So you’re feeling confident –you’ve got that hot first date set up- or may be it’s your third or fourth date- even better! But you’re also trying to stay on that new health kick you’ve just got started with-so what do you do??

First of all don’t panic! Far too many people nowadays get themselves into a knot trying to work out what they should be eating and what they shouldn’t! There are so many different ideas and articles out there telling you different ways to lose weight or get leaner and there are constantly new studies showing that different foods have different medicinal properties. With so much information available on the internet -  it can be down right confusing!

So let’s simplify things with a broad principle that you can stick to- and that has been proven and remains undisputed (mostly) over the ages:  Eat for variety- from as wide a selection as you can!

This may sound a boring piece of advice but it has many benefits.  Firstly you are eating primarily (in case you’d forgotten!) to get the maximum nutrients you can with the optimum (some might say -minimum) calories you need. In other words for every item you put in your mouth you want it to count toward the nutrients ‘goal’ your body needs to hit each and every week.  So when you put something on your fork make it count toward your nutrient stockpiling- then when you have amassed enough nutrients (that is; carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water) you can then have your discretionary calories (as the Americans refer to it) in the form of something that adds calories but very little nutrition, say a marshmallow!

So, if you’re trying to get as many nutrients as possible with every bite-what is the best way to do it? Eat a variety of foods.  Each vegetable, piece of fish and slice of cake has its own set of nutrients (from omega 6 or 9 to vitamin E or A)- but no one food provides it all.  It’s the combining of a variety of ingredients that over the course of a day –or week –adds up the kind of nutrition that keeps you healthy, vitalised and ready to face the dating game!

Now this may sound simple but it’s good diet sense and it’s good dating sense!  If you’re sitting opposite someone you actually like and think you could get some thing going with, you don’t want to come across as a picky or fussy eater, do you?  No, so give the impression of being relaxed (even if you don’t feel it) and sample all the different foods on the table.  Eat some vegetables, some pasta, some cream but eat a range –that way you’re not eating too much of anything but you’re eating a little of everything and getting the full range of nutrients.  It will also give you time to stop stressing about what you’re eating and concentrate on the person you’re eating it with!

Happy dating!

Send and health, fitness and wellness questions to:

Chrissie@lapf.co.uk