5 Things I do to stay happy in the gloomy October weather

 

How to stay happy in this weather? There a some small little things you can do to set up your mind back to happy mood! It is easy, costs you nothing and help me every year 🙂

1. Layer Up!

I love Autumn/Winter fashion! Though this year, probably for the first year, I have truly enjoyed Summer fashion. I finally found summer clothes (Long dresses in particular) in which I felt confident. Not worry that my shorts would show some of my cellulite, or tight tops, my sweating patches – I guess we have all been there!

Anyhow, I  switched my colourful dresses for my black, blue, orange dresses and started to pick inside my jumper pile! I love being able to layer multiple things, black tights and finally being able to wear my favourite coats and boots. It doesn’t mean I say goodbye to colour and I still wear pastel, bright yellow or pink rain coat, which always tempt to bright up the gloomy October days.

2. Spice Up your food with warmth

That smell of warm cinnamon coming out of a spiced latte … Of course I love cinnamon and nutmeg and all of these spices all year around, but there is something about smelling and eating them on a cold dark rainy day. I make sure I have plenty of seasonal fruits to go with it, and make warm porridge with apple and cinnamon for breakfast, or pumpkin spice cake using homemade fresh pumpkin purée (recipe coming soon!).

Not only these spices are delicious and warm, but they are also really good generally for your health. There are so many studies showing why and how cinnamon is good for you, and as I’ll mention bellow, particularly in that time where your body needs it.

Finally of course, let’s talk about stews. It is time to reach to your biggest pan, and cook your first stew of the year. Meaty, Veggie or vegan, they are plenty of hearty recipes to warm your soul, after a run under the rain. I am also always surprised how little preparation is needed to make stews. The key thing is to leave it enough time to cook, to make sure all of the flavours develop slowly at low temperature.

3. Continue to exercise

When I am cozying up in my bed, where I am warm and covered from the blowing wind, getting out to exercise, is though. What I find helps, is warming up with a tea or coffee, and then directly put my workout clothes on and go. If you are just getting home from work, don’t sit down, just change onto your gym kit, and GO! You will still be warm from walking back from the station or from work, and still find the motivation.

I also make sure I have everything to stay warm when I am exercising outside. I just have a couple of good running jumpers and a couple of wind/rain jackets to protect me. It might sound like the worst for you, but I do very much enjoy running under the rain. The perks are that the streets or parks are empty, and you feel like you are running inside a pool! I though make sure to shower straight away; not to get ill 😉

If generally exercising outside isn’t your thing, there are so many exercises you can do in the comfort of your home, or of course going to the gym.

 

4. Get some added vitamins to your diet

As mentioned bellow, this time of year is critical and with high chance of getting ill ( you know, the weather changes, we get less natural light, our immune system slows down ect ect just a biologic and nature fact). So it is crucial to look after yourself in this period of the year.  My mum always made sure we did a “vitamin cure” came September to prepare for Winter. Though it is not too late to start now, if you feel like you are not getting enough from your diet. Personally, I focus on getting my nutriments from my food – which is naturally engrained in me from a young age – but I like to give my self a boots at this time.

I also did a Floradix cure this year (essentially highly concentrated in Iron) , which was actually really good! Obviously, I am not a doctor, and these things work for me and we are all different 🙂 I just know that I don’t take medicines at all and rarely get sick. There are no surprises in the fact that I prefer a natural and preventing approach.

5. Embrace the beautiful Autumn scenery

Only once a year, nature transforms itself onto an actual painting. Each trees is a different shade of orange, brown, green or yellow and it is just so beautiful. It is not long until all of these colourful leaves fall of, so make sure you enjoy walking around, appreciating the beauty of Nature in Autumn.

And just like that, you already feel a bit better about this rainy day. Put on your raincoat, and get outside.

 

 

 

Photography credit to Jennifer Moyes