I like to go up mountains on the weekends. Behind me is the peak I submitted on Sunday. I love that I can do this in my forties when I could barely do half this 20 years ago.
Now, it’s not a huge athletic feat because the trail is not all that long, although steep. (many people of all ages, including children were on the trail).
For me though, this was a big feat. I just spent 9 weeks completely inactive after a shoulder injury and then a jaw/ sinus surgery that led to a long and complicated recovery period.
I have never been that sick before! Ever! It made me value my wellness and health even more. Even worse, I’d gained 12 pounds from sitting around and feeling miserable. (I won’t mention the bad habits that sneak in when you sit around feeling sick and miserable and tired.) The week I felt well enough to get out and be active, I was horrified that I could do only 3 flights of 84 stairs, when 12 sets was a breeze before.
You really do lose it if you don’t use it!!!
I knew I had to up my game quickly if I were to make the best of what’s left of summer: 2 weeks in August and then hopefully a couple weeks in September before the ice sets in.
Here’s a few bio-hacks to get more done in less time
Step 1: Food is Fuel
It is the most important thing. To fuel your body with optimum fuel for performance: your brain, your muscles, your lungs…. everything.
Some of you know I am obsessed with food – I love to cook. I love to eat. And it must be tasty food. No rabbit food and diet food for me… nourishing food for energy and my metabolism must always be yummy or… no go!
Here’s a few rules:
Eat your calories, don’t drink them.
Stop with the pop and juice and milk (yes milk!!!!). Even diet soda is not on my list of ’things good for you’.
What’s left?
Water… good old water.
Herbal tea
Your daily cuppa coffee – black or with nut milk.
Stop grazing:
That is terrible advice that has no scientific basis. It boggles my mind that such BAD advice is still so entrenched even after all these years of NEW nutrition science. Insulin is your hormone most triggered by eating the way you were taught to eat. That breakfast muffin or bagel or toast…. YIKES! Insulin takes all sugar and stores it as fat.
And all carbs become sugar.
Unless you are training hard right after you eat, and not sit in your car driving to work; replace your carb laden cereal with boiled eggs, a protein smoothie or…. NOTHING!!!
Yes, I believe in intermittent fasting, carb cycling, low carb-high fat, keto … all these styles of eating have given our patients amazing clinical results that last.
I dropped 3 pounds of fat in my first week back on track.
P.S. Alcohol is a carb… earn it!!
Eat food as God made it:
Say goodbye to boxes and cartons and packaging.
Start taking leftovers for lunch. You’ll save a ton of money by not eating out, and the food you make at home is far more nutritious than what you buy in the store.
Trust me: your waistline will thank you.
Up the protein:
It’s the easiest switch to make.
Eat protein. And more of it. It is the building block for more than muscle. Amino acids are the ingredients of brain chemistry, cells, hormones and more.
Most people eat too many carbs and not enough protein. Your weight can be ‘good’ but more than likely your muscle mass is lower and your body fat percentage is higher than it should be.
I was shocked when Michal Ofer ( our Functional Nutrition coach) calculated my protein requirements and I was eating about half of what I needed to be able to build muscle AND power up a mountain slope.
It made a world of difference and the belly fat inches started to come down fast.
2. Sleep:
Inadequate sleep wrecks your metabolism.It is the biggest reason I gained weight (in addition to some poor diet choices and my love of comfort food and a glass of wine!)
I was barely sleeping 3 hours at a time. It took me weeks after the antibiotics were done to get back to a reasonable pattern of sleep.
Quit the Screens:
Read before bed. Do not watch TV or be on your devices before bedtime.
Journal:
Writing your thoughts down before bedtime, and noting things on paper help you have a better sleep.
Make your bedroom sacred:
Is for sleep and intimacy only.
Make it cosy and comfortable.
Fragrance with lavender essential oils.
Avoid eating, reading, watching TV in bed.
3. Supplement:
At 47, my hormones and biochemistry are far different from when I was 20. How my digestion works and how my mitochondria work (mitochondria are the cell powerhouses that make energy/ you lose them as you age and your muscles get weaker).
The results of my training were amplified with choosing the supplements I needed since food cannot give my body everything it needs.
To increase energy at a cellular level, there are some key nutrients that can help you feel and perform better.
My favourite supplement of all time is an amazing blend of nutrients, and easy to fit into my day. I have this daily to manage my weight and to get my protein requirements.
Read more about it here:
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(Please note: this article is not intended to be the dispensing of medical advice. It is for general information only. There is no doctor patient relationship established through this newsletter.Please seek the advice of a health professional)
