Hi all,
Thank you for taking the time to read through the December Body Essence Newsletter! I hope you can find something of value in here. Wishing you all a safe and happy Christmas period, and rather than feeling stressed and overwhelmed leading up to Christmas, try and see the joy of this time instead. It's never about the cost of the presents and the extravagance of the day, its about enjoying family and friends. Let love, gratitude and enjoyment replace the burdens and stress. But above all else, where you can choose healthy options then do so, but I encourage everyone to be human and to enjoy treats and overindulge now and again. There is no time and place for feeling guilty for having a chocolate Santa or a piece of Christmas cake. Eat it, enjoy it and never give it another thought!
Thank you for taking the time to read through the December Body Essence Newsletter! I hope you can find something of value in here. Wishing you all a safe and happy Christmas period, and rather than feeling stressed and overwhelmed leading up to Christmas, try and see the joy of this time instead. It's never about the cost of the presents and the extravagance of the day, its about enjoying family and friends. Let love, gratitude and enjoyment replace the burdens and stress. But above all else, where you can choose healthy options then do so, but I encourage everyone to be human and to enjoy treats and overindulge now and again. There is no time and place for feeling guilty for having a chocolate Santa or a piece of Christmas cake. Eat it, enjoy it and never give it another thought!
Inspiration of the Month
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It has long been suggested a lack of sleep can have a negative impact on weight, but often people are unsure why. There are many reasons that this association between sleep duration (less than five hours or more than nine hours), sleep quality and weight gain are connected, and for everyone the reasons may vary.
Some common connections between lack of sleep and weight gain
Tips for improving your quality of sleep and feelings of tiredness
Some common connections between lack of sleep and weight gain
- Firstly the biggest factor is to do with your hormones. The two main hormones involved here are Ghrelin and Leptin. Your body produces different levels of these hormones throughout your day for various reasons. Both of these hormones are ‘auto-correction’ mechanisms to help you control your weight and keep it at a set point. Ghrelin is the hormone that tells your brain to eat, and Leptin is responsible for telling your brain to stop eating and start exercising more when it knows you haven’t been doing either of these well. When you are sleep-deprived you release more of the hormone Ghrelin, which means your brain is told to eat more, and you release less of the hormone Leptin meaning your mechanism to tell you to stop eating and start exercising isn’t working as well. The result: weight gain!
- Being tired throughout your day will make you more likely to reach for a high sugar snack to boost your energy levels. It is an automatic response to crave foods high in sugar when tired because your body knows it will give you the quickest release of energy. The problem being that high-sugar foods equal high calories, and often empty calories, meaning very little or no nutritional value.
- Tiredness can reduce willpower and increase the attitude of ‘I don’t care anymore’.
- Being sleep-deprived becomes a very easy excuse to miss exercise for the day.
- Being overtired can cause you to be too wound up or ‘wired’ to relax at bedtime.
- Sleep-deprivation can stop your metabolism functioning properly, and a slow and sluggish metabolism is directly linked to the amount of energy your body will use during any given day. A slow metabolism equals a lower energy use, resulting in not burning off your energy intake for the day.
Tips for improving your quality of sleep and feelings of tiredness
- Make healthy food choices: Avoid high sugar and fat foods, fast foods and foods high in preservatives and additives as these can all have a negative impact on trying to get to sleep and then the quality of sleep you have when you do actually get to sleep. Sugar spikes your blood sugar levels and can cause lots of highs and lows in energy throughout your day, which can cause you to feel lethargic and fatigued.
- Consistent exercise: Exercise will help your body to relax into sleep and improve the quality of your sleep. If you struggle to get to sleep after exercise however, it is recommended to avoid intensely exercising less than 3 hours before bedtime as exercise is alerting and can make it harder to fall asleep. You are designed to be physically active, so you need to make sure you exert enough energy through movement and activity throughout your day so your body is ready to rest and recover at night time.
- Stress: Ongoing and constant high levels of stress can result in too much adrenalin and cortisol being released into your body too often. These are your stress response hormones, and are only designed to work when under intense stress. However, modern life is leaving people in this state for periods that are too long and too regular. The result of extended periods of intense stress can lead to adrenal fatigue.
- Examine your sleep patterns. Are you going to bed at the same time each night and waking at the same time each morning, or are you hit and miss with the times and often stay up late? Are you getting at least 7 hours sleep each night? Are you restless in bed or relaxed? Do you wake up feeling refreshed or lethargic? Do you wake a lot in the night or generally sleep soundly?
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Oats are a great alternative to wheat-based products for adding in variety or people with gluten/wheat intolerances. They are very high in Dietary Fibre, a good wholesome source of complex carbohydrates, high in healthy protein, and are a rich source of magnesium for people who suffer from muscle cramps, heart problems, anxiety and low moods.
Oats can be added to your diet in many ways – check out this month’s homemade muesli recipe!
Oats can be added to your diet in many ways – check out this month’s homemade muesli recipe!
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Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Melt the coconut oil and honey together in a saucepan over a low heat.
Spread the oats in a large oven dish and drizzle the oil and honey over the top, and mix to combine. Place oats in oven and cook for 15 minutes, or until slightly golden. Check oats half way and mix with a spoon.
Once cooked, and partially cooled, tip the oats into a large mixing bowl. When completely cooled, add all remaining ingredients and stir well. Transfer into a Tupperware container with a sealed lid and store in a cool and dark place.
- 1 bag of Wholegrain Oats
- ¼ cup of coconut oil
- ¼ cup of honey
- ½ cup each of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, linseeds
- 1 cup chopped nuts of your choice – walnuts, almonds, brazil nuts etc.
- ¾ cup of chopped dried fruit of your choice – apricots, cranberries, raisins, goji berries etc.
- ½ cup of shredded coconut
Directions
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Melt the coconut oil and honey together in a saucepan over a low heat.
Spread the oats in a large oven dish and drizzle the oil and honey over the top, and mix to combine. Place oats in oven and cook for 15 minutes, or until slightly golden. Check oats half way and mix with a spoon.
Once cooked, and partially cooled, tip the oats into a large mixing bowl. When completely cooled, add all remaining ingredients and stir well. Transfer into a Tupperware container with a sealed lid and store in a cool and dark place.
That's all from me today! Have a great December, keep being grateful for everything you have in your life, smile everyday, frown less and love life!
Warmest regards,
Kerri van de Loo
Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach
