June 22, 2025 • 20 mins
We’re diving into something most people never think about: the surprising connection between what you eat and how you feel—especially your mood, energy, and mental health.
As someone who’s been a personal trainer, fitness competitor, and weight loss coach, I’ve always been fascinated by how food shapes not just our bodies but also our minds and emotions.
Recently, I experienced unexplained depression—even though I was working out, sleeping okay, and life was relatively calm. After some detective work, I discovered the culprit: cheese. Yep, that comfort food I love was secretly tanking my mood.
In this episode, I’ll share:
✅ The surprising ways cheese and dairy can impact your mood—especially if you have IBS, gut sensitivities, or struggle with depression.
✅ How to start listening to your body and recognize if your diet is quietly sabotaging your mental health.
✅ Tips on doing a mini food & mood experiment to see what’s helping (or hurting) you.
✅ Why gut health is directly tied to your brain and emotions—plus what happened when I eliminated cheese for just 7 days.
Whether you’re dealing with low energy, brain fog, or unexplained mood swings, this might be the sign to start paying attention to your plate. Your body is always talking to you. Are you listening?
👉 Ready to reconnect with how food makes you feel?
Try a mini elimination, take notes, and see how much your mood can improve.
Thank you for tuning in! I truly appreciate every one of you, whether you’re here for the first time or have been with me from the start.
-
Subscribe & Catch full episodes of In Shock Podcast on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@inshock.podcast 📺
-
For daily doses of Inspiration Follow me @inshock.podcast on Instagram | TikTok | Facebook
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Hi everyone, and welcome to theshow.
I am so grateful that you'rehere today.
The fact that you keep tuning intells me the stories that I'm
sharing matter and that we'rebuilding something real together
because we don't go throughthese things alone.
(00:22):
We go through them together.
Now, before we jump in, I wannagive a quick backstory.
I have spent years immersed inhealth and wellness.
I've been a personal trainer, afitness competitor, a weight
loss coach, and through it allI've.
Always been fascinated by howfood doesn't just shape our
(00:45):
bodies.
It shapes our minds, our moods,and can even impact our
confidence in how we feel aboutourselves.
So today we're going to talkabout something that's
delicious, comforting.
I bet many of you are a huge fanof, and it could be messing with
(01:09):
your mental health.
This is not about clean eatingwe're talking about a
connection.
The connection between what weeat and how we feel.
Because what if I told you thefood on your plate might be
playing a bigger role in yourmood than you ever realized?
(01:33):
Let's do an exercise.
I want you to think back for asecond to a time when you ate
something and maybe right afterand throughout the remainder of
the day or the evening, younoticed that you were in a
better mood.
You were more energized, moreclearheaded, maybe even more
(01:53):
confident.
Now, think about a time.
When you've eaten something thatwas heavily processed, maybe it
was fried food or a very heavymeal, fast food.
How did you feel after you atethat?
We know that it tastesincredibly amazing in the
(02:13):
moment, and that could affectour mood, right?
Because when I bite into aburger or a slice of pizza, it's
pretty heavenly.
I will admit that.
But if you eat that wayconsistently, I would imagine
you are not gonna feel so great.
In the long run, and if you'venever paused to connect those
(02:36):
dots before, stay with mebecause today we're getting into
the shocking emotional side ofone of the most beloved foods on
the planet.
We're gonna get cheesy, and Iliterally mean we're gonna be
talking about cheese today.
Here's what's shockingdepression isn't rare.
(02:59):
In fact, one in 10 peoplestruggle with it.
Over 21 million peopleexperience a major depressive
episode every single year.
Can you believe that?
That's a ton of people.
And guess what?
Women are affected significantlymore than men.
(03:22):
This isn't just about cheese,it's about what we're putting
into our bodies, how it might beaffecting our minds, and why no
one's really talking about it.
When I really dig deep and gethonest with myself, I can say
I've experienced depression afew times in my life.
(03:43):
I felt it after my third cancerdiagnosis and again during my
divorce.
Those moments make sense, right?
They're real.
They're life altering eventsthat naturally shift the way
that we feel.
They shift our mood.
But what about when everythinglooks fine?
Sure, life can be full withfamily work projects and that
(04:08):
can bring stress.
But what if one day you wake upfeeling incredibly low and you
can't pinpoint why there's nocurve balls, no major crisis,
just this heavy unexplaineddepression.
Well, that happened to me.
(04:29):
The weather's been great.
Nothing major has changed in mylife.
I've always taken on a lotthat's not new.
while that can spike my stress,it's never pushed me into
depression.
But this time it's beendifferent.
I was working out every day.
I was sleeping okay, and still Ifelt like shit.
(04:52):
I was depressed, and I askedmyself over and over, what is
it?
What's going on with you?
Why are you feeling this way?
What are you doing or not doingto feel this way?
I really started to getanalytical with myself to figure
out why was I feeling depressed?
(05:14):
So I asked myself, what'schanged in your diet?
What are you eating that youhaven't been eating?
Some of you know I'd been onsemaglutide a medication very
similar to Ozempic to help lose20 pounds of that awful
menopause weight that I hadgained.
(05:35):
One expected side effect of thisdrug.
Is that I completely lost mycraving for many things that I
loved.
I've always been a pretty cleaneater until I hit menopause,
then everything went out thedoor.
But I lost my craving forsomething that I love, I'm a big
(05:58):
time fan of cheese.
I freaking love cheese, allkinds of cheese, imported
cheese, soft cheese, hardcheese, cheddar cheese, you name
the cheese.
I love it.
But while I was on thatmedication, I hardly touched it.
(06:18):
It even grossed me out a littlebit, which still blows my mind.
One of the things that I love todo.
When I got back from traveling,I just wanted a cheese
quesadilla.
Very strange, but it was thiscomforting thing that I had to
have when I got home.
I couldn't even eat that.
(06:39):
I thought, this is disgusting.
I don't even know how you fellin love with a cheese
quesadilla.
So fast forward to late spring.
I'm no longer on semaglutide,and my appeal and taste and
cravings for cheese.
Is back.
And I was so happy.
(06:59):
I'm like, thank God my bestie isback.
Let's go hang out.
The charcuteries are flowing,especially as we're entering
into the summer months.
People stand around theseboards.
I've turned an entire island inmy kitchen into a charcuterie
board with all kinds of goodieson it, people stand around and.
(07:22):
Ooh and awe and mm and Oh, thisis so good, and talk about
everything that's on it.
It's an incredible way to bringpeople together.
Not only are the cheese boardsback, but the mozzarella sticks
are always in our refrigerator.
Thanks to my boyfriend.
He loves to snack on those.
(07:43):
So I found myself grabbing oneor two as a snack as well, but I
hadn't touched cheese.
In about eight months, here weare indulging back into the
world of cheese, and all of asudden I realized I'm depressed.
I felt foggy.
I was unsure of myself.
(08:04):
I was constantly second guessingeverything, I wasn't feeling
like myself.
It wasn't stress.
It was something deeper.
And the only thing that hadreally changed in my diet was
that I started eating cheeseagain, and I thought, I bet
(08:26):
that's it.
So I tested it.
I cut out cheese completely forone full week.
And let me tell you, it was noteasy for someone who used to
worship the cheese drawer, but Iwas determined to see if this
was the root cause of mydepression.
Because if any of you have everfelt it for any reason, or maybe
(08:50):
you're feeling it today, ormaybe you're taking medications
for depression, it's real.
It's incredibly hard and it candrive you crazy if it's
something new that's come intoyour life that you're
recognizing.
I was feeling depressed and Ithought, I'm never gonna figure
(09:11):
out the root cause of this, andunless I stick to staying away
from cheese, it's process ofelimination.
That's the only way you canfigure things out.
And guess what?
I stayed off the cheese forseven days, and the depression
started to lift.
Can you believe it?
My mind was clearer.
(09:32):
I felt like myself again.
I was no longer beating myselfup.
Have you ever done that, I call'em the basement committee in
your head they're just talkingshit about you and you just
wanna get away from it.
That's where I had gotten to.
So sticking to cutting thisoutta my diet was a serious
(09:54):
matter for me and it worked.
The relationship between cheeseand depression isn't exactly
black and white.
Some studies will actually showfermented dairy, like cheese and
yogurt can help lower the riskof depression, but that's not
the case for me.
Here's the catch for somepeople.
(10:15):
Dairy can mess with your gut.
And when your gut's off, did youknow that your mood can spiral
too?
I have IBS, irritable bowelsyndrome.
I discovered it eons ago and Ihad to go through the process of
elimination.
My gut is super sensitive, highamounts of fiber, crucifix,
(10:39):
vegetables, gluten, red meat,and now clearly cheese can
really mess with my gut.
If any of you have ever followedthe FOD map.
That's something that I used inthe very beginning when we were
trying to figure out my degreeof IBS and what things were
(11:00):
setting it off.
When it triggered aftersomething I ate, I had this
pressure on my belly that waspretty uncomfortable.
And then what followed was 2, 3,4 days of severe constipation.
Now, if you've ever beenconstipated.
That's not fun.
And when you're not shitting,guess what?
(11:21):
You're gonna feel like?
Shit.
It will change your mood.
You will become tired, fatigued,and irritable.
If you've got something going onin your gut and you start to
feel physically, emotionallydifferent, there's a good chance
it's something that you'reingesting.
(11:43):
It's really important, and Ilearned this early on, to tune
into your body and listen towhat it needs physically,
emotionally, and nutritionally.
Cheese might be totally fine forsomeone else, for me, it threw
everything off.
(12:04):
My digestion, my energy, and asI recently discovered my mental
health, it made a huge impact.
I had noticed that I wasconstipated while I was eating
the cheese, but I think I'vealways noticed that, too much
cheese, I get constipated.
But what's really, really wild,for those of you who've traveled
(12:26):
to Europe.
When you eat cheese over there,what have you noticed?
No gut problems.
It's crazy.
We put so much junk into ourfood in the United States I
traveled to Italy years ago,back in 2011 with a girlfriend
of mine.
She has a lactose intoleranceissue.
(12:48):
We were in Italy she didn't haveany issues with the dairy over
there, and it was mind blowing.
That really tells you a lotfood, especially in the United
States.
My boyfriend and I were inMorocco for 12 days.
We were in the Atlas Mountains.
Staying in the Berber Villageswith our guide in one of his
(13:09):
family's guest homes.
We were absolutely submergedinto their culture.
They eat nothing processed.
Everything that we ate.
Came from their farms.
Where they grow fruits andvegetables.
Every family has a cow.
That cow produces their milk,their butter.
(13:31):
They have, chickens.
Their chicken brass are.
Smaller than the palm of mostpeople's hands because they're
not injecting'em with all kindsof junk, when we were there, I
never felt better.
I felt absolutely amazing.
(13:52):
Their diet has very little dairyin it, but I'm gonna tell you a
funny story.
When we were at the Guides home,he invited us over for breakfast
and we met his entire family.
They present this reallybeautiful breakfast.
There was a little dish thatlooked like cheese.
And of course I'm like, cheese,gimme some of that.
(14:14):
I'm popping it in my mouth andmy boyfriend's like, what's
that?
And I said, it's cheese.
And the guy said, that's notcheese.
And I said, what is it?
It's really good.
And he said, it's butter.
Oh my God, you guys.
I was chowing down butter.
Now it is nothing like thebutter that's made here in the
states.
(14:35):
It was unbelievable.
Fresh from their cow.
I couldn't believe I was sittingthere chowing on the butter, but
my gosh, it was good.
Talk about farm to table.
My boyfriend and I felt amazing.
Our energy levels.
Excellent.
Our mood, perfect.
Our ability to, hike this crazypeak was pretty damn incredible
(15:01):
given that we live at the beachand are at sea level and we went
to 14,000 feet and we don't hikelike that.
Ever.
So food matters.
It can make or break your mood.
It can make or break your energylevels, your workouts.
Think about it.
For those of you who work out ona regular basis, have you ever
(15:23):
had a little too much to drinkthe night before?
Maybe you decided to indulge insome yummy, delicious pizza or a
burger and the next day yourworkout sucks.
It's because of what we ate theday before.
Unless you had a shitty night'ssleep, then it's probably a
combination of the two.
But I absolutely notice thatwhen I'm eating clean.
(15:45):
I feel like the incredible Hulk,my workouts are that good.
When I eat something off I feelit in my workout the next day.
My runs absolutely suck.
It feels like cinder blocks areon my feet.
So how do you know if food ismessing with your mental health?
(16:05):
It's not like there's a moodtracker that's built into your
fridge that you can ask, sohere's what I learned and I
wanna share these tips with you.
The first thing is start payingattention for just a week or
two.
Keep a quick note in your phoneor notepad, what did you eat?
(16:28):
How did you feel afterwards andhours later.
Not just physically, butmentally.
Try a mini elimination ifsomething is showing up a lot.
Cheese, gluten, sugar, andyou're not feeling like
yourself.
Pull it out for a few days.
Don't panic.
(16:48):
It's not forever.
You're just trying to collectinformation to find out if
something that you are eating isimpacting your life.
I.
Track your stress versus yourfood if your life is stressful.
Sure.
That could be it.
I take on a lot, but I'm used toit.
(17:10):
I do it.
I've been doing it my wholelife.
If nothing major's happening andyou still feel off, it might not
be emotional.
It could be digestive.
Tied to what you're eating.
If you're not pooping, you'regonna feel like shit.
So pay attention.
Your gut and your brain aregonna be your besties through
(17:33):
that process.
And I mean that literally, theytalk to each other constantly.
If your gut is inflamed.
Your mood often follows, IBSfood sensitivities, bloating.
They're not just physical.
Pretty soon you're gonna feel itemotionally.
(17:56):
This isn't about restriction.
It's about reconnection,reconnecting to how food makes
you feel, because feeling goodis the goal, right?
Everybody wants to feel good.
Everyone's searching forhappiness.
Start with what you're eating.
It will help you feel good.
It'll help you feel grounded.
(18:17):
It'll help you feel energizedwhen you're eating the right
food for your body.
So maybe cheese isn't justcomfort food.
Maybe it was my messenger.
For some, it might offer a liftin mood.
For others like me, especiallythose sensitive to dairy
(18:38):
proteins like casin, it might bequietly contributing to that low
heavy feeling that you can'tquite shake.
The truth is your body's alwaystalking to you, your energy,
your mood, your skin.
Have you ever noticed when yourskin starts to look dry?
(18:59):
Is it because of what you'reeating?
Maybe they're all signals.
The question is, are youlistening?
I'm not here to ruin your pizzanight or tell you to fear food
by any means, and I am not anutritionist, but I have been in
the health and wellness industryfor over a decade, and I am here
(19:22):
to say pay attention.
Try removing certain foods, tryadding others.
Just take notice of what you'reeating and how that impacts your
moods because when you starteating in a way that supports
your emotional wellbeing, notjust your cravings, it's when
(19:42):
everything shifts.
Why wouldn't you want to feelbetter?
If you're feeling bold, maybestart your own little experiment
with food and mood.
Thanks for tuning in.
Always be curious, be kind toyourself and maybe just maybe go
(20:03):
easy on the cheese.
Until next time.
Hi everyone, and welcome to theshow.
I am so grateful that you'rehere today.
The fact that you keep tuning intells me the stories that I'm
sharing matter and that we'rebuilding something real together
because we don't go throughthese things alone.
(00:22):
We go through them together.
Now, before we jump in, I wannagive a quick backstory.
I have spent years immersed inhealth and wellness.
I've been a personal trainer, afitness competitor, a weight
loss coach, and through it allI've.
Always been fascinated by howfood doesn't just shape our
(00:45):
bodies.
It shapes our minds, our moods,and can even impact our
confidence in how we feel aboutourselves.
So today we're going to talkabout something that's
delicious, comforting.
I bet many of you are a huge fanof, and it could be messing with
(01:09):
your mental health.
This is not about clean eatingwe're talking about a
connection.
The connection between what weeat and how we feel.
Because what if I told you thefood on your plate might be
playing a bigger role in yourmood than you ever realized?
(01:33):
Let's do an exercise.
I want you to think back for asecond to a time when you ate
something and maybe right afterand throughout the remainder of
the day or the evening, younoticed that you were in a
better mood.
You were more energized, moreclearheaded, maybe even more
(01:53):
confident.
Now, think about a time.
When you've eaten something thatwas heavily processed, maybe it
was fried food or a very heavymeal, fast food.
How did you feel after you atethat?
We know that it tastesincredibly amazing in the
(02:13):
moment, and that could affectour mood, right?
Because when I bite into aburger or a slice of pizza, it's
pretty heavenly.
I will admit that.
But if you eat that wayconsistently, I would imagine
you are not gonna feel so great.
In the long run, and if you'venever paused to connect those
(02:36):
dots before, stay with mebecause today we're getting into
the shocking emotional side ofone of the most beloved foods on
the planet.
We're gonna get cheesy, and Iliterally mean we're gonna be
talking about cheese today.
Here's what's shockingdepression isn't rare.
(02:59):
In fact, one in 10 peoplestruggle with it.
Over 21 million peopleexperience a major depressive
episode every single year.
Can you believe that?
That's a ton of people.
And guess what?
Women are affected significantlymore than men.
(03:22):
This isn't just about cheese,it's about what we're putting
into our bodies, how it might beaffecting our minds, and why no
one's really talking about it.
When I really dig deep and gethonest with myself, I can say
I've experienced depression afew times in my life.
(03:43):
I felt it after my third cancerdiagnosis and again during my
divorce.
Those moments make sense, right?
They're real.
They're life altering eventsthat naturally shift the way
that we feel.
They shift our mood.
But what about when everythinglooks fine?
Sure, life can be full withfamily work projects and that
(04:08):
can bring stress.
But what if one day you wake upfeeling incredibly low and you
can't pinpoint why there's nocurve balls, no major crisis,
just this heavy unexplaineddepression.
Well, that happened to me.
(04:29):
The weather's been great.
Nothing major has changed in mylife.
I've always taken on a lotthat's not new.
while that can spike my stress,it's never pushed me into
depression.
But this time it's beendifferent.
I was working out every day.
I was sleeping okay, and still Ifelt like shit.
(04:52):
I was depressed, and I askedmyself over and over, what is
it?
What's going on with you?
Why are you feeling this way?
What are you doing or not doingto feel this way?
I really started to getanalytical with myself to figure
out why was I feeling depressed?
(05:14):
So I asked myself, what'schanged in your diet?
What are you eating that youhaven't been eating?
Some of you know I'd been onsemaglutide a medication very
similar to Ozempic to help lose20 pounds of that awful
menopause weight that I hadgained.
(05:35):
One expected side effect of thisdrug.
Is that I completely lost mycraving for many things that I
loved.
I've always been a pretty cleaneater until I hit menopause,
then everything went out thedoor.
But I lost my craving forsomething that I love, I'm a big
(05:58):
time fan of cheese.
I freaking love cheese, allkinds of cheese, imported
cheese, soft cheese, hardcheese, cheddar cheese, you name
the cheese.
I love it.
But while I was on thatmedication, I hardly touched it.
(06:18):
It even grossed me out a littlebit, which still blows my mind.
One of the things that I love todo.
When I got back from traveling,I just wanted a cheese
quesadilla.
Very strange, but it was thiscomforting thing that I had to
have when I got home.
I couldn't even eat that.
(06:39):
I thought, this is disgusting.
I don't even know how you fellin love with a cheese
quesadilla.
So fast forward to late spring.
I'm no longer on semaglutide,and my appeal and taste and
cravings for cheese.
Is back.
And I was so happy.
(06:59):
I'm like, thank God my bestie isback.
Let's go hang out.
The charcuteries are flowing,especially as we're entering
into the summer months.
People stand around theseboards.
I've turned an entire island inmy kitchen into a charcuterie
board with all kinds of goodieson it, people stand around and.
(07:22):
Ooh and awe and mm and Oh, thisis so good, and talk about
everything that's on it.
It's an incredible way to bringpeople together.
Not only are the cheese boardsback, but the mozzarella sticks
are always in our refrigerator.
Thanks to my boyfriend.
He loves to snack on those.
(07:43):
So I found myself grabbing oneor two as a snack as well, but I
hadn't touched cheese.
In about eight months, here weare indulging back into the
world of cheese, and all of asudden I realized I'm depressed.
I felt foggy.
I was unsure of myself.
(08:04):
I was constantly second guessingeverything, I wasn't feeling
like myself.
It wasn't stress.
It was something deeper.
And the only thing that hadreally changed in my diet was
that I started eating cheeseagain, and I thought, I bet
(08:26):
that's it.
So I tested it.
I cut out cheese completely forone full week.
And let me tell you, it was noteasy for someone who used to
worship the cheese drawer, but Iwas determined to see if this
was the root cause of mydepression.
Because if any of you have everfelt it for any reason, or maybe
(08:50):
you're feeling it today, ormaybe you're taking medications
for depression, it's real.
It's incredibly hard and it candrive you crazy if it's
something new that's come intoyour life that you're
recognizing.
I was feeling depressed and Ithought, I'm never gonna figure
(09:11):
out the root cause of this, andunless I stick to staying away
from cheese, it's process ofelimination.
That's the only way you canfigure things out.
And guess what?
I stayed off the cheese forseven days, and the depression
started to lift.
Can you believe it?
My mind was clearer.
(09:32):
I felt like myself again.
I was no longer beating myselfup.
Have you ever done that, I call'em the basement committee in
your head they're just talkingshit about you and you just
wanna get away from it.
That's where I had gotten to.
So sticking to cutting thisoutta my diet was a serious
(09:54):
matter for me and it worked.
The relationship between cheeseand depression isn't exactly
black and white.
Some studies will actually showfermented dairy, like cheese and
yogurt can help lower the riskof depression, but that's not
the case for me.
Here's the catch for somepeople.
(10:15):
Dairy can mess with your gut.
And when your gut's off, did youknow that your mood can spiral
too?
I have IBS, irritable bowelsyndrome.
I discovered it eons ago and Ihad to go through the process of
elimination.
My gut is super sensitive, highamounts of fiber, crucifix,
(10:39):
vegetables, gluten, red meat,and now clearly cheese can
really mess with my gut.
If any of you have ever followedthe FOD map.
That's something that I used inthe very beginning when we were
trying to figure out my degreeof IBS and what things were
(11:00):
setting it off.
When it triggered aftersomething I ate, I had this
pressure on my belly that waspretty uncomfortable.
And then what followed was 2, 3,4 days of severe constipation.
Now, if you've ever beenconstipated.
That's not fun.
And when you're not shitting,guess what?
(11:21):
You're gonna feel like?
Shit.
It will change your mood.
You will become tired, fatigued,and irritable.
If you've got something going onin your gut and you start to
feel physically, emotionallydifferent, there's a good chance
it's something that you'reingesting.
(11:43):
It's really important, and Ilearned this early on, to tune
into your body and listen towhat it needs physically,
emotionally, and nutritionally.
Cheese might be totally fine forsomeone else, for me, it threw
everything off.
(12:04):
My digestion, my energy, and asI recently discovered my mental
health, it made a huge impact.
I had noticed that I wasconstipated while I was eating
the cheese, but I think I'vealways noticed that, too much
cheese, I get constipated.
But what's really, really wild,for those of you who've traveled
(12:26):
to Europe.
When you eat cheese over there,what have you noticed?
No gut problems.
It's crazy.
We put so much junk into ourfood in the United States I
traveled to Italy years ago,back in 2011 with a girlfriend
of mine.
She has a lactose intoleranceissue.
(12:48):
We were in Italy she didn't haveany issues with the dairy over
there, and it was mind blowing.
That really tells you a lotfood, especially in the United
States.
My boyfriend and I were inMorocco for 12 days.
We were in the Atlas Mountains.
Staying in the Berber Villageswith our guide in one of his
(13:09):
family's guest homes.
We were absolutely submergedinto their culture.
They eat nothing processed.
Everything that we ate.
Came from their farms.
Where they grow fruits andvegetables.
Every family has a cow.
That cow produces their milk,their butter.
(13:31):
They have, chickens.
Their chicken brass are.
Smaller than the palm of mostpeople's hands because they're
not injecting'em with all kindsof junk, when we were there, I
never felt better.
I felt absolutely amazing.
(13:52):
Their diet has very little dairyin it, but I'm gonna tell you a
funny story.
When we were at the Guides home,he invited us over for breakfast
and we met his entire family.
They present this reallybeautiful breakfast.
There was a little dish thatlooked like cheese.
And of course I'm like, cheese,gimme some of that.
(14:14):
I'm popping it in my mouth andmy boyfriend's like, what's
that?
And I said, it's cheese.
And the guy said, that's notcheese.
And I said, what is it?
It's really good.
And he said, it's butter.
Oh my God, you guys.
I was chowing down butter.
Now it is nothing like thebutter that's made here in the
states.
(14:35):
It was unbelievable.
Fresh from their cow.
I couldn't believe I was sittingthere chowing on the butter, but
my gosh, it was good.
Talk about farm to table.
My boyfriend and I felt amazing.
Our energy levels.
Excellent.
Our mood, perfect.
Our ability to, hike this crazypeak was pretty damn incredible
(15:01):
given that we live at the beachand are at sea level and we went
to 14,000 feet and we don't hikelike that.
Ever.
So food matters.
It can make or break your mood.
It can make or break your energylevels, your workouts.
Think about it.
For those of you who work out ona regular basis, have you ever
(15:23):
had a little too much to drinkthe night before?
Maybe you decided to indulge insome yummy, delicious pizza or a
burger and the next day yourworkout sucks.
It's because of what we ate theday before.
Unless you had a shitty night'ssleep, then it's probably a
combination of the two.
But I absolutely notice thatwhen I'm eating clean.
(15:45):
I feel like the incredible Hulk,my workouts are that good.
When I eat something off I feelit in my workout the next day.
My runs absolutely suck.
It feels like cinder blocks areon my feet.
So how do you know if food ismessing with your mental health?
(16:05):
It's not like there's a moodtracker that's built into your
fridge that you can ask, sohere's what I learned and I
wanna share these tips with you.
The first thing is start payingattention for just a week or
two.
Keep a quick note in your phoneor notepad, what did you eat?
(16:28):
How did you feel afterwards andhours later.
Not just physically, butmentally.
Try a mini elimination ifsomething is showing up a lot.
Cheese, gluten, sugar, andyou're not feeling like
yourself.
Pull it out for a few days.
Don't panic.
(16:48):
It's not forever.
You're just trying to collectinformation to find out if
something that you are eating isimpacting your life.
I.
Track your stress versus yourfood if your life is stressful.
Sure.
That could be it.
I take on a lot, but I'm used toit.
(17:10):
I do it.
I've been doing it my wholelife.
If nothing major's happening andyou still feel off, it might not
be emotional.
It could be digestive.
Tied to what you're eating.
If you're not pooping, you'regonna feel like shit.
So pay attention.
Your gut and your brain aregonna be your besties through
(17:33):
that process.
And I mean that literally, theytalk to each other constantly.
If your gut is inflamed.
Your mood often follows, IBSfood sensitivities, bloating.
They're not just physical.
Pretty soon you're gonna feel itemotionally.
(17:56):
This isn't about restriction.
It's about reconnection,reconnecting to how food makes
you feel, because feeling goodis the goal, right?
Everybody wants to feel good.
Everyone's searching forhappiness.
Start with what you're eating.
It will help you feel good.
It'll help you feel grounded.
(18:17):
It'll help you feel energizedwhen you're eating the right
food for your body.
So maybe cheese isn't justcomfort food.
Maybe it was my messenger.
For some, it might offer a liftin mood.
For others like me, especiallythose sensitive to dairy
(18:38):
proteins like casin, it might bequietly contributing to that low
heavy feeling that you can'tquite shake.
The truth is your body's alwaystalking to you, your energy,
your mood, your skin.
Have you ever noticed when yourskin starts to look dry?
(18:59):
Is it because of what you'reeating?
Maybe they're all signals.
The question is, are youlistening?
I'm not here to ruin your pizzanight or tell you to fear food
by any means, and I am not anutritionist, but I have been in
the health and wellness industryfor over a decade, and I am here
(19:22):
to say pay attention.
Try removing certain foods, tryadding others.
Just take notice of what you'reeating and how that impacts your
moods because when you starteating in a way that supports
your emotional wellbeing, notjust your cravings, it's when
(19:42):
everything shifts.
Why wouldn't you want to feelbetter?
If you're feeling bold, maybestart your own little experiment
with food and mood.
Thanks for tuning in.
Always be curious, be kind toyourself and maybe just maybe go
(20:03):
easy on the cheese.
Until next time.
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