Recipe (Thyroid friendly iodine): Seaweed Sushi Bowl
Serves 2
1 cup cooked rice
1 avocado (thinly sliced)
½ cucumber (diced)
½ red pepper (thinly sliced)
1 green onion (chopped)
2 tablespoons dried seaweed (arame, wakame, or crumbled nori sheets)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons gluten-free tamari sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon sesame oil
½ garlic clove
dash salt and pepper
Split the first seven ingredients into two bowls.
Mix the rest of the ingredients together to make the dressing.
Pour the dressing over the sushi bowls.
Serve & Enjoy!
Tip: This is a great lunch to take on the go. Keep dressing in a separate container so you can give it a shake before adding it onto the sushi bowl.
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AUDIO TRANSCRIPTION
(00:00):
Are you gaining weight, but you haven't changed anything in your diet today's episode is going to be for you cue musical intro.
(00:21):
All right. Welcome back. You guys to the thriving thyroid podcast. So excited to be here. We are literally in countdown days until my kids go back to school. Now I'm having a lot of feelings and a lot of emotions in good ways and in bad ways, <laugh> because I, as you guys know, started my business. And three months later, my kids got pulled out of school cuz of everything that happened in March of 2020. And essentially since then they have been either homeschooled or what we call a micro school. So they're in you know, a class of less than 10 kids and their school days were about four hours <laugh> and they were not close to my house. So I was doing a ton of driving and in the car a lot. And I had basically three hours, four days a week where I didn't have kids.
(01:25):
And so now for them to be going back to school in more of a traditional setting it there's, there's a lot of feelings <laugh> coming up for me. And what this new school year is gonna look like. But ultimately obviously we feel like this is gonna be the best choice for them moving forward. And I'm like, oh my gosh, this is great. And then I'm like, oh my gosh, I don't know what's happening. And then I like, anyways, it's kind of this back and forth of like, oh this is really exciting and fun. And then, oh my gosh, what are we doing? <Laugh> I don't know if anybody can relate to that, but anyways, so that is what's going on over here in our household. But today we are gonna be talking about if you haven't changed anything in your diet and you're gaining weight, so you are positive that you're not eating more food or junkier food, but you're still gaining weight.
(02:20):
How is this possible? You guys, I hear this all the time from the women that we work with. Really? Yes. You're not crazy. And here's why we both know that the whole calories in calories out agreement is oversimplified when it comes to weight, right? Like there are so many more factors. And if you don't remember this, go listen to episode 100 where we talk about four myths related to losing weight. It's not as simple or simple as calories in versus calories out. There's definitely more to the story than just you gotta eat. Right? So a lot of this comes right down to your metabolic rate, as that is affected by a lot of different factors, things like your activity level, your history of dieting, body composition, and even what you eat. So I wanna give you a quick story about one of our clients that we worked with, her name was Rita and she had a very long history of dieting.
(03:26):
And she was probably, I would say our most severe case of a chronic Dieter being that like she was a fitness com competitor. She did a lot of weight lifting, exercise, movement, all of those different things and would cut calories and cut weight to be ready for those fitness competitions. Well, with a history like that, she has drastically show, slowed it down, her metabolic rate, making it extremely difficult for her to eat. And she came into the program with these pre perceived ideas about what she would be doing. She came to us eating 900 calories a day and which is really unhealthy for the level of exercise and movement that what she was doing. And we got her to increase food, you know, <laugh>, it was a, it was a struggle. You guys, it was very much a struggle. And really what I like to see women doing is about 1500 calories.
(04:36):
Not that we count calories, you guys like, I just give that as a reference point about 1500 calories, but it's all good whole foods. Some days are gonna be more than that. Some days are gonna be less than that, just simply because some days you're gonna have more fat, some days you're gonna have more protein. You know, some days you calorie intake is going to be a little bit more because of what you're putting on your plate, but 1500 calories ish of whole foods. And I find that that is a really, really good sweet spot for most women. Especially when we use different methods. When we start looking at your menstrual cycle, looking at other genetic components that play a role in this as well. So I kind of got off on a tangent, but I think I mentioned so when it comes down to weight loss, the big things that play a role in this is your activity level, your history of dieting, you can slow down your body's ability to burn fat.
(05:42):
If you have a long history of dieting, you can come back from that, but it may take a little bit more work. Number three is body composition and number four, it's even what you eat. So let's go beyond the eat less and exercise more advice and dive into some of the less obvious underlying reasons why you may be gaining weight, even though you are still eating the things. So eating the same things. <Laugh> number one is gonna be aging. I, I almost hate to bring this up because I feel like a lot, again, a lot of the women that I work with they're perimenopause, so they're getting ready to go to min through menopause or their postmenopausal and their doctor's like, well, it's just totally normal for you to gain weight. Well, you're in your forties now. Yep. This is just the way that it is.
(06:34):
And yes, some of that does happen when you're in your forties, your, your body physi physiology changes a little bit. So you need to eat more protein and you need to eat more fat to, to keep the, the muscle mass going to keep your body in a good, healthy body composition. So yes, a Asia has to do with it, but we can, I hate to say manipulate, but we can change things. We can manipulate some of this to what you are eating to support that process better. Okay. So that's number one. Number two is hormones. Okay. We'll go more in depth on this. Number three is sleep and number four is stress. So let's go back to the aging process. The funny thing is funny things happen when we get older people, commonly experience, lower energy levels, more digestive discomfort. They're gaining weight as well as though is aches and pains.
(07:42):
But aging is a result in hormonal changes for both men and women. And these can contribute to the loss of lean muscle mass as well as an increased change in the fat storage in our body. And the good thing is is that this is very common. It's not normal, but it's also not your fault. And, and like I stated before, this is something that we can, you can change the way that you're eating change, the way that you're structuring meals, change different pieces and components about yourself and your lifestyle to accommodate for that to continue losing weight, if that is part of your goal. Okay. Number two, hormones, <laugh> you guys, hormones, hormones, hormones, hormones are everything. And the more that I learn about hormones, the more I'm like, yeah, they just, they just control everything about our body. So our thyroid is the master controller of our metabolism and can be a massive contributor to weight gain.
(08:46):
There are several things that can affect it and throw it off. So when your thyroid gets off horse and produces fewer hormones, your metabolism is gonna slow down. And when your metabolism slows down, you gain weight, even though you're eating the same things that you always have been. So pro tip here, you guys talk to your doctors about having your thyroid panel tested if you are gaining weight. And I'm sure you're here for a reason, right? And there's also some thyroid friendly recipes. I have one that I'm gonna share with you guys in the show notes. At the end of today's episode, if you want that, you can go download it. And it will be on the blog as well. Really, if you guys have questions about thyroid, just search, <laugh> all of the podcast episodes, we've talked a lot about thyroid and how those things kinda play a role in all of this, or just stick around and cause that's what we talk about the most.
(09:54):
The next one is sleep. You guys. If I were to tell you to do one thing, to change one area of your life, if you are not getting enough sleep, that would be the place that I would have you start out with. For me, prioritizing my sleep was the number one thing that I did to balance out my hormones feel better, feel energized, you know, and that was really difficult for me at the time. And now having a new baby I'm like, I remember why it was so hard <laugh> to sleep and not because it was hard to go to sleep, but in the evening when the house is quiet and all of the kids are in bed and everybody's asleep, it is like the first time during the day that I'm like, I get to be my own person. I get to watch the TV show that I wanna watch.
(10:49):
And I get to cl fold the laundry if I want to, or I get to do blank if I want to without interruption. And yeah, anyways, we could probably go on and on and about sleep. But there is plenty of research that shows the influence that sleep has on our metabolic rate. If you have a poor night of sleep, it is statistically proven and shown that you will increase the calories the following day to make up for the extra energy. So again, when my clients are like, I don't have energy, I'm like, how much are you eating? Let's start eating more. <Laugh> because we, our body needs energy, right? And, and we get energy from, from what we eat. So good quality, high quality food is going to lend into that good high quality energy versus wanting to grab M and Ms. You know, at your desk for a little quick burst of energy only to have a crash.
(12:02):
So anyways, we all know this, we all know this <laugh>. And as we age, it becomes, it becomes harder and harder for us to get good quality sleep and a general consensus. You guys is seven to nine hours of sleep every night to help avoid weight gain. And it's true. Lack of sleep is going to weight gain. So whoever thought you can sleep your weight off, they were probably right. <Laugh> so here's a pro tip, try to get at least seven hours of sleep at night. And the first place to start is by implementing a calm bedtime routine. Now that is, I'm gonna say general information, right. I think we can all agree. You're like, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I know there's a few of you out there that are like, okay, I try, but my sleep is not good. So here's something that I want you guys to understand.
(12:59):
And for some reason this is coming up more and more in my coaching, it's coming up more and more with strangers. It is like, I, I was a guest on another person's podcast and it's kind of funny. He was like, I was today years old. <Laugh> when I learned this information. So, and I, I hope you guys have been around for at least a little bit of time, because I know some of this stuff we've gone in depth on other podcast episodes, but if you need to draw out a picture, do so. Okay. And really just write words and then draw arrows. That's the way that I draw it out for my clients. But a lot of it starts with stomach acid. So stomach acid breaks down certain nutrients, right? It breaks down iron B vitamins and protein, iron, and B vitamins are linked to energy, right?
(13:59):
If you have low energy, your doctor's gonna test your B vitamins and they're gonna test your iron. Yep. You have, you know, low whatever levels. Here's some iron pills or let's start doing vitamin B 12 shots or take a supplement for it, whatever. Okay. One of the reasons we have low stomach acid is because of mineral and nutrient deficiencies, specifically zinc, sodium, and potassium. When we are under a lot of stress, our sodium and potassium will be depleted, right? That's a sign of adrenal stress, adrenal fatigue, which then becomes, well, what came first? The chicken or the egg? Was it the mineral deficiency or was it the stomach acid or was it both? And sometimes we just don't know <laugh> okay. So there is that component. Now this is a part that plays into sleep. And this is why we need to always look below the surface level.
(15:04):
If you are having trouble asleep, sleep, having trouble sleeping, you can't fall asleep. If you can't stay asleep, there is other things that are playing a role in this, you know, obviously circadian rhythm type things. And there's so much, so please just know that this is a little more general information when it comes to podcast episodes, versus I'm speaking to the masses. If you guys haven't already figured that out, I'm speaking to the masses. <Laugh> and yeah. Okay. Anyways, let's keep going. So when, so stomach acid breaks down protein, specifically a protein called trip Toan. Now a lot of us have heard of, you know, trip Toan being in our Turkey. That's why we're tired after Thanksgiving dinner. Well, triptan turns into serotonin, which is like the feel good endorphin and that serotonin turns into melatonin. So if at any point along this pathway, these things are not converting correctly.
(16:09):
You are going to have mood imbalances and you're gonna be having sleep imbalances okay. For whatever, whatever it is. If this pathway is not working properly and there can be a lot of different reasons, it can be diet related, it can be genetics. It can be bacteria, maybe you're dealing with something like H pylori or something along those lines that is causing or contributing to these imbalances. I mean, that's, that's a very real consideration. And this is why with my clients in the Hanon method, working with us in our VI I P setting, we do the testing that we do, because you can tell me, you know, Hey, I don't sleep well or Hey this, or Hey, that without me testing, I may miss stuff. I mean, I was talking to my brother-in-law last night and he's like, in his work, he's a psychologist, he's a behavioral psychologist.
(17:14):
And he does a lot of diagnosing of learning disabilities, autism, you know, things like that. And he's like, I just see the same patterns over and over and over again that when I see these patterns, I just, I just know, like, he's been doing this a long time. You guys my gosh, like 20 years or more. So I, and I see certain patterns happening in my own business as well, but, and I can draw a lot of conclusions, I guess, as to what is happening. But every once in a while, when we get a test result back, there's something that is almost hidden or that I would've missed because the body is interesting, right? Like when we do mineral testing, you guys, the first things will come up. But as we start to move and shift minerals around other toxicity, and other levels of things will pop up as we shift one thing, so symptoms may be getting better, but something else that was the underlying cause may pop up.
(18:23):
Hopefully that makes sense to you guys. All right. So let's go on to the last one, which is stress <laugh>. I made a Instagram post thriving thyroid the other day where I talked about there, there's this famous quote that says all disease begins in the gut. And I said something to the effect of what if it actually has to do with stress. Now, this stress could be perceived stress. This could be environmental stress. This could be pathogenic, stress, whatever it is. But what if health is really determined on the level of stress that is happening in and on and around the body? So stress seems to be everywhere. So many things that can cause stress in our body, right. I just mentioned a few. And as you know, that that stress hormones are not going to help you sustain good healthy habits or maintain a healthy weight, right?
(19:24):
Like I think we can all agree with that while you can't necessarily change all of your stressors in your life, you can do things to adapt or adjust those stress responses. And like I mentioned, some of this is pathogenic, right? So you may not be able to address those pathogens right away doing a cleanse or a detox because of money or finances, or maybe you just don't know, but you can change the way that your diet is. Right. Maybe add in parasitic detoxing foods, right. Coconut oil and pumpkin, like maybe that's where you start. So anyways the way that I like to think about this is in a three phase process, right? The first phase is getting relief for clients. That is why inside the Hanson method. And in my programs, we start with the clean energy blueprint. We need to get you some relief <laugh> so that you can start having the energy that you need in order to sustain positive lifestyle changes.
(20:42):
Then we go into a corrective state meaning, okay, now that you're feeling a little bit better, we can amp this up. We can take these extra steps, we can move this. And then we move into that maintenance phase, which is at the end of the program for my clients where we just get to maintain it. And unfortunately, unfortunately, <laugh> no really, it's unfortunate. Some of the clients come back to me, you know, six months, a year later, whatever it may be after they've hit that maintenance phase, because they're like, Hey, this and this and this isn't working. And ultimately what that means is they have fallen back into maybe not all of their old lifestyle habits, but some of their lifestyle habits, but it's a much easier fix or change in, in a lot of these things. So consistent efforts. You guys, that's what I tell all of my clients every day.
(21:42):
Just try to do a little bit better every day, identify these stressors. And I think I mentioned this on one of my recent podcasts, if not, I'm telling you now. So I have gone back to journaling and looking at some of my habits and patterns to identify areas of concern or causation of why my hormones are taking so long to regulate after, after baby. And I was able to identify things simply by journaling and looking at things objectively. So if you guys are struggling with that, maybe just get out pen and paper. I actually just do it on my phone, cuz who has time for pen and paper, <laugh> at least to carry it around. You know, in the note section, I would just write things down. One of my favorite apps is it's called lose it. And one of the things that I really like about that if you weren't using the journals with us, it like inside of our program are the way that I have my program set up.
(22:47):
Our V I P Hanen method is where our success coaches go through your journals every week and give you feedback on that. Because we can see things as practitioners that you might miss. But one of the things that I like about the lose it app is when you track consistently, it will look for positive and negative trends for you. It'll say, Hey, on the days that you have collagen, we notice that you eat a hundred calories less than normal, or we notice on the days that you have salads that such and such happens. And sometimes it's really nice to, to have that kind of feedback. And I, I believe that is the paid version of the, I don't remember paid version of the losed app. You guys can check that out. Other than that, you guys, they're in conclusion of all of this, there are a lot of factors that can affect your weight, even if you're eating the same way that you always have.
(23:55):
So age, hormone, stress, and sleep are all interconnected with each other and can contribute to the weight gain, even if you're eating the same way. So calls to action. You guys. So let me share with you guys, a thyroid friendly seaweed, sushi bowl. My kids love sushi. <Laugh> and having like Noni or seaweed pieces or whatever drive seaweed is really high in that iodine which is important for thyroid hormones. And with my, my history of thyroid imbalances and family history I just find that it's important to incorporate into our diet. So this is one of the fun ways that we have found basically you're gonna cook rice and you can fill this with anything that you like. The one that I have in the recipe section for you is rice avocados, cucumber, red, bell pepper, green onion, dried seaweed, Sesame seeds, some rice vinegar, some gluten-free tamari sauce, lemon juice, Sesame, seed, oil clove, and a little bit of salt and pepper.
(25:11):
All you do is put the ingredients that you want into a bowl, and you can make it dressing a pour over the top of the bowl, or however you want. We just kind of break the, the Nony wraps. You can find them at Costco or a lot of, a lot of restaurants have them. We break them up and then we use our hands to eat, and we'll just kind of pinch the food that we want. And then take a bite. If you want to get fancy, you can learn how to roll it up and do all the fun things. We don't go that far <laugh> or even if you're not comfortable eating with your hands, you can break the sushi pieces up and just put it on your fork or your spoon and eat away. If you are looking for more thyroid friendly recipes, I have an ebook that you guys can purchase and download for thyroid friendly recipes. It is in the show notes and I will see you guys on the next,
(26:13):
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