Talking about adrenal fatigue, what it is, and some of the best foods to help with adrenal fatigue.

Hi friends! How’s the day going so far? I hope you’re having a great one! Today, I wanted to chat a bit about adrenal fatigue. It’s a huge topic and something that’s near to my heart because I suffered from chronic stress for many years. I couldn’t figure out why my hair was falling out, I was exhausted all of the time, and my hormones were out of whack. A huge contributing factor: stress. Stress affects so many processes and systems in the body and can take its toll.

Please keep in mind that this post is not medical advice and not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease or illness. I’m just sharing some of my own experience, some things I’ve learned, and things that may help in general for a healthy lifestyle. 😉 If you have questions, as always, talk to your doctor. I am not a doctor (obviously).

What is adrenal fatigue?

There’s some debate about adrenal fatigue (more below), but it’s something that affects a lot of women, which can lead to hormone imbalances and poor health. Adrenal fatigue can occur when you are under chronic fatigue for a sustained amount of time.

Your adrenal glands sit on top of your kidneys (like a lil hat), and produce a variety of hormones, including cortisol. Cortisol is our “get up and go” hormone, which helps us to wake up in the morning, respond to stressors, and take action. Cortisol is often blamed for a lot of things, but it can actually be a good thing when it’s secreted in the appropriate times.

When you’re under chronic stress, it can deplete the adrenal glands’ ability to produce cortisol. This is why high cortisol eventually becomes low cortisol; the adrenals can no longer keep up with the demand and burn out. It can also cause them to produce cortisol in the inappropriate times, like late at night (which can lead to feeling “tired and wired” before bed) or in the middle of the night (when you wake up in a panic or stressed and can’t go back to sleep).

It can lead to symptoms that include:

– Poor mood

– Fatigue

– Brain fog

– Sugar or salt cravings

– Poor healing and recovery from illness and workouts

– Sleep disturbances

– Inability to fall asleep

and so much more.

You may hear people say that adrenal fatigue isn’t real because it isn’t thoroughly backed by science. But, there’s a huge problem with people feeling constantly stressed and exhausted. There’s also a chance that the things you’re experiencing could be due to HPA axis dysfunction: when the signals between your brain, pituitary gland, and adrenals get mixed up due to chronic stress.

Even if the adrenals are functioning properly and you’re under a huge amount of stress that’s affecting your daily life, it’s worth it making some lifestyle changes that can help your body deal with the chronic stress. 

Your body under stress:

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Saucy BBQ pork tucked into melted cheese in a buttery crisp tortilla? That’s something I can’t possibly resist. This pulled pork quesadilla is a quick and easy way to get a hearty meal on the table, even on the busiest of weeknights.

Pulled pork is one of my favorite food leftovers to have in the house and these quesadillas make the most of it.

BBQ Pork Quesadilla

The beauty of quesadillas is that you can fill them with almost any cheese, meat, or vegetable combination and they taste delicious. Chicken and caramelized onions? Check. Cheesy pepperoni pizza? Definitely. Meat lover’s steak and cheese? Oh yeah. Fully loaded with all the vegetables from the fridge? Every chance I get.

There isn’t a quesadilla you can make that my crew won’t devour. (Or, if there is, I haven’t found it yet.) At our house, bbq pork, green chile shredded pork, and carnitas are made on a regular basis and plenty of that pork gets tucked into the freezer for quick meals later.

For something a little bit different, this Honey Lime Pork Roast is a little bit spicy and a little bit sweet, with just a hint of citrus.

Slow Cooker Mexican Pork is some of the best pulled pork you can make at home and it requires about 5 minutes of prep time before you turn on the crockpot and walk away.

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F45 is a high-intensity, 45-minute workout that challenges every muscle in your body. Learn more about the program, and tips for beginners and first-timers here.

Hi hi! Happy Monday! How was the weekend? I hope you had a wonderful one. Ours was packed with fun events: rehearsal dinner, Trevor and Danielle’s wedding, Liv danced in a parade, family brunch, women’s basketball game… it was so much fun, but a total whirlwind. I’d love to hear what you were up to!

Since I’m off to cardio day at F45 – let’s be real, I work much harder there for cardio than I do on my own – I thought I’d share some tips for beginners or for friends who are considering trying it out for the first time.

F45 For Beginners: What To Expect At A Class

What is F45?

F45 stands for Functional Training 45 – it’s a team training environment with a functional workout that only takes 45 minutes. Their little tagline/motto is: team training, life changing.

One of my favorite parts about this workout is that they don’t waste any time. They go through the demos, start the workout, and you GO. I LOVE that it’s not an entire hour – except for the weekend classes – which makes it more reasonable for my schedule. I typically go to F45 once or twice a week, usually on a pure cardio day and pure strength day.

You can check out my post comparing F45 to Orangetheory here!

How are the workouts structured?

One of my favorite things about F45 is that the workouts alternate each day, so you can go MORE days without risking overworking certain muscle groups and overtraining. The intensities also vary, as each day has a specific emphasis. (Unlike Orangetheory, which I think is best around 2x a week depending on your goals. I think it’s too much to do every day and can be counterproductive.)

A week at F45 *right now* looks something like this:

Sunday: Strength hybrid – 60 minutes

Monday: Cardio (High-intensity interval training)

Tuesday: Resistance training – full-body

Wednesday: Cardio (HIIT)

Thursday: Pure strength (upper or lower body)

Friday: Hybrid workout (total body cardio and strength)

Saturday: Total body cardio and strength – 60 minutes

How do you know what to do?

It’s a screen-guided workout, so once the trainers go over the demo, you follow the exercises for each station on screens throughout the studio. They also have a heart rate monitor option on the screens, but I find that a majority of people at our studio don’t use their heart rate monitor but rely on their own fitness trackers instead.

What to expect?

Classes are different every day, but you can expect to sweat in the 45 minutes you’re there. I feel like it’s a balanced and challenging workout for your entire body using functional strength and cardio exercises. They use ALL the equipment, too: ski erg, assault bikes, rowers, kettlebells, TRX, Y bells, dumbbells, sandbags, Revo bars, BOSU trainers, slam balls, and medicine balls.

Here’s what you can do if you’re a beginner or if you’re taking class for th

Roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts are combined with spicy sausage and plenty of cheese to create an irresistible dinner.

Quite a few years ago, I stumbled across a dish that combined Brussels sprouts with pasta and potatoes. Several days later, I couldn’t get that combination out of my head.

Sausage and Brussel Sprouts

As I started playing with the idea of using Brussels sprouts in a main dish, I wanted something a little heartier than the bacon that I typically pair with Brussels sprouts.

Sausage is one of those magic recipe ingredients. It almost doesn’t matter what you add to it, sausage has the ability to flavor all the other ingredients brilliantly.

I paired some spicy sausage with the Brussels and I LOVED the combination of flavors in this meal. One of my boys pointed out that the very best bites were the ones with a potato chunk, a sprout, sausage, and cheese together; I couldn’t agree more.

The first time I made this, I tasted it before taking a picture and then I couldn’t stop sneaking bites as I was attempting to photograph it. I lasted for about 30 seconds worth of clicks and then we dove into this meal.

In the years since then, I’ve attempted to reshoot this recipe multiple times in order to update the photos, and without fail, I decide not to bother with photos as soon as it’s out of the oven. This is one of my all-time favorite recipes on this website.

A couple of weeks ago, I finally practiced enough restraint to shoot new photos before diving into this and I’m still as much in love with this recipe as

We’ve never been more connected, but the ever-present onslaught of information can be difficult to deal with – here’s how to cope

Sometimes, it can feel like our entire day is made up of social media notifications, breaking news alerts, and streams of work and personal messages. If it’s not updates on conflicts around the world, it’s news of political unrest or troubling social issues – and that’s before we even get to the hurried texts and emails from our jobs, family, and friends. Especially in the aftermath of the draining Covid-19 pandemic, such an onslaught of information can leave our brains feeling scattered, making it a struggle to know where to turn our attention.

If you often find yourself feeling this way, you’re not alone. A 2020 Pew Research Center survey found that 66% of adults felt worn out by the amount of news they were consuming. And it’s having a real impact on our mental wellbeing. Psychologist Ella McCrystal says: “This information is coming in faster than we can fully digest and understand it. This overload can make us vulnerable to lowered mood, information fatigue, and increasing symptoms of depression and anxiety.

“And the impact of attention fragmentation is that we become less productive, less creative, and less able to make good decisions.”

Disconnecting from technology entirely isn’t all that practical – so how do we combat the issue of information overload, while grappling with the need to stay up to date?

Turn off notifications and alerts

One easy change you can make to set boundaries with the outside world is to turn off all of your notifications, be it email, WhatsApp, or Instagram. “We need to give up the fictitious narrative that we need to be on top of everything,” Ella explains. The reality is that very few things need our attention so urgently – so denying these outside influences’ constant access to you is a helpful way to protect your wellbeing. If the thought of turning off all notifications makes you feel anxious though, schedule in five minutes every hour or two to check your necessary platforms.

Schedule in chunks of time to disconnect

“Giving our brains downtime to process new information input is a critical element of learning and thinking,” Ella explains. In order to do this, it’s helpful to disconnect at regular intervals during your day. Not only will this help you to process what you’ve read and seen, it’ll also help you to calm any feelings of anxiety it may have sparked.

Try meditation, or simply sitting quietly, looking out of a window for five to 10 minutes at points during your day. Therapist and author Marisa Peer says: “While these ‘mindless moments’ might feel like a time waster, it actually gives your mind the time to reboot.” If this doesn’t work for you, you could try getting outside for a 10-minute walk without any digital devices, or practising some relaxing yoga poses.

Do a brain dump

One of the main problems with information overload is that it can leave us unable to prioritise – how can we plan out our family’s weekly schedule when our mind is full of the worldȁ