Foods to undo some of the holiday bulls#!t

Last night Carolyn and I had a talk to give. If you’re in NYC,  you know that it was an insanely rainy night. So, like the true professionals we are, we emailed our host 10 times saying “are you sure we’re on, it’s so bad out maybe people would like to do another night?” We were on and, as is often the case when you least expect it, it was great. We had a smart/fun group in a small, swanky 51^st floor room. There was booze we didn’t drink and chandeliers we did NOT swing from (we didn’t know these people yet). The topic was top 10 foods you should eat to undo holiday damage.

Issue: Hangovers

Shockingly over 20% of people do not experience hangovers. Most of us do. Try our 1 for 1 rule and have 1 water for every drink you have or just stick to 1 drink (some people can do this). If you overdo it, think ginger. Most hangover issues stem from inflammation. We like Wakaya ginger Mix it with water after you drink or next morning or be like us and plop some in your clear spirit of choice.

Honorable  hangover mentions:  coconut water, eggs, vitamin B12

Skip: hair of the dog or bacon egg and cheese rituals

Issue: Sweet tooth (or teeth)

Sweets are a big issue this time of year or really every time of year. If sweets are your kryptonite- be ferm! I’m talking fermented foods. Your gut is really the control tower for your body and what’s going on there affects your cravings, especially sweet cravings. The “top shelf” ferm(ented) foods are  fermented  veggies (farmhouse kraut, bubbles pickles and BAO are great brands) & kefir (sort of turbo yogurt when it comes to probiotic count).

Issue- Dry, gross skin

Winter, sugar, booze and too much time inside = parched, sad skin.

If you haven’t started collagening, you have 2 choices:

collagen powder or bone broth. In NYC check out the new brodo shops west village and Bryant park.

Issue: Zero Energy 

First I’ll remind you to sleep more and hydrate (professional obligation). If you want a little metabolism boost, make that water ice cold. If  you’re seekinga more interesting upper, drink matcha. Matcha, because you consume the whole leaf via this pretty powder, puts plain old green tea to shame.

Matcha gives you a push without making you jittery. It revives you and calms you down at once, impressive. If you’re really feeling low, drink matcha with brain octane in it and thank me when you decide to take a break hours later.

Issue: Stress!!!

Once upon a time there was a mineral called magnesium. This super-crucial mineral helps you chill out and keeps your metabolism humming along. However, there’s also a demon called stress that runs around the city scopping up magnesium. I don’t’ know where I’m going with this but most of us are deficient in magnesium which means both our mood and metabolism are subpar.

Don’t freak out. I love magnesium bath flakes (Naturopathica makes amazing ones), you can supplement magnesium (we love pure encapsulations or natural calm packets). And you can eat real, potent dark chocolate, 70% or > and avocado morning, noon and night.

Issue: family 

Solution: I’ll get back to you on this one, Foodtraining can only fix so much.

Happy Holidays! Cheers to not feeling like Santa at the end of this season.

"Reduce your stress" is the most stressful advice

Stress is bad; it’s bad for our health, for our weight and certainly our mood. But telling a stressed out person to decrease their stress is like telling an overweight person to lose weight…#nothelpful.
In our Foodstalking program, we ask participants "how do you feel?" each day. One of my clients today said "homicidal" she was joking (promise) but I totally get it.

If you want to decrease your stress but don’t have the time to sort out how, here are some ideas that work for me.

Relaxation Rituals

When I get to the office, I light our official office candle and put on Pandora. I may only have five minutes before a client but a little Ray LaMontagne radio injects a little relaxation into my morning.

Perhaps a podcast?

I am somewhat new to the podcast world. I find podcasts help me zone out when I’m commuting or just walking down the street. Sure, there are meditation and relaxation podcasts but many podcasts work. Hey, last night I went to sleep listening to Not Here to Make Friends (a VERYsmart podcast about the Bachelor). I close my eyes, set the sleep timer and fall asleep much faster than I would if I were watching TV. Dear Sugar is another favorite podcast.

Get outside

You have a million things to do and you feel you have to be chained to your desk OR maybe you’re overwhelmed and somewhat stifled. Get outside. I cannot tell you how many times I step outside and feel “ok things aren’t that bad”. Sure, it’s not going to solve all your problems but it’ll put them in perspective.

Plan a trip

I recently read a review of a travel writer’s book. I’m paraphrasing (I can’t even recall the author to go back and find the quote) but he said, whenever I’m feeling a little low it’s because I don’t have a trip planned. I know this is definitely one of Carolyn’s mood-boosting strategies. It doesn’t have to be exotic…maybe you look up a place to go hiking but there’s something powerful about shifting your focus to the future. And it’s usually when you feel you can’t get away or the thought of packing is too much that you need it most.

Take a bath

I realize not everyone is a bath person. If you are, it’s an inexpensive way to chill out. Whenever I can I take a bath before bed. I’m a fan of magnesium bath flakes…currently loving these from Naturopathica.

As you can see, these are not complicated hacks but they help. 

I’d love to know what stress-busting hacks you employ. Any rituals, tricks or tweaks you’ve made to reduce stress?