intake has been advantageous in our recovery. 2021 has been a slow start for us but when you have your health you have your wealth so it can only hopefully get better. From my experiencing with COVID 19 if you can do one thing in the next 12 months I would strongly urge you to please protect yourselves and your family from contracting COVID 19. Let 2021 be the year you make any changes you need. Optimise your diet. Have the best metabolic health you can. Take Vitamin D daily. Ensure you have the best sleep, activity, mood and gut possible. Stay well and stay safe. If you are unsure of how to change your eating habits, or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small. In the meantime do please check out our 121Dietitian Shop If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Why not visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. How can a Dietitian help Book a consultation via our Online Portal About Gillian Killiner Check out our tailored dietary programmes Gillian x [instagram-feed]
Healthy Snacks For Kids and Teens going back to school…
The kids are back to school. Now the headaches is what to feed them each day. Having 3 kids I know how challenging feeding them Healthy Snacks can be! ?Your child is going to need nutrients for brain power and the additional exercise they may not have been availing of for the last few months. ? Don’t fall for the high-fat, nutrient-poor snacks that are lining our supermarket shelves. Here is a list of a few healthy snacks with a twist: Healthy Snacks for all the family ? Peel a banana and dip it in yogurt. Roll in crushed pecans and freeze? Spread celery sticks with peanut butter or cream cheese. Top with raisins. Stuff a whole-grain pita pocket with cream cheese and apple slices. Add a dash of cinnamon. Take 2 oat cakes top with Greek yoghurt add some raspberries and enjoy. Put cubes of cheddar cheese and grapes on pretzel sticks. Spread peanut or almond butter on apple slices.? Take semi skimmed milk, frozen strawberries or raspberries or blueberries add some oats and seeds blend for thirty seconds for a delicious smoothie. Use wholemeal thins to make tasty sandwiches fill with colourful salad and home cooked meats like gammon, chicken or prawns, egg, houmous…??? Sprinkle grated cheese over a wholemeal tortilla; fold in half and microwave for twenty seconds. Top with homemade avocado guacamole, cucumber, peppers, tomato salsa.?️ Heat homemade soup: mushroom, tomato or chicken, bean and vegetable soup and enjoy with oat cakes and pate. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese and smoked paprika on hot popcorn. Banana pancakes – mash 1 ripe banana, add 1 egg and some wholemeal flour and mix – cook on pan in a little butter. No need to add anything as sweet enough. Spread mayo on a wholemeal tortilla. Top with a slice of turkey or ham, cheese, tomato and lettuce. Flavour with herbs and spices. Then roll it up ? Mini Pizza: Toast the bottom of an English muffin, add some passata on the top and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and vegetables and grill. Fruit kebabs. Make fruit exciting by threading melon, grapes and pineapple chunks on a wooden skewer. Dark chocolate- 2 squares place in a cup add boiling water and top with milk.☕ Snacks to say “no” to: Chocolate type biscuit bars are not filling and high in sugar and saturated fat. Soft drinks. Eight to 10 teaspoons of sugar are found in the average can of soft drink. All sugar and no nutrients is not healthy and can lead to health problems like diabetes and weight gain. Read more about Sugar in our recent blog here. Sweets. Even when disguised with the word “fruit” included- avoid. A healthy snack provides good quality nutrients and protein —- something that sweets do not provide. Snack pots eg: ham, cheese, and biscuits – these are all highly processed in plastic packaging. Make your own with home made ingredients – much fresher and again less waste using a Tupperware box. Crisps are high in salt and saturated fat. Keep to a minimum. Top Healthy Snack tips: ✔️Buy some Tupperware boxes to reuse in small and large sizes tocarry food to school (reduces single use plastic waste). ✔️Use refillable water bottles for water. Try the glass ones that don’t break. ✔️Having the food at home means you are eating out lesswhich will save you money too! These are just a few of our random Healthy Snack suggestions to get you thinking. If you have any Healthy Snacks please let us know. If you are unsure of how to change your eating habits, or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small. In the meantime do please check out our 121Dietitian Shop If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Why not visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. How can a Dietitian help Book a consultation via our Online Portal About Gillian Killiner Check out our tailored dietary programmes Gillian x [instagram-feed]
COVID -19
IMPORTANT MESSAGE: As per government recommendations on 16th March 2020 our clinics will now be held on – line using SKYPE or Zoom. Please do not hesitate to contact us as it is business as usual. We are here to assist you with keeping your immune system and health optimal while we all fight this together. Stay safe from the 121 Dietitian team If you are unsure of how to change your eating habits, or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small. In the meantime do please check out our 121Dietitian Shop Why not visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. How can a Dietitian help Book a consultation via our Online Portal About Gillian Killiner Check out our tailored dietary programmes Gillian x [instagram-feed]
Hashimotos and me -the best ever! Part 4…
I was reflecting on my Hashimotos hypothyroidism this morning and realized wow, what a year 2019 has been. My best health year for the past 10! Clinical work has grown and has become immensely intense with more and more patients attending with multiple and complex issues. With my good health these challenges are no longer draining and so I continue to train in new services and collaborate with excellent health professionals and institutions to offer my expertise. My niche is certainly assisting people who have nutritional issues that may also affect their health negatively in ways they did not realise: Eating disorders, mental health and well-being, resistant weight, metabolic syndrome, gut health, fatigue, auto-immune conditions, hormonal issues, fertility, allergies, nutrigenomics, optimization of the workplace….. I personally continue to follow my health programme to ensure that I remain optimised to keeps me tip-top. In addition I run with a running club and have completed several cross-country races and love Park run when I can ever get to it. (kids activities seem to dictate!) Chronic Illness Chronic illness is, I believe, like a jigsaw puzzle. Illness is complex and often can’t be completed/fixed in one go. In relation to chronic ill health, it can take several years for some people to manage this jigsaw – often following unscientific or expensive paths in desperation. The illness is often still there but the medications assists in just getting through the day. This way of living masks the underlying problems. Fixing the cause is King, and working with the body through its ups and downs is the only way out. At 121 Dietitian, availing of a full assessment allows a a complete evaluation of you diet, lifestyle, sleep, inflammation, blood results. A bespoke detailed written programme is then provided – and a follow up to check how all is progressing. Positive results can be achieved in a few weeks. Fantastic for the client and the reason I love to go to work. I look forward to every day and hope that I can help you too feel the same. If you are unsure of how to change your eating habits, or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small. In the meantime do please check out our 121Dietitian Shop If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Why not visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. How can a Dietitian help Book a consultation via our Online Portal About Gillian Killiner Check out our tailored dietary programmes Gillian x [instagram-feed]
Seven Top Tips for Gaining Weight
Here, Gillian Killiner, Director And Principal Dietitian At 121 Dietitian discusses common reasons why people lose weight and shares her top tips for gaining weight. I am 22 years in the health business and the most popular misconception I face is that all I do is advise people on weight loss! This couldn’t be further from the truth. My unique role as a Dietitian is first and foremost about increasing nutrients and ensuring health is optimal from top-to-toe. This involves fixing; cellular function, gut health, mental health, checking genetics, bloods etc. One area that gets very little press however is how to gain weight. There are lots of reasons why people lose weight such as a poor appetite, nausea, difficulty eating, eating disorders, surgery, illness or a traumatic event. Extra good quality nutrition and extra energy are important to help gain weight along with addressing lifestyle issues that may be connected. It may seem wrong but it is important to eat healthy choices when needing to gain weight as processed high sugar poor quality foods affect health negatively. When gaining weight it is essential to add muscle and replenish healthy levels of fat around the body, while not gaining unhealthy fat around the abdomen and organs. My top seven tips for gaining weight are as follows: If appetite is small have small, frequent meals and snacks during the day. Try to eat or drink something every few hours. Three meals and three snacks is a good pattern to follow. Add small amounts of olive oil/cream/cheese to your food. This is an easy way to increase the energy in your diet while volumes do not increase by much. Choose high energy from protein foods at both meals and snacks. Make every mouthful count! Don’t fill up on low energy foods like water, tea, coffee, ‘diet’ food and drinks or plain fruits and vegetables. Follow the ideas below to increase the energy and protein content of some common low energy foods. Choose full cream dairy products and use high energy milk. To make high energy milk, add one–two tbsp skim milk powder to every 250mls of full cream milk. If nausea is a problem: Cold foods and drinks may be better than hot as hot foods often have a stronger smell. Avoid eating late at night if nausea is notable in the morning. Don’t let your stomach get too full or empty as this will increase nausea. Eat and drink slowly– If the smell of cooked foods puts you off try to avoid kitchen smells until you are feeling better. 7. Avoid taking a large amount of fluid when eating a meal and snack. Drinking 20 minutes after is better. 8. Ask someone else to assist you where possible so you are not wasting the energy and weight you are trying to build. Adding high energy and protein foods (such as cream, cheese and margarine) to your meals really does make a big difference! The examples below show just how many calories/ kilojoules (KJ) you can add to a typical meal. This is an easy way to increase energy without having to eat lots of extra food! Whether you need help with weight loss, weight gain or understanding your dietary needs, get in touch with Gillian today. If you are unsure of how to change your eating habits, or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small. In the meantime do please check out our 121Dietitian Shop If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Why not visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. How can a Dietitian help Book a consultation via our Online Portal About Gillian Killiner Check out our tailored dietary programmes Gillian x [instagram-feed]
Patient review -121 dietitian fixes my health
Patient review – suffering from a major depressive disorder and gastrointestinal issues, which included a range of symptoms. Pat shares how thanks to 121 Dietitian’s expert guidance, her health has drastically improved. “My road to recovery began on January 2019 after years of chronic health problems, some of which included major depressive disorder and a malfunctioning bowel of an inability to evacuate normally, therefore having to resort to mechanical means to empty my bowel daily. I was also diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Disease and Metabolic Syndrome. I am 59 years old. Having done extensive research into my gastrointestinal issues and undergone many tests, investigations, and commenced on a plethora of prescribed medications over the years I discovered Dietitian Gillian Killiner at www.121dietitian.com. I was so impressed with her online portfolio that I decided to contact her and she agreed to come to see me mid-January 2019 for a home assessment, which was great as I rarely left the house. To say that I was impressed is an understatement as Gillian blew me away with her extensive knowledge and experience of the workings of the human anatomy and physiology. Having told Gillian my medical history of depression, abdominal obesity, bowel problems with associated persistent nausea, dry mouth, repeated fungal infections and abdominal pain and discomfort and poor sleeping pattern, she listened attentively and compassionately to my myriad of issues. She grasped every word that I spoke with a sincere understanding and knowledge surpassed by all professionals with whom I had come in contact over the years. Her plan of action for me was personalised and tailored specifically to my problems. My individualised care plan was put into action and included, not a diet as such, but a healthy lifestyle food plan and high-end specific supplements following the results of a series of blood tests. I met with Gillian again mid-March 2019 at my home and was excited to relate to her the changes she made to my quality of life. Gone are the nausea, dry mouth and fungal infections as well as the abdominal pain and discomfort. My bowels are functioning somewhat better and I’ve managed to scale back on some of my prescribed medications. My mood has markedly improved and I have a better quality of sleep. I’m also 14lbs lighter and continuing to lose weight at a healthy pace. To summarise I have to say that during all my years of contact with the different healthcare providers (of which before retirement I was one of them) I can say without doubt that Gillian’s extensive expertise on nutrition and general health is worthy of note and I have the utmost confidence in her abilities and talents to help people vastly improve their quality of life. Gillian’s professional, courteous, warm and affable nature affords her the highest recommendation in her chosen field of wide-ranging nutritional, health and well-being aspects of the individual.” – Pat Morgan If you feel you could benefit from the expertise of a dietitian, get in touch today. If you are unsure of how to change your eating habits, or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small. In the meantime do please check out our 121Dietitian Shop If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Why not visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. How can a Dietitian help Book a consultation via our Online Portal About Gillian Killiner Check out our tailored dietary programmes Gillian x [instagram-feed]