A few years ago, I worked with a brilliant health counselor who had studied with Dr. Mark Hyman.
She had done everything in her power to research nutrition, as all three of her children had differing, life-threatening food allergies. She had spent her life cooking between three and four separate meals-- at each mealtime-- knowing that one missed crumb of food during prep time or at the dinner table could be life-threatening.
She so inspired me, both as a mom, as a student and as an entrepreneur. Maybe I'll write more about her soon.
She gave me a complimentary consult, because I've had my own struggle with nutrition. I was both a ballerina and a body builder. My metabolism was so high, I was constantly being accused of being anorexic...but that's a story for another day.
Rather than loading me down with supplements, she took one look at my distended abdomen and said I needed to sleep more and drink more water.
After almost 15 years over-training, consuming cheap whey or SOY protein, and working non-stop, six days a week, here I was, perpetually tired, unable to lose weight, too exhausted to work out, and suffering from heart palpitations. I finally saw said counselor. She also addressed the same thing every other doctor/friend/relative/client/physical therapist had told me...sleep. (...she also insisted I start on a strict regime of bone broth, green smoothies and colon cleansing...)
In order to be healthy, you HAVE TO SLEEP!
I'm still struggling with this. I refuse to take pills, I'm not disciplined enough to do the rubbing-on of every type of relaxing essential oil to the bottoms of my feet every single night...and as a trainer, I don't have the luxury of a set sleep schedule. I have clients who want sessions at 5:30 in the morning, and I teach group ex classes until 8:30 or 9p.m. at night, and often a nightly commute that often entailed an hour on public transit of some sort, a few miles walk thought very tough neighborhoods, and for about 9 months out of the year, some sort of frozen precipitation.
Further, I was raised to be a very hard worker, and I'm my sole provider of income, so the thought of foregoing my livelihood in order to sleep a bit more always seemed ludicrous to me.
But I needed sleep, and I needed to set boundaries for myself in order to make this happen. (...note...I now live a very different life in perpetually sunny, northern California. I have a very dependable old Honda, so the trekking through urban jungle subway tunnels and black-ice-encrusted streets in the middle of disputed gang territory is a thing of the past...). But I still have the same career, and I'm also a full-time student, so I'm still struggling with setting up a cohesive sleep regimen.
The next step is not exercise, or nutrition, but taking in adequate amounts of water. I currently drink out of the tap...don't ask, but I know my local health food store provides alkalized water...byob...for about 20 cents for five gallons. I also live about 45 minutes from one of the purest mountain springs on the planet, but don't think for a minute I'm one of those people who will drive that far to fill up water bottles. (...but you can bet your britches that if that mountain spring were next to a Barney's I'd be there in a hot second...)
So there you have it. Sleep and drink water. So simple, yet so challenging. I'm on this journey with the rest of you!
First world probs, I know.
Also, before I sign off...here's a freebie for you...sleeping burns more calories than watching television...
Alrighty then, to your health!
Cheers and peace!
xoxoxo,
A.
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