Adrenal Fatigue, Depression and Illness: The Sleep and Fun Connection (Day 9)

I work with a lot of people who are struggling with adrenal fatigue and depression.  It’s almost an epidemic in our world today, and if you stay up with current events, watch the news and read the newspapers, there’s a good chance that you’re experiencing some adrenal fatigue symptoms and heavy mode as well.  The media thrives on shifting people into fear mode.  Fear sells.   When you are fearful, the part of your nervous system called the sympathetic nervous system takes control, getting you ready for fight or flight.  In this mode, your heart rate increases, your blood pressure increases and your digestion shuts down.  The aftermath is fatigue, nutritional deficiencies and depression.

I just wrote a very detailed article for Purely Delicious magazine about stress, fatigue and burnout.  It will be published soon.

When you’re burning the candle at both ends, you are much less able to deal with stress.  To compound the problem, when stress levels are high, you have a tendency to sleep less, because stress can cause insomnia or frequent night time awakenings.

And of course, taking time for fun goes out the window in times of stress because of the perception that there just isn’t “enough time”.

My commitment for this month is to incorporate more fun and sleep into my life. Yours may also include eating balanced meals, eating more slowly, becoming more conscious when eating.  These are all VERY important and I support you in your commitment.

So try this.  Before you begin to put food into your mouth, stop.  Take a nice deep breath.  This alone is enough to shift you out of your  sympathetic nervous system – remember–the system that causes your digestion to slow way down. Then take a few seconds to appreciate the food you are about to consume. Think about where it came from, how it was prepared, how it will nourish every cell.  Only then, begin to eat, staying conscious of each forkful.

No kidding, it will take some focused effort to do this!  Yet the time and attention to conscious eating, appreciative eating, is well worth it!

Go ahead and give it a try, and post a comment about how it went for you.

Join me on Wednesday March 10 at 12:30pm CST for my Blog talk Radio Show: Creating a Vibrant Life, during which I’ll reveal 5 strategies for balancing your mood through food.  www.blogtalkradio.com/dr-ritamarie

My Report Card for Monday:

1- Green Smoothie – 2 quarts Done

2- weight training exercise Done

3- bed by 11:30  (how daring of me!) maybe even earlier a little later – 12:20

4- write a chapter in my new book did the research but didn’t complete the chapter

5- quality time with the kids – family conflict rather than quality time…

Commitments for Tuesday:

1- run 3 miles

2- bed by midnight

3- Drink 1 quart of green smoothie

4- drink 1 cup veggie juice

How about you?  What are you committed to today?

Let us know.  Post your comments below.

Love, Health and Joy to you,

Dr. Ritamarie

30 Day Fun and Sleep Challenge: A Big Day of Fun Goes a Long Way Towards Happy Adrenals.

What a day!   I had intended to get this posted this morning, but time escaped me.  Between making breakfast for the kids and preparing for my Balance My Body webinar, I ran out of cycles.

After messing up on several of my comittments yesterday, I made up for it today!  Seems FUN was taking the brunt of my unfulfilled commitments all week, but last night and today really made up for it.

After the Balance My Body webinar, I drove my son (or rather he drove me!!!  He has his learner’s permit) to a friend’s house then went downtown to our beautiful hike and bike trail and did a 4 mile run around the lake.

Afterwards, I went to whole foods and bought some lovely vegetables.  I was on my way to pick up my son and his friend frm the movies, when my husband called and let me knw that he could do it.  So I stopped by Borboletta’s, one of Austin’s raw foods cafes, which recently changed management, to check out the changes.  Low and behold, I ran into one of my students who’s become a dear friend.  We sat and chatted, while eating drinking green smoothies and eating delicious raw and living foods, like kale salad, for hours.

I put in a couple of hours of work and now I’m off to hottub with the family and then go to bed.

A successful self care day on all fronts!

Here’s my report card for Friday:

1. Exercise 30 minutes - FLOP – all I did was a few minutes of weights
2. Fun: Quality time with my husband – a date for dinner at Beets Cafe! Yipee.  It was great.  We had a lovely dinner and good conversation.
3. Water – 8 cups Success
4. Get myself signed up to take the Vibrant Health Mindset Course and recommit to my own goals. Didn’t quite makt it and will move this to tomorrow.
5. Bed by midnight – Superflop.  The evening out and a 2 hour excursion with my almost 16 year old son took time from a commitment I had to make.  I taught a webinar class thsi morning for my Balance My Body group, and needed to prepare the case studies, and get everything set up, plus I needed to finish the maintenence Plan for the 6 week detox, as promised.  Thus I got to bed at 2.  I did sleep until 8 so this is still a better night’s sleep than I was getting last week.  Progress not perfection.

Saturday’s Commitments…made this morning but posted in the evening:

1. Fun – 30 minutes
2. Exercise – longer run – 4 miles
3. bed by midnight
4. Hot-tub or Sauna before bed

How did you do yesterday? What are your commitments for today?  Comment below.

Enjoy!

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

Addressing Adrenal Fatigue and Sluggish thyroid: Start with a Detox

Everyone is always looking for answers that are complicated, sophisticated and sexy.  The truth is, most health issues have simple solutions.  Notice I said simple, not easy.

In fact, some of the simplest solutions of all are often the hardest to follow.

1- Fresh food: When you’re running around chasing after deadlines, it’s not always easy to find fresh food.  It’s certainly not in the vending machines or the fast food joints.

2- Fresh, clean water: Unless you carry your own, it’s not generally available, although more and more places carry bottled water.  I was in a restuarant last week with family that didn’t!  What a shock.

3- Fresh air : Our air is filled with chemicals and pollution.  Unless you live in a pristine area far far away form the cities, clean air is hard to find.  And the indoor air is even worse;  it’s polluted with all the chemicals used in building materials, carpets, paint and cleanin supplies.

4 – Exercise : When you’re working 12 hour a day, taking care of kids, and running a mile a minute to keep up with obligations, finding time to exercise can be a challenge, unless you are dedicated and make it an important part of your day.

5- Positive thoughts : If you listen to the news, read the newspaper or watch TV, the constant reporting of terrifying events, ominous predictions and financial gloom are enough to wear your positive thoughts to the bone.

6- Fulfilling Relationships: When you’re working hard just to survive, it’s easy to overlook the kind words and deeds and special touches that keep your relationships flourishing.

7- Sunshine : It’s lovely, abundant in many parts of the world and ellusive to many because we stay cooped up indoors working and taking care of our families.

Your health would improve dramatically if you could incorporate all of the above SIMPLE things into your life on a regular basis.

The hard, cold  reality is, try as you might, you’ll slip up on some of these “simple” health tips more than you’d like.  And when you do, your detoxification pathways suffer and you open yourself for fatigue, lack of focus and illness.

That’s why I developed a variety of cleansing and detoxification strategies that I perform at least 3-4 times a year to detoxify my system.

So just how toxic are you?  Because there are so many genetic and environmental differences between people, the buildup of toxins effects each of us a bit diferently.

I have a test you can take to assess how much your health has been effected by toxicity.  The test has ben around for a long time, and was originally developed by a mentor of mine , Dr. Jeffrey Bland, back in the 1980s.

My webmaster computerized it so that you can take it and get instant feedback.

Here’s the link.

http://www.drritamarie.com/sixweekdetox/toxicity-signup.php

It takes about 2 minutes.  Invest 2 minutes in yourself today to determine how toxic you are and get a personalized email with tips for improving your health.

http://www.drritamarie.com/sixweekdetox/toxicity-signup.php

To your health and Vibrance

Dr. Ritamarie Losclazo

www.FreshnFunLiving.com

www.sixweekdetox.com

Overcoming Chronic Fatigue and Adrenal Exhaustion by Having Fun!

I work with lots of patients and clients who suffer from adrenal exhaustion, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and thyroid problems.  I learn a lot from them.  One thing I’ve noticed is that they are too tired to have fun.  Imagine not having enough time in your life for enjoyment?    By the time they finish doing all the things they “have to”  do, they need to rest, and are constantly turning down offers to go out for fun activities.  Even though I don’t suffer from fatigue–in fact quite the opposite – I still sometimes fall into the trap of putting fun last.

I’ve learned a lot of lessons about this very topic this week.  It started last Sunday when I had an unexpected day of unplanned connection and fun.

I realized that although I value having fun, I sometimes let it take the back burner to work and family oligations.

One of the tools I use when coaching both private and group coaching clients is a fun assessment.  They are guided to list at least 20 things they love to do, and create a strategy for incorporating fun into each day.  I haven’t done this myself in a long time, and I plan to do it this weekend.  Because your interesets may change from time to time, it’s a good idea to revisit the activity regularly, or at least twice a year.

So schedule some time…at least a half an hour..to sit back, relax and make a list of all the things you love so much that you feel a calling to them.  Then schedule as many days as you can (at least 4) to have scheduled fun time.  Start with 5 minutes.  It’s addicting and you’ll soon find yourself extending the time you’ve allotted.

Just do it. When you’re having fun, your biochemistry changes. You become more relaxed and your digestion improves. Your hormones are more balanced. Your neurotransmitters become more balanced and as a result your mood improves and your energy increases.

I’m planning to schedule at least 5 minutes of fun every day. My life and my health depend on it.

How about you? Will you join me? Post your reply in the comments section below.

Love, Health and FUN.

Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo

http://www.drritamarie.com

Creative Approaches to Fitting Exercise into your Program: Great for Overcoming Chronic Fatigue and Adrenal Exhaustion

Believe it or not, exercise is actually a good antidote for chronic fatigue and adrenal exhaustion. Exercise creates energy. Most people who don’t exercise use lack of energy as an excuse (the other big excuse is lack of time). As long as you don’t overdo it, exercising when you feel tired can actually give you an energy boost. Try it sometime.

I recorded a video on creative ways to get exercise and how to fuel yourself and “get enough protein” to build muscle.

Another way to fit exercise into your busy schedule is to learn about something called burst training.

I’ve recently discovered it and love the concept, although I have yet to have direct experience with it for long enough to rate its effectiveness.

How do you plan to make exercise a part of your life? Please comment below.

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

www.FreshnFunLiving.com