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How You Became A Sugar Craving Monster Overnight

Posted on by Micah Lindsay-Brown

In this short article I’m going to share with you a surprising thing that may be causing you to lose your battle against sugar.

We can all remember a time when we had a crappy sleep or maybe your sleep is always crappy?

Research shows that one poor night of sleep of 4-5 hours will send your junk food cravings into overdrive. You are likely to consume over 550 more calories the next day and you will be 2 to 3 times more likely to skip a workout. What’s more is that 5 days in a row of sleep deprivation can actually lower the amount of calories you burn at rest.

So if you are someone who regularly gets less than 8 hours of unbroken sleep then this is a big deal. 

Say in one year on average you have two poor sleeps each week. That is a total of 104 poor sleeps. This could mean you end up consuming an extra 57,000 calories which is about 104 Big Macs or 2,478 marshmallows, and you will skip 50-70 workouts. I hope that provides some prospective.

So could it be time to start making sleep your best friend rather than an optional extra in your life?

Here are 5 tips to get you started on getting better quality sleep and to win the battle against sugar cravings and growing waistlines more often.

  

  1. Reduce your screen time at night. Two hours before bed is optimal
  2. Reduce exposure to social media, video games and emails at night.
  3. Absolutely reduce caffeine. Aim for no caffeine after 12pm.
  4. Reduce alcohol consumption.
  5. Start being more grateful. Writing down 3 things you are grateful for before bed tunes your mind into focusing on the positives of the day rather than reliving the negative issues that are likely disrupting your sleep.

If you want to take your sleep or health to the next level, we are here to help. Book a health coaching session today.

 

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Simon and Gemma

Micah is a fantastic personal trainer! Gem and I were heading overseas and wanted to get fitter and loose a bit of weight. We quickly found Micah to be excellent – she always challenges us but keeps things fun as well, she listens and works with us both as individuals and as a couple, she is professional and conscientious, she is always looking at new health and fitness ideas and how they might benefit us, she maintains good communication, and is a great friend! Micah takes a holistic approach to fitness - combining gym workouts with helping us improve our diet, sleeping habits, reducing stress, and getting us to focus on being happy.

Gem and I are at quite different fitness and strength levels, we have quite different fitness goals, and we approach the workouts quite differently. I have wanted to focus on general fitness and more cardio based workouts whereas Gem really likes the balance and confidence based workouts. Neither Gem or I are serious athletes but we have both seen great benefits in working with Micah on top of just increased fitness. Gem’s balance and her overall confidence has greatly increased. I am a competitive shooter and my work can be quite stressful – the gym, and working with Micah, has helped me become a better shooter and also helps me better release stress.

Irena Brooks, Live Magazine Editor

I first saw Micah with sore Achilles, which prevented me from running.Micah incorporated strength exercises that focused on balancing out my body. Within three months the Achilles pain had gone and it has never returned. I have been running 5-10kms 2-3 times a week ever since.

She also discovered my blood pressure was incredibly high! We quickly identified liquorice as the main culprit, but caffeine, lack of sleep and sugar were not helping. We Applied various strategies and after years of getting up anywhere between 2am and 4am most days and starting work, I now sleep incredibly well with a much improved life balance.

After a short time training I was able to loose those pesky 3-5 kilos that can make you feel blah. My limbs have far more tone now and visceral fat has decreased 25%!

Micah gave me the confidence to handstand against the wall (I’m 55), balance on my knees on a Swiss Ball while performing arm exercises and perform various routines on a Bosu Ball.

The workouts Micah designs for me feed my inner acrobat and make me think, practice balance and improve coordination.

For someone who thought they already ate a good diet I now don’t have caffeine, bread, white potatoes or rice, and have cut sugar significantly while the vegetable quota has at least doubled.

After all this time, I still love my sessions with Micah and enjoy doing the workouts she sets for me. Every session she checks where I’m at mentally, emotional and physically, and we work on making incremental improvements every time.

Ngapaki Moetara, Performer and Mother

Through online health coaching with Micah I experienced more balance in my eating and could see the patterns I needed to look at. The coaching was very tailored to my health questions and the 'small steps' approach made it easier to manage the changes. The exercise programs were great and I could use what I have at home to complete them. I feel more toned with added strength. This also gave a boost to my energy levels.

Jazmine Schrader, Registered Nurse

Micah's exercise and health coaching has had enormous impact on my well-being and overall lifestyle.
The health coaching side of our training has encouraged me to develop healthy nutrition habits and taught me how listening to my body and choosing the right foods can help me feel my best and aid my training. Micah’s knowledge of digestion and gastrointestinal health is amazing and she always has such great ideas to deal with digestion issues.

Micah has helped me form a positive relationship with exercise and completely turned around my dread of the gym. I have been able to recover from sports injuries and gain back strength ten times better than before! Training with Micah has given me such confidence and really impressed me with the fitness and strength my body has been able to build, as well as awesome weight loss.

I love training with Micah, her positive and bubbly personality is so inspiring and motivating. Overall, our training has hugely benefitted my mental and physical health and I am so grateful for the wellbeing and healthy lifestyle I have been able to build thanks to Micah.

Abilash Menon, Doctor

I’m not what you might call an avid gym goer. Working as a doctor with long hours. The last thing I want after a busy day is to put my body through more stress. But as a health professional I knew the importance of having a healthy lifestyle.

So I needed the motivation and drive to change my life. I knew doing it alone was going to be tough and it would be long before I actually found results. I needed someone to not only motivate me to come to the gym each time but also guide me through the process of changing my life both physically mentally and also emotionally.

Then I found White Wolf Training. Initially I thought it would be just another personal trainer that would put me through an intense workout at the gym just to grind out results. Boy was I wrong. Collectively both Micah and Greg make up a team of immense knowledge and experience.

The dynamic duo not only helped me improve my physical prowess but also guided me through various other aspects of life. They taught me the importance of sleep and how it can affect my stress level. They revamped my diet and improved the nutritional value of all my meals. They were also exceptional helpful in my rehabilitation after a knee injury I suffered. Furthermore, as the kind human beings they are they also help me get through certain difficult moments in my life.

Carol Malpas, New Plymouth District Council

I am inspired by Micah every time I train, her professionalism, dedication, holistic approach and desire to be the best person she can be leaves me feeling blessed to have spent time with her. Micah's strength has been in understanding how the mind and body work and translating what's best into personalised goals to improve my overall wellbeing. For me this has resulted in significant improvements in the quality of my life, through better sleep habits, stronger resilience, change in diet, strength in body and mind and a higher level of fitness. Thank you Micah.

Wendy Hayton, Registered nurse

Training with Micah is one of the best decisions I have ever made and along with having a great GP, the best investment in my health.

I now sleep better, eat cleaner, am leaner, stronger, fitter and my knees are more stable than they have been for years. Because of her I feel empowered to take control of my eating, fitness and health outcomes. It has had positive effects on many aspects of my life

During the 3 years prior to training with Micah I had learnt to SUP/Surf (which I love), gained 10kgs with increasing low self esteem that goes with weight gain, was troubled by old knee injuries and recently turned 60.
I realised that if I wanted to be able to enjoy this new sport I was going to have to improve my fitness and overall health.

Micahs expertise and holistic approach has meant shes be able adapt the program to accommodate my changing requirements, addressing food and sleep issues, accommodating niggles from old injuries, and support me when I lack motivation. I always leave our training sessions feeling really positive.

While I will always be a very novice, fair weather SUP/surfer I'm OK with that because Im still out there doing it :) and am incredibly thankful to Micah for her passion and commitment that is enabling me to achieve my health and fitness goals.