Do you consider yourself a night owl or an early bird? Until the last couple of years, I described myself as a die-hard night owl. These days I am usually asleep by 10pm and wake up by 5:40am. And I have to admit, I really love it! This change didn’t happen overnight though.

When I started cooking for myself as an adult, I would just go to the grocery store and randomly buy food that looked good. Each day I would try to make something out of the random bits and pieces I had. I ate a lot more packaged food, food went to waste, and I definitely didn’t eat very healthy. Once I had kids, I realized that we needed some sort of plan. As time went on, I learned to cook better and became more creative with what we made. To my surprise, I also found that I really enjoy cooking! It’s now my love language and it makes me feel good physically and mentally to know that I am fuelling me and my family with healthy food.

 For many years, I experienced constipation and gas. I had pretty regular bowel movements, but I definitely wasn’t eliminating the equivalent I was eating as food. I am happy to say that these days my digestive tract is pretty happy, but I’m always game to try something that can make it even better. 

These pictures were taken seconds apart in front of 2 different mirrors that are in my workout area. I know it’s not a huge difference, but I always like the way I look in the one on the right better than the one on the left (which is of course the bigger mirror that I use most often to check my form ).

Now don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t take up a lot of headspace in my brain, but it got me thinking about how many different ways our image can be reflected back to us - mirrors, friends and family, our own mindset, pictures…. I’m sure we can come up with others.

I love my 4 kids dearly and am so grateful to be their mom, but… my abs are definitely not the strongest or flattest since having them. I may not be able to do anything about the varicose veins or stretched out belly button they also gifted me with, but there’s no good reason not to see what I can do to strengthen my core (my youngest will be 7 in a few weeks, so I’ve had lots of time to recover!!). While strength training has been part of my life for several years, and has helped me in many ways, I’m ready to really focus on giving my core a little more love.

I often hear from my patients and FASTer Way clients that they feel overwhelmed and confused about what to do to improve their health and where to start. There is no shortage of information out there about what may be helpful for you and a lot of it is contradictory. Eat this. Don’t eat that. Skip breakfast. Don’t eat breakfast. Take this supplement. This supplement is harmful. How the heck do you make sense of it?

Remember when the teacher would pick 2 people to make up the teams in gym class? Well, I was often the last one chosen (or close to it). It was such a crappy feeling. I never played on any sports teams and I wasn’t naturally fast or able to pick up sports skills quickly. I grew up telling myself that I was smart, not sporty.

Just like the experience I shared, it’s possible to make progress, even while fully enjoying your life. This isn’t a race with a start and finish that you need to do perfectly all the time. This is about establishing a foundation that you can follow consistently. Get started, take the steps you can, and change will start to happen!

Are you experiencing weight gain, constipation, foggy thinking, hair loss, and/or frequently feeling tired or cold?  If so, you may have a thyroid imbalance…even if you have been told that everything is “normal”. If your gut is telling you something is off, then it is important to listen to it, and dig a little deeper.

I remember when every day was a struggle for me. I did the things I needed to do and thought that was just the way it felt to be a working mom. I didn’t even realize how tired I was until I wasn’t, but I’m glad that I found my way through to where I am now. If you are struggling with your energy, I want you to know that you aren’t alone. I hear this all the time from the women I work with. It’s easy to chalk it up to “regular” life or age and think that’s just the way you have to feel. It doesn’t have to be that way though.

“We absolutely have within each of us the power to prevent or significantly decrease our risk for the majority of the top killers and contributors to disability in the world.” Oof, isn’t that a powerful statement? It’s from a podcast I listened to this week with Dr. Austin Perlmutter, MD that got so many wheels spinning in my brain. Read on to see two main points from it that stood out to me.

I love when my own health journey leads to me learning something that also helps me better help my patients. Here's one accidental discovery that has made a big difference in my energy and quality of life, and that I now also often consider for patients.

This week I will discuss Ozempic and the other similar drugs in its class and the part they play in insulin regulation. I will discuss how it works, the pros and cons, and what I believe is essential to do along with it if someone makes an informed choice to take it.

Part 2 in our series on insulin resistance is focused on providing you with natural approaches to help prevent and treat insulin resistance. In this blog, I break down recommendations into 3 parts

Are you frustrated with how your body is not changing (or moving in the opposite direction you want it to) despite your best attempts to live a healthy lifestyle? You aren’t alone. It is one of the most common concerns I hear from the women I work with. And despite what you may have been told, the successful solution is not to just eat less and exercise more.

Healthy eating is so confusing, isn’t it? You can find conflicting information for just about everything. There is no one size fits all approach that works for absolutely everyone, but there are some general guidelines I teach that are an effective framework to determine what works best for you. Let’s take a look at them…

One of the main concerns that patients come to see me for help with is hormonal symptoms related to either peri-menopause or menopause. They may experience a wide variety of symptoms including: difficult sleeping, weight gain, hot flashes, extended PMS symptoms, changes in bleeding, night sweats. vaginal dryness, hair loss, memory difficulties, fatigue and/or decreased sex drive. That doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, does it? No wonder a lot of the women are also experiencing mood changes! The good news is that it doesn’t have to be a rough transition - there are lots of options that can help to make it much smoother. That’s the focus of what I do.

I know firsthand what it’s like to feel tired all the time, and how life-changing it is to correct it. In January of 2021, I had routine blood work done. My doctor called me shortly after and asked me how I was functioning. It turns out that my iron markers were REALLY low… I check them with most of my patients, and I had never seen someone as low as I was! In fact my hemoglobin (the protein that carries the iron and oxygen) was half of what it should be. Normally that only happens when someone is undergoing cancer treatment or is really sick.

Are you struggling with poor sleep? If the answer is yes, then reply back so we can chat about the best way to help you change that sooner rather than later. A good night’s sleep can really be a life changer as it allows you to recharge and have the energy to do all that you want to during the day. You deserve to feel that way.

How often in life have you done things because you felt like you “should” and not because you really wanted to? Sure, sometimes that is necessary… like making dinner for your family when you would rather be relaxing on the couch. But what about the majority of the time? If you find yourself frequently saying yes because you think that’s what other people want or expect from you, then that is a perfect recipe for unhappiness and burnout. I know I was definitely there in the past. I feel like it’s only in the last couple of years that I have become better at saying no more often and tuning in to what I want and need. It can be a tough transition - if you are used to always thinking about others, then it can take some time to even know what it is that you really want.