Leigh-Anne

[Leigh-Anne]

Hi Kev,

Thanks so much for sharing this, so timely as I just signed up for Sarah Kleiner’s Leptin Reset course yesterday after hearing her on Amber Magnolia Hill’s podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/medicine-stories/id1317478907?i=1000615007353

Super interested in this topic as well. Now I’m having to decide between this new way of eating that my acupuncturist suggested (80% fruits/veg, very little protein and fat, temporarily for a few months to restore my kidney and liver health according to her) vs the way Sarah suggests (~100g of protein/day, generally low carb and higher fat).

Things I’m taking away regardless are a much greater awareness of circadian alignment and working with the sun, getting most of my produce at the farmers market, and spring water. Taking a break from caffeine has also been huge for me.

Will be diving into the two you shared ?

[Leigh-Anne]

Yes, that would be wonderful 😀 And wishing you so much success on the journey.

[Leigh-Anne]

@amandarose I love that! Currently outside for sunrise and have been good about doing this most days of the week…trying to give myself grace if I miss one here and there. And at night I switched to amber light bulbs (one of the brands Sarah K recommended). It feels good. I’ve been going through a busy stretch and just returned from travel so will be trying to get into the leptin protocol again. Just the little changes (which has included breakfast again for the first time in a LONG time!) seem to help. If this can make a dent in the +10 lbs I am perpetually hanging onto, awesome. I’m turning 46 this year and have felt some perimenopause signs, but nothing too bothersome. Grateful to be feeling really good overall and hoping that continues!

[Leigh-Anne]

Amanda, that’s so cool that you also found her through Amber’s Medicine Stories! That was a great episode. Obviously it sold me ? I’m just starting to put everything into place. It’s nuts because I was doing keto and even some carnivore (and general low carb for years) and then a new acupuncturist suggested I basically go vegan with only a tiny amount of protein once/week! I actually did it for 3 weeks and am now back to my own way of eating. Really great to hear you’re doing well with it. I’m actually loving the circadian stuff and have been doing that now for a couple of weeks. Feels wonderful.

[Leigh-Anne]

Hi Barry, thanks so much. I love the reminders, I’ve started doing a deep dive into circadian resetting and am taking it a bit more seriously now (was doing it kind of half assed before). You have a very rich history/level of experience with all of this. It’s a relief to take all of the focus off nutrition, zooming out to see the bigger picture.

[Leigh-Anne]

That is so cool, Penny, wow. Thank you for sharing! It’s really timely, too, as I’ve gotten into dreamwork a bit more recently. I wholeheartedly believe that is such a huge untapped realm for many of us. I’ll try this and report back ?

[Leigh-Anne]

Yes I agree, N=1 is so sexy! It feels good to seek out guidance from experts/others I trust, and then tweak it from there.

I love what you say about timing with carbs here. Really something I need to be a bit more conscious of, so thanks for sharing that. I forgot about what I’ve learned about carb cycling, and timing!

Gosh, there’s just so much information I’ve consumed over the years about nutrition that I think I reached my threshold and have sometimes thrown it all to the wind! ?

What I see here from talking it through with you all is that there is a nice middle way I can shoot for.

And weaving in that seasonal aspect feels so right. I want to follow that impulse now in spring moving into summer to eat more fruit/veg (naturally increasing those carbs, as you say, for warmer months). Then more fat/pro in the fall/winter. It’s very yin/yang and feels natural.

I even heard someone talking about how she learned that we can do a similar thing in our day…she eats fruit/veg only during the first half of the day, and then any fat or protein comes later on in the day. Not sure I’ll do that personally, but it fits in to working with the cycles.

I like your reminder about the protein grams too…that puts me at 100g/day of protein (which is admittedly hard for me, but I have been attempting to eat more protein and it’s helped.)

What kinds of activity do you do these days? You have such a significant history of athleticism that is very impressive! As a shy kid who would’ve never been comfortable on a team, some days I feel like I’m making up for lost time in my later years ?

[Leigh-Anne]

Hi Penny,

Thank you for the beautiful reminder. In 2017 I was teaching women about reclaiming our menstrual cycle, and working with it…having just learned about this in 2014. It was a powerful source of empowerment for me.

I did apply it somewhat to exercise and nutrition, although not to the extent you have outlined here, so thank you for this! It’s really nice to see that this area of consideration has been reclaimed by more and more women, it’s so important.

One thing I did notice as I was living with my cycle and teaching about it, I got to a point where I noticed I was being a little ‘too’ focused on it, vs. actually listening to what my body/heart/soul needed at the time.

Just as an example, there were times when I was ‘supposed’ to be resting when I actually felt quite like moving! That’s just one example of many. And so I transitioned out to more of a day to day curiosity with what my body wanted, vs strictly adhering to a set of instructions.

I also definitely notice a difference when my cycle aligns with the red moon flow (bleeding at full moon) vs white moon flow. Definitely more pep during my period with red moon flow vs white moon, which makes sense. My cycle lasts 30-31 days, so I naturally transition between each of these, and kind of like it.

Nevertheless, what you share here does inspire me to make some changes overall, so thanks so much. Bringing back to the forefront a general way of working with my cycle, while also listening to my body/intuition day to day, sounds good. I think both can work together.

Thank you again so much for the level of detail – I’ve taken notes and will be weaving some of this in!

[Leigh-Anne]

Hi Barry,

Thanks so much for responding, I appreciate you! I definitely agree there is so much more than nutrition involved. So I like the reminders here to keep doing the other parts.

However, when it does come to food, I do want to optimize. I love your post workout advice to just eat some protein/veg. That sounds right!

For years, I ate higher fat, moderate protein and lower carb. I’m blood type O and have always felt better with this kind of eating, however, at times it has gone into the obsessive realms with what you mention about tracking, measuring, etc. That was mostly my younger years and I don’t do that much anymore.

However, recently, with this re-commitment to difficult workouts and the very noticeable increase in appetite as a result, I have definitely been eating more carbs. For me, allowing myself to do this has been a win, because I had an unhealthy belief system that “carbs make me fat.” They’re mostly coming from fruit/veg.

Then, seeing through my monthly dexa scans that eating more of a balance of carb/pro/fat helped me gain a significant amount of muscle back plus lose a little bit of fat was powerful! It was a pretty dramatic difference in just a short time (+7 lbs muscle, -3 lbs of fat).

I know that another factor here was eating more protein, because before I wasn’t eating enough…and it contributed to muscle loss.

I’ve done intermittent fasting for years and used to exercise on an empty stomach, but that doesn’t work with these martial arts workouts. I am significantly weaker when I do that vs when I eat something a few hours before.

Overall, listening to my body even more and taking care of it on all levels, listening to its messages to me, definitely sounds good…including the additional rest you talk about. Thank you again for sharing!

[Leigh-Anne]

Hi Barre,

Thank you so much for sharing all of this! ? I’m so inspired by your routine, this is such a beautiful model of thoughtful care for yourself and your body. I’ll need to do some research on browns gas treatment…and am also looking forward to the AV Zero Point Gold drops!

Going to print this out and see how I can make it work. I’ll report back with progress – I also love to talk about this topic!

It’s fun for me to get monthly DEXA scans so I can see the changes in lean mass vs fat. I have my next one tomorrow morning. It’s been incredible for me to see what’s happened in a positive way since going back to martial arts regularly, and nourishing my body to the best of my ability (appetite is through the roof compared to before, and I’m allowing myself to eat more to support my body, it’s really fun! And based on the scans, the combo of nutrition + exercise effortlessly went straight into rebuilding lost muscle, none of it went into fat.)

All the best,
Leigh-Anne

[Leigh-Anne]

Hi Mike, thanks so much for your reply! ? I love how you also expand this out beyond nutrition, and as I was laying belly down on the earth this morning after posting I thought about that too. How it is all connected and related, our everyday practices.

I do this thing in the mornings where I lay down to face the earth, giving love and gratitude…and the earth always invites me to use the breath to inhale up divine energy, while using the exhale to release any energetic debris. So that really helps, too, and is part of the recovery/restoration process. Then I flip over and soak up the sun while exchanging love and gratitude. So simple, but it’s been so profound for me.

Your practices are inspiring for me, especially walking barefoot in nature. Here in LA, it’s a little more difficult, but I can do it in my own backyard to an extent, go to the park, etc. There have been a few big nudges over the past month to do this more, so I’d do well to listen ? Breathwork, too, has changed my whole life. Earth, fire, air and water.

[Author]

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