As you know, I have eight practice clients I’m working with as I finish becoming certified as a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.

Recently, I had the opportunity to connect with each client through our second individual calls. During these conversations, we discussed their health goals and I was able to provide tailored recommendations based on their specific needs.

Eighteen years of teaching pilates have shown me that changes need to be small so they don’t overwhelm people.

Here are some of the recommendations I shared with them that you can apply in your life that will support you, too.

Digestion starts in your brain. Eat your meals sitting down without distractions like work or watching TV.

Close your eyes and take a deep breath before eating if you’re feeling stressed. You need to be in a calm state in order to send the message to your stomach food is on the way.  Chew slowly.

Eat enough protein.  Most people are generally undereating protein and overeating things like bread and crackers.

Eat healthy fats.  Fat doesn’t make you fat, and healthy fats don’t give you heart disease.  Both men and women make sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone) from healthy fats.  If you have dry skin, anxiety, depression, and are hungry all the time, you might benefit from some healthy fats.

Cover your naked simple carbohydrates.  Eat protein, healthy fat, and vegetables before having cookies, candy, cake, bread, chips, pasta, toast, bagels, crackers, etc.  You’ll have better blood sugar balance if you don’t eat these foods alone.

Make sure you move every day.  Now that it’s summertime, try to get outside each day to get sunlight, which helps regulate your circadian rhythm (sleep/wake cycle).  Sitting all day long is a stressor and can impact digestion.  

Drink plenty of filtered water.  Being dehydrated can make you tired, anxious, irritable, have headaches, joint pain, and poor blood sugar regulation.

If you work from home, think of a way to transition your day from work to rest.  Close your computer, go outside, take a walk, and come back in to relax and make dinner.

I recently discussed stress and its impact on every system of the body, especially blood sugar and digestion. 

Being chronically stressed, which most of us are in today's busy world, will make it hard to lose weight if that's your goal.

Take some deep breaths, go for a walk, or sit in silence for 3 minutes.

As we hit the halfway point of the year this week and the first day of summer, consider scheduling some downtime and rest.  Do less. Take things off your calendar. It will have a profound effect on how you look and feel.

My practice clients want all my hacks and tips for how I eat delicious, healthy meals at home without spending hours in the kitchen. I'm working on grocery shopping guides for Costco, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Stay tuned.