Next up in my list of foundational mindset shifts is that you adopt a mindset of curiosity and awareness.
After last week's post, maybe you are finally willing to embrace health as an individualized practice. But, how do I know what to do if I’m not an expert?!
My answer is this: START with CURIOSITY & AWARENESS. And as you do, I want you to do your best to TUNE OUT the nose, and IGNORE the VOICES of criticism and judgment in your head from years of absorbing nutrition information.
I encourage you to
SLOW DOWN, TUNE IN, BE AWARE,
and consider that maybe YOUR BODY HAS SOMETHING TO TELL YOU.
That maybe, just maybe your body is actually trying to communicate using symptoms and cues.
Now before you consider this request outrageous, please note
The goal is to NOT to be present 100% of the time - that’s way too unrealistic
You might not understand what all of your symptoms mean, and that’s ok!
Not everything you feel or notice has a meaning
BUT, if you can adopt a mindset of curiosity you might find that your process is now to EXPLORE
WHY you might be experiencing any given symptom, or craving and HOW you can address, fill, or heal that need. Curiosity is a drastically different pathway to health than constantly trying to FIX yourself, or STOP something from happening. Restriction and control rarely produce long lasting results.
Rather than white-knuckling your way to change, I wonder what it might look like to consider WHY you are following certain patterns in the first place? Or, WHAT your body might be missing that leads you to crave certain foods?
What if, instead of restricting, failing, and then giving up, you tried adding MORE of something else - MORE walks, MORE sunshine, MORE sex and hugs, MORE ways to engage your brain and your body, or MORE of another food - and paid attention as you tweaked and adjusted until you found something that works.
When you approach health with a mindset of curiosity suddenly it becomes less about good/bad, and more about understanding your own health process and what is going to work for you, right now, in this season.
Creating your Own Plan
In my series on foundations, the second mindset shift that I hope you will start to truly embrace is that this practice of Health is NOT going to look the same for you as it does for ANYONE else out there.
I’m pretty sure you know this one. But maybe you keep hoping (just like the rest of us) that one day someone will discover a universal plan that works for everyone and just tell you what to do.Sounds nice.
Way too often, I hear from clients and friends that they are overwhelmed by all the conflicting health information. We can all get caught in the weeds with what we consume online - eggs are good for you, kale will kill you, eat more fat, eat less nuts, limit carbs but don’t forget to eat berries. Who knows, right?!
Here’s the thing. Nutrition science is an imperfect science, and it’s based on populations, not individuals. What works for you is likely not what will work for me, or for your neighbor or your mom. Sure, there are absolutely some overlapping themes, and elements that work for a variety of people. And, I can share with you tips and tools and strategies based on anecdotes and research.
But at the end of the day,YOU have to create YOUR OWN plan.
Part of this concept of really moving towards personalization requires moving away from black and white thinking as it relates to health. Just as I referenced last week, this is NOT a one size fits all process, there is NO ONE answer, and there’s not even ONE destination that is best for all of us.
So, stop scanning Instagram, or even research, looking to discover the one secret plan that you haven’t tried yet. You know what THAT does -the endless searching- It takes away from the time that you spend actually tuning into your own body and refining YOUR PLAN.
This week, I encourage you to consider moving towards the mindset that your journey is going to look different from anyone else's.
Use social media to learn tools and ideas, but then be willing to tune in, practice, fail, adjust, tweak, and repeat until you figure out what works for YOU in this season.
The Practice of Health
Recently, I shared how so many of us get caught up in the weeds of nutrition before establishing a solid foundation.
The first mindset shift that I hope you can start to move towards first is recognizing that when it comes to HEALTH, there is
NO Static Destination
NO On/Off Button
NO Wagon to Fall from
NO List to Check off
Instead, I believe it helps to see health as FLUID and EVER EVOLVING, as a PROCESS and a PRACTICE rather than a destination.
Health is found in the active tension of figuring out what habits and practices KEEP YOU feeling and functioning optimally from day to day. As your body and your circumstances will change, it will forever require some level of attention, adjustment, and input.
I want you to think about character…I imagine you would agree that character traits, like honor or compassion are NOT aspects that can be achieved and checked off. I know personally that how I embody certain character traits can change from one day to the next. And that what I am practicing, or leaning into, may be different from day to day, or season to season.
Similarly, it helps to view health not as something you can achieve and check off, but something that you will always be ADJUSTING, TWEAKING AND GROWING into.
Shifting your mindset to thinking of health as a PRACTICE is helpful for 2 reasons:
1. Your destination WILL change. Likely your vision of health has looked different throughout life. What’s more, the health markers that are appropriate for you now are not the same as when you were 10, and will not be the same later in life.
2. Health is a balance that you will always have to WORK to MAINTAIN. Sure, I want you to figure out what tools and resources help you stay in a healthy space. And I want you to know what DIRECTION you are moving in. But health as a practice means you will have to continually adapt and adjust, to re-prioritize, and to figure out how to make those health-giving behaviors a part of your routine. When we view health as outcomes, we start to think in terms of on/off, black/white, binge/restrict, which tends to help us achieve only one part of a goal at the expense of others.
So rather than getting caught up in the fastest way to get to that one destination, what if you started thinking about what it could mean to practice health TODAY. Start focusing instead on what practices, patterns, tools, and support systems help you right now. Consider that your direction might change slightly throughout life. And start giving yourself permission to explore what the practice of health looks like for you rather than being fixated on the destination.
Shifting Your Mindset
At this point in the year, I talk to a lot of people who feel quite defeated.
Most likely, at the end of 2021, you felt off, and maybe you decided you needed a detox. In fact, you likely indulged a little more in December in anticipation of your January reset.
So come January, you went ALL in. You gave it your best, and followed the program perfectly. You were sleeping better, had more energy and started to really feel good. But, you just couldn’t keep it up. The RULES didn’t seem that hard at first. But then we had that snow day, someone got Covid , you ran out of groceries, the sun still wasn’t around, and life just felt hard. You declared yourself a failure and gave up.
When it comes to nutrition, too often we jump ahead to the details, and take on too much, without establishing a solid foundation first. And yes, even if you have thought about nutrition for years, you might have skipped right over the foundation part.
What I have seen in years of practice, is that there are some FOUNDATIONS & MINDSET SHIFTS that are essential to any sustainable health change. And in my opinion, these are far more important than all the weeds we get caught up in about what and when to eat.
But, no one wants to talk about mindset, right? It’s way more work than if you just TELL ME what to do. Mindset work can be hard, and takes time. And, the worst part might be that NO ONE ELSE can do it for you.
Still, I’m here to tell you that THIS is the difference between the clients that see lasting changes, and those that do not.
So over the next few weeks I want to share with you what I think are a few of the most fundamental mindset shifts.
But here’s the thing, you don’t have to adopt them all at once. In fact, most mindset shifts take a good bit of practice. So I encourage you, as you follow along, to identify 1 or 2 things to focus on first. Pick the ones that feel like the most natural next steps.
How to Avoid the January Detox
As you might imagine, my January calendar fills up quickly.
So many of us have this deep set “all or nothing” mentality with health. If I can’t keep up with daily workouts, and homemade dinners, then I might as well not try🤷🏻♀️. As soon as that first holiday party hits, followed by a day of cereal and biscuits, we declare that healthy eating is unachievable this month, and give up🙅🏻♀️
⚡️Most of us have such a narrow, black and white definition of nutrition, that we decide holiday eating is “unhealthy,” and rather than missing out on joy, we might as well embrace it⚡️If we can’t stay ON with our health, then we might as well go all out and be OFF.
And we all know where that leads.You feel like crap and you desperately crave a reset come January. In fact, you have likely already planned on that reset, so you don’t even bother trying in December. 😕Sound familiar?
I’m here to remind you that health is 💥NOT a game of PERFECTION. In fact, who can even define perfection when there are a million opinions about what is healthy? And, there is NO ON-OFF switch.
What if, instead of blowing it out in December, and planning to detox in January, you simply give 5 minutes of thought to what 2-3 things you can keep doing RIGHT NOW that will help you feel your best this season?
💥Is it scheduling a weekly grocery store pickup so that you have fresh food around?
💥Is it planning incredibly simple meals rather than assuming you’ll want to cook?
💥Is it committing to 2 workouts a week? Or making sure you take a daily walk with your family?
💥Is it giving yourself a few minutes to breathe before entering a gathering so that you don’t use food to meet your emotions? (PS, there's nothing wrong if you do, but that food might not bring you what you’re looking for!)
💥Is it scanning the spread before making a plate to think through what combination of foods will leave you feeling satisfied, satiated, and functioning at your best?
💥Or, is it reminding yourself to make a plate, do your best to enjoy the food, and then move on!
How All Types of Stress Impact your Health
Last week I talked about what happens when our brain perceives stress. Our adrenal glands are designed to respond to acute stressors, keep you safe, and then restore you to baseline. However, the way that we live now requires constant adrenal response, causing your body to break itself down to protect you 😱.
Remember💥all stress translates to the same process in your body-it does not matter whether your stress is coming from lack of sleep, over exercising, or just being a parent.
Here are some of the more common effects of stress that I see in practice:
⚡️↓digestive & liver function from a ↓production of stomach acid & digestive enzymes, and suppression of gut motility. Cortisol also ↑the permeability of the gut lining, leading to new food sensitivities and immune reactions.
⚡️↑bacterial, fungal, or parasitic overgrowth. Due to↓HCL, enzyme production, & gut motility, an ↑in proinflammatory bacteria, and ↓blood & oxygen flow to the gut, the bugs & bacteria that we want moving along end up hanging out and multiplying in our intestines.
⚡️Blood Sugar Imbalances due to ↑glucose every time cortisol is released, and ↓sensitivity to insulin from that constant influx of glucose independent of food.
⚡️Impaired Sleep from a disrupted daily cortisol rhythm, ↓liver function & ↑blood sugar irregularities.
⚡️Impaired Thyroid function & Metabolism. ↑cortisol interferes with the conversion of inactive thyroid hormone (T4) into active thyroid hormone (T3), slowing down metabolism. ↑cortisol also ↑muscle breakdown.
⚡️Hormone imbalances in part from ↓pituitary function, ↓thyroid function, and ↓progesterone …leading to estrogen dominance, low libido.
⚡️↓Immune function. ↑cortisol and ↓digestion leads to a ↓lymphocytes and an ↑in inflammatory cytokines.
⚡️Disrupted Mineral Balance. Stress will ↓magnesium, vitamin C, B vitamins, and zinc, and cause imbalances with sodium, potassium, calcium, copper, iron, Vitamin D, & others. These imbalances then lead to sex and thyroid hormone dysfunction, anemia, & more.
Stress: How does my body respond?
So far in this series, I have focused on the types of stress that might affect you. I want you to see that "stress" encompasses more than just your mental health.
Next, I will explain what happens when your brain senses stressors, and continue to focus on what you can do. This series is meant to help you 💥KNOW your stressors, ADDRESS what you can, and become more RESILIENT to the rest💥.
Let’s talk about your brilliant body…Your adrenal glands are two little organs that sit atop your kidneys. They produce a small % of sex hormones (more after menopause), manage blood pressure, regulate electrolytes, and respond to stressors. When your brain 🧠 (hypothalamus & pituitary) senses danger, it tells your adrenal glands to release cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline, setting off a cascade of reactions. The release of adrenaline results in an increase in heart🫀rate, and loss of CO2, while cortisol signals an increase in blood pressure and release of blood sugar (note this happens independent of food!) These are all part of your body’s alarm⏰ reaction and we call this system of communication your HPA axis (Hypothalamus Pituitary Adrenal).
Recognizing high levels of cortisol, your body then works to calm🧘🏽♀️everything down and restore balance. This requires breaking down your own thymus gland, skeletal muscles💪🏼 ,skin & AA from diet to provide energy. Meanwhile, your body is also working to minimize or halt what it considers non-essential functions such as sex hormone production, digestion, thyroid function, and in turn metabolism.
First⚡️I want you to see that this whole process is intended to help protect you from what it thinks is dangerous. And, that it goes to a LOT of effort to keep you safe, including breaking down your own tissues for support.
And second⚡️remember that what your brain recognizes as stressful is going to be different from person to person, and for you from day to day. What's more, this whole reaction might even be triggered from an activity that you consider healthy but your body is overwhelmed by.
Stay tuned for how this impacts health. In the meantime, what did you not know about stress?!
Tips to Minimize Inflammation
Yesterday we talked about what can cause inflammation. Today we’re talking about how to minimize it. Remember 💥, inflammation is not inherently bad; in fact it’s a helpful process. Your goal is not to remove ALL inflammation, but to minimize chronic inflammation as a way of lowering stress.
There are so many ways to minimize inflammation and they are highly individualized. Perfectionism can also add to inflammation, so please✋🏼 do not try to take on all of these at once!
⚡️If you suspect gut issues, work with a skilled practitioner who can help test, identify, and treat microbiome imbalances. In the meantime, work on slowing down, breathing, and chewing your food!
⚡️Eat a mineral rich diet, focusing on animals, seafood, roots, fruits, spices, and herbs.
⚡️Balance Blood Sugar by including Fat, Fiber, & Protein in your meals and snacks.
⚡️Minimize processed foods and inflammatory oils in your diet, including canola, soybean, corn, safflower, trans fats and margarine.
⚡️Minimize soda and alcohol.
⚡️Stimulate the vagus nerve & prioritize mental health. Research shows that a meditation practice and stimulating the vagus nerve can help decrease TNF-a and IL-6. Try humming or gargling in the shower!
⚡️Improve Circadian Rhythm. Even a 2 hour nap can lower IL-6 levels.
⚡️Reduce toxic burden. Work on removing environmental toxins from your home which are found in things like cosmetics, personal care products, cleaning supplies, plastics, and unfiltered water.
⚡️Identify and treat infections from mold, heavy metals, and chemicals.
⚡️Include Rest days in your workout routine. Your muscles, joints and tissues need time to recover in order to grow. What’s more, excessive high intensity exercise or chronic cardio can trigger inflammation.
⚡️Know your Genetic Mutations and learn what foods might be critical in supporting your body to function at its best. I love the book ‘Dirty Genes’ for more.
⚡️Have Sex, Hug Someone, and Laugh! Oxytocin, our love hormone, can lower IL-6 and boost T-regulatory cells.
Which one can you start with? Tell me in the comments below!
Know your stressors: Inflammatory Signaling
Next in my series is the 4th category of triggers: Inflammatory signaling. Remember ⚡️, the goals of this series are to help you to KNOW your stressors, ADDRESS what you can, and become more RESILIENT to the rest. The goal is NOT to overwhelm you but to help equip you.
Inflammation is a huge trigger, but one of the hardest to identify. By the time you start experiencing symptoms, inflammation could have been brewing for years.
First ⭐️, It’s important to remember that inflammation is not always bad! Inflammation is actually one of your body’s ways of protecting itself. But, chronic inflammation, especially when left untreated, can put incredible strain on the body. When inflammation is allowed to go unchecked, it can damage the body by creating too many pro-inflammatory cells, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukins (ILs), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB), prostaglandins, and free radicals. The chronic release of these proinflammatory molecules stimulates the HPA axis and signals a stress reaction.
There are SO many things that could be causing inflammation for you. But, today I will list a few things that I often see contributing to chronic inflammation so that you can take audit of what might be affecting you:
💥Poor Nutrient intake - from a lack of whole, real foods as well as under fueling
💥Consumption of Inflammatory Oils - canola, soybean, corn, safflower, and margarine
💥Mineral Deficiencies - calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium & more
💥Heavy metals - chronic exposure without proper detox from mercury, lead, arsenic, & more (found in foods, medicine, water, and industrial environments)
💥Environmental Toxins & Mold - PCBs, PFAs, Glyphosate, VOCs, Phthalates, and more (found in cosmetic products, pesticides, foods, plastics and other household products)
💥Poor Gut Health - including microbiome imbalances, dysbiosis, & infections
💥Food intolerances & sensitivities
💥Perceived and Emotional Stress & Trauma
💥Circadian Disruption
💥Hormone Imbalances
💥Excessive exercise, Tissue & Joint damage
Any that might be affecting you?! Stay tuned tomorrow for tips on how to minimize inflammation.
Tips to Support Stable Blood Sugar
Yesterday we covered some of the science behind Blood Sugar (BS) Dysregulation. Hopefully you learned that it goes well beyond dietary sugar. As I explained, anything that causes stress on your body will likely cause some level of BS dysregulation. True fact: perceived stress can spike my blood sugar higher than a bowl of ice cream!
Hopefully you also now know that sugar and carbs can even help lower stress hormones at times. Now hear me out 📣, I am not saying to eat ALL the desserts. BUT, I see a lot of disordered mindsets around fear of sugar and carbs, and I want you to see that not only can they absolutely be a part of a very healthy lifestyle & diet, but also that extreme restriction can lead to higher stress hormones for some, especially women.
The ⚡️big goal⚡️is to keep your BS as steady as possible . And to do this we minimize stress on your body. Big caveat here: BS regulation is extremely individualized. So, what works for your friend or for me, might not work for you. Here are some of the things I find most effective for minimizing BS dysregulation:
💥Maximize meals & Minimize Nibbles: Going too long between meals and eating too frequently can both cause BS peaks and dips
💥Prioritize nutrient density: Maximize consumption of mineral-rich animal and plant foods
💥Balance carbohydrates with protein & fat: carbs are metabolized in a much healthier way when paired with protein or fat
💥Eat enough: Insufficient calories for your activity and stress levels will cause more BS fluctuations throughout the day and at night while sleeping
💥Minimize carbs in the morning: Carbs at breakfast can spike higher after a fast and lead to more variability throughout the day (there might be a different story for my morning exercisers)
💥Find a balance of physical activity & rest: Exercise is a stressor that can be helpful or harmful depending on intensity & frequency. Minimize steady state cardio and excessive HIIT, and focus instead on strength training (including body weight) and adequate rest. Check out the @evlofitness podcast for great info on this topic!
💥MORE continued in comments!💥