Welcome back to my daily journal! Today's lesson from PN is a new habit where we create and use a sleep ritual. It's all about understanding three important facts about sleep. First, good sleep is essential for a healthy, strong, and fit body. Second, good sleep doesn’t just happen magically. Third, you can usually get better sleep by making it a priority and building good sleep habits. They talked about how we often try to go from being wide awake to sleeping immediately after a busy day. The key to a smooth transition is a sleep ritual—a set of behaviors signaling to the brain that it's time to calm down and prepare for sleep. This is crucial because while I can’t control the exact amount or quality of sleep, I can control my sleep behaviors. What is a sleep ritual? A sleep ritual helps me transition from being awake to falling asleep. It tells my brain to stop thinking about the to-do list and focus on winding down. This is especially important when dealing with small ch...

Hello everyone, thanks for reading your support means a lot! Today marks the beginning of a new habit in our PN journey—tracking our food intake. This is without a doubt the habit I did not look forward to. I had thought that we had to give the information into the portal for feedback but was surprised that isn't what they have us doing at all and that made me feel better about the habit.   The lesson today emphasized the importance of this practice not just for diet management, but as a tool for increasing self-awareness and ensuring accurate recall of our eating habits. Understanding Food Tracking The challenge posed by today’s lesson was simple yet revealing: trying to remember what we ate for dinner three days ago. This exercise highlighted how unreliable our memory can be when it comes to details about our food intake, which can lead to significant underestimations of what we consume. The solution? Writing things down as they happen. This Week’s Focus on the Habit is Data Coll...

Hello, everyone! Today marks the introduction of a new habit in our PN program—focusing on PN-friendly meals, which synthesize our learnings about lean proteins, veggies, smart carbs, and fats into a comprehensive approach to eating.  Structured Learning and Balanced Meals The lesson today was split into two levels, and I'm starting at level one, which feels just right for where I'm at currently. We reviewed what constitutes a PN-friendly meal, and I'm happy to report that my typical meals, like omelets with veggies and sprouted grain toast, are on track. After tracking my food over the weekend, I noticed a balanced 1:1:1:1 ratio when I look at the total day, though there's always room for improvement for each meal and yesterday I only had 4 servings of veggies.  The shared examples of meals and a simple chili recipe, which I'm excited to try out instead of buying ready-made from the deli but I need to tweak it a bit with black beans instead of kidney beans. My focu...

Embracing a New Habit: Healthy Fats This week marks the introduction of a new habit in our nutrition program—incorporating healthy fats into our diet. Today's lesson highlighted a variety of sources for these beneficial fats, including various oils (like olive, coconut, and flaxseed), nuts, seeds, and avocados. As someone with a nut allergy, I was relieved to see plenty of options that cater to my dietary restrictions, such as seeds and avocado oil, which allow me to participate fully in this week's focus. Measuring Health Fats Just like the previous habits where we use our hands, again Precision Nutrition recommends doing that only this time with our thumbs as the standard measurement. Integrating Healthy Fats into Meals I've already started incorporating these fats into my meals today thanks to the sneak peak that we got from the coaches and the weekly recap lesson: guacamole in my chicken salad wrap, avocado oil for cooking my omelet, and hemp seeds in my dinner salad. T...

Kickstarting the Smart Carbs Habit This week marks the beginning of a new focus in my journey with Precision Nutrition: making smart carbohydrate choices. Given the complexities surrounding carbs, this habit demands my attention more so than previous ones. Today's lesson offered a refreshing perspective on carbohydrates, emphasizing their importance in maintaining mood, hormonal balance, and overall energy levels. Learning that nutritious options like berries, whole grains, sprouted breads, whole fruits (rather than juices), beans/legumes, and even regular potatoes can be part of a balanced diet was reassuring as I was nervous about this portion of the nutrition program.  Circuit Workout Continuity Returning to the initial workout of the circuit series reinforces the program's structured progression, starting with an aerobic warm-up on the treadmill. This consistency in beginning and concluding workouts with treadmill walking suits my preference for structured, focused exercise...

A Day of Reflection and Learning Today's fitness routine remained consistent, with the program's guided walking meditation on the treadmill providing a moment of focused tranquility amidst an otherwise tumultuous day. This structured meditation continues to be a valuable tool for mindfulness and stress reduction, especially in light of today's events. Facing Challenges in the Forest Our forest hike today took an unexpected turn, resulting in a decision to pause such excursions with my dog. We encountered several dogs, leading to a series of unexpected reactions from my otherwise friendly Rottweiler. Despite her playful nature, her size and breed can be intimidating, and today's incidents underscored the complexity of her interactions with other dogs and their owners. From a persistent dog that wouldn't leave her alone to encounters that visibly frightened other pet owners, today highlighted the need for a new approach to her training. In response, I've enrolled ...

Welcome back to my daily blog about improving my health, I hope you find something that you can incorporate on your own journey! A New Nutritional Focus: Lean Protein Today marks a significant milestone in our journey, as we introduce the first habit specifically centered around nutrition: incorporating lean protein into every meal. This new habit, aimed at enhancing our dietary practices, is a testament to the program's holistic approach, focusing not just on what we eat but how we eat. The provided infographic, with its simple "eat more, eat some, eat less" columns, offers a practical guide without imposing strict restrictions.  My goal is to prioritize the "eat more" category, although this will require some adjustments, especially during dinner times where "eat some" and "eat less" items frequently appear on our menu. Balancing personal preferences with nutritional goals promises to be an interesting challenge, particularly with family fa...

Introducing a New Habit: Eating Until Satisfied Today marks the beginning of a new habit in the program: eating until satisfied, a concept for me that feels more challenging to me than eating slowly. While I've grown to appreciate the practice of slowing down and savoring my meals, the idea of recognizing when I'm satisfied rather than full adds a new layer of mindfulness to my eating habits. Thankfully, the program offers practical tips to gauge satisfaction levels, encouraging a deeper connection with my body's signals.  I'm intrigued by the suggestion to start with smaller portions and the challenge of leaving food on my plate, a notion that contradicts the "clean your plate" mentality many of us grew up with. This habit encourages a shift from quantity to quality, focusing on the experience of eating rather than the amount consumed. A New Phase in Workouts: Walking Guided Meditation This week also introduces a new phase in the workout regimen: walking guid...

Thanks for taking the time to connect with my holistic health journey daily thoughts! A New Habit Unveiled Today marks a significant milestone in my Precision Nutrition journey, as I delve into the transformative habit of slow eating. This habit is one of the PN's anchor habits and the concept, though seemingly straightforward, unveiled a profound realization about my eating pace. It turns out, I've been racing through meals without even noticing and I don't remember when that started. I wonder if this is due to being bottle fed as a baby (not paced)? As a lactation consultant I have read the studies about bottle feeding and how that impacts people long term. The Experiment at the Dinner Table In an effort to embrace this new habit, I embarked on a simple yet effective experiment during my weekend dinners. By consciously placing my fork down between bites and sipping my drink, I aligned my meal's end with the rest of my family's. This small change not only made my m...

Hello, dear readers! Today marks a significant milestone in my journey towards better health and fitness. I've officially embarked on the Precision Nutrition program, and I'm thrilled to share my experiences with you right from day one. I am planning on blogging each day, presuming that I am not on holiday, so that I can not only have a record to refer to, but to share the experience with you as well. A Warm Welcome The day started with a heartwarming personal note from one of my coaches, welcoming me to the program. They explained that in some lessons there is a level one and level two option and for me I should stick to level one. This is interesting as I had not read about that on any other online reviews. I'm happy to start at level one. I wonder if this is why there are people back for a second year to do level two? It's always encouraging to have support right from the start, and this personalized touch added an extra layer of motivation for me. Setting Goals and ...