5 Ways To Know, You Are A Wellness Warrior!

Many of us would consider ourselves pretty healthy. You try to eat your fruits and vegetables, you workout a few days a week, you aren’t having any aches and pains, and you feel pretty happy. However, if we dig a little deeper, we might suddenly remember that we are on a medication or two (adderall, birth control, anti-anxiety meds, ibuprofen), maybe our sleep habits aren’t great (either you are tired all the time, or frequently stay up too late when you have to wake early the next day), and your energy level and mood waxes and wanes throughout the day.

These things may not seem very important, but if you knew what was happening beneath the surface with your hormones, gut, and brain, you would want to start making some changes. For example, all of those medications listed above happen to have an “ill effect” on your microbiome, the small bacteria in your gut, that help create your hormones such as serotonin (the happy hormone), and control your immune function. If you are not consistently getting a sound 7-9 hours of sleep at night, not only does it effect your mood and energy, but it also effects your metabolism. It increases levels of cortisol and insulin, making you hold on to fat, and causes adrenal fatigue since your adrenal glands have to work in overdrive. It also increases ghrelin (your hunger hormone) and decreases leptin (the hormone that makes you feel full and stop eating.)

So, why you think you are doing everything you can to be healthy and lose weight in the process, YOU may actually be the reason you aren’t losing weight and getting healthy.

Here are 5 ways to know you are on the right path to becoming a Wellness Warrior:

1) You no longer crave junk food.

- Believe it or not, this is possible! When your brain recognizes that you are getting the micronutrients that your body needs to communicate and function properly, and your microbiome is no longer being fed sugary and processed foods, it will not send out hunger hormones to start up your cravings!

2) You sleep through the night and wake feeling refreshed.

- Poor sleep habits can raise inflammation levels in your body, measured by CRP (C-Reactive Protein). Inflammation interferes with the hypothalamus in your brain causing brain fog and poor memory from lack of nutrients making their way from the gut to the brain. Also, like I mentioned above, poor sleep leads to obesity and diabetes as it raises levels of insulin and cortisol in your body causing insulin resistance and adrenal fatigue…so get some sleep!

3) Your skin is clear.

- Your skin is your largest organ and gives you signs to how well your body is functioning beneath the surface. If you are fighting acne or rashes like eczema, psoriasis, etc., then it’s probably related to intolerances from something going on in your gut or toxins you are exposed to. Everything we put into our body manifests in ways to heal or harm you. Learn more about how what we eat, effects us at the cellular level here.

4) You aren’t deficient in nutrients.

- If you are eating an organic whole foods diet (food that comes from God not from factories) and eating a variety of colors (eat the rainbow and I don’t mean Skittles) then you are probably getting plenty of trace minerals and micronutrients that your hormones and organs need to communicate effectively and boost your defenses. So, A+ for you!!! If this is you, then your skin is already glowing and your brain is processing clearly.

5) You are pooping 2-4 times a day.

- It’s amazing how many people are OK with pooping every other day or every few days, and think it’s normal. Well, it is normal in today’s society, but it’s not OK! If you are not having at least 2 healthy bowel movements a day, (resembling snakes, not diarrhea or hard stools) then your gut microbiome is not in balance. The bacteria in your gut helps to create hormones, foster immunity, reduce inflammation, and reduce cravings. You want to have a good balance of good and bad bacteria. Yeast infections and Urinary Tract Infections are common signs that you have SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth) or Candida yeast overgrowth and may need to do a cleanse and elimination diet to clean things out.

So, if you are on a wellness journey, these are things to think about while achieving your optimal health!

-Aubree, Integrative Nutrition and Health Coach