MRP Living Light Q & A [Nov 24, 2023]

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome, welcome. Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrated yesterday and I guess with the theme of Thanksgiving, why don't we go ahead and type in what we're grateful for today. Let me know how you all celebrated yesterday. If you celebrated Thanksgiving, Go ahead and let me know what you're thankful for today. In the chat, Helen says grateful for Alice's daily check ins. Awesome support. Awesome. Good. Yes, Alice is amazing. Her support and check ins really make a world of difference. Hey, so I know it's like holiday season now. I've went, I had to run a few errands yesterday and everywhere I went there was Christmas decor up everywhere. So, you know, it's that time of year where Christmas is literally just around the corner. I know this time of year can get busy with lots of get togethers and family gatherings and you know, things can get a little chaotic. So I wanted to hop on here today to support you all through the holidays and see, you know, how we can help you navigate through the holidays so that you're still, you know, trying for those of you are in the release phase, still kind of sticking through the, to the program and, you know, able to navigate successfully through the program. So couple things that I wanted to talk about is social gatherings. Okay? So when it comes to social gatherings, it depends where it is, right? If it's at a restaurant, like my cousin actually is doing the program right now and she's going out for dinner today and she messaged me yesterday and asked me, you know, what can I do? So I asked her what restaurant she was going to and then I quickly looked at the menu and I gave her a few options in terms of what she could choose for her dinner tonight. So of course it's not going to be perfect, you know, in terms of compliance with the release phase. Bless you, Helen. It's not going to be perfect with regards to, you know, being, you know, 100% perfect and compliant with the release phase. But we try our best, right? And that's how life is, right. Even when you're not on the release phase, you're going to have times where you might have a social event or a wedding or a birthday or whatever it might be. And you're going to have to navigate that event. Right? So it's, it's, you know, the way I like to position it is that it's a perfect opportunity for you to do that. Right. And letting go of that perfection. Right. Because a lot of us are, you know, very, we have a tendency, I find a lot of People that are in this program have a tendency to have that perfectionist type of mentality where it has to be all or none. And we want to navigate away from that, right. Where it doesn't have to be perfect, but it could be, it still can be healthy, right? So what I had recommended for her, I think there was a couple of options on the menu. There was a blackened chicken and a blackened, some sort of fish. So I told her to choose one of those options. There was rice as a side, so I told her to sub out the rice with some steamed vegetables. And I told her to make sure, you know, it was gluten free, but if there are any sauces or anything like that to just keep it pretty, stay away from the sauces. Of course it's not going to be, you know, fat free and it's not going to perhaps be exactly 4 ounces of everything, but, you know, it's still going to be somewhat healthy and in line with the program, right. And then for dessert, I told her to ask for like a bowl of fruit, right? So that's, that's your options for when you go out, right? Is if you have any trouble, if you do want to reach out to your coach, right, Reach out to Alice, let her know that you're going to, you know, X, Y and Z restaurant and she can quickly look up the menu and give you some options and guide you in terms of, you know, certain choices that you can make. Okay. Other options, you know, around the holidays, you know, other situations we may encounter is social events, right? You might be invited to someone's house or a get together. So the way to navigate that is a couple of ways. If it's an event that's going to be later on in the evening, you can always eat your meal prior to going. So whatever your release phase meal, meal is for that day, you can go ahead and eat your meal, you know, before you go. Other options are that you can bring some sort of dish that is released face friendly to share with other people and then whether that's a protein or some sort of vegetables that you've prepared. So at least you have, you know, one thing that you know for sure you can eat. And usually, you know, there is going to be at least one option that you probably can eat, right? And then for dessert, what I found is that there's almost always fruit, right? So once again, it's not going to be perfect, right. In terms of the release phase guidelines, but we want to stray away from that perfectionist type of mentality, right? So other, you know, encounters that you may run into during the holidays, of course, Christmas dinners, right? Christmas Eve, that, those, those are, you know, big times where we may not be sure what to do. And once again, you try to stick to the release phase as best as possible, right? So choose your protein, choose some vegetables, and then you can have fruit as your dessert. Now if you did want to choose something that is, you know, more off plan, you might try it out, right? And the key with that is if you feel like having it and it's really, you know, calling you, then try it, right? Maybe do a spoon, right? Instead of like a whole slice of pumpkin pie, you do one spoon of it, right? And then you really tap into how you feel, right? How did that make you feel? Did it cause any type of reaction? Did nothing happen? And really tap into those feelings, right? So it is a more. Can be a more challenging time. It doesn't have to be. And it's all about how we frame it, right? And it's all about how we position the holidays as well, right? Is it. Do we have a belief that it's a time where we. It's going to be unhealthy and we're going to feel crappy and gain weight and have late nights. Okay, maybe couple of nights here and there might be like that. But we really have to change our outlook on the holidays, right? It doesn't have to be that way, right? So those are kind of some tips that I wanted to share with you, all right, Is with social situations at someone's house, take something that you know, you know, you can eat, perhaps eat before you go. You can always snack on free vegetables. I know it's not always the most exciting thing, but you know, you try to navigate as best as you can, right? Try to choose the healthier options, right? And really you try your best, right? And if you do slip up or mess up, then that's okay, right? You give yourself grace, don't shame yourself, don't feel guilty because the. That those feelings are, you know, in many cases going to be worse, right? Cause more stress in your body, stress, mental stress. So you give yourself grace and you get on back on track with the next meal, right? So if you did screw up, you went completely off plan, that's okay. Next meal you can get back on track, right? So that's what we want to kind of really enforce in you all long term, right? Is that that one meal that you screwed up on, that's not an excuse to then just go off the deep end and continue, continue that way, right? You can always restart the next opportunity that you have. Okay? So it's not the end of the world. You know, make sure you journal about it, journal how you felt. Right? And really tap into your feelings and how it made you feel. Right. Because that increased awareness is going to be very helpful for you as well. Right. So many people, after they finish the release phase, they may, you know, try their favorite chocolate chip cookie or, you know, whatever it might be, and you'll notice that your taste buds change, right? You'll notice that you probably find it too sweet, right? So your taste buds change every seven to 10 days, right. So the food that you used to crave or love prior to the release phase is probably not going to taste the same, right. You may only be able to eat one or two bites because it's probably going to be way too sweet for you, right? That's one of the main feedback that we get from people is that, you know, they're, they notice that their taste buds change and they have much more heightened level of awareness in terms of how certain foods affect them. Okay? So really pay attention to that because, you know, prior to the release phase, many of us are more disconnected from, from our bodies and how certain things make us feel. Right. It's not just food, but even over the holidays, try to stick to your regular sleep pattern as much as you can. Right? Of course there are going to be a couple nights here and there where you might have a few late nights, but then don't make that a habit. Right. The next day, if you don't really have any plans, get back on track with your sleep schedule too. Right? So what I've learned over the years and just, you know, in my own experience with my health is health is not a destination that we reach, right? So even with the release phase, you might hit your goals and be like, yes, that's, you know, I've, I've done my, my job, I've hit my goals and you know, it doesn't end there, right. It's a day to day practice, a day to day commitment to ourselves, right. It's a day to day choice that we have, right? Another, another, you know, little thing that I wanted to talk about today was choices, right? Because when we make a choice that comes from a sense of, and a place of empowerment, right? Versus if we just like fall prey to our cravings, that comes from a sense of hopelessness, right? So if you do choose to have whatever it might be, that's quote unquote off Plan. Make that choice for yourself from a place of empowerment rather than from a place of, oh, you know, the. Like, that food had power over you. Right. So I feel like that really helps, because when you make that conscious choice, then you don't feel as guilty about it, number one. And number two is it's a more conscious response rather than a reaction. Right. Because we always have choice in any given moment. Right. And we want to make sure that we exercise that choice consciously. Okay.

So.

Alice or Annalise, I don't know if you have any thing to add to that. I'm sure I've missed a few things. I know you both have some great tips and experiences how to navigate the holidays. So I'll have. Alice, you can go ahead and unmute and share anything else that I might have missed.

Yeah, I think you did a really great cover, Deepa, and I. I really like the emphasis on, you know, it's. Let it be a choice, not a reaction. You know, really focusing and noticing the trigger, let's say, or the scenario that brings you into derailment. I wouldn't even call it, like, a mistake or anything like that. Just get off track a little bit sometimes, but notice what's happening around you. Notice if there was something that pushed you in that direction. Because, like Deepa mentioned, you know, we have to focus on the whole. And we want to be empowered by our food and really shifting kind of the focus of what food's purpose is. You know, our food is there to nourish us. Our food is there to supply us with energy. Our food is there to, you know, give us as much life force as we possibly can have throughout the day. And looking at it, you know, and.

And.

And really identifying with the food, knowing what you're consuming is becoming you. You know, it's. It's the nutrients from that food that are becoming your cells that are fueling your brain that are, you know, pumping, pumping blood to your heart. It's. It's such a beautiful gift we all get to have. And, you know, it's a time where a lot of traditions also come into play. So everybody brings, you know, a certain dish or has a certain tradition with family. And I always like to recommend, you know, starting a new tradition, because why not? You know, it's. There's always room for new improvements and new things, and it. You know, it kind of shakes things up for people. You get to meet new sides of yourself, maybe your family members, maybe your community. So know that traditions don't have to go by the wayside but you can also add in new traditions that make sense for you, for your family, for where it is that you want to go. And then additionally, connection is the most important thing. So really being there with your family and friends, you know, while food is so important and of course we want you to nourish your body with, with the things that make you feel your best. It's also not what the purpose of sometimes get togethers are. It really is about connecting with each other. It is really about being vulnerable. It's really being about being present. So really keeping those things in mind and really bringing yourself down to what is the purpose of this. So, yeah, those are just a couple of things. And I know I've mentioned agreements in the past. This is what I personally use to make it a lot easier for me. Every time I go to a social setting or now it's kind of, you know, second nature. But initially I made certain agreements and I always recommend everybody make agreements that feel right for you at the same time. So whenever I go out somewhere, I either eat a meal first or I bring something like Deepa mentioned that everybody can partake in that I also know is really healthy. Or I add or I do myself, of course, the gift of fiber first. So making sure I have either a soup or either a salad before having kind of more the indulgent foods that are around. Because I know if I go full cold turkey, I have a little rebel inside of me that then is like, no, I am going to go there and I am going to have that food. So to settle the rebel and also to settle, you know, healthy Alice and vital Alice, there's agreements that you can make and those are unique to you. So mine is of course, making sure I'm keeping hydrated, making sure I'm present with the people that around bringing a dish or it could be, you know, eating something first, doing the nutritious side of things first before going into the indulgent and it settles that impulse. And instead of maybe grabbing, you know, three slices of pizza or three scoops of mashed potatoes, now you're just having one, or now you're even just having a half. So it's putting those, like, safeguards around you, knowing your habits again and knowing those scenarios, knowing, you know, what can keep you off track or what does derail you. So then you can put safeguards there for yourself so you can still enjoy both. So that little rebel inside doesn't want to go, you know, and dive into the deep end. Because I know we all have a Little rebel inside of us to some degree. So get to know yourself, get curious. There's no mistakes. It's all learning. And make sure to be present and focus on your loved ones.

Yeah, Great tips. And I think also one thing to note is sometimes around the holidays when we get together with family, there might be certain family members that trigger us. Right. So, and sometimes, you know, for many of us, when we get triggered, we want to turn to food. Right. So try to be more conscious and aware of your triggers as well. Right. And when you feel like those triggers might result in, you know, something that's quote, unquote, off plan. Right. So make sure that you are paying more attention to that. Right. If you do get triggered by a family member and how you react. Right. So we always want to be aware. Right. Some of us may not even be aware. So take the opportunity over these next few weeks with gatherings and get togethers to see, you know, when you may have gotten triggered and why and how you reacted to those triggers.

Yeah.

And.

And to that point, you know, notice what narratives aren't yours. You know, notice what somebody has told you that you've adopted because maybe you've had to, or maybe that's just the way it was, but it's not necess necessarily a narrative that applies to you anymore. So as an example, for instance, I obviously did the reset a few years back now, and I came over to my family's place and anybody that's Eastern European or anything outside of that, you know, food is a way, like a love language basically in, in those settings. So I arrive with my beautiful meal that I'm so excited to, to eat with my family. And of course they're having their traditional meal. And, and so my grandmother, who, Eastern European, Polish, you know, food is again, her biggest love language, she's like, you poor thing. Oh my gosh, look, you can't have this and you can't have that. And, you know, how are you going to be full? And I'm like, but look at all that I can have. And, and I actually chose this for myself. I don't feel without. I actually feel very satisfied eating this meal. Thank you for caring for me. But I'm very happily making this choice and I don't feel without at all. And it rolled off so naturally. And that's something I've never been able to personally, personally say to my grandmother because I, I love how she loves me. And. But we're also not aligned completely in the ways that, that we receive love and we give love and it was just such a nice reminder, even to myself, to say, I made this choice, you know, happily, I. I came here, I'm prepared this meal. I feel so great after eating it. And that's more than enough for me. And just because, you know, your narrative might look at that and see it in this way does not mean that I need to see it that way. I feel actually the exact. So if you do find that you are getting those kind of comments from family or friends, know that you do not need to adopt that. That does not need to be your story. It does not need to be the case. You get to make your own script. You get to choose how you feel about your decisions.

Yeah, great point, Alice. I think that's so important because when we change, you know, whether it's our food or whatever it might be, like, it makes the people who are the closest to us uncomfortable. They don't like that. So, you know, really setting up those boundaries for yourself, right? Speaking up for yourself. And in some cases, you don't even have to explain yourself, right? You can just say, no, thank you. Right? That's one of the most powerful things that you can learn to do that many of us have a hard time doing, right? We have a hard time saying no. Right? So, you know, really, I think also challenging some of our beliefs, right, Is, you know, certain limiting beliefs that we may have had in the past or that family members may have had, may, you know, have projected onto us is like healthy food tastes bad or, you know, if you're eating healthy food, you're deprived in some way, right? So just, you know, reassessing some of those limiting beliefs is, is going to be helpful and valuable for you as well. And, you know, I read a book recently, it's called Atomic Habits by James Clear, or I'm reading it and not reading it, I'm listening to it. So on the way home from driving my son home from school, he likes to listen to music, which is fine. So I let him listen to his music for 50% of the time. And 50% of the time I made like a agreement with him that it's fine to listen to your music. And, you know, I think we should make this time productive because it's a half hour drive that we have, so half of the time we'll listen to an audiobook. So the book that we're listening to in the car right now is Atomic Habits by James Clear. And many, some of you may have read it, but I'm not completely finished it just yet. But one of the key takeaways from that book was whenever we're instilling a habit, many of us focus on the outcome of what that habit is going to result in, right? So eating healthier, it's going to maybe result in, you know, weight loss or more energy or better sleep or whatever it might be for you, right? Whatever that reason is. So that's fine, right? If we focus on the outcome, another thing that we might focus on is the process, right? Is so eating healthy, the habit of eating healthy, you know, that process is same thing going to result in whatever that might be for you. But the key to really make a habit stick is focusing on the identity that that habit is going to result in, right? So eating healthy, what's the. What. Why do you want to eat healthy? Right? What's the identity that you want to embody as a result of that habit? Right? Is an identity. Is it an identity of a person who's gonna age gracefully, healthily, happily vibrant, you know, being able to carry out activities of daily living well into our 70s, 80s, 90s? My grandmother is 92, right. She's in, you know, she's got some ailments, right? She's got high blood pressure, a little bit of aches and pains, but she doesn't move a lot, right. Over the years, her movement has declined quite significantly, right? She has to use a walker now, and, you know, it's hard for her to get up and down the stairs. She uses like a little chair lift. And it doesn't have to be that way, right. There's a Instagram account that I follow. I can't remember the name of it, but I like it because it shows little clips of, like, women in their 70s, 80s and 90s, like, fully functional, right? Like maybe a few things here and there, but they're able to get up, go to the bathroom by themselves, exercise, right. Well into their 80s, 90s without much difficulty, right? So once again, it's that paradigm and that identity that we have that we, you know, we can rewrite, as Alice said, right? It's okay if maybe you thought that in the past, but you can rewrite that, right? So I would invite all of you over these next few weeks, especially this time of year, to really reflect on what is your identity and paradigm when it comes to your health, right? We may have had an identity just based on our parents or our grandparents that as you age, you're going to get high blood pressure, like that's supposed to happen, duh. Like you're supposed to get diabetes, duh. No, it doesn't have to happen. It doesn't have to be that way. Right. So my aunt, who is the one who primarily takes care of my grandmother, like she will frequently say that, right. It's old age, like this is what's supposed to happen. And like, and I've tried to challenge her on that, but you know, that's the belief and the paradigm that she's, that she has. Right. So what is your identity? What is your paradigm? What are your beliefs around health as you get older, as you age?

One other thing I'd recommend is the session Deepa you did with Tricia Nelson on emotional hunger. She always talks about being a people pleaser. And one of the things I think it's difficult when you go on holidays, as both of you talked about, if you're a people pleaser and some you're going to a house and it's family or whatever, you feel obligated to have to partake in the food, maybe calling them beforehand and saying, look, this is what I'm doing. I just would like you to know before I come, I love you and I love your cooking, I love what you do. But right now I've made a decision for self care and she goes through that. If you, if you have it, if you're, that module isn't unlocked for you, you can ask Alice to unlock it so that you can go through it and then that will just help you get through the holidays much easier.

Yeah.

It'S, it can be very helpful to let family members know what, you know, in some cases what we're doing and how we are maybe modifying our nutrition. And I know in some cases it might not helpful to have those deeper discussions with certain family members. But you know, if someone is preparing your meal for a, for a holiday event, then you know, have that discussion with them, right. That I'm embarking on a new health journey and these are some of the foods that I can eat right now. Right. And like we said before, like you can bring something to the party that you know, you can eat for sure. Right. So that way there's always that safety. Right. And also maybe perhaps eating something before you go as well. Right. Or if it's a restaurant, like I said, making sure that you look at the menu beforehand. Right. I'm gluten free, I'm vegetarian, so that's something that I always do right before I go is just quickly scan the menu. What is it that I can eat? What is it that I can eat? And you know, many times you just need one choice, right? So if you're avoiding gluten, dairy, whatever it might be, there's usually at least one thing on the menu, especially these days with the amount of, you know, food sensitivities that people have, that will work for you. Okay, so I can open it up now to some questions that any of you may have with regards to whether it's the holidays or anything else we can can open up the floor for questions. So you can just raise your hand like this or your zoom hand and I can unmute you. And then I know I put. One of the things I know Alice has brought a few times to some of the holiday parties that we've had is this really delicious raspberry tart that she makes. And I've made it a few times after that. I've brought it to like holiday parties. And people are like, I don't know, Alice, if you wanted to share, like, you know, your strategy around bringing it, but people are like, this is delicious. They don't even know it's healthy. Right?

Yeah, I just tried it actually so randomly one day to bring it to our get together that one time. But now that I kind of go back, the reason I like I was drawn to that recipe is because we eat with our eyes first. So if something looks presentable, if something looks like you want to interact with it with the colors and the textures and whatever, nine times out of 10, we're most likely going to interact with it. And what I loved about this is that it was simple to make, you know, and it's not overly sweet. It's all using natural ingredients and you can customize it however it is that you want, or I should say whole food ingredients. And you can customize it. And it's nutrient dense. So it's made out of, you know, coconut milk, which is a healthy fat. There's almond flour for those who, you know, can tolerate almonds, which has a lot of protein, a lot of good minerals in there too, healthy fats. Additionally, raspberries, which are a no brainer, delicious with dark chocolate and then really anything else you wanted to customize it with. And then some healthy binders such as coconut oil or whatever oil you have on hand. So, you know, I, I often like to bring something and not even tell people what it is or if it's gluten free or you know, like no sugar, vegan, this and that and the other, and I just let them try it with a blank slate. And then later on, you know, obviously you get compliments and you're like, well, this is actually really good for you too. Not only is your stomach happ. Your whole health is happy right now by having this treat and this indulgence. And it kind of allows other people, like Deepa said, to reframe their narrative of healthy food doesn't taste great because it definitely can. You're just not accessing the right recipes to do so. And that's okay because, you know, there's plenty of time to learn. But you know, in time, as you get more comfortable with those agreements that you make with yourself and really identify which ones are important to you, those decisions become a easier. And I ended up getting to a place where I really viewed things and I view things as I do, either as self love or self sabotage. And I really identify the choices that I make with that scale and that might not resonate with everybody. That's what works with me. Anytime I'm, I'm finding a decision and I'm, I'm kind of confused. I always think to myself, you know, what would I want somebody I love to do? You know, we, we often are the caregivers, the people that are the people pleasers, the people that, you know, care for everybody and sometimes leave themselves last on the list. You know, you don't put yourself first and you don't, you don't yet think that way. But it's so important to, to know that you matter, that your needs matter and that it's okay to let in people that are close into your life to see what it is that you're doing and then receive their support. It's okay to ask for help too. You know, we often think that we're the ones to get it all together and that need to have everything in place and just take care of others. But it's very okay to ask for support. In fact, our loved ones want to be there to support us and sometimes they just might not know it's a lack of maybe the proper communication. So, yeah, I kind of went off on a little bit of a tangent there. But get familiar with those agreements with yourself and then those decisions start becoming a lot easier. And then you start finding recipes that people love and that you love as well. And yeah, it just makes it that much easier and that much more enjoyable to navigate through.

Great tip. So I, I posted the recipe in the chat. I actually ended up buying her cookbook too.

Oh, really?

A few months ago. Yeah, I ended up buying it. I haven't made anything from it just yet, but I did end up buying it. So yeah, that's awesome. Yeah. All her recipes are gluten free for sure. I'm not sure if all of them are. I think all of them are dairy free too.

I believe so. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. So they're, they're very. They're great recipes. I briefly glanced through it and I mean, I love this one. So I figured. And when I've gone on the blog, a lot of them are from the blog, so a lot of them you can, you know, get without purchasing the book. But yeah, they're great. Great website that you found.

I'm glad. I hope if anybody is able to try it, I would love to see a picture or I would just love to hear what you think of the tart. It's so delic this, in my opinion. And it's really great for the holidays too. You can, you know, put in some orange if you want it in there, just to give it a little bit of that, that kind of winter flare or winter flavoring. But really it works well with anything. I'd just love to see if you, if anybody is able to try it.

Yeah, I think Julie was asking about the Aura Ring. So the Aura ring is a great tool that we recommend to many clients. Really get more, especially if you struggle with sleep, is it really gives you objective data in terms of what your sleep is like, right? Are you getting enough REM sleep? Are you getting enough deep sleep? Are you waking up a lot throughout the night? And when you know that information, then you can optimize it, right? So if you're not getting enough REM sleep or you're not getting enough deep sleep, then there's ways that you can improve that. So, so that's one of the main reasons that we like the OURA ring because it really helps to drive behavior change. It's also really, really great from a maintenance phase standpoint because it helps to give you additional data in terms of how you might be responding to certain foods when you reintroduce them back. So let's just say you're on the maintenance phase and you decide to have rice, you may not feel any different when you reintroduce that rice, right? But the next day, if your aura, if that's like one of the main variables that changed from the day before and your resting heart rate significantly increased and your heart rate variability significantly decreased, then it could be an indication that perhaps you are a little more sensitive to that particular food. Food. So it does help to give a little bit of additional feedback in terms of how your body is responding to certain foods or behaviors as well. So I put a link in the chat. Hey, what other questions do you all have? You can, like I said, type them in the chat or you can. I can unmute you if you have one question. Yes, Terry, the, the ring does let you know if you were awake at that time period of, of night. Whether it's, you know, whether you woke up to use the bathroom to go pee or whatever it might be, it'll show it as a period of time that you were awake. And the reason why we like the Oura ring is there are a lot of trackers out there. I know the Apple Watch tracks your sleep. There's the Fitbit, there's the Garmin. I think the Garmin does allow you to put turn off the Bluetooth. But the Oura ring is nice because you can turn off the Bluetooth, you can turn off and you can put in airplane mode so that it's not emitting the emf. For those of you who are sensitive or concerned about that, You can go ahead and unmute. Terry?

Yeah, I. What. That's what I know what I noticed was all I got was when I went to bed and like the hours slept and the hours that were awake. But it doesn't give me any idea of how many times I was awakened during the night. You know, and trying to address that because that seems to be one of my biggest problems in getting a full night's sleep is that I am awakened. You know, I mean, I do sleep with my house. There's noise, a lot of noise.

Okay, so one thing with, with the Oura ring, they changed this a few years ago, is if you want more detailed data, then you have to get the subscription. I think the subscription is like 5.99amonth. If you don't get the subscription, it's just going to give you a general sleep score and a general like readiness and activity score. It's not going to give you the detailed breakdown. So if you don't.

I did sign up, I did sign up for a subscription. Okay, so after the next month. After this month? Yeah.

Okay, so it's not starting till next month. Well.

It sounded like the first month is included anyway. And if you want to continue, you then you have to subscribe, so.

Correct.

Subscribe.

But.

You know, you know, I don't know when the subscription starts. I would assume it was after the month. That's included.

Exactly. Yeah. So if you go to, if you can open up your app.

The Aura app on my phone.

Yep. Open up your app. And then at the very bottom, you'll see Home Readiness Sleep Activity Explorer.

Let me just take a look here. Right, Right.

Okay. Now go to sleep.

Right.

Okay.

Now watch that very closely because that's a huge concern for me.

Okay.

Worried about my, my broken sleep during the night and the effect that that will inevitably have on my, on my health long term. So.

So if you go scroll down, you should see a little graph that looks like this.

Yeah. So see how easy to read?

Yeah.

So.

But at the bottom there, it says awake and it tells you how many times how many minutes you are awake total. And the white. Total is what. Is, what are the periods of time when you are awake?

What are the periods of time?

You could just see my screen here. See where, where there's white. See the, the little white bars just along here?

Oops.

Right here. See all the white bars? That's, that's when I was awake throughout the night. So my total awake time was 53 minutes.

Minutes.

Yeah. So. Okay. All right. I can see that with those peaks. Yeah, I mean, I, I got in bed and I read for maybe whatever, 20 minutes, half hour. But yeah, I see there are three peaks. And then I. Well, and then there are some longer peaks where I was getting pretty hopeless around 5 o' clock in the morning that I could go back to slee.

Yeah. So typically, if you're waking up in the middle of the night around two or three, that's typically indicative of blood sugar dysregulation. So I don't know if you've started the release phase yet or not, but the, the release phase plan is going to help stabilize your blood sugars and minimize nighttime awakenings due to blood sugar imbalances.

So, yeah, I am pretty sure what's happening is I'm being woken up by a. Somebody with snoring and apnea.

Yeah.

So we're kind of like trying to figure out what we're gonna do about that. I think maybe we're gonna try sleeping in separate rooms during the night. We can get back together in the morning. But we can.

Have you, have you tried earplugs?

I have, and I, I find them very, very uncomfortable. And they usually end up just irritating my ears, even when I take them out.

So what I can do is I can send you a snoring guide that we have to help with if your husband's open to it. We have a whole snoring protocol which can help help minimize snoring. I can share that with you.

Okay. Because, I mean, I, I do also have an apnea problem. So he says I'm snoring when he comes in, but when he comes in, he wakes me up, you know, you know, the noise of, you know, him getting to bed, it usually wakes me up. So that's my first wake up because he comes to bed late. So it could be anywhere from 12 too.

Okay. Depending on.

So I think.

Yeah, this TV.

Yeah. So for many people, sometimes sleeping in separate rooms is, is the solution. And for. Especially if you have different bedtimes and you're more of a light sleeper, more sensitive to noise. You know, it's obviously not ideal, but it does help keep. I've read, I've read somewhere that there was a study which. In which case when couples slept separate, sometimes it keeps the marriage happier just because if one person is a more disruptive sleeper, it can. A toll on the, on the whole relationship.

Yeah, it's. Well, you know, when you're not getting enough sleep, it's, you know, it affects, it affects things.

Yeah. So Liz put here. My husband and I have been married for 33 years and for the past five years or so we have slept in different rooms and it has been life changing.

So better sleep well. I get up, I get up early. I try to go to bed early, early because I know I get disrupted a lot. So I tried to get in bed as early as I can. And so I get up early also. And my husband always gets up at 9, no matter what, you know, even if he comes to bed at 2, it's 9 and you know, whatever. So anyway, so I'm up earlier. The thing is when I'm up earlier. Oh, I wanted to make a point about that. Yeah. So I'm like already on my way for my day in the, in the morning. I like you kind of just get out of there and get on with things, you know, and just keep trying to go to bed early as early as I can. Yeah, yeah, I would be. I think if we did sleep. Sleep separate because, because I get up earlier. Like if he misses me in the morning, I get a text. Okay, come back. So, you know, I'm like, you know.

Yeah, yeah. Some things to think about. Right. I think just trying different things out, like the two separate rooms. See where it goes. See how it, see how, see how that helps. Helps with both of you. Right. For both of your sleep. So.

Yeah, just the sleep part.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Okay. Thanks.

You're welcome. Okay, Helen, you have your hand up. You can go ahead and unmute.

I forget exactly what I was going to ask but it was regarding the Apple Watch. So I have synced it with the Practice Better app.

Alice.

Alice will check in with me and she's challenged me about my bedtime, which I appreciate. Yep. I've been really responsive to her, her suggestions, but I'm waking up in the middle of the night and like I'm going to bed too early now. So I'm, I'm over correcting and I, I was going to ask you something specifically about the Apple Watch and I just can't remember what I was going to ask. I forgot.

No worries, no worries. Whenever it pops back into your, your mind, just raise your hand again and we can unmute you.

Okay.

Yeah. I know Nadia asked some questions in the chat, so Senna T. So the one that I'm most familiar with is the one by traditional medicine, Smooth Move. I don't know of any other, like, good quality ones that are going to be or, you know, organic and have like good ingredients in them. So the Smooth Move tea in. I don't know if you're in Canada or the U.S. nadia, but you can get it for about 4.99 for 16 tea bags at Healthy Planet. It. Okay. And the reason why I like this one is because it is organic. So, you know, other ones out there, I'm not sure, you know, in terms of like ingredients. I think Alice found a link on Amazon as well for 579Canadian. And that's 16 teabags as well. Okay. I know she asked a question about mangoes, cantaloupe and okra. So cantaloupe is approved, as said, but mango and okra are not approved on the release phase. So all the usually generally speaking, if you don't see the food on the list in your guide, then it's not going to be approved for the release phase. It's always something you can try on the maintenance phase. Right. So if you want to see how you do with okra or mango, you can always try that on the release phase. Sorry, on the maintenance phase. But the release phase, they are not loud. Okay. And, and I think Alice had brought this up last week, but I know the holidays are coming up and I'm sure for many of you, your family members will notice some sort of transformation. So, you know, if anyone ever asks, you know, what you've been doing or what you've been up to with your health, then.