Originally posted at: http://www.nerdfitness.com/

I tend to be wordy with articles on Nerd Fitness.

With now 680 articles published, there’s a LOT of information to wade through.

So every once and a while I like to change things up, and provide you instead with the world’s quickest advice column. If you’re currently struggling with leveling up your life, consider this your wake up call!

I’ve already done two of these on getting healthier (here and here), so here’s one on getting happier.

Happiness

I’m not happy. Change something in your life, or change yourself.

What do I change? Pick one thing and change it. Report back with results.

I’m overwhelmed. Deep breath. Pick one thing. Change what you are in control of right now.

Will more money make me happier? Yes, but only up to a certain amount.

What’s more important than money? Time. Time to spend time with people you love or doing things you love. You can never get it back.

more Time

I don’t have enough time to get stuff done. You have poorly managed priorities.

But there’s so much to get done. Do less. Say “no” to more things.

But I have [obligation]. It’s either a “hell yeah” or a no. Clear your schedule.

But I might offend [somebody] by saying no. That’s on them. Better to not go than go and not want to be there.

But the timing isn’t right. The timing is never perfect. If you wait for the perfect moment, you’ll never do anything. A month from now, you’ll wish you started today.

Love

How do I make a good first impression? Look them in the eyes. Smile. Talk slowly. Stand tall. Wear clothes that fit.

Should I ask that person out? Yes.

What if he/she says no? Then you’re in the same spot if you did nothing, except now no regret.

What do I say? “Hey, I think you’re cute/beautiful/stunning. I’m [name], can I buy you a cup of coffee or a drink sometime?”

I have anxiety now! Use 20 Seconds of Courage.

I’m in a bad relationship. Get out.

What if I never find anybody better? What if you find somebody way better?  What if you get hit by a bus tomorrow?

I got dumped. I’m heartbroken. But it’s still ticking, which means there’s hope for you yet.

Should i…

But Steve, none of this is that easy. I know! If it was, everybody would be happy with everything!

I’m not the type of person who does ___. Stop sabotaging yourself with self-limiting beliefs. You aren’t the type of person who does ___ until you do it. Now you are.

This won’t work for me. Okay! Keep doing what you’re doing.

But what I’m doing isn’t working. If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.

Damn you, Steve. We’re either growing and changing, or we’re dying.

When should I start? Right now.

What other short questions do you have?

I’ll be hanging out your questions in the comments below as quickly and succinctly as possible!

-Steve

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https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/

You’ve committed to a healthier lifestyle, opting to increase your veggie intake, decrease your sugar intake, drink more water, and showing up at the gym to push some weight around or whatever your pleasure is there.

You feel like you’re doing everything “right.” Why then, in the face of all of this healthiness, have your bowels ground to a halt?

Constipation, gas, and bloating are among the most common gastrointestinal complaints for many people transitioning their nutrition or exercise routines. Though common, they are hardly desirable and can leave one scratching their head in wonder. After all, you are making better choices, right?!

The good news is that these changes are usually transient, meaning that they will go away and normalize on their own. But what if they don’t? And why do they even start in the first place?

Your Microbiome and Your Second Brain

Ensconced in your large intestine is approximately 100 trillion bacterial cells, the vast majority of them friendly, helpful and crucial for health, well being, and (ahem!) gut motility. Collectively this village of gut bugs is known as the microbiome.

The microbiome is responsible for hundreds, if not thousands, of functions. They help us break down a variety of food compounds and fibers, they “humanize” nutrients we have consumed from plants, they have an impact on our relative leanness and fatness, they help promote or dampen production of feel-good hormones, they talk to and coach the immune system, and they communicate with the enteric nervous system (ENS) sometimes referred to as the Second Brain. This is the vast neuronal network from the esophagus to the anus that monitors the second-to-second aspects of all things digestion.

The reason things can slow down, get gaseous, or get uncomfortable in the gut when we make dietary or lifestyle changes essentially lies both in the microbiome and second brain.

Your microbiome runs very much on the same fuel that you do. Unique to you as your fingerprint, your gut flora look for carbohydrate and fiber fractions to munch on and get fueled from. In return, they make a variety of health boosting compounds, including SCFAs (short chain fatty acids) that the body uses for quick energy and to quench inflammation and other metabolites that keeps the whole operation of digestion running smoothly.

The landscape of your microbiome is continually changing and has been since you exited your mother’s womb. Whether you were born vaginally or by C-section, if you were breast or bottle fed, when (and if) you received your first round of antibiotics, whether you had or have pets, what your first foods were, your current age, location, diet and exercise all greatly impact the gut flora.

So, they eat what you eat. Thus, if you make a dietary change – say, increasing your dietary fiber through consuming more vegetables (super healthy thing to do, by the way) your gut flora have to adjust. If you are increasing your vegetable intake, your gut flora will also change to promote more bacteria that can also metabolize and consume the fibers that you are consuming.

Diversity, in any ecological or societal system, is the spice of life and is the best defense against ruin and collapse. And so it goes with gut bacteria. If you don’t eat a lot of fiber, you are going to select a population of bacteria that don’t eat a lot of fiber either.

Then, when you do increase your fiber intake, you may experience those uncomfortable symptoms as your microbiome adjusts. As the numbers of bacteria increase that can handle the additional fiber and activity, your symptoms will dissipate, typically within a week or two.

So take heart, and know that these symptoms are actually a manifestation of a gut flora in transition to something more equipped to handle your healthy lifestyle.

There are a number of things that you can do to help your microbiome and second brain acclimate to these changes:

1. Sit down when you eat: we are all guilty of chugging a protein shake while running out the door or eating something over the kitchen sink, but truth is, it is more soothing for your second brain and balancing for gut motility to be relaxed when you eat.

 

2. Chew your food well: put your fork down between bites and chew that food until it is a soft paste. Chewing well puts less pressure on the stomach to break down food, less biochemical pressure on your digestive enzymes, acid and bile to break down the food biochemically, and, when food is better-blended, it is less fermentable by the bacteria in the colon, leading to less by products of fermentation.

 

3. If you are increasing fiber consumption, through veggies or supplements or whatever, you must increase water too: Adding fiber to a dry or dehydrated system will slow you down even more. For every additional gram of fiber you consume, aim for an additional ounce of water. Your pee should be a pale, clear yellow.

 



Infuse your water with cucumber, mint, or cinnamon to encourage yourself to drink more.

 

4. Consider a digestive enzyme: just til your gut flora gets used to your new routine, enzymes will help break down harder-to-digest compounds, helping to “train” your bacteria, reducing gas and bloating and even reducing constipation. Enzymes are used by many integrative practitioners as an intervention for constipation.

 

5. Bring in fermented foods: Long lost from our diets in the 90’s, this class of food is making a big comeback, and it is a good thing, too, as they help nourish, bolster and diversify a healthy gut bug population. Kombucha, kefir, yogurt (IF you tolerate dairy products), kimchi, pickles and sauerkraut are all good options. You only need a couple of bites.

 

6. Magnesium matters: on the supplement side, magnesium is a powerful go-to for constipation, helping to soften the stool and relax and dilate the bowel. Magnesium does a plethora of good things for the body, helping with blood sugar regulation, anxiety, musculoskeletal health and about 400 other things. Taking 300-500mg of magnesium before bed, followed by a big glass of water in the morning will often stimulate a bowel movement.

 

7. Balance hard exercise with restorative movement: like the types of food you eat, the different ways you move your body will impact the gut flora. Movements should be varied and balanced. Just as it’s not ideal to couch surf 24/7, it’s no good to only go hard at the gym. Leisure walking, restorative yoga, tai chi and other forms of gentle movement should be incorporated to make your gut flora and second brain happy both.

 

8. Probiotics are primo: Probiotics, the supplemental form of beneficial bacteria, act as transient visitors in your gut, and during their brief stay, they help spruce up bacterial populations and action, and also help the immune system and second brain. If gut symptoms aren’t clearing up, a dose of probiotics for a few weeks may be just what you need.

Follow these tips and give your body a little time to adjust to your new diet. Before you know it you’ll be feeling great!

http://chriskresser.com/

Blast from the Past

Stress can come from a variety of unexpected sources. We’re all familiar with the types of stress that comes from work, money, family, and illness, but there are many less obvious sources of stress that can wear on us on a daily basis. Modern stressors like social media, digital devices, constant multitasking, and eve excess caffeine can all cause chronic low grade stress that over time can cause significant health problems.

I’ve written about stress many times before, explaining how chronic stress can cause metabolic syndrome, thyroid dysfunction, gut issues, and more. Chronic stress can lead to HPA axis dysregulation and cortisol resistance, which may be the primary factor in the stress-disease connection. The worst part is that these daily low grade stressors actually have a more severe impact on your HPA axis and can lead to worse long term health outcomes than something like job loss or a death in the family. And many of us who focus on healthy diet and exercise are in stress denial.

Managing your stress on a daily basis is incredibly important, and that’s why I’ve made it a key component of my 14Four online program, a 14-day reset for your diet, sleep, exercise, and stress management practices. For those of you who have more severe health issues related to excess stress, such as HPA axis dysregulation or “adrenal fatigue” as it’s commonly called, my staff dietitians have created a program called Paleo Rehab: Adrenal Fatigue that can help you overcome your stress-related health issues using diet, supplement, and lifestyle changes.

These two programs have been expertly designed to help you overcome your stress and recover the energy you used to have before modern life got the best of you.

Research Report

• New research suggests a link between gluten and symptoms of ALS.
• People who consume low to moderate caffeine may have withdrawal syndrome after ceasing.
• A study links chronic antibiotic use to increased anxiety and cognitive problems in adulthood.
• Insulin resistance, when accurately measured, is a powerful predictor of cardiovascular risk.
• Fasting for weight loss: an effective strategy or latest dieting trend?
• Another study suggests that full fat (not low fat) dairy intake is associated with a lower diabetes risk.
• Research shows that men and women are more likely to make a positive health behavior change if their partner changes at the same time too. Get your loved ones on board with making healthy changes!

Worth A Look

• Check out this great Paleo infographic from Robb Wolf.
• The Real Food Mamas interviewed me about nutrition for fertility, pregnancy and early childhood. 
• America has an epidemic of unnecessary, “low value” health care.
• The Onion “reports”: Prescription Label Recommends Just Taking More And More Until Something Kicks In.
• Learn how to connect with local food systems in this film via the Kickstarter project.
• If current disease rates continue, one in three Americans will have diabetes by 2050.
• Don’t count vitamin-fortified foods as ‘nutrient-rich.’
• Get a free sample kit from Annmarie Skincare—my favorite line of natural, organic skin care products.
• Angelo Coppola of Latest In Paleo experimented with giving up coffee. Here’s his experience.
• NomNomPaleo has a new podcast. Check it out!

For the Foodies

• Sarah Fragoso: Fabulous Frittata
• Bare Root Girl: Sausage Muffins with Whipped Parsnips
• Meatified: Creamy Pulled Pork Soup
• Enjoying This Journey: Sweet Potato and Mango Salad
• Plaid and Paleo: Roasted Poblano, Sausage and Sweet Potato Hash
• The Healthy Foodie: Lamb and Eggplant Casserole
• Stupid Easy Paleo: Pan-Fried Haddock with Lemon & Capers
• The Domestic Man: Samosa Mashed Potatoes
• Jessi’s Kitchen: Red Cabbage Citrus Salad
• Civilized Caveman Cooking: Waffles Cones with Vanilla Ice Cream