How to Make Exercise a Habit
“While I knew late-night pizza wasn’t great for me, I rationalized the fact that I had just worked a twelve- to fifteen- hour work day…I told myself that I would burn it off in the morning. I was just carb loading a bit at night, which as long as I ran in the morning would be a good thing.” -an excerpt from CEO of Sun Basket, Adam Zbar’s new book, Shine An Entrepreneur’s Journey for Building a Highly Successful Business and a Healthy Life.
Sound familiar?
Too often, when we subscribe to the mainstream calories in, calories out equation, exercise becomes our sweaty repentance for last night’s drive-through sins.
But what about those times when you finish a hike with friends and feel tuckered out in the best way, or discover a yoga class that makes you feel good all day long? That’s how exercise can—and should—feel all the time.
When fitness is focused on fun activities, we’re not only more likely to be active regularly, we’re also more likely to enjoy it. And enjoyment is key for making exercise a strong, consistent, and sustainable habit. There’s so much room to experiment: group classes, hiking with friends, dance classes, walking your pup, or joining a rec soccer team.
Working out should be considered something that adds to your happiness and well-being, rather than the daily burn-off threshold you’ve promised yourself to hit. Instead, make it your goal to feel invigorated. What activities can you do that are fun? New and exciting? With friends? Make you feel strong and supported?
And it’s ok…no, it’s essential…to start small. Start with simple, attainable goals that will empower you to keep going, keep getting stronger, and keep loving physical activity. In his book, Zbar describes starting with just 2 modified push-ups because that’s all he could do. And within two weeks he progressed to 15 at a time. Then he started incorporating 10 minutes of stretching into his routine, which made it easier to do sit-ups, and improved how he felt when he ran.
When you change your mindset and shift the paradigm to make fitness something that enhances your routine, the real magic happens. Then, you’ll have a sustainable routine that you love, and all the benefits that follow: stress-busting, energy boosting, mood lifting, stamina enhancing, mental toughness/resilience, improved sleep, and the ability to make better food choices.
Now, Zbar runs in the Marin Headlands with his close friends and focuses on enjoying the movement, the moment, and the views of the Pacific and the Golden Gate Bridge.
“We had begun our weekly “Sun Runs” a few months earlier, right around the same time we decided to explore the idea of starting a healthy meal kit company.” -Tyler MacNiven, Co-Founder of Sun Basket, Forward to Shine: An Entrepreneur’s Journey for Building a Highly Successful Business and a Healthy Life.
Fresh Pineapple Kale Pops with Turmeric
You put kale in your smoothies, right? So why not in a frozen pop? This healthy alternative to store-bought ice pops is made with blended fruit and baby kale and sweetened with honey. Quick and easy, it comes together in about 15 minutes.
Fresh Pineapple Kale Pops with Turmeric Recipe
Makes 8 pops
Shopping List
1 organic pineapple
1 cup frozen mango chunks
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup organic baby kale
Tools
Blender, pop molds or small paper cups, wooden sticks
1. Prep the ingredients
- Trim the top and end from the pineapple; cut away the peel, then cut the flesh away from the core into quarters. Cut the flesh into enough ½-inch pieces to measure about 3½ cups.
- Cut any large mango chunks in half.
2. Make the pop mixture
In a blender, combine the pineapple, mango, honey, coconut oil, lime juice, turmeric, ⅛ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the kale and blend until just coarsely chopped, 10 to 15 seconds.
3. Fill the pop molds
Divide the mixture evenly among pop molds or small paper cups; if using, place wooden sticks in the center. Place in the freezer until the pops are solid, at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
Serve
Remove the pops from the molds and serve immediately. Store any remaining pops in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition per serving: Calories: 90, Protein: 1g (2% DV), Fiber: 1g (4% DV), Total Fat: 3.5g (5% DV), Monounsaturated Fat: 0g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g, Saturated Fat: 3g (15% DV), Cholesterol: 0mg (0% DV), Sodium: 30mg (1% DV), Carbohydrates: 17g (6% DV), Total Sugars: 14g, Added Sugars: 4g (8% DV). Not a significant source of trans fat.
Bonus recipe—ingredients not included in box.
A 5-Step Approach to Making Lasting Changes and Building a Happy Life
“Change your diet or you might not make it to 50.”
When Adam Zbar heard those words from his doctor, he knew it was time to turn his life around.
At the time he was the CEO of a fast-growing tech startup. Zbar was sleeping too little, sitting all day, eating lots of hamburgers and pizza, and not a lot of vegetables. Walking up the flight of stairs to his apartment left him winded. His stress was high. And his relationships felt hollow.
In his new book, Shine An Entrepreneur’s Journey for Building a Highly Successful Business and a Healthy Life, Zbar details how committing to healthy eating, regular fitness, and honest relationships helped him build Sun Basket, a thriving values-based, healthy eating business and become a much happier man at 50.
Our Director of Nutrition, Lindsey Kane, breaks down the five transformative changes that helped Zbar turn his life around:
1. A lightning bolt moment
Sometimes we need to hit rock bottom before we see where we’re headed and have the ability to redirect our actions. The moment the doctor told Adam that age 50 was not a guarantee for him, the lightning struck and he was electrified with a charge to change.
2. Consider all the things
Whatever the health issue we’re dealing with, there’s likely more than one contributing cause. Adam acknowledged the late-night pizza, protracted work sessions, persistent stress, sleepless nights, and his wavering relationships. He understood that he needed to address each factor with equal consideration. Instead of focusing only on food or exercise, he gave his entire life a comprehensive makeover.
3. Develop simple, sustainable strategies
When you want big solutions, you start with small steps. That’s a strategy that Adam used as he began a new exercise routine. On morning runs in the Marin Headlands, Adam developed a method to get to the top of the mountain: He looked at the big picture, in this case, the mountain top, and then narrowed in on one visual marker at a time to get there. While these mini milestones might have seemed insignificant in isolation, over time, each marker of progress translated to a larger victory.
There’s a reason this template worked for Adam on his runs, and why it helped him change his lifestyle; small, simple progress is one of the greatest secrets to successful and sustainable behavior change.
4. In order to change your habits, you first have to change your mind
Adam made a concerted effort to alter his source of motivation from outwards to inwards. Initially, Adam’s behaviors were fueled by a constant desire for external validation, recognition, and praise. In this new mindset, Adam set goals that made him “feel proud inside, not to impress others.” He focused his efforts on health and genuine happiness, effectively shifting his perspective from one requiring external validation to one motivated by powerful internal values and passions. With time, his actions became their own reward.
5. Be nice to yourself
A major part of Adam’s mindset makeover embraced the powers of body kindness. “Once I slowed down and appreciated how amazing my body was, I wanted to do everything in my power to take care of it. For years it had taken care of me, it was my time to take care of it.” This gentler, rational approach allowed him to ditch a crash diet mentality and aim for, “general happiness and sustained success that feels easy and natural.“
Make Your Own Superfood Smoothie
Smoothies are the ultimate improv recipe, easily adaptable with whatever ingredients you have on hand. But be thoughtful about your choices, and make sure you’re getting the biggest nutrient-dense bang for your buck. This blend of superfoods can help you power up for whatever the day throws your way. Blueberries, chia seeds, and yes even spinach deliver a wide range of antioxidants, protein, iron, and more. Cauliflower adds a good dose of fiber to the drink but its flavor stays in the background, letting the fruits shine through.
Superfood Smoothie Recipe
Serves 2
Shopping list
2 cups almond milk, coconut milk, or organic low-fat milk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups fresh organic spinach
2 cups frozen blueberries
1 cup frozen cauliflower
4 pitted dates
2 tablespoons chia seeds
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Tools
Blender
1. Make the smoothie
In a blender, combine the almond milk, lemon juice, spinach, blueberries, cauliflower, dates, chia seeds, cinnamon, and salt and blend until smooth, about 1 minute.
Serve
Pour the smoothie mixture into 2 glasses or to-go containers and serve.
Nutrition per serving: Calories: 230, Protein: 6g (12% DV), Fiber: 11g (44% DV), Total Fat: 7g (11% DV), Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 0g (0% DV), Cholesterol: 0mg (0% DV), Sodium: 350mg (15% DV), Carbohydrates: 41g (14% DV), Total Sugars: 24g, Added Sugars: 0g (0% DV). Not a significant source of trans fat.
Bonus recipe—ingredients not included in box.
Food Really is the Best Medicine
The idea that food is medicine is not a new one. After all, Hippocrates famously espoused it back in the fifth century B.C.E. The idea is not new in the realm of research, either. Randomized trials show that high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, dyslipidemia, and coronary artery disease—just to name a few—can be treated with food (and, at times, other lifestyle interventions) as effectively as with state-of-the-art pharmacotherapy.
The question becomes, what diet is the most healing of them all?
Despite our culture’s constant efforts to overcomplicate this question, we actually have a straightforward answer. When we look at the weight of aggregate evidence through the lens of common ground and common cause, we know that it’s dietary patterns that matter, not individual nutrients, extracts of “superfoods,” or intricate formulas of macro and micronutrients. The diet industry and profit-hungry corporations may benefit from isolating nutrients and slapping strategic marketing claims on food labels, but the public health does not. If the goal is to enhance health, happiness, and longevity, the best therapy is a plant-predominant diet of wholesome, high-quality whole foods.
A paper recently published in The Lancet entitled: Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 reinforces this simple, life-changing dietary advice. This massive, global research project involved many scientists. Unbiased, impartial funding (which is hard to come by and often a major limitation for most research studies) for the endeavor came from the Gates Foundation. The study calculated the number of deaths and DALYs (disability-adjusted life years) attributable to diet across various disease states.
The basic findings were:
In 2017, nearly 11 million deaths and 255 million DALYs were estimated to be attributable to dietary risk factors.
Although sodium, sugar, and fat have been the main focus of diet policy debate in the past two decades, this assessment shows that the leading dietary risk factors for mortality are diets that are:
- high in sodium
- low in whole grains
- low in fruit
- low in nuts and seeds
- low in vegetables
- low in omega-3 fatty acids
*Each of the above accounting for more than 2 percent of global deaths.
The researchers note, “Our findings show that suboptimal diet is responsible for more deaths than any other risks globally, including tobacco smoking, highlighting the urgent need for improving human diet across nations.”
This global study aligns with a great mass of prior evidence, including a quite similar look from high altitude focused on only the U.S. It confirms all we’ve learned from the world’s Blue Zones (areas around the globe with the longest-living groups of people). And it corrects the distorted view offered by the large PURE study, which misguidedly focused on macronutrients rather than foods and dietary patterns.
The right food—whole, minimally processed, mostly plant-foods—really is the very best of medicine. And unlike many medicines, food can even be a source of pleasure, something to share with family and friends and make the centerpiece of celebrations. And the medicine we take to treat a given symptom or disease rarely makes us well in other ways. The right food always goes far beyond a targeted risk factor, symptom, or condition and contributes to health and vitality at its very foundations.
To read Dr. Katz’s full perspective on this subject, check out his original publication here.
Why Weight is the Worst Indicator of Health
If you’re like most people living in the world today, you probably think that to be overweight is to be diabetic, at risk of heart disease, and a host of other ailments, that those extra pounds are evidence of an unhealthy life. And that if someone is “normal weight,” (whatever that is), that they are the picture of a healthy life. But the truth is that when it comes to understanding your health, putting too much weight on how much you weigh is a mistake.
Why weight is wack
Here’s the deal: weight measures body size, not health, and tells us nothing about the absence or presence of disease. The real data lies inside our bodies and can’t be detected on your bathroom scale. That’s because health is holistic. The physical, mental, emotional, biological, and behavioral aspects of health all deserve equal consideration. You have to look at multiple metrics in order to really understand what’s going on with your body. Higher weights don’t always correlate with high cholesterol or blood pressure. And lower weights don’t always indicate low blood pressure and low cholesterol.
In fact, when researchers compared body weight to cardiovascular risk factors such as cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood glucose, they found that:
- Half of the adults in the U.S. (~35.9 million) are classified as “overweight” and are actually metabolically healthy.
- Additionally, one-third of US adults (~ 19.5 million adults) are classified as obese and are metabolically healthy.
That’s over 50 million individuals currently categorized as “unhealthy” simply based on a flash judgment of their body shape and size, when in reality their cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood glucose are all at healthy levels.
This means 16.3 million adults who are at risk and in need of medical guidance and support are actually being overlooked, simply because of their smaller body size. Using weight as an indicator of health 1) mislabels millions of individuals as unhealthy and 2) overlooks millions of individuals who are actually metabolically unhealthy and in need of support.
If body weight is a bogus measure of health, why do we continue to use it?
For one, it’s easy and affordable, no tests or special equipment required. It also fits the narrative of diet culture and social norms that endorse thin privilege and fatphobia. As long as researchers, health care professionals, policymakers, and the wellness industry continue to use weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) as a primary health outcome, we will continue to be misled into thinking it’s fair and accurate to judge someone’s health based on the size of their body. That’s why there is a dire need for changing the metrics used to measure health and define wellbeing.
Judging someone’s health based on their weight only amplifies weight stigma, which causes social and emotional harm, triggers dangerous behaviors such as extreme dieting and eating disorders and can lead people who feel fat-shamed to avoid getting health care.
An emphasis on weight also forces people to fight a battle they simply can’t win (emerging research reveals that weight is highly influenced by genetics). This sets dieters up for failure, leaves them feeling frustrated and discouraged, while drastically dampening their happiness and quality of life. It’s also a distraction from the most effective path to good health—habits.
It’s not the weight that counts, it’s what you do
The truth is, you can’t directly control your weight, but you can directly control your actions, and there’s no better predictor of health than your behavior. This study, which demonstrated that fitness level is a better predictor of health than weight proves just that. It shows that regardless of how much you weigh, you can improve your health through life-enhancing habits like regular physical activity, adequate sleep, mitigating stress, cultivating strong and loving connections with friends and family, and eating wholesome, high-quality foods. The best part is that you can start doing all of these health-promoting acts of self-care right now, regardless of your shape or size.
Vegetable Chips—How to Make Your Own at Home
All props to potatoes, but there are plenty of other vegetables worthy of your chip bowl. Here, carrots and zucchini bake up crisp and get a blast of flavor from a dose of curry powder. If curry powder is not your thing, try them with any of your favorite seasoning blends. We’re partial to Teresa’s Killer Dry Rub. They’re also ideal for dipping, so serve them with your favorite hummus, guacamole, or ranch dip.
Curried Vegetable Chips Recipe
Makes 1 ½ cups
Shopping List
1 large organic zucchini
Coarse kosher salt
1 or 2 large organic carrots
Extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Freshly ground black pepper
Tools
2 sheet pans, medium bowl
1. Prep the zucchini and carrots
Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Using a knife or mandoline, very thinly slice the zucchini and carrots on the diagonal.
Line 2 sheet pans with paper towels and spread the zucchini and carrot slices on top in a single layer. Sprinkle the zucchini and carrots with ½ to 1 teaspoon salt each and let stand to release excess moisture, about 20 minutes. Pat the zucchini and carrots with more paper towels to absorb as much moisture as possible.
2. Season and bake the vegetable chips
In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini slices with 1 teaspoon oil. Add ½ teaspoon curry powder and ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder, season with pepper, and toss again. On a greased sheet pan, spread the zucchini in an even layer, making sure they don’t overlap.
Repeat with the carrots, spreading them on another greased sheet pan.
Bake the vegetable chips, flipping halfway through, until just crisp and starting to brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool.
Serve
Transfer the vegetable chips to a bowl and serve. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Chef’s Tip: To recrisp the chips, spread them on a sheet pan in an even layer in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes.
Nutrition per serving: Calories: 80, Protein: 3g (6% DV), Fiber: 4g (16% DV), Total Fat: 3g (5% DV), Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g, Saturated Fat: 0g (0% DV), Cholesterol: 0mg (0% DV), Sodium: 540mg (23% DV), Carbohydrates: 13g (4% DV), Total Sugars: 7g, Added Sugars: 0g (0% DV). Not a significant source of trans fat.
Bonus recipe—ingredients not included in box.
A Back Up of Planets in the Sign of the Bull Helps Us Stand Our Ground
Before you drift away in daydreams about the endless summer you’re planning, come back to earth and focus on building your gardens, literally and figuratively. A line up of planets in earthy sign Taurus this month steers us towards grounding activities, tending to sentient matters and Mother Earth. It behooves everybody to make like Ferdinand and relax in the fields and enjoy the flowers.
By Lisa Lisa and the Star Jam*
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Earthy bulls are supported this month in speaking their more radical insights to the masses. Certainly an unusual position for one of the more staid signs, yet it behooves you to pay attention to every insight and bolt of inspiration as it could have a positive influence on the world around you. The world wants to hear from you. Just when you start feeling comfy, new opportunities come your way, which help you develop new, as yet unearthed talents. You might lead a class of elementary school kids on a nature walk or help them plant a schoolyard garden, and introduce the next generation to the beauty and intelligence of the natural world.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Silence is golden for the typically chatty Twins this month. You may find that there’s more than one monkey wreaking havoc in your mind. We suggest dedicating yourself to a daily meditation practice to tame the mental madness. If social situations have you seeing red, make a habit of holding your tongue and get your feet moving, preferably away from your object of ire. Like Elvis crooned, “Come on, baby, I’m tired of talking, Grab your coat and let’s start walking.” Mac Davis and Billy Strange must have had a Gemini in mind when they penned that song. It’s time to peer into the deeper recesses not necessarily for the unearthing of new inspiration but more to finalize and move on from some of the harder truths that you’ve been examining for a while now. Don’t give up. The vein of gold you’re on is a deep one, re-grooving healthier synapses. You’re almost there!
CANCER (June 21-July 22) Scrawl all your pent up feelings on paper, stuff your private lament into a bottle and hurl that sucker into the nearest ocean. Now that you have become emotionally unburdened, you’re free to fully embrace the outer-reaches of your social network, perhaps finding new friends, or joining that organization you’ve been too shy to approach. By sidling up to a fresh circle, you discover new shores on which to shine. Maybe you’ll be nurturing homeless kids’ creativity, mentoring teens, or hooking up with an expectant mothers group. Whatever it is, you’ll feel more strongly connected and effective in contributing to community building. This could all lead toward buoying your own creative project. Oh, and what of that tossed bottle holding your innermost thoughts? Allow yourself to imagine it’s arrival on a distant shore to be read by just the right soul in need of a little understanding. Reciprocal healing.
LEO (July 23-Aug 22) With a spectacular pride of planets at the top of your chart, aka your career, you’re ripe for hunting in a new direction professionally. Being out there, being seen (no problem for Leos) increases your chances of seizing opportunities. The agent of this shift is your social network, flinging open cage doors as you join forces with friends and co-create with others. All the while, a light touch, your good humor, and playfulness really ease the path to progress. Later in the month, Lions find a sweet solace away from the limelight. We recommend that you head for the hills. Before you get back down to business you’ll need an emotional release from all the buzz around your career; so go ahead and let out a primal roar deep in the forest. You’ll come back to work minus the weight of the world.
VIRGO (Aug 23-Sept 22) Virgins rev your engines on work projects this month; emphasis on the plural intended. Counterintuitively, an essential part of staying grounded and focused will be to incorporate learning something new or traveling to a place you’ve not been before. You get the picture, it’s about expanding your worldview. Maybe book a ticket to an unusual sacred site, like the underground salt cathedral near Bogota, Columbia where your perspective and understanding of your place in the world expands. The second part of the month you’re keen to nurture your network, perhaps leading an alumni group and their families on a pilgrimage to survey the damage at Notre Dame. Witnessing the ashes, you see the potential of rebuilding Our Lady as a metaphor for restoring the divine feminine. A major Virgin objective.
LIBRA (Sept 23-Oct 22) Sharing resources come naturally to the sign of partnership. And this month puts that proclivity into high-relief. Now is the time to pool resources, attract capital from unexpected sources, or invest in futures that benefit the Earth. Meanwhile, you’re motivated to travel and likely to more than one place this month. Writing will help you to integrate all the learning that comes from widening your horizons and deepening your worldview. Later in the month, you find renewed energy in your professional life; you’ll discover a proper balance between pushing toward career goals and nurturing the domestic sphere. Finances may need a bit of sorting. Just keep in mind your true worth.
SCORPIO (Oct 23-Nov 21) Scorpio’s legendary intensity focuses on the comfort within their close and private relationships this month. Singles may start anew while those already attached may reignite an existing commitment. Regardless, it’s your laser focus lighting up your one-on-ones. You find yourself craving conversation and ideas around relating and dare we say, the earthly pleasures and physicality of intimacy. Scorpios will also be inclined to both talks about and engage in sensual healing modalities such as mud baths or relaxing on grass mats in the Himalayan salt room at your favorite spa. Later in the month, your passions may turn toward travel. Dip into your savings reserves, there’s enough, and take a trip with family members or better yet, sweep your Mom off to Europe for Mother’s Day.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22-Dec 21) Archers are wise to take aim at their health this month. Including nutritious foods and regular exercise (or both!) in your daily routine increases your vitality and curbs a tendency to indulge a sweet tooth. Maybe you’ll get a new pet that requires regular walks which will help to ground the centaurs roaming inclinations. You’ll likely have a lot to say around all things climate change, the difference this month being an added extra chutzpah to bring your beliefs into action, perhaps starting a progressive group bent on shifting local politics. Meanwhile, relationships are cooking in the background; you’re keen on communicating with, relating to and spending more time with your partner which, leads to greater intimacy and yes, more sex.
CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19) Flinty goats are loosening up and finding their goofy side this month. Whether it’s taking a break to crank it up and croon along with power ballads in the office, or unleashing your wild side by brandishing slogans on your t-shirt the likes of no bleeps given, allowing your creativity more free reign will bring the unflappable work ethic of goats down to earth, ultimately making you more fun to be around. A bit of that newfound lighter touch spills over into your everyday routine, where you’re freshly motivated to learn more about healthy habits and practices you can incorporate into your workday. Later in the month, inspired by your own dedication, amp up your efforts and get your partner or family members to exercise, kickstarting a buddy system that helps all of you to sustain healthy habits.
AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb 18) The ground beneath you Aquarians is shifting; bringing revelations and revolutions around the domestic front. Reconfiguring your domestic situation or shaking up the family structure is front and center this month. While some of you have already moved (this has been going on for some time now), others are searching Craigslist for new digs or simply hitting the road. Once the chaos settles and you find the necessary security in a home base along with a green patch to tend, you water bearers can begin again to nurture your uniqueness and hoist high your out-there antenna. Career-wise, you’ve bumped up your salary and you’re likely in smooth-sailing waters as your job seems to take care of itself these days. With the homefront and job settled, the end of the month brings about a motivational shift toward focusing on creative projects.
PISCES (Feb 19-Mar 20) Some fish may be laid up or taking more WFH (work-from-home) days this month. Your currents turn to DIY projects or simply jumping on calls from the home office. Instigating new ways to communicate makes time at the office more efficient, leaving you more opportunity to clarify your vision. Despite some heavy shifts in your social circle, you feel the upside to upheaval, ease from shedding ties to outworn affiliations. Ever the superstar at work, now you’re consciously working on sounding like one. Later in the month, you feel the urge to have fun with your family, taking off to parts unknown. Your creative juices are flowing. It’s all about play.
ARIES (Mar 21-April 19) Fueled by the momentum that began during your birthday month, you’re fired up around what you’ve learned from all that listening we suggested you do, and now you’ve got a message for us. Speak up. At the same time, the discussion turns to financial matters as a pile-up of planets crowds your money house. While the ride could be a bit bumpy, hold your ground, sudden changes could bring about a bounty. Some rams may consider self-employment while others starting a side hustle. Keep the faith. A new beginning around livelihood is at hand. One thing is for sure, your old ways of working need a heave-ho to the curb. It can be hard to let go but let go you must. And there is no sign braver than you.
If you know your rising sign, read that, too; it’s often relevant.
*Lisa Awrey and Lisa Carroll
illustration by @boccaccinimeadows
5 Natural Ways to Boost Fertility
For many, becoming a parent is one of life’s most special gifts. Yet it isn’t until we’re ready to start a family that we discover that getting pregnant may not be as easy as we’d thought. It generally takes couples an average of 6 to 12 months to successfully conceive, and according to the CDC, 2 million couples in the U.S. struggle with infertility.
While some causes of infertility are unavoidable, studies show that lifestyle factors like what we eat can be a major cause of fertility challenges. Here, our Director of Nutrition Lindsey Kane channels her previous experience coaching couples struggling with infertility to share what a fertility-boosting diet and lifestyle looks like for women.
Focus on Good Fats
Load up on inflammation fighting omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, sardines, avocados, nuts, and seeds. These foods support healthy hormone regulation and may help reduce the risk of infertility. Good fats also help to maintain glycemic control, promote blood flow to reproductive organs, and support the absorption of essential nutrients like vitamins A, D, E, and K.
More Plants, Less Meat
Studies have found that switching out as little as 5 percent of animal protein in your diet to plant-based proteins can reduce the risk of ovulatory infertility by more than half. Fruits and vegetables are loaded with antioxidants that help protect against the free radicals that can cause cell damage to the reproductive system and female eggs. Make an animal-based protein exception at breakfast, though, and put an egg on it. Eggs are full of choline, an important nutrient for pregnancy that isn’t found in many foods. In fact, egg yolks happen to be one of a very select few food sources that contain choline. Pro tip: Aim for iron-rich sources of plant-based proteins, like lentils, beans, and spinach. Serving them with a squeeze of citrus helps your body absorb the iron.
Move Your Body, But Not Too Much
One of the many benefits of exercise is increased fertility. A sedentary lifestyle is associated with a higher risk of infertility, and one study found infertility risk dropped 5 percent for every hour spent exercising. It’s important to listen to your body, practice joyful movement, and consult your doctor when it comes to exercise. Overdoing it with excessive high-intensity workouts can decrease fertility in certain women.
Take Time For Yourself
Beyond diet, carving out time for self-care and getting a good night’s sleep are essential to reproductive health. When you’re stressed, your body releases the stress hormone cortisol, which can cause insulin resistance and raise your blood sugar, ultimately impacting hormonal health.
Upgrade Your Carb Game
Focusing on unprocessed, whole foods that are packed with plenty of fiber and nutrients, such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes, while keeping excess sweets and added sugar to a minimum is essential. Carb quality counts, and a diet comprised of excess sugar leads to a rise in glucose and insulin. At high levels, insulin can interfere with hormone homeostasis disrupting menstrual cycle regularity and reproductive vitality. Pro tip: Avoid artificial sweeteners, which are stressors on your system. They create a cortisol response that interferes with reproductive hormones and can inhibit ovulation.
What about the mixed information around the effects of soy and dairy on fertility?
Research shows that the only soy product that should be limited is highly-processed soy, such as soy protein isolate, which can cause an influx of highly-concentrated estrogen-mimicking phytoestrogens. Whole food sources of soy like edamame, and fermented sources like tempeh and miso, are all safe to eat.
When it comes to dairy, the hormones found in non-organic products are what gives milk a bad rap. Sticking to organic, whole fat sources has been shown to decrease infertility. Fermented dairy, such as yogurt or kefir are even better options since they’re easier to digest and offer gut-friendly, immune-boosting probiotic microbes that could eventually get passed on to your child during birth.
What the Weight Loss Plateau Really Means
Anyone who has ever attempted a weight loss diet has experienced the allure of watching the pounds shed week by week until boom—the number on the scale doesn’t budge, despite the fact that you’re still eating carefully and sticking to the exercise program that was initially so effective. Here, Sun Basket’s Director of Nutrition Lindsey Kane weighs in on how weight loss works and why the plateau is a perfectly normal thing.
What actually happens during weight loss
Bodies need energy (calories) to function, and the source of that energy is food in the form of carbohydrates (the preferred fuel), fat, and protein (least preferred fuel). When food is restricted, your body taps into its stored energy inventory. First up is glycogen, the stored version of carbohydrates found in your muscles and liver. Carbohydrates are composed of water, so as you burn through your limited supply of glycogen, part of the initial weight loss is water loss. Once you’ve exhausted your glycogen stores, your body moves on to fat and protein. Protein is stored in muscle tissue, and the last thing your body wants to do is break down muscle. Remember that your heart and other vital organs are muscles, so drawing energy from those is the equivalent of selling your house and personal belongings in a last-ditch effort to survive.
Enter, the weight loss plateau
Our bodies are smart, adaptive, resilient, and biologically hardwired to delay weight loss at all costs. Why? Because food is a basic human need, we need energy to survive, and thousands of years ago our next meal wasn’t always guaranteed. Our ancestors were able to endure food insecurity, shortage, and famine thanks to the body’s resistance to weight loss.
Flash forward to today. Food may be more accessible and available now, but thanks to diet culture, weight loss programs that focus on calorie restriction are still popular. These diets create an intentional energy deficit that actually mimics starvation and kicks your body into a survival mode. In response, your body makes a valiant effort to conserve energy, maintain your weight, and protect your fate. It does this in several ways.
Here are just a few examples:
Metabolic Adaptation
Generally speaking, higher weights come with higher metabolisms. This may sound counterintuitive, but it makes sense considering that muscle is your metabolically active tissue. So, as you lose weight (and thus, lose muscle), you end up losing your most metabolically active tissue, and your metabolism drops, too. Interestingly, studies have found that a 10 percent drop in body weight actually reduces metabolism by 15 to 25 percent—a far greater reduction than what can be explained by muscle loss alone. This phenomenon, referred to as metabolic adaptation, is why weight loss tends to slow down over time, and why it’s so difficult to maintain a reduced weight. The body becomes more efficient at running on less energy, finding a way to drive the same number of miles on less gas.
Appetite hormones go wild
Once your body enters starvation mode, the hunger hormone, ghrelin, is released to kick your appetite into high gear. If you’ve ever found yourself obsessively thinking about food, or feeling ravenous 24/7 while on a calorie-restricted diet, that’s your appetite-driving hormones working hard to save your life.
Satiety hormones sink
Hormones, such as leptin, are released after you eat to tell your brain that you’re adequately nourished. But when you’re on a weight loss diet, these satiety hormones plummet, because—well—you aren’t nourished.
Storage hormones surge
In an effort to capture and store as much energy as possible, storage hormones such as GIP (gastric inhibitory polypeptide) skyrocket. In response, your body latches onto every ounce of energy (calories) consumed, for fear it may be the last meal.
During a weight loss plateau, the temptation is to double down, cut even more calories, create even more food rules, double the length of workouts, etc. This not only perpetuates an even greater metabolic adaptation, but also leads you down a path of food obsession, doing whatever it takes to change the number on the scale, even if it means implementing unhealthy methods that directly contradict the end goal: health and happiness. Weight loss dieting puts you at war with food and with your body. After a while, we become so discouraged that we abandon all of the good habits we cultivated along the way, solely because they don’t seem to be effective anymore. But here’s the deal: the number on the scale tells you nothing about your health. Weight is actually the worst metric for measuring health (I’ll be writing more about that soon.) In the meantime, if you’ve reached a weight loss plateau, remember:
The weight loss plateau is inevitable. It doesn’t mean you are doing something wrong, it only means that you’re human.
Take a deep breath and give yourself a mindset makeover. What does health mean to you? Do these extreme dieting practices truly feel like the right path to well-being?
If they aren’t, redirect your focus to cultivating life-enhancing habits that come from a place of self-care.
Remember that you are worth more than your weight.
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