Ready for a wellness wake-up call? 5 surprising ways you might be unintentionally derailing your wellness journey, and they have nothing to do with exercise or diet.

In just 5 minutes, I'll reveal 5 surprising ways you might be unintentionally derailing your wellness journey, and they have nothing to do with exercise or diet.

This high-impact read is not just informative but also practical, with strategies that are designed to fit into your busy schedule so you can start making positive changes to your routine right away.

Note: This blog contains one affiliate link to share my *preferred coffee alternative with you all (the one I've used daily for two years and that improved my life). If you choose to purchase a product from them using my link, I receive a commission, and you receive 15% off. Pretty awesome.

Let's face it: we're all guilty of accumulating wellness tips and tricks (raise your hand if you've got a collection of screenshots and saved videos you've yet to try ✋🏽). But what if I told you, all that information overload could be counterproductive to your wellness goals? The key is self-awareness and knowing what truly works for you (and what's working against you!).

Like many of you, I've embarked on a personal wellness journey, often unknowingly undermining my efforts despite my best intentions. It took me years to uncover the secrets of achieving successful and lasting results. I understand the struggles and frustrations you might be facing, and I'm here to share my insights to help you overcome them. You're not alone in this journey.

The key? It's not complicated – the more easeful your approach, the better your results.

But you have to know WHERE to focus your precious energy. AND realize sneaky daily habits that are sabotaging you. I'm sharing these insights from my personal experience, which I believe many of you can relate to, so you know they're tried and tested.

In this high-value and life-changing blog post, I'm sharing the 5 secrets I learned that allowed me to lose weight, balance my hormones, improve my sleep, and give me more energy. These are not just random tips but proven strategies that have worked for me and can work for you, too. You can trust in their effectiveness to bring about positive changes in your life.

These secret game changers are not your typical diet and exercise tips. They are practical strategies that focus on your lifestyle and mindset. I'll be covering:

• A relatable rundown of real-world habits that are wrecking your efforts

• The importance of understanding the basics of your circadian rhythm (utilizing light to improve sleep, blood sugar balance, and energy levels, and yes, your phone could be a cause of extra weight)

• Why HOW you eat can be more important than WHAT you eat

• How to support your nervous system (and why that one component can improve every aspect of your life)

• Identifying subconscious sabotage and reprogramming your mind for lasting results
  

Game Changer #1: A relatable rundown of real-world habits that are wrecking your efforts

Okay, seriously, let's get real. I'm about to give you some straight-up truth (You'll thank me later, hopefully 😏). If you're serious about getting incredible results, keep reading after I share this list with you. Those willing to make these minor adjustments will overcome the hurdles keeping you stuck. Are you ready to show up and make a change? I promise I will provide you with practical and very effective ways to adjust each of these common habits so you can see the results you desire. Here goes!

• Looking at your phone first thing in the morning and after dark (take a breath because I have a workaround for you!)

• Eating while distracted, on the run, or in stressful environments

• Spending all day indoors

• Taking in too much information, even if well-intentioned

• Mindlessly taking in programming that works against you

• Not speaking your truth, staying in unhealthy relationships, and not honoring your passions
  
  
  

Supportive Truth Bomb 💥

You could stop here, remove these saboteurs I listed above, and still get a ton of value from this article. After all, I promised to reveal the ways you could be unintentionally derailing your wellness journey in only five minutes, and that five minutes is probably up. And I did deliver.

But the truth is, most of us need to understand the WHY behind the HOW to convince our minds to try something new.

I'll give you a perfect example right now.

Your mind and ego do not like change – from a survival standpoint, change often means danger and requires more calories/energy; this is not considered a good thing for our survival brain (the part of our brain hyper-focused on threat). It takes much less energy to stay the same, which is why most of us don't actually apply the new information we learn. But when we know WHY, we can override our survival brain and tap into our learning brain. In our learning brain, we approach new topics with curiosity, calm, and nuance; we have less fear of making mistakes, and we allow ourselves to discover and implement new ideas.

This approach, my friend, is how we get real and lasting results!

So, are you ready to keep going so this blog doesn't fall in the category of another saved video or screenshot you do nothing with?

Great, let's explore!

Game Changer #2: The importance of understanding the basics of your circadian rhythm

Here's the deal: I could make this section way complicated and share loads of science with you, but I will deliver what I promised and keep it fairly it simple so you can start applying today.

Don't worry; I'll share some incredible resources with you (such as books, podcasts, or websites) if you want a deeper dive into these topics.

Let's start with a foundational understanding of circadian rhythm.

Ultimately and simply put, we have self-sustaining clockwork inside our cells that informs our metabolism, hormonal levels, behavior, body temperature, and sleep-wake cycles.

Altering this rhythm can have many implications that could interfere with our overall health.

Multiple studies explore the relationship between the disconnection to our circadian rhythm and abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol, all factors that can increase a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes—additionally, the increase in mental health issues like depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

Get to know cortisol and melatonin.

Two essential hormones that impact our circadian rhythm are cortisol and melatonin.

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain; levels are lowest in the morning and should rise later in the day and, peak in the middle of the night, and gradually lower before sunrise.

Cortisol is the primary stress hormone in your body and crucial for many functions (metabolism/blood sugar levels, regulating your body's stress response, salt and water balance, regulating blood pressure, increasing and regulating blood sugar, lowering inflammation, fetal development, memory formation, involved in sleep/wake cycle, etc.) and fluctuates throughout the day. In general, healthy cortisol levels peak in the morning and gradually drop at the end of the day before sleep.

When you are experiencing stress, your body releases extra cortisol to get you through it; incongruent light sources opposing nature can also increase cortisol, for example, blue light (from your devices) at times of the day that would not naturally have that spectrum of light. (More on this below)

Our natural circadian rhythm is impacted by our external inputs such as food (what you eat and when you eat), time of exercise, light environment, temperature, and stressors. It's essential for our health and well-being to align with our natural circadian rhythm, including aligning our light environments with the sun's light and spending time in nature. Note: You can continue to delve into a depth of information concerning light, applied quantum biology, and circadian rhythm, which we don't have time to go into in this blog post, but if you are interested, I've included an entire list of resources at the end of this post.

Here are just a few key points:

Eating: Eating during daylight hours and fasting after dusk is suggested to best align with our circadian rhythm. Eating at the wrong times can disrupt our sleep, metabolism, and overall health. Eating within 1-2 hours of waking is suggested as we metabolize foods more efficiently in the morning. Eating meals consistently (at the same times each day) can also be supportive because it entrains your body to metabolize food more optimally.

Exercise: The afternoon and early evening could be ideal for high-intensity exercise; however, honor your body and consistency over perfection, but stay away from intense exercise two hours before bedtime. BONUS: A relaxed walk after meals is a great way to lower blood sugar spikes and supports digestion.

Environment: Bursts of heat in the evening (like a sauna or hot bath) can have a cooling effect on our body and help improve sleep. Caffeine and alcohol can have the opposite effect and heat the body before sleep, disrupting sleep. Too much caffeine at any point in the day can also create unwanted cortisol spikes and disrupt our natural circadian rhythm. And bright light before or after sunset disrupts our hormone balance. We will go more into that in the next section.

*If you love coffee, I can relate. I spent my high school years working in coffee shops, and I fell in love with coffee – the smell, the taste, the different roasts, the diversity from each region, and the craftsmanship in each cup. I still look forward to the smell of my husband's cup of coffee each morning, but a few years back, I realized that drinking caffeine first thing in the morning was not a great choice for my body anymore. Ultimately, coffee gave me slight anxiety, an unnecessary morning blood sugar spike, killed my morning appetite (not supportive of my hormones), and gave me jitters while trying to focus on my computer. I still enjoy an Americano now and again, but only when I can use the extra energy, like before going on a hike! There are some beautiful benefits of quality organic coffee; I think the real flex is learning about your body and utilizing coffee in the most supportive ways, and for many of us, that’s not first thing in the morning right when we wake. But for me, I crave a warm, comforting beverage when I wake up.

SO, I decided to try a coffee alternative because as much as I love tea, I prefer something more like coffee in the morning. Rasa has been a game changer for me and has supported my mind and body, helping me with stable energy throughout my day with mood-supporting herbs and adaptogens. Rasa is an herbal coffee alternative packed with adaptogens & mushrooms that give sustained energy and stress support. Adaptogens work with your endocrine and nervous systems to help you cope with stress better. I love the taste, and it's a company that I feel great about supporting and sharing with others! Organic ingredients, high-quality sourcing, female-owned small business, purity tested, fair-trade and direct trade, and quality people are at the helm.

I honestly just feel lucky I found them. I love voting with my dollars, you know? If we don’t support quality ingredients and small businesses with integrity, they will disappear. I'll admit, it's a bit of an investment, but I have found them to be worth every penny. If you want to give them a try, you can use my link to get 15% off your purchase. I love the Cacao, but you can try a starter pack if unsure what would best honor your tastebuds. I enjoy nervous system support, stress relief, sustained energy, a balanced mood, and better sleep. The list of reasons I love them could go on. Here's the link for you to get 15% off your purchase! Here you go! Use code: DENISE65337

Supportive Truth Bomb 💥

First, take a slow, deep breath with me – breathe in for the count of 4, hold for the count of 4, and release for the count of 6.

Ready? Let's do it together.

One more for good measure. 🙂

Alright, that felt good, right? I'm going to let you in on another little secret: in order to indeed be in our learning brain, we have to feel calm and relaxed; in other words, in a parasympathetic state.

But sometimes, learning and taking in lots of new information (especially about our bodies) can make us feel stressed AF. Am I right?

A great way to remedy that overwhelmed feeling is to come back to your body with a nice, slow, deep breath. Additionally, you can try simple orienting practice or gentle somatic touch. Not sure what I'm talking about? Click here for my free supportive videos, where I walk you through each exercise).  

Go ahead. 💖 Don't worry; when you click the link above, the free videos page will open in another browser window, so you can try them as needed.

Anytime throughout reading this blog that you start to feel yourself going from curiosity and wonder (learning brain/parasympathetic state) to overwhelmed and stressed (survival brain/sympathetic state), try a new supportive video and come back to this when you're ready.

Ready? Let's keep exploring!

Blue Light (utilizing light to improve sleep, blood sugar balance, and energy levels, and yes, your phone could be a cause of extra weight)

When it comes to optimizing our circadian rhythm, too much artificial blue light (this can come from our phones, televisions, computer screens, and bright overhead light bulbs) can cause a disruption that can impact our sleep, hormones, ability to regulate our weight, and more.

Exposure to extended periods of blue light (blue light simulates the mid-day sun), especially in the evening, can increase your food cravings, specifically toward craving more carbohydrates and sugars. 🥐🍪

Why? Because it's a normal healthy response your body should be having.

Why? Because blue light stimulates cortisol, and cortisol liberates blood sugar. After all, the body's natural response to stimulants/stress is to prepare for you to react to danger or take action and do something (and glucose released in our blood helps us do that), so the longer you are in front of blue light, the more your blood sugar can elevate (even without eating). Makes total sense, right? 😲

BONUS: Any stressor can cause this response (increased cortisol in our bodies) - so consider this when you select what you are exposed to in the evening via news, TV shows, social media, conflict/drama, etc. Increased cortisol will impact our sleep/wake cycle and melatonin production if it's almost bedtime. After many years of this, and let's be honest, most of us have lived like this our entire lives, we learn to compensate and tell ourselves we feel relaxed scrolling or in front of the television, and maybe even drift off, but it's not optimal sleep and can still leave us feeling exhausted in the morning.

Want my complete list of ways I've minimized harmful aspects of blue light exposure and find out how to create an accessibility shortcut on your phone that allows you to have two stages of blue light reduction? Get the complete list in my highly viewed blog, 5 Easeful adjustments to reduce the adverse side effects of too much blue light.

Game Changer #3: Why HOW you eat can be more important than WHAT you eat.

Okay, friends, I will keep this section super simple because, admittedly, that last section was a doozy.

Again, we could get all up in the science, but you can do more research when you're ready; for now, I will provide you with the concepts so you can begin applying and seeing results immediately.

Ready?

Here it is:

Your body is not designed to digest food while in a sympathetic state (AKA flight or fight).

And scene. 🎬 

Well, okay, we'll go into it a little bit.  

Let's think about this in the most basic way: if a gazelle is running from a lion, would it stop to eat? Well, not any gazelle that wants to survive. Our bodies are so brilliant, aren't they?

Problem is, most of us are stressed all the time. 😟 and it's common to be hurried (five-minute lunch at your desk), on the go (standing up, in the car), distracted, stressed, and on technology while eating. These behaviors can put your body in "flight or fight" mode, which is not optimal for digestion. For optimal digestion, we need to be relaxed and calm.

Why is digestion so important?

Bloody hell. LOL. Digestion is everything. If we don't digest our food properly, we don't absorb the nutrients from our food, the nutrients we need to create energy and build or repair cells. Your digestive health impacts your immune system, mental health, and overall well-being. Now, there can be many causes of digestion issues, but starting with this one oh so important aspect can be an absolute game changer.

So, what can you do to support digestion today?

• Slow down and be present with your meal.

• Take a few slow, deep breaths before eating.

• Find the most relaxed environment to eat in, and take your time. Put down your phone, don't multitask, and bonus points if you can be in nature (nature sounds like birds chirping, encourage a relaxed parasympathetic state). Distraction-free environments help your brain effectively activate salivary glands to produce saliva, which begins the digestive process in your mouth.

• Be mindful when eating; your intention and how you connect with your food, even before you eat it, is the starting place of digestion. Slowly preparing your food with love & gratitude is an excellent place to start. If you didn't prepare it, take a moment to thank those who did. Genuinely thank your food for nourishing you before your first bite. Notice your thoughts about your food – are you judging yourself for eating it or thinking it's "bad"? This can trigger a sympathetic response. 😔 Food shame or not enjoying what we eat is not supportive.

• Chew your food properly (for most of us, this means chewing two or even three more times than you do now – seriously, sometimes we chew like one time 🙃).

• Choose your lunch buddy carefully. Be mindful of who and what you eat around and how they make you feel. This includes not looking at social media posts or media that trigger stressful states.

• Listen to what your unique body needs before each meal. Eat when hungry, happy, and calm, and fall in love with your food. Notice it's colors, textures, aromas, etc.

• Take a pleasant leisure walk a little while after eating to help digest your food and lower blood sugar. You could also dance, do the dishes, or play with your fam! Enjoy the experience with gratitude and love. Please don't consider these ideas another wellness task; that defeats the purpose. Find some fun in this process, and enjoy your life and your food! Soon, this will all become second nature. The more you truly enjoy your food, the better you digest it.
  
  

Game Changer #4: How to support your nervous system (and why that one component can improve every aspect of your life)

I've already supplied multiple reasons why supporting our nervous system is essential to every aspect of our lives, and I've provided you with ample ways to implement those changes.

Our beautiful calm rest and digest parasympathetic state promotes balanced hormone levels and blood sugar levels, better digestion, increased libido, clear mental states, and more restful sleep, improving our ability to thrive, have quality energy, build muscle, boost immunity, stay in shape, and feel our best!

REMEMBER: Approach the information in this blog post with ease and have some fun with it. Please stay away from perfectionism or letting it be something you overthink. Instead, incorporate a few ideas you align with into your daily rituals and add new ones as you feel ready. Take it slow and enjoy the process rather than focusing on the outcome. Feeling overwhelmed by wellness information causes the opposite effect of what we had hoped for.

Game Changer #5: Identifying subconscious sabotage and reprogramming your mind for lasting results

We're in the home stretch, my beautiful friend!

How are you feeling? I hope you are feeling supported, informed, and empowered! (Are you walking away with any new juicy bits? Please share this article with anyone who would benefit from it! It's all about reciprocity, baby!)

Believe it or not, this blog has provided you with specific, actionable, life-changing steps to begin incorporating into your daily rituals today!

Yes, it came with some detailed explanations. But now you understand why – exploring the WHY was essential so you could override your sneaky survival brain from sabotaging these new ideas because it's afraid of change.

That sneaky subconscious sabotage can be hiding around every corner and holding us back from our potential, purpose, peace, and passions.

These sabotaging beliefs don't just live in our minds – they impact our bodies, specifically our nervous system.

And that dysregulation can impact every aspect of our lives, including our relationships (both with ourselves and others) our health, our finances, and our ability to create meaningful purpose and work we love.

But it can be easier said than done. It's not always to speak our truth, eliminate imposter syndrome, advocate for ourselves, navigate relationships, and put ourselves out there.

Yet I know that deep in your soul that you know you came here to this planet wanting to be your most powerful, enthusiastic, loving, and whole self!

xo,
Denise

Additional Resources:

A list of a few Applied Quantum Biology pioneers to continue your exploration: Scientists Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, Gilbert Ling, Viktor Shauberger, MaeWan Ho, Gerald Pollack, Dr. Jack Kruse, Dr. Catherine Clinton, Dr. Cassie Huckaby, and Carrie Bennet. There are many more incredible resources online and influential books you can read!

My favorite course on light and what I believe to be the most comprehensive is Dr. Cassie Huckaby's Masterclass, The Truth About Light. It is an investment, but it's a life changer once you understand these fundamental truths. Carrie Bennet also has some great, affordable courses that cover these topics.