Sometimes cooking a big piece of fish can be intimidating. Is it undercooked? Overcooked? Just right? Luckily there’s an almost foolproof method for cooking fish that takes the stress out of the whole endeavor: foil packets!
Since there’s so much to think about when packing for a road trip, it’s easy to forget about bringing food for the drive. You’ll just figure it out once you get going on the road, right? That plan could be disastrous if you’re left with no options other than a subpar slice of rest-stop pizza. To beat the odds, I rely on a few foods that make me feel like I’m keeping things on the healthy side.
When you’re traveling with kids, you’re at the whim of little-people schedules. Days revolve around meal times and activities that allow the kids to run around and burn off energy. By the time your mini-mes (finally!) nod off, you’re probably ready for some grown-up time — and by grown-up time, I mean nice, cold cocktail time. The day is done, it’s time to relax, and that drink is your oh-so-deserved reward.
But, here’s the dilemma: How can you enjoy a proper cocktail while still keeping an eye (and ear) on the little ones?
When you’re traveling with kids, you’re at the whim of little-people schedules. Days revolve around meal times and activities that allow the kids to run around and burn off energy. By the time your mini-mes (finally!) nod off, you’re probably ready for some grown-up time — and by grown-up time, I mean nice, cold cocktail time. The day is done, it’s time to relax, and that drink is your oh-so-deserved reward.
But, here’s the dilemma: How can you enjoy a proper cocktail while still keeping an eye (and ear) on the little ones?
Stainless steel appliances look great in the kitchen, but they’re prone to showing hard water marks and fingerprints. You frequently see this on the dishwasher (so many water stains!) and the handles of the refrigerator (hello, overuse).
So, to restore my flat and dirty appliances back to their happy, shiny, robot-looking selves, I decided to make my trusty stainless steel toaster my test subject. What would I need to get it looking like new again?
It’s not a secret: Sleeping well is incredibly important for good health, as well as recovering from any type of training regimen. It doesn’t matter how dialed-in your diet and training are, if you’re not sleeping well, your health will suffer.
Unfortunately, even when we make sleep a priority by getting to bed on time, it doesn’t guarantee a good night’s sleep. Many people suffer from insomnia, interrupted sleep patterns, or trouble sleeping for a full seven to nine hours a night.1
What you may not realize is that there are dozens of diet and lifestyle factors that affect how well you sleep once your head meets the pillow every night.
In this article, you’ll learn three nutritional strategies you can try today for better sleep tonight!
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The Modern Woman’s Guide to Strength Training will help you achieve maximum results, whether you’re new to strength training, or a veteran in the weight room.
How Your Macros and Calories Can Affect Your Sleep
Whether or not you track your fat, carbs, and protein, the relative proportion and amount of each of these macronutrients in your diet can impact your sleep.
There are two main concerns regarding macros that could be affecting your sleep: you may not be eating enough carbohydrates or enough fat (or both.)
Low carb diets are incredibly popular for more than just weight loss. While I’m not anti-low-carb, I find that a lot of my clients — my active female clients in particular — don’t do well on a very low-carb diet long term. Disrupted sleep is one of the first signs that they’re not tolerating the diet.
Many active women on a low-carb diet experience blood glucose drops overnight, which ramp up stress hormones like cortisol and can even wake some women up if it’s extreme enough. Whether or not you wake up hungry, if you’re wide awake right before bed or at some point during the night, you might be experiencing a drop in your blood sugar.
Most of my active female clients see significant improvements in their sleep quality when they’re on a higher carbohydrate diet (more than 30 percent of calories). Even if your overall carb intake is low, having a higher carbohydrate meal within four hours before bed can shorten sleep onset, helping you fall asleep faster.2
Try increasing your total carbohydrate intake to 40 to 50 percent of your calories, or adding 30 to 50 grams of higher glycemic index carbohydrates to your dinner. For a woman consuming 2000 calories a day, this is 200 to 250 grams of carbs per day.
Great options include white rice, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, plantains, and bananas. Natural sweeteners like honey or maple syrup are some easily digested sources of glucose.
Fat is another macronutrient that can impact sleep. Dietary fat helps us produce hormones and slows the release of glucose into our blood when we’re digesting carbs from our meal. Long-chain monounsaturated and saturated fats from butter, animal fats (e.g. lard or tallow), olive oil, palm oil, or macadamia nut oil are especially satiating and keep us feeling satisfied for hours after eating a meal.
Adding some healthy whole food fats to all your meals, and dinner especially, prevents overnight hunger and the blood sugar swings that can come from a very low fat diet.
Aim for at least 20 percent of your calories from fat, and try upping it to 30 to 35 percent if you’re struggling with hunger overnight. For a woman on a 2000-calorie diet, this is at least 45 grams fat per day, and possibly closer to 65 to 75 grams of fat per day for an adequate intake. Some of my clients feel best on 40 to 50 percent of their calories from fat. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
Remember, inadequate food intake in general (regardless of the macronutrient balance) is going to screw up your sleep. Insomnia is an incredibly common symptom of malnutrition. Make sure you’re eating enough food overall to support your training levels, even if you’re trying to lose body fat.
And don’t go to bed ravenous! Try a snack containing carbs and fat within an hour of your bed time if you’re struggling with pre-bed hunger. One of my favorites is frozen berries or banana with heavy cream or coconut milk, or a frozen, gluten-free waffle with some almond butter on top.
If you’d prefer a beverage over a snack, try herbal tea with a spoonful of honey and a dash of heavy cream or coconut milk. Throwing in a little hydrolyzed collagen powder, which is a great source of the sleep-inducing amino acid glycine, can make it even more beneficial for sleep.
Micronutrients For Better Sleep
Once you’ve got your macronutrients and calories dialed in, it’s good to ensure that your diet is high in micronutrients — vitamins and minerals — especially those that directly impact sleep quality. Some of these nutrients are hard to get high amounts of in the diet, so supplementation may be warranted.
Don’t avoid salt, especially if you’re active. Too little salt may trigger sleep issues in women who are training regularly. Use salt in your cooking and add salt to taste, especially if you’re following a diet low in processed foods with added sodium. If you sweat a lot during workouts, you may need to add some salt to your water to replace the sodium loss.3
Magnesium is a nutrient that calms the nervous system, and can be effective in treating insomnia and improving sleep when supplemented. Yet it’s difficult to get high amounts of magnesium in our diets even when eating healthily. I usually recommend 200 to 400 mg of a chelated form of magnesium like magnesium glycinate or magnesium taurate before bed. You can also take an epsom salt bath to absorb magnesium through your skin.
Vitamin B6 is another nutrient that impacts sleep thanks to its effects on melatonin and serotonin production, both neurotransmitters that affect sleep when out of balance. While B6 is found in many foods, cooking reduces the bioavailability of B6 by 25 to 40 percent, so getting a little extra is a good idea if you’re not sleeping well. Try taking an extra 25 mg per day, and don’t exceed 100 mg daily from all supplement sources.
Zinc affects our body’s ability to use magnesium and B6, and also impacts our sensitivity to excitatory neurotransmitters which can make us more sensitive to stimulation. Zinc is found in oysters, clams, beef, lamb, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, turkey, and lentils, and is easier to absorb from animal sources. If you are vegetarian or have impaired digestive function, or simply don’t eat a lot of zinc-rich foods, you may need to supplement. Most of my clients do well taking 15 to 30 mg supplemental zinc per day in a chelated form like zinc citrate. Don’t take more than 40 mg per day on an ongoing basis.
These four micronutrients are not the only ones that affect sleep, but are the best place to start when looking to increase the nutrient-density of the diet or to add low dose nutritional supplementation to your plan.
(Always check with your doctor or a licensed dietitian before starting any supplementation!)
Stimulants and Sedatives
So far we’ve focused on what to add to your diet if you’re struggling with sleep. Let’s now discuss the things you may need to remove from your diet in order to sleep better.
First, consider your caffeine consumption from drinks like coffee and tea, assessing both the amount and timing of the caffeine intake.
If you drink multiple coffee beverages a day, or have caffeine in the afternoon, it may be causing your sleep disruption.
While you don’t have to completely eliminate caffeine (I’m not cruel!) you may want to cut down on how much you’re having during the day. Try limiting caffeinated beverages to before noon only, and replace one or two caffeinated beverages with a decaf option.
You can try even taking a break from caffeine for a while if you’re really struggling with sleep, but remember to slowly reduce your intake as a cold turkey removal can cause withdrawal symptoms.
And remember that caffeine can come from other sources beyond coffee and tea. Chocolate is a common source of caffeine that people consume close to bedtime, and I’ve found for myself and some clients that having chocolate before bed negatively affects sleep. Try limiting yourself to a small square, or have it earlier in the day if it’s keeping you awake.
Finally, even though alcohol is often used to help us fall asleep, it negatively affects the overall quality of our sleep, making our sleep less restful. While there’s nothing wrong with having a glass of wine or beer to relax at the end of the day, you shouldn’t be relying on alcohol to fall asleep, and daily intake for women should not exceed one to two servings.
If you’re drinking more than that regularly, consider taking a break from alcohol for a while so that you can recalibrate your sleep cycles as well as your alcohol tolerance.
So Your Diet Is Great… Now What?
Once you’ve got your diet, supplements, and stimulant use under control, consider the other lifestyle factors that can affect sleep quality.
Light and dark exposure throughout the day makes a big impact on your sleep cycles and circadian rhythms (your body’s 24-hour clock system.) Be sure to get plenty of natural light during the day and avoid artificial blue light at night. Take a walk outside at lunch, or take your workout outdoors on a sunny day, and turn off the laptop and smartphone at least one hour before bed.
If you’re training several days a week, make sure you’re not exercising very close to bedtime, as exercise is stimulating and can keep you from falling asleep. Try moving your workout to the morning or midday if you’re feeling overly wired at night. And be sure you’re not overtraining, as one of the primary symptoms of too much exercise is poor sleep and insomnia.
Finally, look at your stress levels and stress management habits. I’m willing to bet that most of us struggle with stress in some way, and unless you’re proactively dealing with it, it can significantly impact your health and sleep quality. Learning healthy ways to cope with stress can make a big difference in your sleep as well as your quality of life.
And if you’ve made all these changes and you’re still not seeing improvements in your sleep, consider working one-on-one with a health expert that can give you individualized recommendations for getting your sleep back on track!
Afaghi A, O’Connor H, Choow CM. High-glycemic-index carbohydrate meals shorten sleep onset 1’2’3. Am J Clin Nutr February 2007; 85(2): 426-430 http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/85/2/426.full
Blank MC, Bedarf JR, Russ M, Grosch-Ott S, Thiele S, Unger JK. Total body Na(+)-depletion without hyponatraemia can trigger overtraining-like symptoms with sleeping disorders and increasing blood pressure: explorative case and literature study. Med Hypotheses. 2012 Dec;79(6):799-804. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23234732
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You’ve probably spotted knobby purple or green kohlrabi at the farmers market recently and wondered what the heck this odd-shaped thing with the weird name is! Well, it’s a fantastically versatile vegetable with a taste and texture somewhere between cabbage and broccoli stems.
We think that it’s time for kohlrabi to step up and take a more prominent place in our cooking, and here are our top five favorite ways to eat it.
I’ve never met a potato salad that I didn’t like. Use mayo or Greek yogurt, season it with dill or throw in some kalamata olives and sundried tomatoes — they’re all good. And since no cookout, picnic, or backyard party is complete without a giant bowl of potato salad on the table, there are ample opportunities every summer to try them all.
Today, let’s pare it down to the basics and talk about how to make an easy, classic, all-American potato salad. You can serve this one just as it is, or use the recipe as a jumping off point for the potato salad of your dreams.
It isn’t summer until you’ve had your first watermelon of the season. Chances are, though, that it’s been about a year since you’ve bought your last watermelon. Do you remember how to pick out a good one? Did you ever really know? Here’s what you need to look for in order to spot the perfect picnic-worthy specimen.
For now classes are 6pm and 640pm at 2840 Wildwood st in the Boise Cloggers studio.
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Warrior Fit Testimonials
First, I want to say thank you for convincing me to do Tabata! I was struggling to lose weight and Finally I found something that helped! I really appreciate your coaching! - Craig T.
Ever since I was convinced to do Tabata I have seen huge results, I lost 6 pounds and gained energy in the first 3 weeks. I have been working out for 3 months before I decided to do Tabata and I struggled to lose weight.
At first I thought "How am I losing weight by bringing my heart rate up then cooling down then bringing it up again?" I don’t know how it works but it does!
Thank you!! - Theresa F.
The first day of Tabata, I wondered WHAT AM I DOING - I AM 56 !! Five weeks later I knew that it was what I needed. I learned that I could push myself well beyond my comfort zone and feel good later. I have a marked improvement in physical as well as emotional endurance. - Lyn C.
When I was first told about Tabata I was very excited from the word go, however that excitement stemmed from the fact that I had no clue what it meant. I missed the first week of class b/c I was traveling for work so when I came in during the 2nd week I had some making it up to do.
It was hard at first b/c my body wasn't used to working out at such a fast pace, but once I got into a rhythm I started to feel very good. These classes are no joke. If you stick with it you will leave there feeling stronger, healthier and overall better about yourself and what you've accomplished.
I would recommend these classes to anyone. Darrin is a great trainer and he'll keep you going with his energy.
- Jami L.
Warriors Fit Audio
Warrior Fit uses High Intensity Music to get ya Moooovin' So we can all "Get Our Sweat On"
The link below will give ya a freeee shot at Audible plus a couple audio books just to try it out and if you haven't used audio books on your commutes you are missing out. Get pumped up before you get to where you are going and exercise your mind. I use it Everyday. Go get yours now!
Low carb diets are incredibly popular for more than just weight loss. While I’m not anti-low-carb, I find that a lot of my clients — my active female clients in particular — don’t do well on a very low-carb diet long term. Disrupted sleep is one of the first signs that they’re not tolerating the diet.
Fat is another macronutrient that can impact sleep. Dietary fat helps us produce hormones and slows the release of glucose into our blood when we’re digesting carbs from our meal. Long-chain monounsaturated and saturated fats from butter, animal fats (e.g. lard or tallow), olive oil, palm oil, or macadamia nut oil are especially satiating and keep us feeling satisfied for hours after eating a meal.
Vitamin B6 is another nutrient that impacts sleep thanks to its effects on melatonin and serotonin production, both neurotransmitters that affect sleep when out of balance. While B6 is found in many foods, cooking reduces the bioavailability of B6 by 25 to 40 percent, so getting a little extra is a good idea if you’re not sleeping well. Try taking an extra 25 mg per day, and don’t exceed 100 mg daily from all supplement sources.
Light and dark exposure throughout the day makes a big impact on your sleep cycles and circadian rhythms (your body’s 24-hour clock system.) Be sure to get plenty of natural light during the day and avoid artificial blue light at night. Take a walk outside at lunch, or take your workout outdoors on a sunny day, and turn off the laptop and smartphone at least one hour before bed.
For now classes are 6pm and 640pm at 2840 Wildwood st in the Boise Cloggers studio.
Book your class NOW!
click this ==>
Me 'n Wilson
