4 tools for boosting your metabolism hormones!

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Did you know that your fat cells make a hormone that’s linked to losing weight and keeping it off?

Leptin is a super important hormone for feeling satisfied after a meal and telling your brain to either kick on the fat-burning thermostat in your body or turn it down. Interestingly, leptin also plays an important role in inflammation, immune system function, and fertility.

Now, as with all hormones, more isn’t necessarily better.

In today’s newsletter, I’m going to briefly tell you what you need to know about leptin so that you can have greater success with feeling satisfied from your meals and balancing your weight AND 4 tools to support your metabolism hormone leptin.

Before that, I want to invite any Bay Area locals to join me this Thursday, Jan 26th and/or Saturday February 3rd to attend Stress & Your Gut, a free wellness talk on how to release extra weight, improve energy and improve digestion. Please see the Upcoming Events column on the right for details.

Leptin and leptin resistance

Leptin needs to be at the right level for you to experience satisfaction from meals, balanced appetite, and balanced weight. You don’t want it to be too high or too low. Ironically, having too high a leptin level is a more common problem for people struggling with weight and appetite. You see, when the body has too much fat, the fat cells release a lot of leptin and that information goes to the brain…but when there is metabolic damage, your brain may not get the signal! When your brain doesn’t “see” that you have plenty of leptin and therefore plenty of fat already, it reacts by telling you that you’re starving and to keep eating. The brain also tells you to conserve energy so you may feel tired and lethargic as well as burning fewer calories at rest. Not a good combo!

Some causes of leptin resistance

  • Lack of sleep
  • High stress
  • High simple carb intake
  • Overeating
  • Exercising too much
  • High insulin (another hormone related to fat storage and metabolism)

4 tools for supporting your metabolic hormone leptin

1) Eat quality fat, protein, and carbs~get your carbs from veggies and limit or remove grains; Gluten in particular is well known for weakening the gut lining after its eaten which can lead to inflammation in the hypothalamus in your brain and reduce leptin sensitivity. 

2) Get to bed by 10pm and get 7-8 hrs of good quality sleep each night.

3) Exercise…but don’t overdo it. Mix it up and listen to your body. You should feel good when you’re done.

4) Eat every 3-4 hrs (rather than snacking often) to give your hormones a break.

Until next time, I’m wishing you Unstoppable Health!

~Rebecca

3 tips for batch cooking success!

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Would you like to save time, money, and effort while you get into the best health of your life?
Batch cooking is an amazing tool for you! Here are 3 tips for getting started and some great recipes to enjoy!

What is batch cooking and why is it awesome?

Batch cooking is a system of meal prep where you prepare most of your meals and snacks for the week all in one 1-2 hr window per week. Considering that it takes most people 20-30 minutes every night to prepare dinner plus anywhere from 10-20 minutes each for breakfast and lunch prep, this method will save you HOURS every single week!
This method is also great if you experience decision fatigue at the end of your day (i.e. what the heck am I gonna make for dinner?!).
Another great benefit of batch cooking is that when you buy food in bulk, you’ll save money at the grocery store as well as have the opportunity to dine out less. The most important money savings benefit to you is of course boosting your greatest asset: your health! Poor health is one of the biggest financial drains and the more you invest in creating a body and mind that allows you to feel great and function independently, the better off you’ll be all the way around.

Tip #1

Gather up what you like to eat! This can be recipes that you’ve saved or simply a list of foods you enjoy.
For your first time batch cooking, you can simply choose 3 meals (1 each for breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and make enough for leftovers for 2-3 days.

Tip #2

Put your grocery shopping day and batch cooking day on your calendar! A lot of people resist this step initially and it prevents them from integrating this tool into their lives quickly and easily. Life is full of distractions and always will be, so your secret to success includes making the choice to prioritize yourself, commit to taking this action and enjoying how much easier your week feels when you do this.

Tip #3

Have some sort of food storage and labels. This can be as simple as food storage bags or putting food into bowls and covering the top with wrap, or, my favorite, use glass containers with locking lids. As far as labels go, you can tape a paper label or use erasable food labels like these. Start with what is super easy for you and doesn’t create a mental roadblock.

Recipes!

Here are some delicious recipes that are easy to batch cook!

–Egg muffins
–Taco salad
–Spaghetti bolognese
–Zoodle meals!
–Miso Mushroom soup

Until next time, I’m wishing you Unstoppable Health!

~Rebecca

Increasing Your Health Wealth

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“You’ll either find a way or you’ll find an excuse,” Mel Robbins.
Wow. I came across this quote while reading over the holiday and it really rang true

Whether you made any New Year’s Resolutions or not, you’d probably like to feel good and avoid disease, right?

Answer this without thinking too hard or censoring your answer: What is one thing that you’re doing consistently that, if you changed, it would open up the doors for you to gain better health and not have as many symptoms like low energy, cravings, weight gain, poor sleep, or body pain?

Maybe it’s saying YES to taking that walk, saying YES to fresh veggies with your dinner, or saying YES to sticking to your bedtime.

It doesn’t have to be big. What’s one small, healthy action you can replace in your life right now?

What is one small action you can do consistently that will increase your health wealth (the investment that is ALWAYS worthwhile)?

Start there.

If you’re interested in skyrocketing your health wealth, having a customized plan so that you can regain your health, fix your symptoms, and get the most out of your life, I’d love to talk with you. Please email me at rebecca@choosinghealthnow.com and let me know what health struggles you’re going through so we can make 2018 YOUR year to shine.

Until next time, I’m wishing you Unstoppable Health!

In health, & happiness
~Rebecca