Wellness Tips & Hacks

5 Considerations for Intermittent Fasting

I often get asked what I think about intermittent fasting. That is not a simple answer so, I have broken it down into 5 considerations before implementing intermittent fasting into your life.

Are there several documented benefits of intermittent fasting – Absolutely!

I am not here to discuss those benefits or the pros and cons of intermittent fasting. Those so-called pros and cons will vary from person to person.

Is there one right way to implement intermittent fasting into your life – Absolutely NOT!

I am here to discuss what I feel one should take into consideration before implementing intermittent fasting into their life.

Sleep: We all intermittent fast while we sleep. Hence, our first meal being called break – fast. But… we don’t all sleep at the same time of day nor for the same amount of time. When is your break-fast meal typically? If you work nights that time will differ from someone who works 8am-5pm. What about if you work a rotating schedule? Your sleep time and break-fast meal will rotate along with it.

Movement: Exercising, working out, and movement all play a role in when your body needs and wants nutrients. Remember: food is fuel providing the building blocks for rebuilding and repairing the body. What time of day do you exercise? What kind of workout or movement practice are you participating in? The level of activity and length of time all need to be considered before implementing an intermittent fasting program. After any kind of workout activity your body is craving nutrients to replenish and rebuild the body. Intermittent fasting before and through your workout time could be detrimental, doing more harm than good to your body.

Job: Similar to #1 – consider your job, lifestyle and how skipping meals in the past has effected your focus, energy, and mood. If your job consists of manual labor or needs all of your focus, you want to think about how intermittent fasting might impact that.

Health Concerns: It is important to look at your health at this time. Do you have any health conditions, diseases, etc that may be negatively effected or made worse if you skip meals or fast for too long? Talk to your doctor, do your research, and consider your short-term and long-term health and health risks.

I.F Schedule: Intermittent fasting does not have to look the same every day. Maybe you Intermittent fast on your rest days or on the days you don’t work. Try only intermittent fasting for 10 hours vs 12 or 14 hours. What about trying intermittent fasting on a weekend or when you know you will not be out doing strenuous activities and may not need as much brain power to see how it makes you feel.

The main take away from these 4 tips is to first consider your own personal lifestyle, needs and activities and then make the intermittent fasting fit your life, not the other way around.

Make it YOUR OWN. There is not a 1 size fits all intermittent fasting program and no one said you even have to do it at all.

Stories

So many times I find myself searching for the right words to share at the end of class. I wonder what the right message should be? needs to be? in this moment to address or bring into focus all that’s happening in the world. But I’ve realized that thinking in terms of right and wrong is irrelevant. Being right, doing right, thinking right has become so immensely subjective. Do we even know what is right any more?

I will tell you what I do know.

I do know that being human is about connecting, growing, learning and thriving. To be together in this one humanity. To support and help one another not just survive but thrive. Yes… I’ll say it again – TO THRIVE. But our current world – which we have all agreed to in someway and to some degree – was built through a lens of scarcity, fear and disconnection. It is full of borders, regulations, policies, a broken food system, a one-sided economy, divided religions, and separation.

Now that things are falling apart we begin to see the brokenness more clearly and we can only be as we are. It’s the cracks that let the light in. Embrace the broken. Step into the shadows this new light casts. Sit in the space between our lost old reality and this new yet to be created reality.

Sit without the need or the striving to fill in the story as quickly as we can. Sit in our uncertainty and give ourselves permission to feel to take responsibility for the stories we tell. For the stories we believe. Sit a little closer to your edge.

Let’s revisit those stories – the stories we tell about ourselves, about our experiences, and even about each other. The stories we hear. The stories we choose to believe and the ones we don’t.

To recognize each story as an accumulation of truths, falsehoods and individual biases and personal perceptions, allowing them to fall away exposing our limiting beliefs, stereotypes, judgments and separation, leaving behind our humanity.

In these stories we easily forget that we all breathe the same air, we all love, and we all long for something. We all feel pain and sadness and no matter the color of our skin, we all bleed red.

This is a time of upheaval and chaos in the world on so many levels. A magnification of all that is not working. what no longer serves us – serves humanity and the world together. So yes protest if you must, sign petitions, spend your dollar where it matters to you and whatever else you are called to do. These are all beautiful and needed external actions.

But change – true change – grows from the inside out of each and every one of us. So check in, dissect and get real with your beliefs, your biases, your stories and your privilege. Yes, all of us here right now have privilege – and benefit from that privilege – whether we want to recognize it or not.

This is where the work is… Are you open? are you ready? To take that internal deep dive??

Leaving you with this last truth – our wars/conflicts/arguments/disagreements with other people are public declarations of self importance.

We are all important.

We all matter.

Humanity matters.

Let’s do better.

We can do better.

We MUST do better.

There’s More to it Than Just Melatonin

When it comes to sleep disorders most people first jump to thoughts around melatonin, and yes melatonin certainly plays a role, however, the body and the processes are complex than that.

Let’s breakdown the key players…

Good gut bacteria makes the precursors for serotonin and dopamine.

Serotonin is a ‘good feeling’ hormone and the bulk of your serotonin resides in the gut (a healthy gut).

Dopamine is a hormone and neurotransmitter a.k.a chemical messenger involved in reward, motivation, memory, attention and even regulating body movements.

5HTP, a byproduct of tryptophan increases the production of serotonin.

Pineal gland converts serotonin into melatonin.

So….having trouble sleeping? Then one needs to look at a few different culprits BEFORE jumping to a melatonin supplement. You see, adding a supplement to your regime of something your body already makes can lead to a great level of deficiency down the road.

Plus, typically, a melatonin deficiency is a symptom of something else. We need to ask…

How’s your gut health? (more on that later)
What is your intake of tryptophan? and no, turkey is NOT the only source.
Is your pineal gland functioning optimally?

If there is a breakdown, deficiency or malfunction anywhere in that circle of actions, reactions, hormones and neurotransmitters, sleep disorders are just one of the possible side effects.

There’s also the possibility of mood disorders like depression/anxiety, migraines and headaches, binge eating disorders, learning disabilities like ADHD, PMS and menopasual symptoms, etc.

How this would manifest in each person is dependent on each person’s bio-individuality, differences in environmental toxin exposure, nutrition and genetics. Please don’t compare yourself to one another and know that the ‘fix’ will differ from person to person.

Have questions or concerns?? Reach out.

deanna@encompassedwellbeing.com

Touching Nature

Now is the perfect time to tap into the natural world that surrounds you. Surrounds us – the living beings we call humans. Touching nature brings with is a heightened sense of awareness and awareness is the key seeing through the lies – our skewed perception of reality, of truth. Awareness is how we move away from the lies and towards the truth.

Taking time out of your day, ok maybe that’s asking too much. How about taking time out of your week, to touch – connect – observe nature? It is also taking the time to touch – connect – observe one’s self. You see nature is within as much as it’s outside of us. Nature moves, breaths, lives, dies and interweaves back on itself in the same manner humans move, breathe, live, die and interweave with all that is.

Touching nature is another way of saying… pause, get curious and learn about the cycles of life in and around you. Build a relationship with the non-human ‘things’ that live amongst you. Enhance your awareness of life, death and rebirth. The ever and always changing impermanence of this world.

Most people think they have to immerse themselves in the woods, out in the wilderness to touch nature but honestly, you can connect with nature by walking through your neighborhood with intentional and mindful awareness. Heck, you can even build a relationship with the nature – and all that is non-human – in your own backyard.

Walk, sit, breathe with no predetermined destination, agenda or goal. Only observe through curiosity and wonder. Opening all your senses with owl eyes (wide lense). Notice, feel, see the intricate movement and delicate dance at play.

Nature is energy. You are energy. Nature’s energy is healing to your energy. Here are just some of the benefits from spending more time in nature…

relieves stress
boosts immune system
grounding earthing when bare skin in on the Earth
strengthens eyesight
expands your senses
increases serotonin
improves mood
raises energy levels

Begin to SEE and FEEL nature – you and all the non-human living ‘things’ – as one. as connected to the same planet, the same energy field. Sharing the same space, the same air. the same everything.

Can you tell which photos were taken in my neighborhood and those taken in the depths of the forests? If I wasn’t the photographer, I would not know either.

Tell me how you bring nature into your life.

Life’s One Certainty

Natural Disastrous, terrorist attacks and serious illnesses have a tendency to bring the reality of death closer to the forefront of our thoughts. This pandemic is no different, yet death is the one, actually the only certainty we have in life.

Knowing that certainty we still try our damndest to outsmart, out run and, medically manipulate death at any and all costs. I believe that stems from the westernized view of death. What happens after death? Is there a soul that lives on? Where do we go Heaven or Hell? IS there reincarnation?

Some cultures have the audacity to celebrate and even rejoice for their loved ones in death. The Western world says, “how dare you celebrate in such a dreadful and saddened time.” But is it? dreadful and sad??

I guess that really depends on what YOU believe. Now, I am not speaking about this blind faith so many walk through life preaching. And not what you were told to believe when you were 5 or 12 or even 18. But what YOU believe. Believe deep within your inner knowing. Have you thought about it?

With all of that, I have one question…

Is the goal of living as long as one can missing the point of why we are here? Aren’t there more important things than living the longest life? How about living the most beautiful life? The most fulfilled?

Share your thoughts in the comments.

Revitalize Your Immunity

There are times when fear and uncertainty seems to be all there is. times when the recommended strategies change daily, even hourly. Times when social responsibility and self care – real self care not self indulgence moves to the top of everyone’s list.

Re-prioritizing our priorities. Finding compassion underneath the fear. Getting innovated in staying connected.

Below are a few ways to boost your immune system, stay connected and reduce your level of stress/anxiety…

Supplement your diet

Herbs – Olive leaf, Thyme Oil, Oregano oil, Astragalus, etc
Colloidal Silver
Greens – powder mix, chlorella, spirulina, blue green algae, chlorophyll
A high quality multivitamin
Mushrooms – Chaga, Reishi, Turkey Tail, Lion’s Mane, Cordyceps, etc

Dry brushing – lymphatic support, exfoliates, boosts energy (article)

Reiki your thymus gland – place your hand over your thymus gland

Movement

yoga – 5 – 10 *1/2 Sun Salutations will kickstart your lymphatic system, which is the key to your immune system, and will give you a boost of calming energy.
Dance
Walk

*1/2 Sun Salutation how to: stand tall, inhale arms over head, exhale fold, inhale allow the torse to rise slightly, exhale fold a little more. Hang out in your fold for a 2, 3 or 3 even 5 breaths, then inhale rise bring arms over head and exhale back to standing.

Get in nature – local park, sit by a creek, sit under a tree, go hiking, paddling, etc

Communicate – have open and honest conversations

talk about how this is making you feel
how is this affecting you – job/income, family, stress level, etc
journal
Facetime, Skype, Zoom video conferences class with friends/family.

Find stillness / meditation /breathing exercises

Music

listen to uplifting high vibrational music
make music – play around / experiment

Standing strong in your humanity. Seeing the same humanity in others.

Remembering we are ALL connected.

Knowing we are ALL in this together.

This is the time…

This is a time, more than ever to stand directly in your humanity so that you may recognize the humanity in others. Engage in honest conversations around the emotions arising inside of you. Know you are not alone.
…
To see the lessons in the fear and uncertainty that surround us. To move inward and make friends with your shadows. And yes we all have shadows we deny, choose to ignore, and allow to control so much of our lives.
…
To acknowledge our automatic behaviors, default beliefs and mindset. Then – based on those – accept who we are choosing to be in this moment with understanding YOU can choose to adjust and shift as you wish. Asking ourselves, “is this who I want to be? Is this how I truly want to show up in the world?”
…
To let go of the ‘all about me’ mentality and begin to embrace that we are one. We are all connected. We are all in this together. This is the time for compassion to close the gap of separation, for kindness to out weight the selfishness, and for love to prevail.

EMFs?? Salt Lamps??

We live in a world where everything is energy. A world full of natural occurring magnetic frequencies/vibrations…including ourselves.

A Magnetic Frequency could be characterized as a naturally occurring frequency that results from a natural process that is prompted by an attraction of magnetic energy. Magnetic frequencies occur throughout nature at all times; they are beneficial to nature by producing an unending variety of life supporting polarities and vibrations that connect systems through a universal network. (excerpt from article)

The problem with artificially-produced EMFs, however, when artificially produced through current technology, is that they create harmful polarities in the system and destroy delicate energetic bonds and ultimately tear apart the vibrational fabric that naturally exists between all things. (excerpt from article)

EMFs or electromagnetic fields (the artificial kind) have been probe to be associated with increased incidence of Alzheimer’s disease, depression, suicide, leukemia, and cancers in the blood, brain, colon, prostate, nervous system, lymph system, long, and breast.

Yes, we have evolved tremendously since Homo sapiens first began on this planet however our bodies are not evolved enough to process, assimilate, and get rid of all of these man-made / artificial chemicals, toxins, and EMFs.

A simple way to begin protecting yourself from EMF’s is having salt lamps in your home and office.

Salt lamps have been proven to:

air purification
reduces EMFs & airborne infections
eases asthma & allergy symptoms
sleep promoter
mood booster

… So for under $50 you can begin to protect and even improve your and your family’s health and wellness.

What Are the Chances?

Did you know…the odds of YOU, yes YOU being born when and where you were born, to the parents you were born to and with your exact DNA and energetic makeup is 1 in 400 Trillion.

Yes that is correct…1 in 400,000,000,000,000. (Mel Robbins TedxSF Talk) Dang! That’s a heck of a lot of zeros!! 14 to be exact.

So, now that you know YOU are a one – of – a – kind masterpiece in the here and now, how do you choose to live this magnificent life of yours?

You are never supposed to be ‘fine’ or just ‘ok’. Don’t you settle for ho-hum and so-so. That is NOT how your unique and magical life is meant to be lived.

I am not supposed to live a life of ‘fine’ and ‘ok’ either but I will admit, I have allowed myself to settle into that a few times in my life.

Have you? Are you now?

I know it can get comfy and even cozy in that space for a time. It’s easy to get stuck there. Stuck in a place of the known vs the unknown; even though the known is never quite right. Never quite enough. Never really fulfilling. Never fully alive.

When you find yourself in this space of ‘never quite’, a place of stuckness may I suggest to sit down, breathe and ask yourself:

If I were to live from a place of love (without judgement, comparison, criticism, doubt, etc) what would my life look like? — Lead from love more often.

Where in my life do I feel I need to be strong and resent it? — Dissect those feelings.

What makes my heart sing? — Do more of that.

What do I know is no longer serving me? — Let go of it.

Where in my life do my words and actions align? Where do they not? — Get curious. Align more.

What am I afraid of? — Step closer to that edge.

Write it down, Sit with it. Revisit it later. Meditate or find stillness. Take a walk in nature.

You see…

YOU and ME and WE are meant to be and feel A-L-I-V-E.

To live a life of joy.

A life of abundance.

A life of love.

Go do more of that!!

Get Uncomfortable

It’s time we get uncomfortable.

Here is a time, recently when I allowed myself to be uncomfortable.

I was walking through a tall field of dying grass with my dog, Izzee and found a place to lie down. I thought I would be protected from the wet ground by lying on an area of flattened grass. I was mistaken, the wetness of the ground came through in places. I stayed there anyway.

As I lie there taking in the sacred vibrations of the land my eye glimpses a small spider a little in the distance closest to me feet. I let it be.

I few moments later my owl eye catches movement above me, this time closest to me head. Above me were a few outstretched pieces of tall grass. On one of those stalks was also a little bigger spider hanging down from a string of web making his way back up to the stalk. This was a little too close for me…but I found the courage to stay.

You see, being near a spider (that I can see) has always been a place of fear and anxiety for me – no matter the size. When caught off guard you will hear me shriek and sometimes even scream like a little girl and even run to other side of the room or opposite direction. I don’t really know why or where that fear came from per se. I just know it’s there.

It’s funny though, people who know that about me have asked how I can spend so much time in the woods hiking, camping, etc. Well, I don’t go through life constantly thinking about spiders, wondering where they are or any of the what if’s. I live my life and react, yes react, only when I see a spider.

I have been known to do the limbo mid stride of a trail run when I see a spider in a web across the trail. Plus, when I am the first one on a trail – meaning the webs have yet to be cleared – I will carry a stick or have the person I am with lead the way 🙂

I have worked at lessing my anxiety towards spiders. After living alone for a while one has to gather up the courage to sit in that discomfort, to build the strength to remove spiders from one’s home or space. I have accepted that spiders exist and they have every right to. And I think spiders are interesting and amazing creatures, I just don’t want them on me or near me.

When was the last time you allowed yourself to be uncomfortable? How did it feel during and after? What did you learn?