An eight-year-old girl from East Belfast today reveals her secret to lock down health and fitness as Northern Ireland faces into new Covid restrictons.
With the help of her mum Amber, Daisy May streamlined her treats in a bid to boost her energy when she realised she’d developed a snack habit when her family routines changed.
Now she’s eating healthier food, sleeping better, has more energy through the day and she’s back into last year’s winter wardrobe.
And she even has her little brother Cayden, five, and three-year-old Violet up and dancing too.
Amber said: “Daisy has been a real inspiration and together we beat the lock down blues, got fitter, healthier and happier.
“We’d all put on weight by August and it had crept on without us really noticing too much. I think the stress of lock down affected people in different ways and I know comfort snacking became a habit in our house.
“But we were tired and sluggish which I knew wasn’t right. Daisy is normally very active. She’s been keen horse rider from the age of five and was always fit.
“But during lock down while I worked with Covid patients she stayed with my mum Margaret who had to shield because she is in a vulnerable group.
“So during that time Daisy stayed indoors and got less exercise and her eating habits changed with little treats here and there and that just seems to increase.
“Daisy and her granny really enjoyed their time together and we all know how grannies are with letting grandkids eat what they want. So Daisy pretty much ate snacks and did her school work on her laptop and her exercise levels dropped dramatically.
“My mum doesn’t have a garden where she could have play and she ended up gaining 20lb which looking back on it, seems like a crazy amount of weight in such a short time.
“But we recognised the change and we had a chat about it. I wanted to be very careful about how I handled this because I don’t want my daughter developing body image problems. So we talked about it in terms of health and fitness.
“I contacted my friend Gemma Burton, who works in health promotion for NI Chest, Heart and Stroke, and she gave me lots of advice from her personal point of view but also with her experience I felt it would be good.
“She actually goes into schools to do a presentations on healthy eating for the kids so I knew she was 100% the right person to ask. Before I contacted her I phoned a nutritionist who wanted £250 for a consultation.
“Instead my friend came up with food swaps to make like wholegrain bread instead of white bread, fruit and veg instead of crisps and chocolate and basically more vegetables and salad instead of chips.
“I really thought Daisy would struggle because she received a diagnosis of autism two years ago and routine is very important to her and she doesn’t like to vary much, but she took to her new eating ideas really easily.
“I discovered that she really enjoyed crunchy vegetables and even now when I’m going shopping she reminds me to get her cucumber and red peppers - there’s no mention of crisps and chocolate,
“In five weeks Daisy lost 11lbs and I’m incredibly proud of her because this is about her physical health and her mental health and wellbeing too.
“She’s feeling more energetic and less sluggish and I think she started sleeping better.
“When I realised things had slipped a bit I worried that she might get be picked on in school because kids can be very cruel without realising the consequences of what they say.
“Don’t get me wrong Daisy still does get treats but I choose lower calorie options and she doesn’t seem to notice and I don’t talk about calories in front of her.
“I never mentioned the word ‘diet’ at all, I just talked about us all getting healthy and I even set up an Instagram documenting meals I make. It’s missmay_mumofthree.
“So now we all eat the same foods and I’ve lost weight too. Daisy has inspired all of us and she doesn’t even realise how many people her good work has affected.
“I told her every day how amazing she was doing and how much I love her and how beautiful she is and I ate the same foods and dropped a dress size.”
Daisy, who is in P5 at Elmgrove PS in East Belfast, is now fit and happy with how she looks and feels. Daisy said: “I started eating different food at the end of August and when I put on my joggers this week Mummy was all excited and took a load of photos to remind me of how well we’d done.
“The clothes we got in August don’t fit because they’re too big, but other tops from last winter time that were in the wardrobe fit me again.
“I want to be fit and healthy because that’s important. My mum says the amount of weight I’ve lost is not the important thing, it’s being able to play all day without getting tired.
“I’m super happy and proud of myself and I feel really good.”
Here’s what Daisy did:
- fewer crisps/choc/sweets
- more fruit but the likes of berries
- swapped high sugar yoghurt to Greek yogurt or natural yoghurt with some blueberries etc added
- no oven-ready food at all.
- fewer carbs and more salad and veg
- asked Daisy for a list of foods she likes and planned meals around that
- more physical activity, 20 - 25,000 steps a day
- a treat of choice at the weekend
