how to ditch the Holiday Blues

This holiday is magical for many with stockings, snow ball fights, santa's lap shots, and classic Chevy Chase movies. But there's a dark side to the season that some of the GetHSH community may be struggling with.

If you've been boozing and indulging in holiday treats the last three weeks you might be finding yourself with a hint of apathy masking as depression mixed with fatigue that heightens end of year anxiety. So here's a few steps that help me snap out of a cold weather, sugar binge, holiday party marathon coma and start to get back on track and hit the New Year energized & inspired.

1. Realize it's the food and the weather.

The sugar of the holiday season really throws our system off. We're already craving more fatty sugary foods with the colder weather trying to pack on our pounds to insulate from the weather. Add the abundance of treats and we can quickly find ourselves addicted to the insulin cycle which induces depression making us literally a victim of the SUGAR BLUES.

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2. Focus on your body when your head starts to run amok.

Start your morning connecting to your body. A couple morning moves make a big difference in starting the day right.

A)Grab your 3" massage balls, lay on your back, and roll out your glutes, sacrum, and spine. Sends blood flow to waking muscles, creates presence and perspective.

B) Hamstring Stretch into spinal twist. Lying on our back grabbing each calf. Then, grab one knee at a time and twist across the body to wake the spine and internal organs.

C) Ab Stabilizers: Lying on your back with your hands over your head pressing palms into the wall, lift one bent knee to 90 degrees slowly dropping it down to a toe tap on the floor and gently repeating on the other side. It wakes up the abs and reminds the brain of all the miraculous ways the body moves and stabilizes. It's the one move that gets me out of my head & appreciating my body.

3. Get back on the lemon water > Vitamins > Protein Shake > Greens train... Especially if you really don't want to

A two day cleanse of sugar and alcohol + 30 minutes of cardio & a little stretching do wonders for mood and jump start the will to power through the last of December.  .

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If you're like me and feel like a little waddling sausage thanks to past poor party food choices, email me at gethealthysexyhappy@gmail.com to be added to our accountability cleanse group through the end of the year. I need a reason greater than myself to put down the 10th bite of Christmas chocolate.

BREATH WORK is an energy booster the yogis use to increase life force / pranayama. Try breathing through one nostril at a time by closing the other creating a cycle of focused oxygen. Start with 10 breaths on each side for an invigorating reset. 

4. Don't overthink the New Years Resolutions thing.

A New Year does not need to equal a new you. You have complete permission to be just as unique and awesome as you currently are while slowly working toward meaningful goals. Let's get through December together, realize the winter blues are a fleeting thing and connected motivation will return, rock the holiday parties in sequined fabulousness, embrace the cheer of traditions, and get back on the sleep, nutrition, exercise, breath work train.

Because we deserve to feel good... damn it!

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GETHSH is a wellness blog dedicated to researching the variables in the formula to feeling good. All suggestions should be reviewed with your licensed practitioner and taken on your own free will.

3 things I learned about food that changed how I ate

1. Food is information before it's calories

2. Sugar is the enemy in large amounts at one time

3. Thinking of food like an orgasm may help you indulge less and enjoy more.

1. Food is Information:

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When I realized food was  a coding message / language inside my body, I stopped looking at it as just calories for fuel.

Food is actually happy or sad, yes or no, messengers that turn certain hormonal release switches on or off. These switches are how our body stays regulated and how our systems talk to each other.  

 I stopped counting calories and started counting number of green things I ate. Even if I ate more calories in green veggies than I would in a single candy bar, I wouldn't be harming my hungry / satisfied switch (ghrelin / lectin) leading to me eating more later. Nor was I raising my inflammation levels by eating toxins that make it harder to lose belly fat or absorb nutrients.

2. Sugar is the key that opens up the fat storage container door:

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Keeping our blood sugar levels even throughout the day is the key.

When we eat too much sugar at one time, we force our bodies to release tons of insulin to handle this blood sugar crisis (to avoid Diabetic Coma). This insulin quickly shoves sugar into fat cells for storage to get it out of the blood.

way more sugar and fat get stored during these spikes. We can slow this fat storing process by eating less sugar at one time and by mixing fiber with our sugar intake.

This realization changed how I saw dessert or starchy carbs during a meal. Sure I could eat them, but not right next to or with a meal that had tons of fat.

Sugar alone would make me tired, foggy headed, moody, and up my chances for diabetes and other blood sugar imbalance disorders.. But sugar + fat, and I become an efficient fat storing machine.

Any meal that had lots of sugar and lots of fat present would have to have fiber involved and the portion cut in half. I feel better when i Have the butter or coconut oil but ditch the bread. (which has the whole gluten issue on top of simple sugar breakdown).

SIDE NOTE: SUGAR IS QUITE ADDICTIVE & YOU WILL FEEL A NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE BY CUTTING OUT ALL PROCESSED SUGAR AND STARCHY BREADY CARBS LEAVING ONLY FRUIT WITH PEEL AND VEGGIES IN YOUR CARB SELECTION.

SUGAR CAN BE HARDER TO DO IN MODERATION BUT FIBER REALLY HELPS AS DOES GETTING MORE SLEEP TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN CUTTING DOWN. IT TAKES MANY OF US FULL 3 DAY DETOXES TO CURB CRAVINGS AND GET BACK ON TRACK. BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF IN YOUR PROCESS.

3. Eating Bad food isn't a deal breaker

I used to get hung up on being rigid with my eating as if that bag of cheetohs was going to end my self worth or future chance for happiness and success. This kind of pressure and cyclical thinking leads to the vicious eating disorder cycle.

Because we are freaking out about caving to a very normal craving, we then binge eat way more than is even enjoyable as we capitalize on our fallen angel status. This not only makes us feel badly about ourselves and worried for our future self control, it also spikes our blood sugar way higher than if we had just enjoyed our chips without the next 4 bags of sabotage.

I now treat food like an Orgasm. The first bite is awesome as is the second and third... Upon the 10th bite, it's not so awesome- so i stop.  I wait until I'm hungry again and can enjoy the awesomeness again maximizing food's pleasure.

Eating slowly & staying present to the pleasure allows us to get the most out of our "splurge food" choices and really maximize our experience while eating half the calories and avoiding a big spike. We'll enjoy it more and give our brain's time to release the "full tummy" signal saving the rest for later when we can love it again.

Don't aim for perfection- it gives food too much power. Aim to correct course as soon as possible & avoid the toxins when we can.

we Deserve to Feel Good.

3 reasons to choose forgiveness and it's empowering benefits:

The very thing that thrusts us forward & keeps us ambitious, may be the thing that also makes us angry, impatient, unkind, and unhappy. How to reclaim your sanity when you're at your wits end, overwhelmed, needing a break, and defaulting to your darker side.

Here's a quick meditative video on the personal benefits of forgiveness and why we should use it to our advantage improving everyone's experience. I made it as a reminder to myself and hope it serves you too. Happy Monday!!

The REAL reason we should forgive. Arming ourselves with the best tools and understanding why. WE DESERVE TO FEEL GOOD. GetHealthySexyHappy is a wellness site and series that addresses how to look, feel, eat, move, think, sleep, and love better.

4 ways I know it's time to get back to GREEN FOOD

I know what I am supposed to do.

I know what I am supposed to eat.

I even eat correctly a % of the time. 

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AND THEN I DON'T.

This manic, "I am queen of the world, Cadbury cream eggs are no match for my boundless energy and svelte physique" kicks in like the delusional sabotaging propaganda it is. I stay up late working on projects OR DANCING ON TABLES at reputable fundraisers. I skip protein and veggies in leu of sugary delights. I start ordering decadent caramel lattes instead of my staple green tea. I am off the wagon. And I tell myself it's ok. There will be no repercussions this time.

1. And then I get sick. That soar throat kicks in, fatigue, and aches pop up. I'm tired and feel yucky. I want to skip the very things that usually make me feel good like exercise and early wakeups. I'm easily overwhelmed.

2. My mood & drive plummets. An overall low energy, and disinterest in most things prevails and I wonder how my brain can make such a convincing case that life is not worth living. I feel like screaming, "You're amino acid and vital micronutrient deficient brain, not dying- let's be a little less dramatic!!" 

3. The fatigue takes hold and I'm forced to rest despite the oppressive boredom. I experience depression symptoms and lose my zest. I'm drawn to quick highs like sugar and caffeine to even feel normal. I know I need sleep but stay in a warped denial. I beat myself up for taking my health for granted and ending up on my ars once again...

4. I get angry. I mean cranky, irritable, yucky to be around spicy. I envision doing terrible things to people that cut me off on the freeway. I am no where near connected to my best, open, loving self and wouldn't know the first place to look to find her. I am upset with the world because I am really upset with myself. There is no love to give out if I am not cultivating any love within.

AND THEN I GET REAL with myself and I make friends again with my Vitamix. 

I start making spinach, protein powder, broccoli, smoothies. I bathe my cells in Spirulina, chlorella, and the good parts of green veggies. I start taking my supplements again and focusing on my hydration. I say no things to get enough sleep. I remind myself that I am good enough even if I don't get it all done and that my beauty, energy, cancer prevention, cognitive sharpness, and mood all depend on the occasional nap and good food choices.

And then I start feeling REALLY GOOD AGAIN. I wonder how I ever neglected my nutrition, scheduled exercise, and commitment to sleep. I have to remind myself to not overcommit and start the whole process all over again. ... Which is likely to happen :)

YOU DESERVE TO FEEL GOOD

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GETHSH is a wellness blog dedicated to researching the variables in the formula to feeling good. All suggestions should be reviewed with your licensed practitioner and taken on your own free will.

Detox with the best - Next Tues, March 25th!

Most of us aren't overly nice to our LIVERS. Our social lives, toxic cities, mass produced food, and chemical additives get stored in our precious filtration organs. This isn't a problem until you're trying to get pregnant, want clear skin, want your systems to work together, or want decent energy.

Then this whole full liver thing is a problem. On top of all that, most of the detoxes on the market only handle half of the problem. They help the liver release the toxins back into the blood stream but don't make it water soluable so that you can get it out of the body.

Cue the wonder team of famous nutritionists and best selling author Adina Niemerow and Hormone balancing, integrative medicine, holisitic nutrition and fertility specialist, Dr. Stephanie Daniel who are hosting a DETOX that does both.

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If you'd like to see them in action, here's a video we did after Adina's book launched and she moved into the old cafe gratitude space in the mission. (I'm in the middle playing talk show host between these two powerful healers.)

Join us for the DETOX to get clean together!!

Good Mood Green Smoothie

2:26 min video on my favorite Get Well Green Smoothie. Love my Vitamix!

YOU DESERVE TO FEEL GOOD

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GETHSH is a wellness blog dedicated to researching the variables in the formula to feeling good. All suggestions should be reviewed with your licensed practitioner and taken on your own free will.

I don't just want an anti-depressant! Can't they test for root causes?

When I began considering getting on an antidepressant 5 years ago, I was quickly overwhelmed at the different types and the difficulty figuring out which antidepressant or anti anxiety would be best.  

Should I address my Serotonin or Dopamine levels?  Which would make me fat? Kill my sex drive? Make me one-dimensional & flat? Take my current Serotonin & leave it on the synapse longer but not actually get me more of it?

I didn't want to trial and error serious brain balance shifters before testing & I couldn't be more grateful to find someone that knew what to test for and how to go about it.

A doctor that knew what to look for and knew which tests to order! She checked to see if I had problems with my nutrition intake, absorption, or conversion as well as how well my brain manufactured my happiness chemicals Serotonin and Dopamine. She checked my hormone balance and explained which times of the month my estrogen & progesterone would be out of whack with normal annoying female cycle drops. She explained stress hormone Cortisol and it's affect on mood and relationship with sugar.

She gave me a better understanding of the pieces of the puzzle and changed the way I looked at chocolate pie. Dessert is now called Moody Blues in my house.

“1. my Vitamin D levels were as dangerously low as many of her depressed patients (taking 5000 IU/day if you live north of LA/Atlanta is a good idea & getting at least 15 minutes of sunscreen free sunshine mid day is also good)

2.my B vitamins weren’t converting properly to help make Serotonin (60% of people have conversion problems genetically)

3. my brain didn’t naturally make enough motivation and reward driving Dopamine ( Which explained the draw to chaos and constant activity )

4. My Serotonin stayed on my brain long enough Yay! (SSRI’s like Prozac would NOT have helped my mood at all & would have likely lowered my libido and sparked weight gain! )

5. I am low in estrogen which makes me muscular and lean w little boobs, makes me break out, and affects mood but reduces my chance for most reproductive cancers.- getting on an Estrogen patch certain times of the month is an option I wasn’t previously aware of.
”

Knowing what I'm working with lets me make better choices, forgive the parts I don't have control of, and change the things I do. Sugar is a terrible idea especially if I'm already burning through my B vitamins with other stress. Sleep and Leafy greens are practically medicine. I need to supplement the appropriate amino acids building blocks that make Serotonin and Dopamine naturally in my brain. Exercise is my "in the moment" Happy Juice releaser when I'm getting blah. I now practice reframing situations. thinking positively, and yoga breathwork. I also now know that choosing anti depressants that affect the Dopamine receptor/levels will be more effective than those dealing with Serotonin in my brain's case. I feel empowered rather than helpless and overwhelmed.

Dr. Stephanie is available at www.intuitivewomenswellness.com. Please tell her thank you for me- she is a blessing. She is also the founder of FunctionalMedicine.com as well as the MaleVitalityProgram. I can't rave about her enough.

YOU DESERVE TO FEEL GOOD

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GETHSH is a wellness blog dedicated to researching the variables in the formula to feeling good. All suggestions should be reviewed with your licensed practitioner and taken on your own free will.