Matcha Green tea is a great addition to any diet as a healthy way to manage cortisol levels.

Here is the recipe for my favorite at home version:
12 oz Oat milk Steamed
1 Scoop Collagen of choice
1 scoop Matcha of choice
10 Grams Maple Syrup

Whip or Swizzel (you know with the little coffee swizzeler) together and enjoy.

Savoring every sip and just feeling the stress melt away.

 

1- Herbal Tea – promotes warmth and calmness.

2- Dark Chocolate – rich in antioxidants and feels indulgent.

3-  Whole Grains – Our bodies desire carbs to bring down cortisol so healthy whole grains help.

4- Avocado’s – Omegas keep the brain healthy and happy.

5 – Fatty Omega Rich fish – again happy brain better moods.

6- Matcha Green Tea – L-Theanine in green tea lowers cortisol levels significantly.

7- Nuts in moderation- Rich in b-vitamins these can be a great stress busting snack.

8- Citrus and Strawberries – High in vitamin C these can keep our immune system happy which in turn helps manage stress

9- Probiotics and fermented foods – Happy gut happy brain.  It is all connected.

10 – Foods naturally high in Fiber – Again happy gut happy brain.  Foods high in fiber keep our gut in tip top shape!

You have heard the wives tale “starve a cold feed a fever”.  Well this really is not founded in any science. The goal should be to simply listen to your body. If you don’t feel like eating don’t and if you do, do.  The most important thing that you SHOULD focus on is hydration.  Hot – Cold it doesn’t matter. Just make sure to get in liquids!

Why do you need ‘plenty of fluids’ when you’re sick?

Hydration is always important, but it’s even more so when you have a cold, the flu. The main reason is, when you’re sick, you are probably neglecting your normal eating and drinking habits.

If you aren’t getting enough fluids, your body may have difficultly regulating its’ temperature, which can make you “feel” even worse.

Proper hydration can help the skin and cells act as a barrier to prevent bacteria from entering the body. It also can help decrease nasal irritation when coughing, sneezing and even just breathing.

So eat when and what you feel like.  No need to force feed yourself but FOCUS ON HYDRATION and feel better soon!

Why “Eat Less, Move More” Isn’t Enough

Lauren Gunter | October 2, 2022

You’ve been told that in order to lose weight, you need to eat less and move more. And that is technically true. However, sometimes you’re doing all that you can to follow that simple rule, and nothing seems to be changing.

 

Even if you understand that way calorie intake and expenditure work, and you trust the science, it’s still really hard to execute for some reason.

 

On Sunday, you stock your fridge with you celery and prepped chicken, and grapes, you signed up for CrossFit, you scheduled food prep and workouts into your calendar like they’re an important work meeting. And yet, by Friday afternoon you have wilted spinach in your fridge, your gym owner is reaching out asking where you’ve been, and there’s not a prepped meal in sight.

 

After this cycle repeats itself week after week, it’s easy to feel frustrated and even a little hopeless. “What’s wrong with me?” we ask ourselves. First of all, nothing. Nothing is wrong with you. You do a lot of really great things like work, raise your family, keep your home clean, support your friends, and while these are all such great things, they definitely complicate the simplicity of “eat less, move more.”

 

We do a lot of things that actually decrease our ability or desire to move, and increase our desire to eat, especially calorie-dense (but not nutrient-dense) foods.

Job – stress, long hours

Family – complaining, constant need for support, can drain you

Sleep – bad sleeper? Waking up, can’t get to sleep

Partner – loves you the way you are and also loves Taco Bell

Take-out – it just saves SO much time

Shame – for eating poorly, so you continue to do it

Kids – you love them, but they’re energetic and take up a lot of energy, especially if child care isn’t consistent

Pain – if you have any kind of injury, moving more can feel good, but it can also increase your pain

Meds – using them to help boost mental health, but certain ones also increase your appetite

 

Every one of you is a complicated person with your own set of obstacles when it comes to “eat less, move more” and that’s why even though that is technically true, it’s not even close to enough. This is why coaching is so helpful, because we want to know the whole story so that we can give you a plan that will work FOR YOU.

 

If you’re not working with a coach right now, a good place to start is identifying what makes “eat less, move more” so difficult in the first place, and start taking action steps with those.

This can looks like:

1. If social situations are the issue: having a tough and awkward conversation with the person who you make bad decisions around. If your partner is constantly bringing you a treat out of the goodness of their heart, explain what your goals are and why, and try to find a solution so they can still show you love, but also help move you toward your goals instead of away from them.
2. If anxiety and worry, or even busyness are the issue: journal for a few minutes before going to sleep to create some separation and resolve from those thoughts so that your mind can relax and fall asleep.
3. If the shame of not being consistent is the issue: keeping a food AND feelings journal. Most of you have tracked your food at some point, stop neglecting logging when you get that Taco Bell, and start journaling your feelings around that eating experience. What were you feeling that made you want to get it? How did you feel while you were eating it? How did you feel after, and why is that? This can be scary, but it will help you start working through some of these shameful feelings.

 

This doesn’t really sound like nutritional advice, so why do those things matter? Because the outcomes make EVERYTHING easier, and when it’s easier, you’re more likely to do it.

 

Having that hard conversation is awkward, but if this person loves you and wants to support you, usually a compromise can be reached. Instead of eating out 5 times per week, decrease it to 3. They still get to eat out, you get two more healthy meals. Being vulnerable is what deters us from doing this, but we often feel more loved and support after. Prioritising your health is NOT selfish.

 

Getting some of those anxious thoughts out of your head, even if it’s just temporary, can help you to relax a little more, get better sleep, and have the energy to make better choices like eating at home, or have more energy to move, like walking to work.

 

Keeping a food journal can help us recognize triggers. Every time I hit a drive thru unplanned, it happens to fall on a day where I had to work late and I leave the office hangry and tired. I feel shame for eating it, and also for not being home with my family for dinner. Once you KNOW this, you can start planning to change it. Spending some extra time with your family in the morning when you know it’s going to be a long day, or bringing a protein bar with you for the car ride home so that your hungriness doesn’t take over and you’re able to think through your dinner choice and eat slowly can help save you hours of stress and hundreds of calories.

 

The changes are small at first, but over time, you’re able to eat a little cleaner and move a little more, AND most importantly, feel better about the choices you’re making. Your body will begin responding to these changes, and the emotional and physical health together are what lead to those bigger changes we’re all chasing.

 

Eat less and move more does still work. But we are all complex, and it takes more than you hitting your macros or going to CrossFit every day to see the changes you are looking for. Look behind your difficulty with eating right or working out consistently. How are you managing your stress? How are you sleeping? What are you doing for recovery? It might actually be these things that are preventing your progress.

 

It may seem like this will prolong the process, but caring for your mental health, sleep, and recovery give you the fuel you need to actually follow through on those nutrition and fitness goals you have.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkPZU_nJ1G5/

This concept can be tough. Food Can feel like such a reward or gift.

Then you feel the need to celebrate every memory, every moment, every event and make food the focus.

Making food part of our events and memories is absolutely OK but thinking that it always has to be a treat, the reward or the gift is not.

Just a little food for thought on this Monday.

Take time to slow down and enjoy the journey

I know we all have goals and trust me ….no one is more in a hurry to get there than me. If you know me you know I only know one speed.  FULL SPEED!  However, taking time to enjoy the process is important! It also helps to make the results sustainable!  

What helps you to slow down and enjoy the journey?

 “Unrealistic dreams are the ones that take you places!” – Analise Cleopatra

It’s Sunday.  Take some time today to DREAM.  What is something that is a little outlandish? Something big and scary.  I know, it can be awkward to dream big but it can be so fun too!  It’s ok.  Let’s just imagine – play with it and have fun!  Happy Sunday Fam!

 

Coach Lauren shared these valuable tips with our Summit Health Tribe in her Live Sundays with Summit Health Tribe this last week.  If you would like to join our closed support group on Facebook let me know! I’ll add you to the group.  Requirements are: Be supportive! Share when possible and engage and encourage! 

May 1 – Every time you say yes you’re saying “no” to something else. What and how can we make this work for us?

• Why is it so hard to say no? It’s hard to feel like you’ve disappointed someone, no one likes being flaky, saying you’ll stay late might be the reason you are in the position you’re in at your job, and honestly, it’s just easier. Saying yes and avoiding an argument is just easier than taking on the task sometimes.
• However, every time you say “yes” to one thing, you’re saying “no” to something else. For example, when you say “yes” to watching the kids because you feel guilty asking your spouse to be home early, you’re saying “no” to that gym membership you pay for but rarely use
  • When you answer that phone call from your boss at 9pm, or answer a client email while on the couch with your spouse, you’re saying “no” to a full, restful night’s sleep
  • When you say “yes” to caring for aging parents or volunteering to chaperone the field trip, you’re saying “no” to your dentist appointment or that massage you have a gift card for
  • The result: you’re pulled in every direction meeting everyone’s needs but your own and you’re left feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and stressed. And you might even start resenting people you love and care about, who don’t know they’re asking too much.
• I want you to imagine what it would be like to say “yes” to yourself a little more often, and tending to your own needs and goals? And what if you said “no” to the things that get in the way of that? It might sound selfish at first, but I want to make the argument that to some extent, it’s selfish not to. If you’re always running at 50%, the people you love and are working so hard to care for are only getting 50% of you, and I’m guessing you feel that they deserve more! They do and so do you. So, today we’re going to talk about some ways to say no, and how to differentiate where those no’s should go. You won’t need to do a full life makeover, we’re just looking for small changes that make the most difference. Inch along at your own pace, and the more you do, your health will improve, recovery will deepen, and energy will increase. You can’t control other people’s requests, but you can control saying “no” – which is one of the most effective things you can do to manage stress, which we all need.
• First, start by tracking your time. We talked about this last month with making time for nutrition and exercise. The reason this is helpful is because you may not actually know where your time, energy, and attention are going. Without having a clear idea, it’s easy to believe that you have time to train that new employee, or to believe that you don’t have five minutes to yourself most days. It’s very easy to over AND under-estimate how much time you have in a day. Once we lay it all out accurately, it’s pretty eye opening. You can use a time-tracking app, or create your own time-tracking system on a notebook or calendar. Once you’ve chosen a method, record your activities accurately (if you’re answering emails while you’re watching your kid’s hockey practice, be real about it), and then analyze your data. Did anything surprise you? Are your time, energy, and attention going where you’d assumed? Are you spending more or less time on certain tasks than you thought? Do you feel good about where your time, energy, and attention are going?
• Be honest, but also be kind to yourself. This exercise will probably reveal some uncomfortable truths. If you’re like most of the folks I work with, your day probably goes something like this:
  • 6:30-8:30 – jump out of bed after hitting snooze, wrangle the kids, make breakfast while checking work texts and emails on your phone, get kids off to school and daycare
  • 8:30-2:30 – meetings and calls, work through lunch that you may or not eat
  • 2:30 – on the phone with your insurance company while answering work emails
  • 3:30 – pick up the kids, snack on their lunch leftovers while you speed home to hop on your work call at 4
  • 4 – sit it on your meeting while making a snack for the kids and starting a load of laundry so your kid’s soccer jersey is clean for practice tonight
  • 5:30 – bring all three kids to different practices and lessons and answer work emails and texts while you watch practice
  • 8:15 – get home, remember that you need to bake cupcakes for your kid to bring to school for his birthday tomorrow, try and bathe the kids, review homework and get the kids to bed, prepare everyone’s lunches for tomorrow
  • 10:30 – sit in bed exhausted, half-watching Survivor with your spouse, still answering a few more emails
  • 12:30 – lie awake worrying about tomorrow
• And thus, NO time for herself. Of course this person feels exhausted, overwhelmed, and anxious. This exercise can provide painful clarity. They don’t think of themselves as “slave to work”, but the time diary revealed differently.
• So, what do we do with that? Another reason we often say “yes” too often is not understanding the tradeoffs. When we say “yes” – what are we saying “no” to? Go through your time diary you made, and ask yourself what you were saying “no” to when you said “yes” to _____. The next step toward saying “yes” and “no” to the right things is to make a chart of how your time is spent. Use that diary and make a pie chart. Divide it up with percentages or time. Next, create another pie chart with your ideal day and time allocations. What would you give less time to or remove altogether? What would you give more time to? When you look at that one, you should feel a sense of relief. Of course, include the things that still need to be done. You still need to drive kids to practice, but could you arrange a carpool so you have time for the gym a couple times a week? You still need to answer emails, but could you answer one less and make time for a gratitude practice? It’s okay to still have responsibilities, and the goal is to balance output (caring for others) and input (caring for you and recovering). However, you balance it, your time is finite.
• The final step is making small changes to start making that “dream pie” a reality! Where can you take 10 minutes away from work to have a meaningful moment with your spouse? Where can you take a moment away from the TV and go get some fresh air?
• Once you see the tradeoff, then comes the tough part. Actually using the word “no” in real life, to an actual person. This might sound silly, but start with practice. Think through a scenario that you would’ve like to say no to. Think about how you responded and how you wish you responded. There are three ways to go about this.
  • First, a short answer – “No, I don’t have the bandwidth for that right now.”
  • Second, a simple “no”
  • Or a third alternative, which is really helpful with easing you in, is offering a compromise of some sort. A “no” with a “yes” – as long as that “yes” fits within your boundaries. It might sound like this:
    • At 9am, your boss puts a meeting over your lunch on your schedule when you’re supposed to have a call with your nutrition coach. “I can’t make that meeting. Can we do it at 2pm instead?” No to the request – the meeting. But a yes to a different time.
    • You’re asked to fly out to Boston to speak at a conference, but it’s your daughter’s dance recital. “I can’t speak at that event if I have to travel [no to request], but if I can be a virtual speaker, I’d be happy to participate [yes, but with conditions].”
  • This is my personal favorite, especially when I want to say yes but I truly don’t have the bandwidth, or it will come at the expense of my own well-being.
• Consider practicing in the mirror, even if it feels weird. Practice saying no firmly.
  • “It’s really thoughtful of you to ask, but I can’t do it.”
  • “Oh wow, that does look delicious. I’m full though.”
  • “Like I said, I’m not available after 6pm.”
• Even though practice can get awkward it’s important and here’s why. As you practice, you might feel guilty, self-indulgent, or hear echoes of a parent who used to tell you it was impolite to turn down dessert, or lazy to turn down work. Keep practicing until that feeling eases, even if it never goes away. Acknowledge that it’s difficult to state your boundaries, and commend yourself for that. Then get out there and start saying YES to you, and you might be surprised how much better you’re able to show up for the thing and people you care about. And honestly whatever you say “no” to, make sure you say YES to cheering for your Minnesota Wild tomorrow night as they start playoffs!

Everyone is saying take more time for yourself. Thinking about letting your to-do list go and jumping in a bubble bath creates more anxiety than refreshment because you have so much on your mind!  We get it!  

We have learned that self care is about a lot more than bubbles and baths.

Practical Self Care that won’t leave you more stressed and behind: 

• Take 10 minutes to clean the kitchen before you head to bed 
• Each day after, take 5 minutes to look at your schedule for the day and mentally prioritize where you need to spend your energy and focus. 
• Take 2 hours on the weekend to prep and plan meals and snacks for the week. 
• Buy back some precious time and use instant cart or grocery pickup.
• Spend time with friends walking or meal prepping.  We are creating and building quality relationships and also setting ourselves up for success for the week.
• Start your day with a healthy breakfast. You would not believe the momentum this will build for you throughout the day. 
• Make time to move your body. Either getting the gym, going for a walk or meeting friends for a Zumba class. This is the self care that keeps on giving! 

These things may be adding tasks to your day but the goal is to add to give back.  They will give your the joy, peace of mind and fulfillment that will keep you energized and crushing the week no matter how busy it is! 

 

Self care is all the rage these days!  We really do need to recharge so that we can keep the high paced, scheduled to the max lives that we all live. But how do you do that?  

 

If someone tells me to take another bubble bath I am going to scream!

 

Self care does not have to be bubble baths and pedicures.  If you are feeling stressed to the max and not sure how to restore or recharge without feeling more behind.  Check out our Practical Self Care Tips!