When was the last time you were hungry?

That rumbling feeling in your stomach followed by a slight discomfort if you don't eat straight away. Those are the signals that we should be feeling before we eat.

However in modern times we eat to a schedule. We have forgotten to eat based on when we are hungry or need food. We like to call it intuitive eating and I explored this way back in episode 91.

Are we becoming resistant to our fullness indicators.?

I've had several conversations of late with friends about feeling full, or their inability to feel full. They explain it like not having an off switch and that they can just keep on eating. And then I did some training and reading around leptin resistance.

Leptin is the hormone that signals to your brain that you feel full. We have many hormones in our bodies and they all act as messengers, leptin is created in our fat cells and its supposed to tell your brain that you either have enough fat cells you don't need to eat and you can burn calories at your normal rate. It's part of our innate survival hormones and is supposed to stop you starving or overeating - neither of which would have been helpful in early evolution.

The brain responds to leptin by either encouraging you to eat more or less dependent on how much body fat you have stored.

Larger amounts of stored fat leads to higher levels of leptin.

As leptin is produced in our fat cells the more body fat you have the more leptin you produce.

In modern society we have been ignoring our signals and eating foods when we are not hungry, not only that but the food industry has created foods that seem to allow us to override those signals by having that perfect balance of sweet/salty/fatty foods. Again this is part of our survival mechanisms. But food has evolved quicker than man.

What is leptin resistance?

If our bodies natural homeostasis (balance) is working leptin will naturally control our body weight. However I refer back to my first question, when was the last time you felt hungry?

We are simply not listening to our bodies, and as the stored fat increases so does leptin. Just like insulin resistance leading to Type2 Diabetes it is now believed that leptin resistance could be driving higher body weights and some peoples inability to lose weight.

For the full episode notes please go to: hillstart.me.uk/162

To listen to the full episode head on over to your chosen podcast provider or follow this link here for itunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/are-you-really-going-to-eat-that/id1480678239

After her daughter suffered a back injury, a colleague recommended reflexology and Ruth was amazed by the speed of her improvement in symptoms. After just a couple of sessions her pain had gone.

And it didn't return.

Ruth tells us that she had been looking for something new to learn, but each time she had enrolled on a course it had been cancelled. Her daughter journey piqued her interest, and this time when she enrolled on a level 5 reflexology course with Alison Walker it ran. After a studying reflexology Ruth realised that this had been what she was looking for and she wanted to make it her career. Personal events made her re-evaluate her work life balance and she took the plunge and became a full time reflexologist.

Now Ruth not only practises reflexology, she now trains other practitioners in a level 5 qualification. This seems a fitting and natural complement to her previous career, meaning she gets to practise both her passions.

Ruth's website: https://www.inspiresreflexologycollege.co.uk/

Ruth's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthhodgkissclinicalreflexology

My facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/hillstartnutrition/

My Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/fabfemalenutrition

Fabulous & Female Membership:

http://www.fabfemale.co.uk/

For the full episode notes please go to: hillstart.me.uk/161

To listen to the full episode head on over to your chosen podcast provider or follow this link here for itunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/are-you-really-going-to-eat-that/id1480678239

Take back control.

You might not be sure if you are actually in perimenopause yet, but that doesn't mean you should just wait until you are to take action. The better your health going into this period of change the better equipped your body is to deal with the transition.

Mental and physical impact of perimenopause

It's not just about night sweats, the early signs of perimenopause can be much more subtle. For me it was anxiety and poor quality sleep, which I just attributed to a stressful job. Mood swings and anxiety are common, a bit like having constant PMT? And because it's a busy time of life for most women they just chalk it up to stress and power through.

Once I took time to prioritise my health and in particular my sleep my symptoms improved. I also changed my exercise regime, concentrating on strength and yoga rather than high impact work that was just adding to the load on my central nervous system.

Natural solutions and tips to help deal with perimenopause

There a many ways that we can help our transition through perimenopause. I like to think about it as supporting our mid life and these are tips that will help you improve your health and wellbeing whatever your age or sex.

Here are my top 5 tips:

• Prioritise sleep - listen to episode 134 for more tips on foods to improve mood and sleep.
• Reduce sugar and alcohol - this is the single most effective thing I did for my symptoms.
• Move regularly - and consider what type of exercise you are doing, try varying it.
• Eat whole and colourful foods - whole grains, nuts and seeds, colourful vegetables, quality protein. these should form the basis of your meals.
• Use herbs and aromatherapy wisely - herbal teas to help calm you, Shatavari is my favourite female herb to help with many symtpoms, sage can help with hot flushes. Citrus oils boost mood and concentration whilst lavender helps with sleep.

You don't have to do them all together, be kind to yourself and just ask the question - what can I do that is a positive change right now.

For the full episode notes please go to: hillstart.me.uk/160

To listen to the full episode head on over to your chosen podcast provider or follow this link here for itunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/are-you-really-going-to-eat-that/id1480678239

Prior to puberty girls and boys are fairly similar, if they are the same height and build they will have similar strength. As puberty hits both sexes get an increase in sex hormones - boys get more testosterone and girls get a whole heap of hormones, oestrogen being the one that we talk most about but also progesterone, folicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone play a delicate and intricate balance.

Eventually, the hormones become cyclical and a womans fertile period begins. Each cycle of approx. 28 days sees varying degrees of these hormones in a monthly dance.

Remember the anger, the despair the fear during puberty? The difficulty finding your place in your class, your home and then at work. It was bewildering and sometimes unpredictable. Thats just what is happening now. Our hormones are no longer in sync, we can't say when or how we will feel. And it's scary. But it is temporary.

For the full episode notes please go to: hillstart.me.uk/159

To listen to the full episode head on over to your chosen podcast provider or follow this link here for itunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/are-you-really-going-to-eat-that/id1480678239

Do you always plan to start that new healthy regime on a Monday? Or maybe it's after your weekend, or after your holiday, or that big night out with friends? Is that really the reason, or is it just that you feel overwhelmed by the change you perceive you need to make instead of just taking a positive action.

If your health was money would you budget better. Would you be more frugal some days to allow you the days where you spend more? Why not think of your health in that way. Each day you eat better you are investing in your long term healthy pot, and you can start to draw on that investment as you age.

Looking after your own health isn't about being perfect. If you eat better today than you did yesterday that's positive. If you choose something healthier at the restaurant that's positive. All the positive decisions make for improved health overall.

For the full episode notes please go to: hillstart.me.uk/158

To listen to the full episode head on over to your chosen podcast provider or follow this link here for itunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/are-you-really-going-to-eat-that/id1480678239

After having acne as a teenager and taking several courses of antibiotics that did nothing to help, Chris found a herbalist and started taking probiotics and working on his diet. He researched skincare brands and trialed them to see which worked for him, and his lifelong passion was born.

Skincare products can contain additives which are not good for either us or the environment. The main ones being alcohol, sulphates, and sulphites. Alcohol is added to encourage a product to dry, and sulphates to make the product foam, which is a particular issue with haircare products.

If you have dry or older skin Chris talks to us about slugging putting on a hydrating product overnight or covering your existing products with something that locks in the moisture such as vaseline.

Today's episode covers themes including:

- New generation sun creams have mineral and a tiny bit of avobenzone which is a fairly safe compromise but not to be used on the beach

- A good morning routine including a gentle face wash, vitamin C and a moisturising cream with SPF

- How Chris cut out sugars to test his reactions and landed on fasting for his own sustainable gut health balance.

Follow Chris Here:

Site: http://www.chrisgibsonlive.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/chrisgibsonlive

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChrisGibsonFriends

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skin_so_fabulous/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cggibson1

For the full episode notes please go to: hillstart.me.uk/157

To listen to the full episode head on over to your chosen podcast provider or follow this link here for itunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/are-you-really-going-to-eat-that/id1480678239

I'm guessing your initial reaction to the question was no. We think about extreme eating as people who have an unhealthy relationship with food that is affecting their lives, you might think of an anorexic person, who is controlling the amount of food they eat. Or we've all seen the TV shows when they talk about people who live on junk food and won't eat anything green.

However, there is an emerging band of people that are controlling in their dietary habits that you might not consider to be extreme. I see food diaries that look healthy on first investigation, but then you realise that they are eating the same three breakfast, lunches and dinners on repeat. This is known as orthorexia, a growing group of people who are extremely controlling over their food and will only eat foods that they consider to be good for them.

From childhood we are given rules around what we can and can't eat, and when we can eat it. Whilst these are often done with the best of intentions, they can lead to more extreme eating as an adult.

Is there something that you ate as a child and won't try again? Our taste buds develop over time. As children we prefer sweet things but as we age we can enjoy more sour and tart foods. Lots of people have negative connotations with food they were forced to eat as a child.

It might be that you are fearful of eating something incase you have a reaction. Digestive issues are becoming more and more common and many people will exclude huge waves of foods.

What are the food rules that you have?

Full show notes can be read at - https://hillstart.me.uk/154/

Full episode is available on all podcast providers -

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/are-you-really-going-to-eat-that/id1480678239

This week I am joined by Bethan from Hot Tea Mama, we talk about what she learned as a tea buyer and blender, and how that helps her formulate her teas for women.

Unfortunately in the UK we tend to drink the most rubbish form of tea there is, it's the dust that collects in the troughs that is added to bags.

Bethan sourced and bought the finest tea leaves in her previous jobs and wishes we understood how poor quality much of what we drink is. Whilst she also enjoys a good cup of tea with milk she makes sure it's better quality and encourages us all to try fresh leaf tea to help us understand the difference.

http://www.hotteamama.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hotteamama/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HotTeaMama

Bethan has kindly offered listeners 15% off by quoting code FABFEMALE15

Full show notes can be read at - https://hillstart.me.uk/154/

Full episode is available on all podcast providers - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/are-you-really-going-to-eat-that/id1480678239

In this episode I discuss fuelling yourself for optimum performance.

We look at the benefits of maintaining yourself as though you are a well oiled, highly productive machine. we also cover:

- Vitamins, minerals, and how poor fuel sources affect you

- Managing expectations with regards to your limits

- How you can go from feeling like a project car to a Porsche

Full show notes can be read at - https://hillstart.me.uk/154/

Full episode is available on all podcast providers - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/are-you-really-going-to-eat-that/id1480678239

In this episode I discuss all things coffee with the amazing Zain Peer of London Nootropics. We look at the benefits of staying hydrated for the gym, how Zain discovered the daily power of Nootropic blends through ditching the chemical based drinks before workouts, and what adaptogens are! we also cover:

- Water soluble CBD vs CBD oil

- ashwaganda and its benefits in the Zen blend

- Peri, pre, and post menopause bodies and their response to caffeine

Zain was brilliant to talk to and London Nootropics are always innovating with new blends and, in the future, more direct ways to ensure the active ingredients do not get filtered out during the brewing process.

London Nootropics: https://londonnootropics.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/london.nootropics

Full show notes can be read at - https://hillstart.me.uk/153/

Full episode is available on all podcast providers - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/are-you-really-going-to-eat-that/id1480678239