It was a long day at work. It was stressful. You snapped at a few of your co-workers! You are replaying it all on your mind on your drive home.
Then on top of that you come home with even more of a workload of tasks to complete. Why do we need to eat!...lol
You are finally ready to lay down, but your mind is racing. So you turn on the TV to hopefully fall asleep and forget about your day.
Instead, you find yourself just staring at it blankly. Sleep does not come to you until 1am and you have to be up and at ‘em by 7am...ekks!
This is the story, or close to it every night. All you want to do is get a good night's rest and yet you seem to be missing out on it.
You either cannot get to sleep or stay asleep. Either way you are feeling fatigued and lethargic throughout the day.
This HAS to STOP!!
I agree with you...it does! Have you considered creating a sleep routine?
I promise you it is not just for children.
Creating a routine before bed helps you unwind and close out the day. Once you are relaxed and ready for bed, it will make it so much easier to drift off to dreamland.
There are many studies out that have found the importance of a sleep routine in children. They show improvement in their overall mood.
Remember those outbursts you had with your co-workers...yep a sleep routine may help keep those stressors in check!
In this day in age, we all could use a little support with our mental and emotional responses. No one needs built up stress and anxiety before we go to bed.
So what does a bedtime routine look like? It can really be what you make of it. Just doing the things to get ready for bed anywhere between 20 minutes to an hour.
I personally take an hour for my routine.
In my routine is gratitude journaling. More on that in the video below...
Try to keep to the same time every night. Though some of us may have a job where some evenings that just does not happen. That is okay! Your body will respond to your routine once it recognizes the established pattern.
No matter when you establish your routine for or what your routine looks like...make it suit you and your needs to relax and unwind at night. What is in the routine is not as important as just establishing one.
If you found this of value, and you are looking for more steps to create better sleep, then I have a course that may be of more service to you. Creating Better Sleep has such an impact on so much on our day to day. Whether you are talking about health, emotions, having more energy or focus.
No matter what you choose, creating a bedtime routine is one of the core pieces to help you get the good night’s sleep you are dreaming of.
Sweet dreams,
Terra
You finally fell asleep! It is a miracle...until you wake. The clock says 1 am and now you cannot get back to sleep. Your mind starts to wonder and then before you know it, it is now 4 am.
I got to tell you, this is something that for many years, I would struggle with. Maybe you are in the same boat now.
It took me putting in multiple changes over time to work on finally getting to sleep and then by happy accident figuring out how to stay asleep.
Though many of us never really take working on this area very seriously. In fact, it is not uncommon to have people say things like...I will sleep when I am dead.
Well not getting good quality sleep will most definitely help you get closer to that final breath if you do not address it.
For PCOS women, it is an even bigger piece to helping us in our thriving with PCOS journey. So here are some reasons to consider focusing on better sleep as part of your PCOS management and care:
Weight Reduction: Leptin levels (your satiety hormone) balance out and ghrelin (hunger hormone) decreases with quality and proper amount of sleep.
Mood Improvement: adequate sleep helps with your response to stress as well as mood and emotion management.
Inflammation Reduction: with quality sleep, you have less inflammation, which leads to overall better gut health. If you have issues like IBS on top of PCOS, you will really appreciate the benefits of better sleep.
Decreased Blood Pressure: By getting better sleep you will decrease your risk of developing hypertension and thereby improving your overall heart health.
Hormone Balance...including insulin: listen to the quick video, the first few minutes touch base on this area
Decrease Carb Cravings: Better sleep helps support your insulin levels. When you have balanced insulin levels, your cravings for quick sources of energy (aka carbs) are more balanced rather than out of control.
All reasons, for me at least, that I found to be very true in my healing journey. Again things that were never really discussed when working to improve my PCOS symptoms.
Hopefully this is not you, nor does it have to be. If better sleep is a goal of yours for your health journey, then I have a course that you will find of service to you.
It is steps to help you get started down the path of creating better sleep for yourself.
Looking forward to seeing your sleep improve!
Wishing you Better Sleep,
Terra
So many women do this. So PCOS women are no exception!
My (PCOS) belly is so big. I hate the way my arm jiggle. I hate how big my thighs are.
I have been right there with you. Above are just a couple of my least favorite things about my body actually.
We cannot help ourselves. We have literally been taught by other women to judge our bodies in some way shape or form. We have also been taught to obsess over it.
I mean why else would women around the world choose to have cosmetic surgeries!
This has to end here and now!
I was presenting in a group on facebook about Intuitive eating as part of a mini-series we are doing in there. I honestly did not realize how much I was practicing many of these things already.
I talk about the rules of Intuitive eating here for those that are curious
In those rules, there is one key piece that really hit me hard...Respect Your Body!
What this means in the world of Intuitive Eating is love your body!
Love the way it works. Love what it is capable of. Love something in the way that it looks.
Ladies there has to be something you love about your body!
My challenge for you, figure that 1 thing that you love about your body. It can be anything. Your eyes, your smile, your ability to push things with your strong legs...just pick something.
Spend more time focusing on what you love than what you are unhappy with. I promise you that this will change so much for you over time.
No one can love you better than yourself! Until you learn to love yourself, you will continue to live in a space that is full of dislike and distrust.
Above are just a few things that I love about my body. If you are brave, share with me in the comments what you love about your body.
XO,
Terra
We love sushi in your house...especially the California Roll. It is the sauce that makes it I tell ya!
Unfortunately, my son decided that he no longer liked the Nori wraps in the sushi. So our plans to create deconstructed sushi bowls began.
Now our bowls are not much different that any other recipe out there, but as usual they are always evolving in flavor and style. After all everything we cook or make at home gets Macklinized!
So here is the Macklin version of Sushi Bowls, of course customized to how we eat. Feel free to customize to your meal needs.
Ingredients
Sauce:
¼ c of mayo
3-4 tsp sriracha sauce
Filling:
4 cups cauliflower rice
2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
¼ cup Coconut aminos
â…› cup Fish Sauce (optional)
Toppings:
1 large avocado, scooped out and sliced, mashed, or cubed
12 oz of shrimp, fish, or crab (skip the imitation crab if you are a low carb eater)
1 cucumber, sliced
1 tbsp toasted black sesame seeds
2 green scallions, chopped
1 carrot cut into strips, ribbons, or shredded
Instructions
Sauce: mix mayo and sriracha sauce until mixed thoroughly together. Set aside to allow it to flavorize.
Rice: Steam cauliflower rice until tender. Then add in rice vinegar, coconut aminos, and fish sauce to rice. Taste and add more to reach the desired flavor profile.
Meat: cook according based on the meat of your choosing
Toppings: Chop up cucumber, green scallions, and avocado.
Divide rice into 4 serving bowls, add 3 oz of meat, and top our choice of toppings from above or get creative and add your own flare to your dish. However that sauce...you have got to add that, I promise it makes the dish!
If you like seeing how food is made, my son and I walk you through the steps:
The best part for me is this recipe makes 4 servings. So in a house of three, there is always a bowl left over for my lunch the next day.
If you decide to add Nori to your dish, just make sure to add it to the bowl before eating. Otherwise it gets too soft when sitting in the bowl over time.
What will you be adding to your Sushi Bowl tonight?
Enjoy,
Terra
To the ladies out there with the hair all over the floor. To the ladies with thinning hair. To the ladies with hair that only grows so long. I feel you!
I remember my brother always getting upset with me with how much of my hair would be on the floor of our bathroom.
Shoot I did not know then, what I know now. If I did, I would have been more concerned for sure.
However, over time, I began to see the other changes besides how much hair I was losing. I would see that my hair would only group to a certain length. Making me concerned about getting my hair cut too short.
My hair thickness began to thin more over time as well. I would also begin to get more split ends.
I would try all of the tricks like biotin and hair growth shampoos. While my hair would grow back in, I would still lose it in large mass and nothing more would come of my hair length nor did it ever get thicker.
Now is a different story. I am finally seeing improvement and I am excited to see how this progresses over time.
But first, I do feel it is important to know how hair growth works. In this video, I walk you through the cycles for hair growth. It is important to know this, because you will not truly be able to judge if what you are doing is working for a few months. If you do not understand these cycles, you may be expecting a quick fix.
Now for the part you have been waiting for, how to improve your hair.
Well, like most things, it starts on the inside...your hormones. Many of us have hormonal imbalances that cause us to have these issues. If you are a PCOS woman, androgen levels are most likely the cause.
Getting this balance back is key. So here is my approach to that:
Cut out the endocrine disrupting hair products: many of us use products with SLS or parabens, and fragrance. Do some homework on what you are using on your hair. I use a combo of the no-poo method and curly-girl method for washing and conditioning my hair. Since doing that, I have less greasy hair and I do not need to wash my hair as much...two bonus side perks!
Nutrition: yes, you are truly what you eat. If you are not nutritionally balanced, you cannot feed your hair follicles what it needs to grow the hair you once had or the hair you wish you had.
Make sure to eat enough to fuel your body
Eat balanced meals with fiber, protein, and fats to keep blood sugar balanced
Get most of your nutrition directly from quality plant and animal food sources (skip processed foods as much as possible)
Address any vitamin and mineral deficiency (B12, D, Magnesium, calcium, zinc)
Hormone Balance: while you are doing that with the above items, you may find you will need more help with androgens for example. That may require a visit with your physician to get some lab work completed. Adding Zinc because of my androgen levels has been a big game changer for me. If you and your physician decide this is important, please start small and build up to an appropriate level for your body and needs.
Androgens can be tricky and we all have different things to address within those levels. You may have some stress management to work on that affects your DHEAS. Or you may need to consider what is causing inflammation in your body that may be increasing your androgen levels.
No matter where you choose to begin your hair improvement journey, please know that step #2 is an absolute must! Without it, what you wash your hair with and which supplements you choose mean very little. Nutrition is king!
Happy Growing,
Terra
