Weekly Living Light MRP Q & A with Dipa [Aug 30, 2024]

Happy Friday everyone. Welcome, welcome. Hi there. Hi Elizabeth. Hi Dr. Lisa. Hi Nancy. Hi Nikki. Hi Joanne. Nice to see you all. Okay, well as we get started here, as always, let's type in the chat what you're grateful for today. Just going to put a reminder in our group that we've started. I can't believe the summer is almost done. Blew by. Okay, Dr. Lisa says down ten pounds. Congratulations.

Woohoo.

Okay. And Nikki says, I'm grateful that my kids are back in school so that I can catch up on homework. Yes, I get you. Joanne says grateful for round two. Eight pounds down since Sunday. Congratulations Joanne. Amazing. Welcome, Mira. Welcome, Sangeeta. Let us know in the chat what you are grateful for today. Okay, so we are going to start with a little bit of just mindfulness meditation, whatever you want to call it. So give me a moment here. We're going to do a guided one. Welcome. Cat, looks like you're there with your grandchild. So cute. Okay, so let me. I'm gonna put a guided meditation on for you guys today and it'll be about eight minutes and then we will kind of get into our Q and A. So let me pull that up for you all. Can you guys hear the music? Put a thumbs up. No. Okay, I have to change my share settings. Give me one second. Screen audio. Okay, let me put it on.

Let's drop into this meditation together.

Do you hear it? Now I know some of you are driving, so of course if you're driving you can just listen to the music. But.

And find a way for your body to simply be comfortable. Whatever that means to you.

If you're not, then I welcome you to follow along.

Find a way to be in your body so that you are engaged but relaxed. Good. Take a few breaths. In and out into your nose. Out through your mouth. At your pace. In through your nose, out to your mouth. Into the nose, out through the mouth. I'm going to sing you awake. All you have to do is breathe. Take your right hand and put it on your chest. Take your left hand and put it on your stomach. Continue breathing into your hands, into your stomach. Put a gentle smile on your face. Close your eyes. If you haven't already, Imagine your breath going into your hands, into your heart and into your stomach. There's a channel of energy between the two. Like an oval going back and forth as you breathe.

In.

And out, In and out. There's no wrong way. You're doing it perfectly. Feel the warmth that's building. Just feel it. Allow it. Doesn't matter what Thoughts are going on in your head. This is about feeling. You're doing it perfectly. You can keep your hands there. Release them whenever you like. Just keep breathing. If you have any thoughts that you feel are distracting, actually welcome them in. Say you're welcome here. And then go back to your breathing. Yeah. Your thoughts are you too. Your breath is you too. Your heartbeat is you too. Your feelings are you. Good. When it arises. Just feel the joyful expansion of your breath and the calmness that is part of it. Gentle smile on your face. You're welcome too. All of you is welcome. All of you is welcome here. It's perfect. Feel what it feels like just to try on the clothing of the thought that everything about you is perfect. What does that feel like? Breathe it in. All the mistakes, all the perceived faults. It's perfect. It's okay. What if the water you're swimming in and you're the fish and the water is just love and you didn't even know. That's the thing you can't even escape is love. It's merely a perception as we look out to decide what we want the world to be around us. But it's you too. That connection to the world, to bring it inside yourself is no further away than your next breath. Breathe in. If they're not open, your hands, your palms are just open. Breathe the energy into your heart. Breathe it out. Visualizing it coming out of your hands and out to the world. That's your gift. You transmute the space around you with love. You witness the world. You witness your thoughts. You witness it all from that space of love. Sink that feeling in. Commit it to your memory. It's real. One more thing for you to try. What does it feel like if you were to try on the thought right now? The feeling. That you can let everything go, all the concerns, any thoughts, just for a moment. Let it go. Let it go free. Just love. Try it again. Let it go on your exhale. Breathe in. Breathe out. Stay here for a little bit, a little bit longer. Just enjoy it. Just enjoy it. We'll get back. Breathing into your heart and out. If they're not there. Let's put your hands back on your heart, the other hand on your stomach and breathe into them again. Feel that cycle of energy. And you can use this gesture and breathe into it. And your body will remember this feeling that you've planted inside. By touching your heart and your stomach like this with your hands and breathing in, your body will remember.

Good.

When it feels right to you, you.

Can.

Bow to yourself. And thank yourself for diving in. Move your body around and open your eyes when it feels good. That will conclude our meditation.

Hey, how was that for everyone? Let me know in the chat how that was. Does anyone know why we do this? Any guesses? First, let me know how that was for you. And then Dr. Lisa says, Just what I needed right now. Elizabeth says, loved it. Good. Yeah. When we do these, I really invite you to follow along and take that moment for yourself. Right. Because we get so caught up in our day to day and we have, you know, so many things to do on that to do list that it's nice to take a little pause and take some time for yourself.

Okay?

S says, beautiful. So calming. Mira is exactly what I needed. Work has been stressful this week. Exactly. So, Dr. Lisa, you're right. It's to help us get more into a relaxed state. Right. And when we're more in that parasympathetic state, then this is something that you want to get used to being in more often. You can always, you know, take those mindful breaths even with your eyes open, even when you're on a work meeting. And it's stressful, Right. You can slow down your breathing, breathe through your nose. Right? So and that, that meditation, it's obviously helpful when you take that time for yourself in that 10 minutes or whatever it might be, but we want you to translate that into day to day life. Right? So if you're having a really stressful week at work and you feel like, you know, just reacting and eating something, you're, you know, that's probably not going to serve you, then you can use like a mindfulness practice. Right. Take a pause, take some deep breaths and make a more mindful choice rather than reacting. Right. You can make a conscious choice, do I want to eat that bag of chips or actually, I'm okay. Right. And if you do choose to, then at least it was a choice rather than a reaction. Right? So really want you to cultivate some sort of practice, whatever that is for you, whether it's a guided meditation like the one we just did, or whether it's, you know, I can give you guys a few resources. So the, the guided meditation that I just did for you all is an artist that I really like. His name is East Forest. His music is, in my opinion, really beautiful. But I'll share the song link for you from Spotify. I'll put in the chat. But you can find guided meditations on YouTube. You can find it on Spotify. You can find them on. There's A great app called Insight Timer. I'll put the app name here. Insight Timer. So a lot of, you know, resources that are out there, right. And sometimes it's really hard for us to take that pause in the middle of the day. So even incorporating this, you know, before you go to sleep or first thing in the morning, right. Try to find a moment of, you know, peace and solitude at some point in your day. Okay. Because we are all like over bombarded with stress and things, things to do, right. So really would invite you all to make that a part of your day to day routine.

Okay.

So. And you can even do walking meditations, right? So sometimes for some people, it's really hard for them to sit still. I would say for those that find it really hard, you probably need it more. But initially if you find it really difficult, you can do like a walking meditation. Right? A walking meditation is when you're just present to the sounds around you. You're not like on your headphones, you're not trying to like meet some sort of fitness goal. You're just like very mindful steps, like through nature. Right. Ideally you want to do it like in a forest or somewhere in nature, but you can do a walking meditation too if you find it hard to sit still in one spot. Okay, so before we get started with questions, I thought we could just go around for those of you who I know some of you are just kind of listening in the background for. But for those of you who are, you know, actively listening, we'll just kind of go around in terms of who I see on the screen, screen here and just share what your biggest win was from this past week. Okay. So Dr. Lisa, I see you first here on my screen. So you can go first. You can go ahead and unmute.

And.

Just like two to three sentences.

Okay. Moved into week two and my weight loss wasn't as rapid the second week. So I got a little bit in my head about why and, and, and I had to work through, I had to work through that and recognize that the different processes and different things are happening internally at each week and each stage and to just be patient. And if I needed to adjust whatever goal I had in my brain, that was. Okay.

Awesome. Thank you for sharing that. Yeah. So the first week is always, you know, a little more because it's inflammation, water weight. And then after that, on average for, you know, most people, it can be, it differs for each person. Right. So I don't really like to give numbers per se, but, but you know, in the total six weeks most people will lose an average of about 20, 15 to 20 pounds, if not more for some people. Okay. So, yeah. So I love the approach that you took. Right. Be patient. Be kind to yourself. And sometimes we have to think about, like, how long it took us for us to get to that point. And, you know, one thing I like people to reflect on is just thinking back to when it was the last time that you were that weight. Right. So I know in the beginning you had mentioned you're eight pounds down. When was the last time you were that weight? Right. Was it a year ago? Was it two years ago? Was it three years ago? Right.

Ten pounds. I'm ten pounds.

Ten pounds.

Okay.

Ten pounds.

Sorry.

That two pounds makes a big difference. So when was the last time you were that weight? Right, so. And for you to achieve that, you know, within two weeks is probably a huge. A huge win. Right? So awesome. Thank you for sharing that. Okay, Elizabeth, I see you next. I don't know if you're. I know you were there on camera in the beginning. I don't know if you're still there.

Yeah.

Yes. Okay. What's your big win for this week? In two to three sentences.

Wait a minute. Just prepping myself for the second round.

Okay, good. Yeah. And that's important, right? Because we have to be mentally ready. Right. So, you know, prepping yourself mentally like groceries, whatever it might be, is an important part of the process. So good job. Excellent. I'm excited for you.

As soon as I get the metabolic spray. Yes, I'll be on.

Okay, awesome. Good. Thank you. Okay, next. I know Kat was there. I know she's looking after her grandchild there. Kat, if you're around, you can unmute yourself. Maybe she stepped away. Okay, so we'll go to Joanne. Go ahead and unmute Joanne.

Hello.

Hi.

Hi there. I started round two Sunday. I hated load days. Oh, my gosh. I thought, let me splurge and order from my favorite Cuban restaurant. That'll get me up there. What? We like the food. It was like, oh, my gosh, this isn't even desirable. I was happy to get to Sunday and just, you know, start what I love to do, so I love it.

Awesome. Okay. Yeah. Glad you got through those loading days. Second time around is even, I think, more difficult for a lot of people, so I'm glad you got through them. And congratulations on completing your first week of. Of your second round. Awesome.

Thank you.

Mira, you can go ahead and unmute. Okay. Biggest win. Oh, I can't. We can't hear you. I know. Sometimes you have this issue with your mic. Okay. Maybe figure out what's going on with your mic and then you can come back or you can type it in the chat. Nancy, if you're there, you can go ahead and unmute. Are you there? Okay, maybe she's listening in the background. Nikki, I know is listening in the background. Sangeeta, if you're there, you can go ahead and unmute and share what your biggest win was from this past week. Hi. Hi.

Thanks, diva.

I'm.

I guess my biggest win is I've had a lot of work dinners in the evening, and through your guidance, I've been trying to manage the best I can with the males that are outdoors. Yeah.

And you've made some really great choices, so you should be proud of yourself.

Yeah, I'm just. I'm discouraged a bit because, like, Dr. Lewis, like, I'm not seeing the decline, but I know what the factors are. We've discussed it.

So.

Yep, I'll have to work on that. Thank you for all your support.

Yeah, no worries. Mira K, Go ahead and unmute. No, we can't hear you still. Okay, she's going to type. Okay. And then we have. Ronald, are you there? You want to share? Ronald, if you're there, maybe he's listening in the background. Cindy. Cindy, wait. Are you around? Okay, maybe they're just listening in the background. Okay, awesome. So I guess I wanted to get started with any questions that you all may have first. And then we can talk about a few other things. But let's get to some questions. I know Elizabeth had a question. Do you want to go ahead and unmute Elizabeth?

Well, so the metabolic spray is the so called secret sauce. So I want you to kind of tell me more because I really. I had no. I just did what I was told.

Yeah.

Okay.

So the spray, basically it's a homeopathic spray. It's Health Canada approved, FDA registered. It's very gentle. So homeopathics are like dilutions of dilutions of dilutions. So they are very, very gentle. And the main mechanism of action of the spray is that it works on the pituitary gland. So the pituitary is located in the brain. And let me just show this to you. But it, the spray works on what we call the HPA axis, which is the hypothalamic pituitary axis, pituitary adrenal axis. And what it does is it helps the pituitary to. Let me just pull up an image. It helps the pituitary to pretty much Function better because the pituitary essentially communicates to our adrenal glands, our thyroid, our female hormones or male hormones. And you know that. So that's one of the functions is it helps to regulate the pituitary so that it's communicating better with all those glands. Right. And therefore secreting those hormones properly. And then it also helps to reset the metabolism. It also helps with hunger and cravings. Okay. So there's, you know, a lot of different functions of the. The spray, essentially. Okay. So it's to pretty much support you through the release phase. And by the end of the release phase, from a weight perspective, for most people, they'll. They will reestablish their new metabolic. Metabolic set point. So some people, you know, going on to the maintenance phase after they finish the release phase, they're, like, really afraid to add food back in. Right. Whether that's fat or whether it's, you know, for some people, adding a third meal. And most people's weight will stay around the same plus or minus two to three pounds, even with the addition of all those foods, because they've established that new metabolic set point. Okay. So that's. That's kind of the spray in. In a nutshell in terms of what it. What it's for and what it does.

Great.

Okay. Okay. So Mira had. Wasn't getting her mic to work, but her big win was, I'm in my last week of release, and last weekend was very social, and I went up in weight, stayed focused this week, and came back down and then some. Hey, congratulations. Yeah. Today is her last release day, so you've done amazing. Six weeks went by so quickly. I can't believe how fast that went. Okay. Lisa, you have a question? Go ahead and unmute.

Hi. Like, like I said, I'm about day 10ish. 10 or 11ish, not including the loading days.

Okay.

And I've been off of the primary supplements that I normally take. Okay. For. I stopped the supplements about a week before I started the program because I didn't want anything to interfere because I knew that, you know, it was supposed to be clear. So I guess my concern is if I. I did read the section where you talked about the supplements for digestion and all the different types and brands of supplements. Right. If I'm used to taking a particular supplement, what would be the restrictions around? Because, I mean, I've tested myself. I understand, like, where my thyroid and all the other hormones and all of that are out of balance. I do understand the digestive imbalances, the leaky gut all the good stuff, right?

Yep.

But I'm not an over supplementer. Right. So I was just taking specific supplements for the imbalances and really clean, pure. I did have one thyroid cream that I was going to use that has T2 in it, but I have a supplement that has it as well because my T3, my T3 isn't converting, my T4 isn't converting to T3. Right.

Okay. So.

When it comes to supplementation, what are some of your regulations and guidelines around how we can get back into them? I was also thinking like a systemic enzyme and doing some things like at a deeper metabolic. It's not like they're not just like make some like mitochondrial support and systemic enzymes, things of that nature. So just trying to get a feel for how that would mesh with the program.

Program.

Or is it that I should be off of them completely for the six weeks or for the 10 weeks or like what are your, what are your thoughts around that?

Yeah, so great question. So when it comes to supplements while you're on the release phase, there's two options that I give people is number one is some people want to just put a pause and take like a supplement break and like just literally like reset on all levels. And you know, because some of them, like you said, are more like specialized supplements for very specific reasons. Right. And you might find that after the release phase, like let's say, you know, you were taking like a digestive enzyme because you were getting bloating. Right. At the end of the program, you might find, you know, I don't really have much bloating, so I don't need the digestive enzyme.

Right, right, right.

So if there are more specialty type supplements like that, then you might reassess them after you finish the release phase because you may not even need them afterwards. Right. So when it comes to supplements, I usually say it's your choice if you want to continue them on release phase or take a pause. I think most people will take a pause, at least for some of them. And then afterwards on maintenance, depending on the person, like there's a few maintenance supplements that I will recommend for some people, like Official, for example, or like a mineral supplement or a vitamin supplement. Right. So it just depends on the individual. And for some people I will recommend supplements based on. Some people in this group have done the legacy program, which is the one that includes some of the testing. So for example, yesterday I met with a couple who, they both did the DNA testing and they had, you know, certain genetic predispositions for poor Methylation for poor detoxification. And so I recommended like a supplement pack for them to support them with those genetic predispositions. So depending on the person and if they've done some further testing, then we can get a little more fine tuned with the supplements. But in general, I feel like for most people a good, like baseline mineral, fish oil and multivitamin is, is a good baseline.

So I pulled off of like any vitamin D or vitamin or fish oil and those kinds of things I pushed, pushed off because most of the ones that I have are in oil based.

Yeah.

So I pulled off of any of that. But I've done some really, some extensive testing. You know, that's what I do. So I do it on everybody else. So I did it on myself. Right. I do it on myself regularly.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

So.

So, so I'm, I'm just really trying to pinpoint and target those few things that I know that I know have been out of balance for years. Not necessarily the GI track per se, but my adrenals need some support, my thyroid. And I do know the, I do know that the spray, the homeopathic spray is, is really to balance a lot of that out. I was just wondering if. I know that the supplements don't have their. No carbs, they're pure, they're clean, they're, you know, if, if there was something that was saying no, we shouldn't, shouldn't be off of them because, you know, like I know the fat solubles I don't take. Right. The vitamin a, the vitamin Ds, all that kind of stuff. But I've tested, so I know that there are deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals. I know that there are certain.

Yes.

And places like that. So I only take the targeted one. I knew that were significantly low and then I couldn't increase them enough. Be a diet, right?

Yes.

So that's the only way that I supplement. So as long as there's no regulations saying that. No, I'll, I'll make the decision and then if I see some plateauing because of it, then I'll stop and kind of start again.

Yeah, yeah. I would say the main ones like you had said to hold off on the release phase is more of the oil based ones like the fish oil, like the vitamin D, if it's an oil. And then when you're on maintenance, you can go back to those.

Okay, sounds good. Thank you so much.

No worries. Okay, what other questions. I know Mira was asking, can you take magnesium, glycine and citrate yes. You can take them both at the same time because they do serve different purposes. So the glycinate is more so to help with sleep or, you know, some people who suffer from, like, cramps or restless leg, those type of things. The magnesium glycinate can really help with that. And then the citrate is going to be more so to help with bowel movement regularity. So they're both different purposes, the citrate. You know, I know some people do get constipated on the release phase, and so we recommend that. But then if the bowel movements start returning to normal, you could, you know, stop that. But the glycinate is something that's good to take, in my opinion. It's like a really good supplement to take because, you know, I think it's like 80% of people are actually deficient in magnesium, and magnesium is also really good for blood pressure as well. So that one there, I usually would recommend taking it longer term. What other questions do you all have? I know Singita had some questions. I know you had messaged me. I haven't gotten around to replying to you just yet. I was going to do that after, but we can.

Observation something that I observed last week. I. I was starting the. Or doing the first. That first week, the release phase, feeling like I had to eat as little food as possible because that's how I just had it. Like, I just had it in my mind that, oh, I have to eat less. So I wasn't. So I was just eating the bare minimum, right? I was four. Four and the four. Right. And then when I kind of started feeling like I'm not losing as much as I. I mean, I'm a little over the edge. So just. Just know that I'm. I'm like, oh, I'm not losing a.

Pound and a half a day.

There's a problem, right?

I've heard the meditation, right? Love yourself. Love yourself.

I know. I know me, I'm. I'm okay with it. Right? But, you know, but it helps me to kind of really think and to. To understand and to listen to my body and ask it what it needs. And. And then I. And I say, wait a minute. I have all these free foods that I'm.

I'm just eating.

I'm just, like, sticking to the 4, 4 and 4.

Yeah.

So when I started to. And I gave myself permission the first week, that first five days or so, to only focus on the food because my work was just over the edge, and I already worked too much And I've tried to pull back on that and do a lot of that. But so then my second week, I said, okay, every week I'm going to take on another part of the program and just try and be very efficient and add that on. So second week was exercise or movement.

Yep.

And then the next week will be either sleep or meditation or something like that. So I'm just going to. Because I don't want to put too much pressure on myself because if I try to do it all, it's just going to go haywire.

Yep.

Yeah.

So as I started to move a little bit, I felt like, I think I'm a little bit hungrier.

Yes.

And I was like, well, let me put in some of the free food veggies I was just afraid to eat because I was like, the more I eat them, I'm gonna gain weight. Right. It was just.

And so on this program, it's like the opposite can actually be true. If you don't eat enough, then you'll actually sometimes stall in weight.

There it is.

There is like, for example, here's like a picture of, like, this is. This bowl here is all free vegetables.

Yes.

Right. So really make sure you're including enough of the free vegetables. They're high in fiber. They are obviously lower calorie, but they're high in fiber, which is important. Right. Report important for regularity of bowel movement. So really make sure that you're. It's not meant to be like a starvation diet. Yes. It is naturally a little lower in calories because you're not eating the fats. But we want you to focus more on the nutrient density rather than like, oh, my God, like, this looks like so much food. And for most people, I bet you you're probably eating more than you were in terms of volume and quantity than before you started this program. Right. So make sure that you are eating plenty of those free vegetables. Like, here's picture. Oh, no, wait. I want to show you just a couple more, just so you guys know, like, how much you can eat. And these pictures I'm showing you from this person, she lost, like, almost 30 pounds. This. This is free. The spinach and the mushrooms, the bell peppers and cucumber. So, like, half her plate is free vegetables, and then this is spaghetti squash. Looks like some chicken and pear. So, you know, literally half of her plate was free vegetables.

So I noticed that for. Because for two, you know, I got all in my head. So for two days, I'd only lost, like a half a pound, and I was Like, Right. And. And so then I said, I'm not eating enough. My body must feel like it's starving.

Exactly. So it's hanging.

So I added the free. And as soon as I added the free foods, I started dropping again a pound or exactly 0.2 pounds every day. So I just wanted to let you know, just to get at, as an observation, because it kind of. It's kind of helping me shift my. My mindset a little bit more.

Exactly. Yep. So I know, I know Sangeeta had a few questions and we can talk about it. It's more so because she's finishing up the release phase and going into maintenance. So I know some of you are kind of in that position, so we can talk a little bit about that. So basically, day. When you are all on day 42, that's the last day of the release phase with the spray. So day 42 would, you know, be the release phase with the spray. And then day 40. So for Sangeeta, for you specifically, day 42, according to my records, for you is tomorrow. And then day 43, 44, 45, you're going to continue the release phase plan. But no spray.

No spray.

Yeah.

Okay, so no spray moving forward after Saturday.

Yeah, exactly. Day 42, you're done. Okay. And then day 46 is when you're gonna introduce fats back in the healthy fats, of course. Okay, so let's say, you know, for most people, and I'll send you like a PDF document that kind of goes through this so that you have it in writing. But let's say you want to introduce olive oil in your salad, right? So you can put a tablespoon of olive oil in your salad at lunch. Most people will tolerate the healthy fats just fine. The only time I find that they get into trouble with fats is if they add too much. Like, because you're not used. You haven't been used to eating them for, you know, six weeks. Then if you add too much, some people will get loose bowel movements, which is normal. Right. So about tablespoon of, let's say the olive oil example, you feel fine. Okay, fine. You can intro. You can then do another tablespoon with your dinner. Okay. And then the next day you'll do another fat. So try to do one new food each day as best as you can. Okay. Because if you introduce too many things all at once, we won't know what's causing what. Right. So the next day you might do, you know, almonds? So let's say you decide to Put some almonds in your salad or eat them on the side. Same thing. You're going to look out for any reaction. So a reaction can be anything. It can be upset stomach, it could be a skin reaction, it could be a headache, it could be that you felt more tired, it could be bloating, like whatever it is. Okay, so try to look out for that. Now that could have just been like a one off thing, right. So sometimes we can't just say, okay, you know, I ate the almonds and I had like just crazy bloating. You would try it again like maybe a week later and see if the same thing happens. If the same thing happens, then you might be having a reaction to almonds. Right. So you're trying to introduce as many healthy fats as you can that first week and then the week after that you can layer in like some starches. So let's say you're, you're like, you know what, I really want to have like a little bit of sweet potato. So you'll, you know, you'll continue with the healthy fats, right? Because we want you to have healthy fats with each meal. But you'll, you might say, you know what, I'm going to have some sweet potato. So you'll add some sweet potato and same thing. You're going to see if you feel any different. I know you are asking about gluten, dairy, sugar, alcohol. No, I think those were off.

I thought so.

Those four foods are going to be the most inflammatory and within that four weeks of maintenance, like you can try it. Right. So let's say you are like, you know what, I want to just try like a piece of cheese. Try it and see what happens to you.

Oh, okay.

Okay. Let's say you're, you're at a party and there's cake. Try it and see what happens. Right. For most people a couple things will happen is number one, they find those kind of foods way too sweet. Right. Number two is they might just have like couple bites rather than having like the whole slice of cake. And for some people, they do find that those type of foods will cause some sort of reaction. Not for everyone and not for all of those foods. But for some of them you may. Now if you have an OURA ring, that is an added benefit because you can look at your couple of your OURA ring metrics to see if certain food is causing any additional stress. So for example, let's say you did have a glass of wine. You can see how that impacts your sleep metrics. So particularly Deep sleep, REM sleep will usually be decreased after alcohol consumption. Resting heart rate will go up and HRV will go down. Okay, so that is kind of like an indication that that food or beverage or whatever it might be may have been a stressor to your body. Okay, so those are a few things that you can look out for on your oura ring or you can even look at like, you know, the number on the scale. It's not for you to be obsessive about the scale. It's more so for you to learn about how certain things are impacting you. Right. So if you had like let's say a little bit of rice and the next day your weight went up like two or three pounds. It's not that you ate two or three pounds of rice, it's more so perhaps the inflammation that is causing in your body.

Huh. Okay.

So I guess what's not clear is the amount and volume. Like I think, do I look at that laminated sheet that you've given us and then look at like still the portions and everything accordingly? Like, and do I still do only two meals a day?

So great question. So in terms of the number of meals per day, so it's going to be different for everyone. So if you're a cycling female, usually, you know, you can add perhaps a third meal on the second half of your cycle, which is after you ovulate. Okay. So that is called the luteal phase. The luteal phase is sometimes some people will recommend not to fast on during your luteal phase. So you can play around with a third meal. You can still maintain some level of fasting. So even if you don't eat for 13 hours, which is very possible. Right. Let's say you stop eating at 7, you don't eat your next meal till 8. That's 13 hours, right. 8:00am that is not 8:00pm so you can still maintain 13 hours. Right. And fit in the three meals. And if you are feeling hungry, I rather you eat a third meal than like snack in between meals.

Okay.

Okay. So snacking is, I find for most people what gets them in trouble. Right. So really trying to stick to two or three wholesome meals. For some people, they really like the fasting. So they continue it some seven days a week. For some people, they'll do the fasting maybe, you know, two or three days a week. Like more extended I'm talking about. Right. So it just depends on the person. So this is the, your opportunity to kind of play around with. Okay, you know what I'm Gonna try having breakfast and see how I do. Right. So, yeah, play around with things. Right. This is when you kind of. In terms of. So the other question you had was the portion. So with portions, you want to keep things like the maintenance phase is more similar to the release phase than you think. In general, I will say if, you know, some people like the weighing. I feel like the weighing for some people really makes them feel more comfortable, you know, really holds them accountable to eating enough of the fruits and vegetables. Because otherwise we can fill that, like 4 ounces of fruit, 4 ounces of vegetables with other stuff. Right. So you can continue to weigh if you find it helpful. If not, then I call it the plate formula. So the plate formula is where you do half your plate and veggies and then a quarter is protein. A quarter could be a healthy starch if you tolerate it well. So like sweet potato or, you know, purple potato, or maybe you do a little bit of quinoa, little bit of fruit, and then one to two servings of fat.

Okay.

Okay.

Yeah.

So always make sure you're trying to stick to that. Right. And if you are the protein.

Yeah. Like six to eight ounce or something. It said. I read.

Yes. So if you are more active, then you can increase your protein to about 6 ounces.

Okay, perfect. Like any type. Like before it was just the lentils, but now I could do the tofu.

Yeah. Okay. Yep, yep. You could do 6 ounces of tofu. Yep.

Okay. I think my fear, and you said it right up front, is the weight gain. Yeah. Because that happened to me in the past and I'm just not. Not with this program, but something else. And I'm just, I'm not sure how to stick to.

Yeah. If you stick to what I just mentioned, like whether it's the plate formula or whatever it is, like, you know, and maybe you have one meal that's like not perfect. Like, for most people, their weight is going to stay the same plus or minus two to three pounds. And the maintenance is really like long term. Right. You're introducing foods back in to see how they affect you, but then once you're done, introducing all the foods back. And that's how you want to eat long term. Right.

Because that'll be my point.

Right. Like you're Exactly.

Yeah, Yep.

And then after four weeks, for some people, if they need to do another round, you can do another round. It doesn't have to be the full six weeks. So, like, if you needed to lose an extra pound, eight or five pounds or whatever it is, Then you would just continue the release phase up until the point where you meet your goal.

Okay, Yeah, I might need to, because I don't. I don't want this to be my set point right now.

Can you. Can you repeat that one more time?

So after four weeks of maintenance, you can do another round.

Okay. Another six weeks. Or do you say.

So if you. Let's say, you know, let's say someone got down to 150 pounds after their first round and their goal weight is 140 pounds, right. Then they would do the second round up until they get to their goal weight. So that for some people might be six weeks, it might be four weeks. So up until they get to their set or goal weight, they would stop the release phase.

But you can do as many rounds of the 10 weeks as possible to get you to your.

So typically, when it comes to the rounds. So second round, I usually, for most people will say, since you have the moment going, if you feel mentally ready after the four weeks, just go into a second round so you don't have.

To do the loading phase.

Yeah, you do the loading phase. Oh, you do.

Oh, okay.

You do the loading phase, and then you go into the second round. If you want to do a third round, I will usually say to wait a little bit longer. Like, you know, wait like, at least six weeks minimum to do the third round instead of the fourth weeks.

Okay.

And then my only last thing was the wedding stuff. Maybe you can send me a message on that.

I don't.

I don't bring it up. It was around. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Manage that.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Yeah, you're welcome. Nikki said, I found when I tried cake and marshmallows, my acid reflux headaches and night sweatshirts came back. Lessons learned.

Yeah.

Nikki, do you want to unmute and share a little bit about your experience on the maintenance and how it was for you in terms of introducing foods back?

Yeah, it was. I was on a modified program because I didn't have quite as much weight to lose. I wanted to reset everything. So that was more my main goals, my wellness journey. But, yeah, as I was in reintroducing things, I found that I was having a reaction to peanuts, and I had no idea. Yeah, the sugars are the big one. It just triggered because I was so excited to be off my reflux meds, and I realized, you know, yeah, I had eliminated chocolate and the tomato products and all the typical GERD triggers, but bringing back sweets, I wouldn't know. But then you're also in the same Boat that. Okay. Was, you know, there was gluten in that cake and I am gluten intolerant. Was it reaction to the gluten or was it the reaction to the sugar? So now I gotta go back and you know, unpeel this onion and figure.

Out what it was.

But I know I have problems to all of it, but.

Yeah, yeah.

But the beautiful thing to this being, being I'm at the tail end of the maintenance. I'm pretty much done with the maintenance now and it's really maintenance for life because it was a life change for me. I. I've adapted to this lifestyle. I love the fast, I love the smaller meals and more portioned and, and actually including fruit. I would always leave my fruit for my kids to make sure they were eating fruit and I would never eat it myself. What was wr.

Yep.

Yeah. And I think people like have demonized fruit, right. And then it's like, oh, I'm allowed fruit and it tastes good and it satisfies that sweet craving. Right?

Yeah. And I wasn't a big, huge veggie lover. I'd have it with dinner every night and have little bits with, you know, sandwiches or whatever.

But.

Well, not sandwiches. I didn't do sandwiches. But like whatever I was eating. But now I really like vegetables. So it really is just reset my taste buds too. So I crave the good stuff. And now my body tells me when I'm having something naughty and it's just not worth it because having sour mouth for two weeks now, I'm like, okay, that really wasn't worth it.

Exactly. Yeah.

Because the other symptoms went away immediately when I became good girl again. So making good choices. The night sweats went away. I'm sleeping well.

Yeah.

Headaches are gone. So yeah, it's very, very maintainable.

Yeah. Yeah. And I think it's, you know, you're. It's not like maybe you'll never have pizza again or you'll never have, you know, ice cream again, but how can we make perhaps healthier choices, Right? So if you do go out or order a pizza, maybe you do a gluten free, like cauliflower crust. Maybe you do less cheese, add a lot more veggies to it. Right. So there's ways you can. And maybe you have two slices instead of four slices. Right. And have like a half your plate with. With, you know, a salad. Right. Or vegetables. Right. So there's lots of ways to still enjoy certain things without feeling deprived. And then the next day you just get back on track. Right. So you Might see, like, some fluctuations or maybe you had, like, you know, a reaction or whatever you might want to call it. But then the next day, like, instead of like, you know, the thing we want to move you guys away from is that all or none mentality, right, Where. Oh, you know, it's either all, like, crappy or all good. And no, it can be, you know, a mixture. And like I said, if you stick to healthier choices, which you're gonna crave because that's gonna make your body feel better. Right. You're gonna want to have that trade off of feeling good versus feeling crappy after eating something crappy, then you're going to do just fine.

Yeah.

Progress over perfection.

Exactly. Yeah. Okay, what other questions do you all have? No, we're at the top of the hour, but anything else, anyone want to share? Or anything else coming up for anyone.

Are some of the meetings sometimes on Thursdays? Is it like. Or is it always Friday?

No, it was just last week because I had a prior commitment and myself and Annalisa had a prior commitment, so we both couldn't do the Q A on Friday, so we just moved it. But that'll happen very rarely. It's usually on Fridays. Yeah.

All right, thanks.

Yeah. And if you haven't listened to last week's, then if you have a Oura ring, I would invite you to listen to last week's Q A because I did, like a deep dive on the Oura ring. So, yeah, you can listen to all the. We sent the emails out in terms of the replay, so just the. The replay link is the same because it's a YouTube playlist, so you'll be able to access all the replays. Okay. Well, it was wonderful having you all. Thank you. Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your. I know it's long weekend here in Canada and the U.S. so enjoy your long weekend. Get outside, get some sunshine, because pretty soon, in a few weeks, depending on where you live, it's probably going to get cooler. So bank that vitamin D. I'm going to go outside and take off my long sleeve and get a little bit of vitamin D. So thank you so much.

Have a great long weekend, everyone.

Thank you. Have a great long weekend. Bye.