Sleep your way to better health
When we think of weight loss we think of spending hours in the gym, and eating is a little food as possible. By that could be furthest from the truth and actually causing more harm than good for your body especially if your woman. One crucial link that people are finally starting to recognize his sleep.
Hormones
Most people think of sleep as a luxury, but with all the scientific research coming out we see how much it really influences your weight, mental health, and wellness. The following hormones can get out of sorts with a short-term sleep restriction:
Blood sugar levels/glucose control
Leptin levels- leptin is a hormone that regulates how much you eat, tells you when you’re full, and dictates how much fat you store.
Cortisol- The fight or flight stress hormone that also stimulates insulin release and maintenance of blood sugar levels. That means that you will have an increase in appetite and crave sweets sugar and carbs for a quick source of energy. Your body’s metabolism slows down because it’s primary concern is getting over the sleep deficit not focusing on burning fat. Meaning you will hold on to more body fat.
Muscle Recovery
Sleep is also important for muscle recovery. All the efforts you put into working out cardio, lifting weights, yoga, etc. requires recovery. Your body recovers and repairs those muscles when you are sleeping. So going to bed at 11 PM or midnight and waking up at 5 AM for a workout is actually negating any of those gym efforts.
Inflammation
Not only does impaired sleepers sleep restriction effect hormones, it increases inflammation in the body. This inflammation even at low levels puts you at risk for chronic diseases, autoimmune conditions, and even mood disorders like depression. And probably the most surprising and unknown risk is heart disease. Poor sleep quality has been linked to coronary heart disease. this by far was the most surprising to me. Weight loss aside you can be putting yourself at risk for heart disease if you don’t prioritize sleep.
Sleep Tips
So you may be wondering how can I get better quality sleep. Limit caffeine intake after 1 PM. Avoid heavy meals 2 to 3 hours before bedtime. Avoid screens two hours before bed. If you absolutely need to be in front of the screen try using blue blocker classes. Take an Epson salt bath with calming essential oils like lavender or Roman chamomile. And one of my favorites try a warm cup of herbal tea like chamomile or even one that has some kava in it.
These are just some initial steps to start with. Be on the lookout for more sleep tips coming soon. Sign up for my email list to know when new articles, recipe or tips come on to the site.
Choose your food and choose your mood
We all have a connection to food. It’s how we bond with others, over the dinner table or even meeting someone for coffee food can provide connection. We’ve all heard the term emotional eating, but that’s not what I’m talking about today. I got into nutrition because as a psychotherapist I saw firsthand how food was influencing people’s moods. Even within myself I saw how different I felt when I filled my plate with foods that were better for my body.
There are many foods that have been toted as “healthy” but in actuality they cause inflammation in the body. So why should we care about inflammation? Many conditions like heart disease, autoimmune disorders, and even depression are linked to inflammation. Foods like grains, dairy, soy, corn, sugar, and even nuts/seeds for some people can be inflammatory. Your body has an inherent wisdom, it is going to prioritize the most important thing to focus on and then move down the list from there. Meaning if your body is constantly inflamed from foods that you are eating, things like losing weight, building muscle, having abundant energy, will be lower on the list because it has to calm down the inflammation in your body first.
When I began eating foods that nourished my body I began to have more energy, and way better moods. I had suffered with depression for a big part of my life, and most of the time I thought I was just born that way. I thought some people are full of positivity and smiles and I just wasn’t. But when I began to learn about nutrition and moods it all clicked for me. I was eating tons of ” whole grains” and organic dairy, and soy making sure that I was meeting my food pyramid guidelines. And I was struggling with depression, and weight loss big time. I would workout 6 days a week with a trainer, cut calories to about 1200 a day and my weight wouldn’t budge. However, when I adopted a paleo/primal diet filling up my plate with veggies, and good quality meat things began to change. I went from being obese, struggling with depression, constant brain fog, and low energy. To a place where I now have better moods, 70 pounds lighter, can think clearly throughout the day, and have more energy at 34 than I did at 24.
So what foods you ask our best to improve my mood? Fill your plate with colorful vegetables, some fruit while in season, good fats, and meat. Foods that are high in omega-3 fatty acids like fish, flaxseed, in wild game, can boost your mood. A lack of B vitamins can contribute to depression. Foods like chicken, nuts, fish, bananas, avocado, and dark leafy greens are packed with B vitamins. If you are dealing with anxiety take a look at how much caffeine you are consuming and your nutrient levels, many times we wake up with low energy and we reach for a cup of coffee to get us through the day. But if you are dealing with anxiety caffeine or even stimulants can exacerbate the problem. Instead reach for a decaffeinated cup of chamomile tea, get out in the sunlight, do some deep breathing, and try some meditation/prayer. And as always if you feel that you need to speak to someone about what’s going on contact the therapist or coach someone that can help you through the psychological aspect as well.
I’ll write more in-depth articles as time goes on, looking into each mood specifically and how we can help ourselves nutritionally with those concerns. All this to say when you are feeling down or stressed or anxious pause for a moment and ask yourself will this food be loving for my body and what I’m going through now. Or could this food potentially prolong this feeling I’m having. I know firsthand that certain foods will cause me to stay in the low mood much longer. This knowledge and insight has kept me on my toes and helps me make better choices more often than not. Does this mean that I never have a meal that is imperfect for me, no I’m human I will occasionally have a food just for the joy of it. But the intention and mental state I’m in when I’m having that food is different than if I was to reach for it when I was feeling down.
If you have questions on food and mood or inquiries about being a coaching client, please reach out to me via email or on Instagram.
Why invest in organic foods
This is a point of contention that I get from most people and understandably so. Comparing the cost of organic to non organic foods can make some people reach for conventional or worse highly processed foods. There are many reasons why organic foods cost more and you may not be familiar with them. Some of them may surprise you and some of them may really open your eyes to what is on your plate.
First of all, conventional farming uses chemicals to treat their crops so they grow faster. Some companies pretreat their seeds with roundup! These chemicals reduce the amount of weeds in the crop, and pests that can eat at the crop. Sewage sludge and chemical fertilizers are used in conventional farming to treat crops.
Organic farms use fertilizers and compost to fertilize the soil. This is more labor intensive. Since organic farmers don’t use chemicals to treat their crops they face a higher chance of crop loss. Conventional farming uses chemicals to prevent that which means there aren’t as many losses.
Crop rotation is also used among organic farmers to reduce the amount of weeds that pop up; so it reduces the frequency in which the land can be used. Conventional farming can use every acre available because of the kinds of chemicals they use to grow the crops.
Organic foods grows more slowly. We all know that livestock are pumped full of hormones and shots to make them grow faster. Well the same thing goes for conventional farming. All those chemicals make them grow faster. Organic farmers grow less per year leading to the higher cost.
Government subsidiaries account for a majority of why conventional crops are cheaper. A subsidiary is a cash payment or tax reduction given to a company from the government to remove some type of burden from a company in the interest of the public. Conventional farm subsidies were about 7.5 billion last year while organic and local foods only got 15 million! If organic farmers could get larger subsidies then they may be able to produce more at a cheaper cost.
With the increasing obesity epidemic in America I find it shocking that we only provided organic farmers with small subsidies. Some of the most subsidized foods are corn, soybeans, wheat, grain sorghum, barley, oats, and rice. As people are finding out these foods along with chemicals from conventional farming can cause weight gain, disrupt hormone function, produce insulin resistance, can actually increase hunger, and cause inflammation in the body. Knowing all this can be alarming even scary but I hope it opens your eyes to what’s on your plate.
So now you know organics aren’t trying to be pretentious or a load of crap. They cost more for many good and logical reasons. I leave people with this analogy, your body is like a luxury car. You put premium gas in a luxury car or it wont run; why would you put cheap food in your body? It’s the only one you have, you cant trade it in for another one!