April 23, 2025 • 46 mins
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Today’s episode is all about the Think Well pillar–the brain! Dr. Rebecca Jackson is a Brain Health and Development Expert, Author, and Researcher and the Chief Programs Officer for Brain Balance, a holistic program designed to improve brain health, development, and connectivity to improve attention, cognition, and emotional and behavioral regulation for all ages.
We will be discussing how to get your brain on board with your goals, how to stimulate and how to fuel it.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is the Eat Well Think WellLive Well podcast.
(00:02):
I am Lisa Salisbury and this isepisode 144, your Brain's Role
in Weight Loss with Dr.
Rebecca Jackson.
Dr.
Jackson is a brain health anddevelopment expert, author and
researcher, and the ChiefPrograms Officer for Brain
Balance, a holistic programdesigned to improve brain health
development and connectivity toimprove attention cognition.
(00:23):
An emotional and behavioralregulation for all ages, as
you'll hear, she is passionateabout making neuroscience fun
and applicable to everyday life,to improve how you feel and
function.
We will be discussing how to getyour brain on board with your
goals, how to stimulate it, andhow to fuel it.
You're not going to want to missthis one.
(00:45):
Welcome to eat well.
Well, the podcast for busy womenwho want to lose weight without
constantly counting, tracking,or stressing over every bite.
I'm Lisa Salsbury, a certifiedhealth weight loss and life
coach, and most importantly, arecovered chronic dieter here.
You'll learn to listen to yourbody and uncover the reasons
you're reaching for food.
When you're not truly hungry,freeing you to focus on a
(01:06):
healthier, more fulfillingapproach to eating.
Before we get into this episode,I have a request with a reward.
I did this about 18 months ago,but it's time again to get some
fresh perspectives.
I want to hear from you, mylisteners, on topics that you
are needing.
What are you struggling with?
What do you need inspiration on,and just generally what do you
(01:28):
want to hear on the podcast?
I've got a link to this surveyin the show notes, and everyone
that participates will beentered into a drawing for an
Amazon gift card.
I'll be running this for abouttwo weeks, so don't delay.
Lisa (01:40):
Welcome back to the Eat Well Think Well Live Well
podcast.
I am so delighted to have Dr.
Rebecca Jackson here.
She's the Chief Programs Officerfor Brain Balance and a Brain
Health Cognition and Developmentexpert.
Welcome, Dr.
Jackson.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Why don't you give us a littlebit more introduction to
yourself, what you do, and thenwe'll jump into our
(02:02):
conversation.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (02:03):
Sounds good, and thank you for having
me, Lisa.
Um, I guess I would start byintroducing myself as a big
science nerd.
I love the brain.
Um, I love learning about.
What makes us tick as humans andhow can we impact how we feel
and function on a daily basis atevery age.
Um, so that's really what'sdriven my motivation and
(02:24):
interest.
Um, and through that motivationand passion, um, I've been a
part of brain balance where wedesign, um, and build programs
to build stronger, faster, moreconnected brains for kids, teens
and adults to impact how we feeland function.
Um, I published research onimproving cognition and
attention, emotional wellbeing.
And I'm the author of a bookcalled Back on Track, A
(02:46):
Practical Guide to Help Kids ofAll Ages Thrive.
And then I'm also a mom and awife, so that's a little bit
about me.
Lisa (02:54):
Perfect.
Thank you.
So we connected because I, as,as my listeners know.
Part of my podcast is aboutthinking well, and we do a lot
of changing our thinking, usingthinking to help us with our,
um, eating choices, our movementchoices, and the, the cognition
(03:15):
model that, um, I use.
And so I really wanted to get.
Dr.
Jackson's opinion or, you know,expertise here on the neurology
behind all of this.
And we were talking before,she's like, I can tell you why
all the stuff that you do works,which is so cool.
So, um, let's start with the,um, kind of the neurology of
(03:35):
goal setting.
How, it impacts our nutritionchoices.
Kind of like how do we.
You know, set a goal and stickto it.
So like from the perspective ofthe brain, how can we like,
understand the brain's role inthis goal setting?
arena,
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (03:53):
This is a topic that when I really started
to learn about the neurologybehind it resonated so much with
me.
And I'll give the story first,and then I'll, I'll give the
science.
Um, my husband has made fun ofmy sisters and I for years about
many different things, butspecifically I.
I mean they do.
Um, but specifically aroundsigning up for running half
marathons.
(04:14):
So my sisters and I all now havekids.
We do it less these days than wedid years ago, but it was not
unheard of for us to sign up fora marathon and then not train,
and then we'd go have a sisterweekend together.
So in some ways it was an excusefor a sister's weekend, but on
the other hand, we would get soexcited.
Right.
You we'd set a goal of, youknow, what?
We're gonna pick a location.
(04:34):
We're gonna do the VirginiaBeach Rock and Roll Marathon.
We're gonna do the St.
Patty's Day.
And we would get so excitedabout this goal, and then
sometimes we'd follow through onit and sometimes we wouldn't.
Um, I'd like to say I think weran more than we didn't.
Um, but so then as I startedreading about the neurology of
goal setting and what's reallyhappening in the brain, it gave
(04:54):
me such aha moments aboutmyself.
So our brain loves setting agoal.
When we set a goal.
It's personal, it means a lot tous personally.
We get a burst of dopamine.
And what dopamine does for us isit gives us a burst of feel good
energy.
And so we're gonna feelmotivated and excited.
(05:16):
And for me, I love how I feelwhen I'm running consistently.
Jeans also fit the best when Irun consistently.
So there's a vanity element toit.
There's also a mental health.
Um, and there's also thatfeeling of achievement when you
do something so.
That's why we loved setting thegoal is because I knew that I
would feel good accomplishingit, and it was a, a great excuse
(05:38):
to have a sister's weekend,which we always love to do.
But the challenge is dopaminedoesn't stay active in our brain
for long.
And so we get that burst ofexcitement, like, we're gonna
book the hotel, we're gonna bookthe flight.
I'm gonna plan my runningschedule and map out my training
schedule.
I'm maybe gonna go get a cutenew running outfit.
And, and then you get startedand then life happens and you
(06:01):
get sick.
Or you know, something happenswith the kids and the schedule
changes, and before you know it,you're off track and the
training doesn't happen.
So.
Really understanding.
We need to break the goal downinto smaller parts so that we
can have, we've got a reengageddopamine as often as possible.
And going back to why did thatgoal mean a lot to you in the
(06:23):
first place?
What was it that motivated youabout that goal and then trying
to keep that personal motivationfor you front and center, and
then I think it's so importantto understand that.
Life is gonna derail you on yourgoal setting and goal achieving.
And so you've gotta have a planfor that ahead of time.
Um, and so, you know, one of thethings for me is I, I travel a
(06:44):
fair amount for work and it, itgoes in waves and phases.
But if I'm trying to run, youknow, four or five times a week,
that means I also need to runwhen I'm traveling.
And so do I have a plan forthat?
Am I staying in a hotel where Ican run outside from where I am?
Am I packing the right clothesfor, for inclement weather?
Because otherwise it's reallyeasy to wake up and say, uh,
(07:05):
it's raining outside.
I'm not gonna do it.
Or I'm not familiar with thisarea.
So when it comes to goalsetting, identifying your
hurdles ahead of time so thatyou can plan for it.
So you've got a backup and abackup backup plan in place.
Um, and then understanding howfatigue.
Changes everything when, and oneof the things that I say all the
(07:27):
time that probably drives mykids nuts is a tired brain is a
negative brain.
And so when our brain runs outof the energy or fuel or
resources it needs to do whatwe're asking it to do, we
automatically go negative.
And so if I'm feeling reallytired and.
(07:47):
I just wanna sleep in in themorning.
I don't wanna go for a run.
It's gonna be harder to do.
And so I need to make sure thatI'm giving my brain, excuse me,
what it needs in order to beable to achieve that goal.
So I need to make sure that I'mgetting the rest I need to make
sure that I'm getting the fuel,because that's gonna give my
brain a better ability to bepositive and stay positive, and
(08:10):
to, to then be able to do thework that needs to go into
achieving the goal.
And then having those littlemicro goals.
And so instead of, you know,setting up something that's
three months long, you know,maybe your goal is, can I run
three times this week?
And then that's my goal.
And then what, what can I dothat I'm gonna feel really good
about as a reward for achievingthat goal?
(08:32):
Maybe I'm gonna reward myselfwith.
A fun yoga class that I enjoy,that I don't take the time to
do, or maybe my reward's gonnabe, you know, going out for
dinner or going for a walk witha friend that I just love
spending time with.
What is, what is something thatI can give myself to look
forward to, so that we're justlooking for those opportunities
to, to release more dopamine inour system, to help us maintain
(08:54):
that feeling of energy,positivity, and motivation to
achieve the goal.
Lisa (09:00):
Okay.
That was a lot.
I have questions.
Okay.
Um, so you kind of addressed ithere at the end, but I wrote
right at the beginning when yousaid we need to reengage
dopamine as often as possible.
So let me ask, do you mean bysetting new mini goals?
'cause that was how we firstengaged it was by setting this
(09:21):
big one.
So do we, do we engage thatdopamine or, um, get that
dopamine hit by setting minigoals or by the rewards?
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (09:30):
Both.
Both.
And, and you know, when ourbrain is in a positive state,
we're, we're gonna be moremotivated to do hard things.
And so you also, the dopaminealso doesn't even need to be
related to the reward.
And so if you are keeping yourbrain and body.
Feeling good, functioning well,then you are going to have more
(09:52):
of the energy and resources todo the hard work and, you know,
to, to relate it to eating.
Eating is so habitual, right?
There's so many things that wejust do without even thinking
about it.
And, you know, maybe I'm workingon reducing the number of added
sugars and, and that's my goal.
And, and that's something I'mprioritizing and working on.
But then when I've got twominutes between meetings that I
(10:13):
go run in the kitchen and grabsomething, it's so easy to, to
grab the thing I always grab,you know, grab a handful of, of
granola and just shovel it in mymouth when it's like, oh shoot.
I was wanting to, to grabsomething different.
I was wanting, you know, Hummer,hums some crackers instead, but
I grabbed, the thing I alwaysgrabbed is, is when we're tired
(10:34):
and we're running out ofresources, we fall back on
habits even more.
Change requires energy andeffort from the brain.
It requires active thought and,and so does achieving a goal.
And so we're not going to do thehard work to achieve the goal
when we're on autopilot.
And so in order to have theenergy and resources.
To put in the hard work, thenwe've gotta make sure that, that
(10:55):
we're set up and equipped to dothat.
Lisa (10:59):
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Yeah, yeah, totally.
And I think, um, my listenershave heard me talk about a lot
like getting your eating out ofhabit mode, bringing it back
into the intentional brain sothat we can make intentional
choices.
Because Yeah, when we're eatingon autopilot, we.
Tend to overeat because we'reeating the same amount that we
used to.
And so it's not only just whatwe're grabbing but the amounts,
(11:22):
um, you know, that we are alwayseating and, and we don't tend to
question that when we're inautopilot.
Um, another thing that you saidwas, having a plan for getting
derailed, and I think this isprobably the same concept,
concept that I call obstaclesand strategies where.
Instead of thinking about allthe things that you are gonna
do, like absolutely buy the newrunning outfit, you know,
(11:45):
download the app, the couch to5K, whatever.
You know, all of those like todo items.
But then it's also the idea oflike, and what are you going to
do when.
Fill in the blank.
Terrible thing happens rightwhen it's raining, when your
cute outfit is in the, in thelaundry, when you just don't
feel like it.
And so when we create a plan forwhen things don't go correctly,
(12:10):
and I always relate this back tothe, um, 2008 Olympics with
Michael Phelps when his gogglesstarted leaking.
And he had a plan when mygoggles leak, because that
happens to swimmers, it's not anunusual setback.
You know, it's not an unusualobstacle.
if my goggles were to leak, Iwill count my strokes, and he
knew how many strokes it was onthe third length of that event.
(12:35):
What, what that looked like.
He had replayed that event somany times in his brain, the
video tape in his brain that,you know, he of course won and,
and got that gold medal.
Um, but it's because he had aplan for when things he, he
wasn't surprised by thatnegative thing happening.
Like, nobody wants their gogglesto leak.
Nobody wants it to rain whenit's running day, but when
(12:58):
you're not surprised by theobstacle, I think that is,
that's really helpful.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (13:03):
Yeah, but I, I think of it in terms of
life gives us hurdles and Ican't always remove the hurdle,
but what can I do to influencethe hurdle?
Like, can I make the hurdle alittle bit shorter or can I push
it off to the side a little bit?
Or can I, you know, uh, and, andso.
And you're exactly right wherelife life happens, and there's
(13:23):
gonna be days where you have areally, really bad day at work
where everything falls apart andyou're exhausted.
And you're stressed.
Or a day when you have a reallybad headache or an unexpected
family emergency crops up andyou've gotta drop everything and
juggle 32 balls in addition toall the balls you juggle.
That's life.
It happens.
And so.
(13:44):
You're exactly right.
Is, is just, it's when you set agoal, regardless of if the goal
is physical activity or eating,or I wanna write a book, it,
whatever the goal is, it's.
Identify the hurdles ahead oftime and what, what can you do?
And so, um, I go back to thebook example.
That was, that was a life thatwas a just bucket list.
(14:04):
Lifelong goal of mine was towrite a book.
I'm an avid reader and so I'vealways wanted to write a book
and I started.
Never finished one time and thatI got as far as I signed with an
agent and, and I, I just, Icouldn't get it done.
And that's always been just adisappointment I had in myself.
And so when I set out to do itagain, I needed to do it with a
(14:25):
different plan.
I needed to know that there wasstill gonna be travel hockey
season and there was still gonnabe work, and there are still
gonna be all these demands.
And so I had to build it into myschedule, and, and I needed
flexibility within that.
You know, I wasn't gonna be ableto hit the number of dedicated
hours every week.
And so just again, having a planfor, those pieces to, to help
(14:48):
keep me on track.
Lisa (14:49):
Yeah, so good just to have, have a plan.
And I think this probablyrelates to the next question I
wanted to ask you, which is whyis everything so much harder
when we're tired?
Uh, and obviously I talk aboutsleep a lot with my clients.
Making good nutrition choices isso impacted by sleep, not just
(15:12):
because the brain is tired, butbecause of the actual hormone,
um, leptin, ghrelin influencesthat occur when we are fatigued.
So, what can we do and why isit, from a brain perspective
just so much harder?
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (15:26):
I'm gonna answer this by first talking
about cognition and executivefunctions.
So our executive functions.
Are our ability to.
Plan, prioritize, organize.
It's our ability to be fluid andflexible to go with the flow
when life happens and we'vegotta change.
It's our ability to regulate ourmood and emotions.
(15:48):
And so these are all the thingsthat we need to be successful as
an adult.
These are the things that wewatch for in our kids.
If they're not going well, it'sthe why did you do your homework
and not turn it in?
You, you already did the work.
It's the executive functionsthat allow us to execute on
those tasks.
But what our executive functionsare is, is they're not just
behaviors.
They're the result of what'shappening in our brain.
(16:09):
So it's the behavior action thatwe see or don't see, but, but it
all is stemming from theconnectivity in our brain.
So our executive functions relyon our cognitive abilities.
And our cognitive abilities areour ability to direct and
sustain our attention to processsensory information.
So what I'm hearing and seeingour ability to block out
(16:30):
distractions and have impulsecontrol.
And so when we have.
A breakdown in what we're tryingto do it, it's coming from our
cognitive abilities, which stemfrom the brain.
Our cognitive abilities, I thinkof as our precious resources.
Our cognitive abilities are notabilities that we're born with.
(16:51):
They are tied to ourdevelopment.
So, as you know, an infant's notborn with the cognitive
abilities.
They need to thrive as an adultand to have executive functions.
They develop over time throughuse and experience.
But there are some of the lastthings to develop.
They're some of the first thingsto decline.
When we think about somebodyaging, they lose auditory and
visual processing.
(17:12):
They start talking more slowly.
They're missing this bits andpieces of information.
Their attention starts to, toshorten.
And so their, that impacts theirmemory.
Um, so our cognitive resourcesare some of our most high demand
resources in our brain.
So they require a lot ofsupport.
(17:32):
To function.
And so there's so many thingsthat chip away at our cognitive
abilities when we're stressed,it's diverting activation and
energy from these high levelbrain functions.
And now we're functioning insurvival mode.
How do I get through this nextminute?
How do I deal with the, the, youknow, blow upper challenge?
Rather than thinking about,okay, what do I need tomorrow?
(17:54):
How do I plan for that projectthat's due next month?
So stress chips away at ourcognitive resources, which is
gonna influence.
Our executive functions, whichare our choices and actions.
Um, pain.
So if you have chronic pain, ifyou're sick, those are all
things that make it harder tofunction.
(18:14):
So fatigue and fuel are also twobig elements with that.
And on the sleep piece.
And there's a study that cameout from Cambridge Brain
Sciences several years ago, andthey were looking at the impact
of just very slight sleepdeprivation on your cognitive
functions.
And they found just a couplenights of less.
An adequate sleep and yourbrain, your cognitive abilities,
(18:35):
functions as though you'remildly intoxicated, and so your
ability to direct and sustainattention to to control your
impulses.
Goes down, we've, we've shiftedthe resources in your brain
because the brain's prioritizingsurvival, not higher level
thinking.
And so, our cognitive abilitiesand our choices and actions and
(18:55):
behaviors are high levelfunctions that just require a
lot to support.
And a great way to understandthis is, we all know the term
hangry.
You know, when you're hangry,when you're, you're so hungry.
You can't concentrate.
And I hit that point and myhusband says, what do you want?
I can't even make a decision onwhere we're going to eat.
Or you know what?
You can't think.
(19:15):
You can't plan, you can't,again, you've run outta fuel and
resources.
So the brain is dropping downinto survival mode.
I know I need to eat right nowand I'm cranky.
And I'm irritable, irritable.
I can't regulate my mood andemotions.
but it doesn't just happenbecause of, of blood sugars and
running out of fuel.
Um, we, we.
Divert the brain's resourcesthrough gaming and social media
(19:40):
through stress and anxiety.
Those are all things that thatcan chip away at the resources.
And one of the things, um, thatI think about often is our brain
is constantly asking us thequestion, is the outcome worth
the effort?
So, um, when we're tired, I'mgonna go back to my going for a
run example.
(20:00):
I know I feel and functionbetter when I, when I go for a
run or a walk regularly, butwhen I'm really tired and my
brain's always subconsciouslyasking myself that question when
I'm really tired, the answermight be no, the effort's not
worth the outcome because it'sgonna require more energy and
effort to put the gear on and goout and do it.
(20:21):
Um, and so.
In order to say, yes, the energyis, is worth it.
Um, we've gotta provide our, ourbrain and body what it means to
have the resources to do that.
Lisa (20:35):
Sleep is so tricky because of course there's people that
suffer from insomnia and they'relike, yeah, I know.
I get it.
I always feel bad.
My sister suffers from insomnia.
And so every time she's like,when you, you know, these sleep
episodes, like, that's great.
I know I need sleep and it justmakes me feel worse.
And so I do wanna give a shoutout to like, first of all, new
parents.
I'm sorry, you're just not gonnathink well right now.
(20:57):
Like, good luck.
Um, that's a rough time.
And also those with, you know,clinical insomnia.
I, I always am like.
I, I do hope you get the help.
Most of the time my clients arejust struggling with, I just
don't get off the couch and goto bed.
And that's what we can reallymake the difference with On, on
Sleep is to just choose, makebetter choices is to just, you
(21:20):
know, get into these habits of,going to bed.
On time, whatever that lookslike for you in order to get the
number of hours that you want.
And I will say we're coming offof, it's been about a week and a
half since, um, spring forwardand gosh, my husband and I
really struggled this year.
Like I ha just had a really hardtime thinking last week and I
(21:42):
just kept thinking, but I'mgoing to bet on time, but
somehow I just could not.
Catch up and it takes, it takesme a long time to adjust.
And so I really did see thislast week with like the feeling
like I, you know, wasn't gettingquite enough sleep.
And I think it's probablybecause I wasn't falling asleep
when I should have been becauseof the time change.
(22:05):
And so anyway,
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (22:07):
Well, it, and I'm with you so much, so
much credit and love and supportto those that struggle with
sleep.
It you, it's something youcannot take for granted because
having gone through periodswhere it's been a, a struggle
and being in a good place now,it is real.
But I just, I wanna give acouple just quick tips of, um,
it doesn't, it doesn't negatethe sleep deficit, but other
ways to, to reengage the brain.
(22:28):
It's just a quick, a short burstof exercise.
There are so many differenttypes of exercise that provide
different.
Outcomes and different benefitsto the brain, but something as
simple as one to three minutesof spiking the heart rate.
So you know.
Just running the stairs or doingsquat jumps or jumping jacks or
jump rope.
Just a quick, a quick movementjust gives your body a burst of,
(22:53):
of energy and activation that'sgonna help to reengage your
attention and focus.
Reengage your memory, reengageyour energy.
And so if you're at a point offatigue and you can't sleep at
night, or you don't have time togo take a nap.
If you take a nap, it'll wreckyour sleep at at night.
Um, using physical to toreengage can, be just a quick
tip that can help.
(23:13):
It doesn't mean it's gonna makethe rest of the day smooth
sailing, but if you need tofocus and not knock something
out, just taking that coupleminutes of movement before you
sit down to to do the work canbe helpful.
Lisa (23:24):
I think I probably need to engage that in the afternoons.
That's kind of my slump timebecause I'm really careful
about, I, I usually have alittle caffeine in the morning,
but because of the half-life ofcaffeine, I am careful not to
have it after 11, sometimesnoon, and so.
Then I sometimes will be tiredat four or five when I need to,
(23:45):
you know, finish up work.
And so I think that would be agood time to kind of start in
with that habit.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (23:52):
And even if it's not one to three minutes of
spiking the heart rate, justsimply engaging your core
muscles.
The, the old saying of sit up topay attention is true.
When we engage our core muscles,it, Activates a part of the
brain.
It's called the reticularactivating system.
I always imagine it to be like agarage door.
'cause when we engage our coremuscles, it's like it opens that
(24:12):
garage door to say, be alert, beengaged.
And so just simply sitting upstraight or taking a few minutes
to just get up and go for a walkor stretch is also gonna
reengage your brain.
And so if you, you know, in thatmid-afternoon slump, Just being
aware of your posture or, orjust, you know, standing up.
I sit all day long at mycomputer for work and so just
(24:36):
shifting to standing for alittle bit or taking a few
minutes to, to walk.
Just anything that you can do toeng engage your core muscles is
going to engage the brain.
And a great way to remember thisis, um.
When we are not engaging thecore muscles that garage door,
taking in sensory informationcloses, that's what allows our
brain to sleep at night whenwe're sleeping all of the same
(24:59):
energy and all of the samesensory input is still
surrounding us, but our brain'snot taking it in.
When we're laying down, we'renot engaging any of our muscles.
When your alarm goes off firstthing in the morning, what we do
is we stretch.
When you're stretching, you'refiring a muscle which fires
input into the brain.
So your muscles are telling yourbrain it's time to start to be
(25:20):
awake and alert and engaged.
So it's time to start to take inthat input.
So that's also why if you've gota day where you're just vegging
out on the couch, that's why youfeel tired and sluggish.
It's because you haven'tactivated and engaged your
muscles, so you haven't woken upand stimulated your brain.
Lisa (25:36):
Is so good.
I was just reading, um, somedischarge information for my
mom.
I don't wanna throw her underthe bus, but she's fairly de.
Conditioned, that was kind ofthe, actual diagnosis that they
sent her home with.
And the first, the first symptomof being deconditioned is
fatigue.
And I talked to her about, okay,in order to recondition your
(25:57):
muscles in order to like getstronger.
We have to move the body, and itseems like it's the opposite.
Like, I'm tired, I should rest,but actually we need to shift to
I'm tired, I need to move mybody.
And this was like really kind ofmind blowing for her.
And.
I mean, honestly for me too, asI was reading it, I was like,
(26:18):
wow, this is, this is crazy.
Like the way it's reading.
And I think it's just the samefor us when, for someone who is
fairly conditioned, you know,not an an older person who is in
that situation, but I, it was agood lesson for me to say.
Sometimes what I need is rest,but most of the time what I need
is movement, is movement toengage my brain and to wake up.
(26:40):
I I am a morning exerciser forsure.
I, I just enjoy moving my bodyin the morning and a lot of
times I'm like, oh, am I tootired today?
I'm like, no, that's the time.
This is the time.
And, and cognitively I can lookand be like, I got seven, eight
hours of sleep.
It'll be fine.
You're not actually too tired.
You know?
(27:00):
And um, so I think that's reallyhelpful for, people in this age
bracket as well.
Not, you know, just not just forelderly people.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (27:08):
Yeah.
Well, I, it's, it's both, it's,well, it's, I think about things
in terms of development.
Productivity in aging, like wewant to live brain healthy lives
across the lifespan.
And two of the biggest driversof brain function are muscles in
our sensory system.
And so if you've got somebody,whether we're talking about
development or aging, we havegot to be engaging multisensory
(27:32):
stimulation and we have got tobe engaging and moving the body.
If we don't, then the brain isnot taking an input and, and
then we we're gonna acceleratedeep decline.
And if we're not.
Taking an input, then we're notmaximizing development.
And so that's one of myconcerns, you know, with, with
youth on screen time is screentime's not bad?
(27:52):
It was, we don't have theexpectation that, that there
should be none of it.
But how do we find that balancewhere there's a little bit of
screen time and a lot ofmovement rather than a lot of
screen time and a littlemovement.
Um, but it's the brain.
The brain needs sensory inputand the brain needs muscles and
movement.
Lisa (28:09):
So definitely those two things.
But from a fuel perspective,would you consider those fuel
for the brain, first of all?
Like the, the sensory input andthe muscle movement, is that
fuel for the brain or when you,when you refer to how well we
fuel our brain, is that more ofon the nutrition side?
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (28:26):
A hundred percent.
It's nutrition side for thefuel, the, the movement and the
sensory is stimulation for thebrain.
It's what's engaging networksand pathways in the brain, and
we need both.
We need the fuel to support thenetworks and pathways, and then
we've gotta exercise and engagethem and the brain, when we run
out of fuel, we're gonna loseour high level functions.
(28:47):
So we're gonna see a decline inour executive functions.
We're going to see a decline inour cognition.
Um, whether that's in the momentor over the long term, um, we
need both fuel, um, becausethat's what creates the energy
that supports our activities.
Lisa (29:02):
Is there any fuel or nutrition choices in particular
that you think are essential?
Or is it just you're
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (29:09):
I'm laughing because this, this
could be hours.
Yeah.
Okay.
Lisa (29:13):
how many, how many hours do we have?
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (29:15):
Yeah.
Um, you know, nutrition is, isso critically important.
We cannot talk about brainhealth development, performance,
cognition without talking aboutnutrition.
Um, it, it's what makes our bodygo.
And so we have to be giving ourbrain and body a type of fuel
that our body can break down andutilize.
(29:37):
To create energy and to supportwhat we're asking it to do.
Um, so it's just not realisticto expect a car to drive if you
don't put gas in it and youcan't put sand in it and expect
it to go, you've gotta put inthe right gas.
Um, so, you know, simple, highlevel focusing and, and when it
(29:57):
comes to nutritional backup,nutrition is big and it's
overwhelming and we get so muchconflicting information, and it
all depends on your goal.
I'm gonna talk about nutritionfrom the perspective of what
does my brain need to be in anoptimal state.
Um, and I think a, simple way tostart with this is thinking
(30:18):
about what are the things thatwe can minimize?
And one of the things that wecan add, it can be hard to
change everything overnight, butif we think about, okay, couple
things that we know.
We know that ultra processedfoods.
Drives up inflammation in thebody.
Ultra processed foods justcreates wear and tear.
So that can be really hard onour system.
And a system with a lot ofinflammation is gonna have a
(30:40):
hard time, um, with high levelcognitive function.
It, it's just creating, I thinkof it as like mud in the system
or, or fog just makingeverything a little bit more
challenging.
And so can we work to minimizeour ultra processed foods?
So can we do more, less in theway of ultra processed foods,
more in the way of whole healthyfoods?
Then the same can can be saidfor, for sugars can we work on,
(31:04):
we know that added sugars, it'sa quick burst of energy that
then crashes leaving your body,craving that more and more.
And so from the perspective ofthe brain, I need good, stable
energy.
I've gotta have a good flow ofgas supporting the system.
And if I'm wanting to maintainhigh cognitive function and I'm
wanting to maintain regulationof mood and emotions.
(31:26):
Sugar peaks and valleys are, areworking against me big time.
And so the more we can avoidadded sugars, natural sugars are
fine in this perspective.
Um, but so, you know, fruits andthings like that, fine, but
doing.
A fruit juice that has a ton ofadded sugar that's that's
working against us.
Um, so from the perspective ofthe brain, we need to make sure
(31:49):
that we're checking all theboxes of the nutrients.
You know, there's some thingsthat our body's able to produce
and some things that we get fromthe foods we eat, and we all
tend to be pretty patterned withour eating.
Um, so either you're a pickyeater and you only eat a few
things, or I'm not a pickyeater.
We're a busy family on the go,so like Taco Tuesdays every
Tuesday and we grill steak everycent.
(32:11):
Like we're super routine.
Um, and so that means we'rechecking some boxes, not all
boxes.
So, um, I definitely am a foodfirst.
Person of, I wanna lead withgetting as many of the nutrients
I can for the foods we eat.
Um, but I do think that there'sa time and a place to supplement
for the things that you'remissing.
So to make sure that, that mybrain has what it needs, if I'm
(32:32):
a growing child, you have got tohave the nutrients to support
growth and development.
Um, if we're worried aboutattention and focus and behavior
at any age, again, we can'texpect the brain to perform if
we're not giving it.
What it needs.
Um, so
Lisa (32:49):
Any particular nutrients there?
I thought you might talk aboutlike omegas, but, um,
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (32:55):
yeah, so it,
Lisa (32:56):
in particular?
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (32:57):
so a super simple like.
I mean, I can't say enough goodthings about dark leafy greens
and about mixed berries from theantioxidant perspective and, and
what that does, um, fornutrients and antioxidants to
support the brain.
Um, but yes, it, to go deeper onnutrition, there's a couple
really key areas, and these arethings that we focus on and talk
(33:17):
about at brain Balance in ourprogram is, the gut brain
connection, making sure that wehave a healthy gut.
Um, the more we're learningabout the gut and the brain,
they're calling the gut thesecond brain.
And, and some are even saying,is it really the second brain?
Maybe it's the first brain.
And so the amount ofcommunication that's happening,
um, again, if we want highproductivity, high
Lisa (33:40):
let me just, let me just interrupt you for a second.
If, if people aren't familiarwith where that, why that's
important, a lot of yourneurotransmitters are made, they
begin in the gut and that's oneof the reasons why it's so
important because those thingsare actually made there.
So if we're not making properamounts of serotonin and
epinephrine and all of those INEwords that you hear, those,
(34:01):
those things are made in thegut.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (34:04):
And, and there's so much that we do in
our life that chips away at thehealth of our gut.
Um, you know, if you are on amedication, if we're doing ultra
processed foods.
Foods high in sugar.
There's a lot that takes awayfrom the good that's needed in
the gut.
A lot of our hormones are alsoproduced in the gut and absorbed
in the gut, and so if we're afemale of a certain age trying
(34:25):
to balance hormones, it there,we just, we could go on and on
if we want cognition, attentionfocused behavior.
Again, we can't really talkabout those things without, um,
connecting the gut to it aswell.
So, um, probiotic is importantthen, um.
Looking at your, your EPA andDHA, those are things that are
neuroprotective.
And so they're going to providea, think of it like the bike
(34:48):
helmet for the brain.
It's just giving us an extralayer of protection and it
supports our cognitive functionsand processes.
vitamin D is, is so criticallyimportant.
We're hearing about it more andmore for the immune system, but
also for, for our cognitivehealth as well.
Um, so those are threeprobiotic.
(35:08):
Fish oil, but making sure it'sthe, the right balance, um, and
vitamin D, and then making surethat we were checking the boxes
of a variety of nutrients andwhenever and wherever you can
working, you know, kale,spinach, broccoli, and mixed
berries.
Those are just great things forbrain health across the lifespan
(35:28):
from childhood in, into, um,aging, the
Lisa (35:32):
And all of that is just so high in fiber.
That's the prebiotic.
That's what your probiotics eat.
So that's, I mean, those thingsare kind of a double whammy
there, where you're getting, notonly are the micronutrients so
beneficial for brain health, butalso you're going to, I.
Promote the probiotic, the, thepositive probiotic growth that
we do want.
The, the good bacteria, the goodguys is what I'm trying to say
(35:54):
in, in the gut, so,
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (35:56):
Well, and I love that you brought fiber into
it.
Fiber's also so importantbecause it slows down.
Digestion, allowing our body topull more nutrients from it.
So if you're eating, if you doeat something really good and
healthy, but you don't have goodgut health and you don't have
fiber in your diet, it's gonna,or you haven't had fiber at that
meal, that that great nutrientis gonna pass right through and
you maybe don't have theopportunity to absorb it.
(36:17):
Um, and so also making sure thatwe consistently have good fiber
makes it just sets you up to bebetter able to break down,
digest, and absorb thosenutrients that are so critical.
Lisa (36:29):
Yeah, fiber, I, I mean, this is.
I did a, an interview a coupleweeks ago, and the gentleman I
interviewed, he's like, youknow, we can't study the
carnivore diet because it'sunethical to not give people
fiber because we know howpositive it is, and so it's like
unethical to study.
I thought that I just keep thatjust like this, this thought
that just like is continuing toreverberate around my brain that
(36:53):
that's how important fiber andvegetables and fruit are in our
diet.
We cannot even s we, it's, wecan't be ethical about studying
something because it's like, youcan't do that to humans.
You can't be like, here, let,let us make you super unhealthy.
It's so crazy.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (37:09):
right.
But yet, you look at how a lotof us eat and function, and a
lot of us would fall in thatunethical, because you're not
getting the fiber you need tosupport your brain and body.
Lisa (37:20):
So when, We know all this.
So it's like, okay.
Yeah.
Great.
I I hear you.
I should do that.
How can we make these dailynutrition choices that support
our goals and activities, howcan we bring that back around
to, you know, kind of like the,the goal setting?
How do you think is the easiestway to start making some of
(37:40):
these nutrition choices?
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (37:42):
I, I think first by acknowledging there's
nothing easy about it.
It, it is, you know, change isphysically uncomfortable, change
is physically hard and changerequires a lot of energy and
effort from the brain.
And again, your brain isconstantly asking whether you
realize it or not.
Is the outcome worth the effort?
And when we're talking aboutnutrition choices and changing
(38:02):
what we eat, when we're hungry,when we're eating for emotional
cravings, when we're, we eat forso many different reasons, and
our brain's always saying, is itworth it?
So is it worth giving up myfavorite thing for X, Y, and Z?
Um, so I think, you know, it'swhat is your real motivation?
And I think the real motivationis, is okay at, at different
(38:24):
times in my life, my truemotivation has been different.
Vanity of, of fitting into myfavorite jeans.
Right now, I'm definitely in mylife at a place where I'm more
focused on brain health and howI feel and function.
Um, and so what is yourmotivation and what is your
goal?
Really, really define that andyour goal.
It doesn't matter if it's whatanybody else's goal or if
anybody else at.
(38:45):
Understands it or approves of itthat is personal to you.
So get personal, get real, andthen you've gotta keep things
front and center.
And so I'm, I'm a big fan of,you know, post-it notes as
reminders, um, in, in all theplaces right in the car, in your
bathroom, um, just constantlykeeping those things front and
(39:05):
center for, for why you're doingthat.
Lisa (39:07):
I like repeating reminders on my phone, like things that
just come up every day at noon,like, this is your mantra.
Just don't forget and.
Just kind of thinking about,there's just so many ways we can
remind ourselves.
'cause sometimes, um, like whenI see those post-it notes, I
start to ignore them.
But if it comes up on my phone,I have to acknowledge it every
time.
I don't know if
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (39:28):
But, but again, it's finding the strategy
that works for you and that'sbrilliant.
I've never set repeatingreminders on my phone.
It, that makes a lot, a lot ofsense.
'cause we're looking at ourphones all day long.
Um, and then it, it's.
What are the small sustainablechanges?
And so what, start by what youcan add.
It's easier to add somethingthan it is to take away.
(39:49):
And so if you're not eating yourleafy greens before you take
away your favorite food, thatthat maybe is an ultra processed
food or is higher in sugar addfirst.
One of the things that I talkabout with my kids is fuel
first.
And so it's not, I don't wannavilify treats and snacks.
We need long-term sustainable.
Um, and so.
Eat what your brain and bodyneeds first, and then if you're
(40:11):
still hungry, absolutely.
Like, have a snack, have atreat, but then we're, we're
gonna eat less of it at thatpoint.
So start by asking what can Iadd that's gonna help?
So can I add more water to myday?
Our, you know, hydration isanother thing that we, I.
We, we know how important it is,but did you know a drop of just
2% in your body's hydration canalso impact cognition.
(40:32):
Every cell in your body haswater, and so if you want to be
focused, if you wanna have theenergy to do the hard things and
achieve the goal, sleep andhydration or to, I mean, sleep,
hydration, nutrition, exercise,like these things are all
critically important, butwater's a really great place to
start.
You'll see I always have.
(40:53):
The water bottle that's like thetime marked.
And so, you know, so I know howmuch water I'm getting.
Um, and so that's, I think, agreat place to start.
Um, so add first the things thatare gonna benefit your brain,
and then we can start to, totake away.
Now if, if your goal is to, youknow, lose a lot of weight in a
(41:14):
short amount of time, that's aslow process that, that's more
of a, you know, overtimestrategy.
Um,
Lisa (41:20):
Which is what I love and I call that crowding out.
So it's the same concept orwe're not, I'm not telling you
stop eating this, that, and theother.
I'm like, how can we crowd thatout?
if someone's like, I feel likemaybe I'm drinking too many diet
Cokes in a day, I'm like, okay,well let's just crowd that out
with one extra glass of waterand we can only drink so much
liquid.
So if you up your water just bya little bit, we're gonna crowd
(41:43):
out the drink that you don'twanna have.
So it's same concept, it's justlike a different.
Way that I teach it.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (41:49):
yeah.
I love that.
I also think for me, and thisis, this is what works and
resonates for me, is knowing thewhy behind it, um, is so
different than if you just say,like, if you said, Hey, Rebecca,
you know, diet Coke, you should,you should drink less of it.
Versus if you say to me, did youknow the type of sweetener
(42:09):
that's in Diet Coke crosses theblood brain barrier that can
actually do damage directly toyour brain?
So drinking Diet Coke with that,that artificial sweetener her to
brain, that's a motivatingfactor for me.
So then I'm like.
Okay.
I, I'd rather I'm gonna grabwater instead.
That's not gonna be a motivatingfactor for everybody.
But because my goal is brainhealth right now, that's, that's
(42:33):
my motivating factor.
Then when I look at thingsthrough the, the lens of the why
behind the motivating factor,um, that's gonna make me stop
and think.
Um, with, with my choices andactions.
And then I think also beingreally mindful of your thoughts
and your mood and energy becauseit tells you what your brain
needs.
So to go back to that statementof a tired brain is a negative
(42:55):
brain.
If I wake up and I'm just like,oh, I don't wanna do this today,
and oh my gosh, the kids didn'teven clean up after their
breakfast, that they, like, ifI, if I catch myself negative, I
press pause to say, okay.
If my brain's negative rightnow, it doesn't have what it
needs.
My brain's feeling overwhelmedby something right now, what can
(43:16):
I do to change that state?
Because it's easier to thinkhappy thoughts when our brain
has what its needs.
It's easier to make the hardchoices.
It's easier to do the hard workwhen my brain's in the right
state.
And so then I go through thechecklist of did I get enough
sleep last night?
No.
Well, I can't change that, but Ican do some quick exercise to
wake up.
Have I have I fueled so that I'mnot in a, a.
(43:39):
To make index low dip, and, andI'm needing, I'm not hangry and,
you know, am I feeling stressedand overwhelmed about work?
That can also make me feeloverwhelmed and put our brain in
a negative state where the braindoesn't have what it needs to,
to do what's asked of it.
And so what can I do to, to havethat feel a little bit more
under control?
(44:00):
Because then when my brain isrested and fueled and exercised
and, and less stressed andoverwhelmed.
Now suddenly I've got all thatgreat energy and activation
supporting my executivefunctions, which are my
decisions and actions and mycognition, which is my ability
to support that.
And so being mindful of what ourthoughts are telling us and what
(44:22):
we can do to influence, um, thatin the moment.
Lisa (44:26):
Perfect.
That is so great.
I think that is like such a goodsum up of what we've talked
about.
So I'm gonna say, let's wrap up.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Why don't you tell people wherethey can find you online or
learn more about the what youdo?
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (44:39):
Sure.
Um, you can find more aboutBrain balance at
www.Brainbalance.com.
Um, you can find me on Instagramor LinkedIn, Dr.
Rebecca Jackson.
and the book, Back on track.
A practical guide to help kidsof all ages thrive, is available
on Amazon or, or anywhere youget books.
Even though it's focused onkids, it's talking about the
brain.
And if you have a brain, thetips and tricks all apply.
(45:01):
And there's a whole chapter onattention And, it covers, it
covers everything.
And so if, if the tips andtricks and things that we were
discussing today were helpfuland interesting, um, you can get
more on, um, through the book.
Lisa (45:14):
Perfect.
We'll put the links to all ofthat in the show notes.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (45:19):
Thank you.
I am so glad you tuned in today.
Before I sign off, I wannaremind you to fill out that
content survey link is in theshow notes for a chance to win
that Amazon gift card.
Also, you can grab the what todo when you overeat free three
part video series.
If you are trying to lose weightand find yourself overeating too
many times to see lastingsuccess, be sure to check out
(45:40):
that free course.
It also comes with a reset andrecover guide that will help you
put everything you learn in thevideos in writing.
And really clarify each step soyou can feel confident moving
forward.
That's free just for podcastlisteners, so be sure to grab
that in the show notes.
You can also book a free consultsession to see if my full 12
week one-on-one coaching programis right for you.
(46:00):
You can schedule that at thelink in the show notes.
Remember, it's not just aboutthe food, it's about empowering
yourself with choices that trulyserve you.
Have a great week and as always,thanks for listening to the Eat
Well Think Well Live Wellpodcast.
This is the Eat Well Think WellLive Well podcast.
(00:02):
I am Lisa Salisbury and this isepisode 144, your Brain's Role
in Weight Loss with Dr.
Rebecca Jackson.
Dr.
Jackson is a brain health anddevelopment expert, author and
researcher, and the ChiefPrograms Officer for Brain
Balance, a holistic programdesigned to improve brain health
development and connectivity toimprove attention cognition.
(00:23):
An emotional and behavioralregulation for all ages, as
you'll hear, she is passionateabout making neuroscience fun
and applicable to everyday life,to improve how you feel and
function.
We will be discussing how to getyour brain on board with your
goals, how to stimulate it, andhow to fuel it.
You're not going to want to missthis one.
(00:45):
Welcome to eat well.
Well, the podcast for busy womenwho want to lose weight without
constantly counting, tracking,or stressing over every bite.
I'm Lisa Salsbury, a certifiedhealth weight loss and life
coach, and most importantly, arecovered chronic dieter here.
You'll learn to listen to yourbody and uncover the reasons
you're reaching for food.
When you're not truly hungry,freeing you to focus on a
(01:06):
healthier, more fulfillingapproach to eating.
Before we get into this episode,I have a request with a reward.
I did this about 18 months ago,but it's time again to get some
fresh perspectives.
I want to hear from you, mylisteners, on topics that you
are needing.
What are you struggling with?
What do you need inspiration on,and just generally what do you
(01:28):
want to hear on the podcast?
I've got a link to this surveyin the show notes, and everyone
that participates will beentered into a drawing for an
Amazon gift card.
I'll be running this for abouttwo weeks, so don't delay.
Lisa (01:40):
Welcome back to the Eat Well Think Well Live Well
podcast.
I am so delighted to have Dr.
Rebecca Jackson here.
She's the Chief Programs Officerfor Brain Balance and a Brain
Health Cognition and Developmentexpert.
Welcome, Dr.
Jackson.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Why don't you give us a littlebit more introduction to
yourself, what you do, and thenwe'll jump into our
(02:02):
conversation.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (02:03):
Sounds good, and thank you for having
me, Lisa.
Um, I guess I would start byintroducing myself as a big
science nerd.
I love the brain.
Um, I love learning about.
What makes us tick as humans andhow can we impact how we feel
and function on a daily basis atevery age.
Um, so that's really what'sdriven my motivation and
(02:24):
interest.
Um, and through that motivationand passion, um, I've been a
part of brain balance where wedesign, um, and build programs
to build stronger, faster, moreconnected brains for kids, teens
and adults to impact how we feeland function.
Um, I published research onimproving cognition and
attention, emotional wellbeing.
And I'm the author of a bookcalled Back on Track, A
(02:46):
Practical Guide to Help Kids ofAll Ages Thrive.
And then I'm also a mom and awife, so that's a little bit
about me.
Lisa (02:54):
Perfect.
Thank you.
So we connected because I, as,as my listeners know.
Part of my podcast is aboutthinking well, and we do a lot
of changing our thinking, usingthinking to help us with our,
um, eating choices, our movementchoices, and the, the cognition
(03:15):
model that, um, I use.
And so I really wanted to get.
Dr.
Jackson's opinion or, you know,expertise here on the neurology
behind all of this.
And we were talking before,she's like, I can tell you why
all the stuff that you do works,which is so cool.
So, um, let's start with the,um, kind of the neurology of
(03:35):
goal setting.
How, it impacts our nutritionchoices.
Kind of like how do we.
You know, set a goal and stickto it.
So like from the perspective ofthe brain, how can we like,
understand the brain's role inthis goal setting?
arena,
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (03:53):
This is a topic that when I really started
to learn about the neurologybehind it resonated so much with
me.
And I'll give the story first,and then I'll, I'll give the
science.
Um, my husband has made fun ofmy sisters and I for years about
many different things, butspecifically I.
I mean they do.
Um, but specifically aroundsigning up for running half
marathons.
(04:14):
So my sisters and I all now havekids.
We do it less these days than wedid years ago, but it was not
unheard of for us to sign up fora marathon and then not train,
and then we'd go have a sisterweekend together.
So in some ways it was an excusefor a sister's weekend, but on
the other hand, we would get soexcited.
Right.
You we'd set a goal of, youknow, what?
We're gonna pick a location.
(04:34):
We're gonna do the VirginiaBeach Rock and Roll Marathon.
We're gonna do the St.
Patty's Day.
And we would get so excitedabout this goal, and then
sometimes we'd follow through onit and sometimes we wouldn't.
Um, I'd like to say I think weran more than we didn't.
Um, but so then as I startedreading about the neurology of
goal setting and what's reallyhappening in the brain, it gave
(04:54):
me such aha moments aboutmyself.
So our brain loves setting agoal.
When we set a goal.
It's personal, it means a lot tous personally.
We get a burst of dopamine.
And what dopamine does for us isit gives us a burst of feel good
energy.
And so we're gonna feelmotivated and excited.
(05:16):
And for me, I love how I feelwhen I'm running consistently.
Jeans also fit the best when Irun consistently.
So there's a vanity element toit.
There's also a mental health.
Um, and there's also thatfeeling of achievement when you
do something so.
That's why we loved setting thegoal is because I knew that I
would feel good accomplishingit, and it was a, a great excuse
(05:38):
to have a sister's weekend,which we always love to do.
But the challenge is dopaminedoesn't stay active in our brain
for long.
And so we get that burst ofexcitement, like, we're gonna
book the hotel, we're gonna bookthe flight.
I'm gonna plan my runningschedule and map out my training
schedule.
I'm maybe gonna go get a cutenew running outfit.
And, and then you get startedand then life happens and you
(06:01):
get sick.
Or you know, something happenswith the kids and the schedule
changes, and before you know it,you're off track and the
training doesn't happen.
So.
Really understanding.
We need to break the goal downinto smaller parts so that we
can have, we've got a reengageddopamine as often as possible.
And going back to why did thatgoal mean a lot to you in the
(06:23):
first place?
What was it that motivated youabout that goal and then trying
to keep that personal motivationfor you front and center, and
then I think it's so importantto understand that.
Life is gonna derail you on yourgoal setting and goal achieving.
And so you've gotta have a planfor that ahead of time.
Um, and so, you know, one of thethings for me is I, I travel a
(06:44):
fair amount for work and it, itgoes in waves and phases.
But if I'm trying to run, youknow, four or five times a week,
that means I also need to runwhen I'm traveling.
And so do I have a plan forthat?
Am I staying in a hotel where Ican run outside from where I am?
Am I packing the right clothesfor, for inclement weather?
Because otherwise it's reallyeasy to wake up and say, uh,
(07:05):
it's raining outside.
I'm not gonna do it.
Or I'm not familiar with thisarea.
So when it comes to goalsetting, identifying your
hurdles ahead of time so thatyou can plan for it.
So you've got a backup and abackup backup plan in place.
Um, and then understanding howfatigue.
Changes everything when, and oneof the things that I say all the
(07:27):
time that probably drives mykids nuts is a tired brain is a
negative brain.
And so when our brain runs outof the energy or fuel or
resources it needs to do whatwe're asking it to do, we
automatically go negative.
And so if I'm feeling reallytired and.
(07:47):
I just wanna sleep in in themorning.
I don't wanna go for a run.
It's gonna be harder to do.
And so I need to make sure thatI'm giving my brain, excuse me,
what it needs in order to beable to achieve that goal.
So I need to make sure that I'mgetting the rest I need to make
sure that I'm getting the fuel,because that's gonna give my
brain a better ability to bepositive and stay positive, and
(08:10):
to, to then be able to do thework that needs to go into
achieving the goal.
And then having those littlemicro goals.
And so instead of, you know,setting up something that's
three months long, you know,maybe your goal is, can I run
three times this week?
And then that's my goal.
And then what, what can I dothat I'm gonna feel really good
about as a reward for achievingthat goal?
(08:32):
Maybe I'm gonna reward myselfwith.
A fun yoga class that I enjoy,that I don't take the time to
do, or maybe my reward's gonnabe, you know, going out for
dinner or going for a walk witha friend that I just love
spending time with.
What is, what is something thatI can give myself to look
forward to, so that we're justlooking for those opportunities
to, to release more dopamine inour system, to help us maintain
(08:54):
that feeling of energy,positivity, and motivation to
achieve the goal.
Lisa (09:00):
Okay.
That was a lot.
I have questions.
Okay.
Um, so you kind of addressed ithere at the end, but I wrote
right at the beginning when yousaid we need to reengage
dopamine as often as possible.
So let me ask, do you mean bysetting new mini goals?
'cause that was how we firstengaged it was by setting this
(09:21):
big one.
So do we, do we engage thatdopamine or, um, get that
dopamine hit by setting minigoals or by the rewards?
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (09:30):
Both.
Both.
And, and you know, when ourbrain is in a positive state,
we're, we're gonna be moremotivated to do hard things.
And so you also, the dopaminealso doesn't even need to be
related to the reward.
And so if you are keeping yourbrain and body.
Feeling good, functioning well,then you are going to have more
(09:52):
of the energy and resources todo the hard work and, you know,
to, to relate it to eating.
Eating is so habitual, right?
There's so many things that wejust do without even thinking
about it.
And, you know, maybe I'm workingon reducing the number of added
sugars and, and that's my goal.
And, and that's something I'mprioritizing and working on.
But then when I've got twominutes between meetings that I
(10:13):
go run in the kitchen and grabsomething, it's so easy to, to
grab the thing I always grab,you know, grab a handful of, of
granola and just shovel it in mymouth when it's like, oh shoot.
I was wanting to, to grabsomething different.
I was wanting, you know, Hummer,hums some crackers instead, but
I grabbed, the thing I alwaysgrabbed is, is when we're tired
(10:34):
and we're running out ofresources, we fall back on
habits even more.
Change requires energy andeffort from the brain.
It requires active thought and,and so does achieving a goal.
And so we're not going to do thehard work to achieve the goal
when we're on autopilot.
And so in order to have theenergy and resources.
To put in the hard work, thenwe've gotta make sure that, that
(10:55):
we're set up and equipped to dothat.
Lisa (10:59):
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Yeah, yeah, totally.
And I think, um, my listenershave heard me talk about a lot
like getting your eating out ofhabit mode, bringing it back
into the intentional brain sothat we can make intentional
choices.
Because Yeah, when we're eatingon autopilot, we.
Tend to overeat because we'reeating the same amount that we
used to.
And so it's not only just whatwe're grabbing but the amounts,
(11:22):
um, you know, that we are alwayseating and, and we don't tend to
question that when we're inautopilot.
Um, another thing that you saidwas, having a plan for getting
derailed, and I think this isprobably the same concept,
concept that I call obstaclesand strategies where.
Instead of thinking about allthe things that you are gonna
do, like absolutely buy the newrunning outfit, you know,
(11:45):
download the app, the couch to5K, whatever.
You know, all of those like todo items.
But then it's also the idea oflike, and what are you going to
do when.
Fill in the blank.
Terrible thing happens rightwhen it's raining, when your
cute outfit is in the, in thelaundry, when you just don't
feel like it.
And so when we create a plan forwhen things don't go correctly,
(12:10):
and I always relate this back tothe, um, 2008 Olympics with
Michael Phelps when his gogglesstarted leaking.
And he had a plan when mygoggles leak, because that
happens to swimmers, it's not anunusual setback.
You know, it's not an unusualobstacle.
if my goggles were to leak, Iwill count my strokes, and he
knew how many strokes it was onthe third length of that event.
(12:35):
What, what that looked like.
He had replayed that event somany times in his brain, the
video tape in his brain that,you know, he of course won and,
and got that gold medal.
Um, but it's because he had aplan for when things he, he
wasn't surprised by thatnegative thing happening.
Like, nobody wants their gogglesto leak.
Nobody wants it to rain whenit's running day, but when
(12:58):
you're not surprised by theobstacle, I think that is,
that's really helpful.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (13:03):
Yeah, but I, I think of it in terms of
life gives us hurdles and Ican't always remove the hurdle,
but what can I do to influencethe hurdle?
Like, can I make the hurdle alittle bit shorter or can I push
it off to the side a little bit?
Or can I, you know, uh, and, andso.
And you're exactly right wherelife life happens, and there's
(13:23):
gonna be days where you have areally, really bad day at work
where everything falls apart andyou're exhausted.
And you're stressed.
Or a day when you have a reallybad headache or an unexpected
family emergency crops up andyou've gotta drop everything and
juggle 32 balls in addition toall the balls you juggle.
That's life.
It happens.
And so.
(13:44):
You're exactly right.
Is, is just, it's when you set agoal, regardless of if the goal
is physical activity or eating,or I wanna write a book, it,
whatever the goal is, it's.
Identify the hurdles ahead oftime and what, what can you do?
And so, um, I go back to thebook example.
That was, that was a life thatwas a just bucket list.
(14:04):
Lifelong goal of mine was towrite a book.
I'm an avid reader and so I'vealways wanted to write a book
and I started.
Never finished one time and thatI got as far as I signed with an
agent and, and I, I just, Icouldn't get it done.
And that's always been just adisappointment I had in myself.
And so when I set out to do itagain, I needed to do it with a
(14:25):
different plan.
I needed to know that there wasstill gonna be travel hockey
season and there was still gonnabe work, and there are still
gonna be all these demands.
And so I had to build it into myschedule, and, and I needed
flexibility within that.
You know, I wasn't gonna be ableto hit the number of dedicated
hours every week.
And so just again, having a planfor, those pieces to, to help
(14:48):
keep me on track.
Lisa (14:49):
Yeah, so good just to have, have a plan.
And I think this probablyrelates to the next question I
wanted to ask you, which is whyis everything so much harder
when we're tired?
Uh, and obviously I talk aboutsleep a lot with my clients.
Making good nutrition choices isso impacted by sleep, not just
(15:12):
because the brain is tired, butbecause of the actual hormone,
um, leptin, ghrelin influencesthat occur when we are fatigued.
So, what can we do and why isit, from a brain perspective
just so much harder?
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (15:26):
I'm gonna answer this by first talking
about cognition and executivefunctions.
So our executive functions.
Are our ability to.
Plan, prioritize, organize.
It's our ability to be fluid andflexible to go with the flow
when life happens and we'vegotta change.
It's our ability to regulate ourmood and emotions.
(15:48):
And so these are all the thingsthat we need to be successful as
an adult.
These are the things that wewatch for in our kids.
If they're not going well, it'sthe why did you do your homework
and not turn it in?
You, you already did the work.
It's the executive functionsthat allow us to execute on
those tasks.
But what our executive functionsare is, is they're not just
behaviors.
They're the result of what'shappening in our brain.
(16:09):
So it's the behavior action thatwe see or don't see, but, but it
all is stemming from theconnectivity in our brain.
So our executive functions relyon our cognitive abilities.
And our cognitive abilities areour ability to direct and
sustain our attention to processsensory information.
So what I'm hearing and seeingour ability to block out
(16:30):
distractions and have impulsecontrol.
And so when we have.
A breakdown in what we're tryingto do it, it's coming from our
cognitive abilities, which stemfrom the brain.
Our cognitive abilities, I thinkof as our precious resources.
Our cognitive abilities are notabilities that we're born with.
(16:51):
They are tied to ourdevelopment.
So, as you know, an infant's notborn with the cognitive
abilities.
They need to thrive as an adultand to have executive functions.
They develop over time throughuse and experience.
But there are some of the lastthings to develop.
They're some of the first thingsto decline.
When we think about somebodyaging, they lose auditory and
visual processing.
(17:12):
They start talking more slowly.
They're missing this bits andpieces of information.
Their attention starts to, toshorten.
And so their, that impacts theirmemory.
Um, so our cognitive resourcesare some of our most high demand
resources in our brain.
So they require a lot ofsupport.
(17:32):
To function.
And so there's so many thingsthat chip away at our cognitive
abilities when we're stressed,it's diverting activation and
energy from these high levelbrain functions.
And now we're functioning insurvival mode.
How do I get through this nextminute?
How do I deal with the, the, youknow, blow upper challenge?
Rather than thinking about,okay, what do I need tomorrow?
(17:54):
How do I plan for that projectthat's due next month?
So stress chips away at ourcognitive resources, which is
gonna influence.
Our executive functions, whichare our choices and actions.
Um, pain.
So if you have chronic pain, ifyou're sick, those are all
things that make it harder tofunction.
(18:14):
So fatigue and fuel are also twobig elements with that.
And on the sleep piece.
And there's a study that cameout from Cambridge Brain
Sciences several years ago, andthey were looking at the impact
of just very slight sleepdeprivation on your cognitive
functions.
And they found just a couplenights of less.
An adequate sleep and yourbrain, your cognitive abilities,
(18:35):
functions as though you'remildly intoxicated, and so your
ability to direct and sustainattention to to control your
impulses.
Goes down, we've, we've shiftedthe resources in your brain
because the brain's prioritizingsurvival, not higher level
thinking.
And so, our cognitive abilitiesand our choices and actions and
(18:55):
behaviors are high levelfunctions that just require a
lot to support.
And a great way to understandthis is, we all know the term
hangry.
You know, when you're hangry,when you're, you're so hungry.
You can't concentrate.
And I hit that point and myhusband says, what do you want?
I can't even make a decision onwhere we're going to eat.
Or you know what?
You can't think.
(19:15):
You can't plan, you can't,again, you've run outta fuel and
resources.
So the brain is dropping downinto survival mode.
I know I need to eat right nowand I'm cranky.
And I'm irritable, irritable.
I can't regulate my mood andemotions.
but it doesn't just happenbecause of, of blood sugars and
running out of fuel.
Um, we, we.
Divert the brain's resourcesthrough gaming and social media
(19:40):
through stress and anxiety.
Those are all things that thatcan chip away at the resources.
And one of the things, um, thatI think about often is our brain
is constantly asking us thequestion, is the outcome worth
the effort?
So, um, when we're tired, I'mgonna go back to my going for a
run example.
(20:00):
I know I feel and functionbetter when I, when I go for a
run or a walk regularly, butwhen I'm really tired and my
brain's always subconsciouslyasking myself that question when
I'm really tired, the answermight be no, the effort's not
worth the outcome because it'sgonna require more energy and
effort to put the gear on and goout and do it.
(20:21):
Um, and so.
In order to say, yes, the energyis, is worth it.
Um, we've gotta provide our, ourbrain and body what it means to
have the resources to do that.
Lisa (20:35):
Sleep is so tricky because of course there's people that
suffer from insomnia and they'relike, yeah, I know.
I get it.
I always feel bad.
My sister suffers from insomnia.
And so every time she's like,when you, you know, these sleep
episodes, like, that's great.
I know I need sleep and it justmakes me feel worse.
And so I do wanna give a shoutout to like, first of all, new
parents.
I'm sorry, you're just not gonnathink well right now.
(20:57):
Like, good luck.
Um, that's a rough time.
And also those with, you know,clinical insomnia.
I, I always am like.
I, I do hope you get the help.
Most of the time my clients arejust struggling with, I just
don't get off the couch and goto bed.
And that's what we can reallymake the difference with On, on
Sleep is to just choose, makebetter choices is to just, you
(21:20):
know, get into these habits of,going to bed.
On time, whatever that lookslike for you in order to get the
number of hours that you want.
And I will say we're coming offof, it's been about a week and a
half since, um, spring forwardand gosh, my husband and I
really struggled this year.
Like I ha just had a really hardtime thinking last week and I
(21:42):
just kept thinking, but I'mgoing to bet on time, but
somehow I just could not.
Catch up and it takes, it takesme a long time to adjust.
And so I really did see thislast week with like the feeling
like I, you know, wasn't gettingquite enough sleep.
And I think it's probablybecause I wasn't falling asleep
when I should have been becauseof the time change.
(22:05):
And so anyway,
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (22:07):
Well, it, and I'm with you so much, so
much credit and love and supportto those that struggle with
sleep.
It you, it's something youcannot take for granted because
having gone through periodswhere it's been a, a struggle
and being in a good place now,it is real.
But I just, I wanna give acouple just quick tips of, um,
it doesn't, it doesn't negatethe sleep deficit, but other
ways to, to reengage the brain.
(22:28):
It's just a quick, a short burstof exercise.
There are so many differenttypes of exercise that provide
different.
Outcomes and different benefitsto the brain, but something as
simple as one to three minutesof spiking the heart rate.
So you know.
Just running the stairs or doingsquat jumps or jumping jacks or
jump rope.
Just a quick, a quick movementjust gives your body a burst of,
(22:53):
of energy and activation that'sgonna help to reengage your
attention and focus.
Reengage your memory, reengageyour energy.
And so if you're at a point offatigue and you can't sleep at
night, or you don't have time togo take a nap.
If you take a nap, it'll wreckyour sleep at at night.
Um, using physical to toreengage can, be just a quick
tip that can help.
(23:13):
It doesn't mean it's gonna makethe rest of the day smooth
sailing, but if you need tofocus and not knock something
out, just taking that coupleminutes of movement before you
sit down to to do the work canbe helpful.
Lisa (23:24):
I think I probably need to engage that in the afternoons.
That's kind of my slump timebecause I'm really careful
about, I, I usually have alittle caffeine in the morning,
but because of the half-life ofcaffeine, I am careful not to
have it after 11, sometimesnoon, and so.
Then I sometimes will be tiredat four or five when I need to,
(23:45):
you know, finish up work.
And so I think that would be agood time to kind of start in
with that habit.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (23:52):
And even if it's not one to three minutes of
spiking the heart rate, justsimply engaging your core
muscles.
The, the old saying of sit up topay attention is true.
When we engage our core muscles,it, Activates a part of the
brain.
It's called the reticularactivating system.
I always imagine it to be like agarage door.
'cause when we engage our coremuscles, it's like it opens that
(24:12):
garage door to say, be alert, beengaged.
And so just simply sitting upstraight or taking a few minutes
to just get up and go for a walkor stretch is also gonna
reengage your brain.
And so if you, you know, in thatmid-afternoon slump, Just being
aware of your posture or, orjust, you know, standing up.
I sit all day long at mycomputer for work and so just
(24:36):
shifting to standing for alittle bit or taking a few
minutes to, to walk.
Just anything that you can do toeng engage your core muscles is
going to engage the brain.
And a great way to remember thisis, um.
When we are not engaging thecore muscles that garage door,
taking in sensory informationcloses, that's what allows our
brain to sleep at night whenwe're sleeping all of the same
(24:59):
energy and all of the samesensory input is still
surrounding us, but our brain'snot taking it in.
When we're laying down, we'renot engaging any of our muscles.
When your alarm goes off firstthing in the morning, what we do
is we stretch.
When you're stretching, you'refiring a muscle which fires
input into the brain.
So your muscles are telling yourbrain it's time to start to be
(25:20):
awake and alert and engaged.
So it's time to start to take inthat input.
So that's also why if you've gota day where you're just vegging
out on the couch, that's why youfeel tired and sluggish.
It's because you haven'tactivated and engaged your
muscles, so you haven't woken upand stimulated your brain.
Lisa (25:36):
Is so good.
I was just reading, um, somedischarge information for my
mom.
I don't wanna throw her underthe bus, but she's fairly de.
Conditioned, that was kind ofthe, actual diagnosis that they
sent her home with.
And the first, the first symptomof being deconditioned is
fatigue.
And I talked to her about, okay,in order to recondition your
(25:57):
muscles in order to like getstronger.
We have to move the body, and itseems like it's the opposite.
Like, I'm tired, I should rest,but actually we need to shift to
I'm tired, I need to move mybody.
And this was like really kind ofmind blowing for her.
And.
I mean, honestly for me too, asI was reading it, I was like,
(26:18):
wow, this is, this is crazy.
Like the way it's reading.
And I think it's just the samefor us when, for someone who is
fairly conditioned, you know,not an an older person who is in
that situation, but I, it was agood lesson for me to say.
Sometimes what I need is rest,but most of the time what I need
is movement, is movement toengage my brain and to wake up.
(26:40):
I I am a morning exerciser forsure.
I, I just enjoy moving my bodyin the morning and a lot of
times I'm like, oh, am I tootired today?
I'm like, no, that's the time.
This is the time.
And, and cognitively I can lookand be like, I got seven, eight
hours of sleep.
It'll be fine.
You're not actually too tired.
You know?
(27:00):
And um, so I think that's reallyhelpful for, people in this age
bracket as well.
Not, you know, just not just forelderly people.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (27:08):
Yeah.
Well, I, it's, it's both, it's,well, it's, I think about things
in terms of development.
Productivity in aging, like wewant to live brain healthy lives
across the lifespan.
And two of the biggest driversof brain function are muscles in
our sensory system.
And so if you've got somebody,whether we're talking about
development or aging, we havegot to be engaging multisensory
(27:32):
stimulation and we have got tobe engaging and moving the body.
If we don't, then the brain isnot taking an input and, and
then we we're gonna acceleratedeep decline.
And if we're not.
Taking an input, then we're notmaximizing development.
And so that's one of myconcerns, you know, with, with
youth on screen time is screentime's not bad?
(27:52):
It was, we don't have theexpectation that, that there
should be none of it.
But how do we find that balancewhere there's a little bit of
screen time and a lot ofmovement rather than a lot of
screen time and a littlemovement.
Um, but it's the brain.
The brain needs sensory inputand the brain needs muscles and
movement.
Lisa (28:09):
So definitely those two things.
But from a fuel perspective,would you consider those fuel
for the brain, first of all?
Like the, the sensory input andthe muscle movement, is that
fuel for the brain or when you,when you refer to how well we
fuel our brain, is that more ofon the nutrition side?
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (28:26):
A hundred percent.
It's nutrition side for thefuel, the, the movement and the
sensory is stimulation for thebrain.
It's what's engaging networksand pathways in the brain, and
we need both.
We need the fuel to support thenetworks and pathways, and then
we've gotta exercise and engagethem and the brain, when we run
out of fuel, we're gonna loseour high level functions.
(28:47):
So we're gonna see a decline inour executive functions.
We're going to see a decline inour cognition.
Um, whether that's in the momentor over the long term, um, we
need both fuel, um, becausethat's what creates the energy
that supports our activities.
Lisa (29:02):
Is there any fuel or nutrition choices in particular
that you think are essential?
Or is it just you're
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (29:09):
I'm laughing because this, this
could be hours.
Yeah.
Okay.
Lisa (29:13):
how many, how many hours do we have?
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (29:15):
Yeah.
Um, you know, nutrition is, isso critically important.
We cannot talk about brainhealth development, performance,
cognition without talking aboutnutrition.
Um, it, it's what makes our bodygo.
And so we have to be giving ourbrain and body a type of fuel
that our body can break down andutilize.
(29:37):
To create energy and to supportwhat we're asking it to do.
Um, so it's just not realisticto expect a car to drive if you
don't put gas in it and youcan't put sand in it and expect
it to go, you've gotta put inthe right gas.
Um, so, you know, simple, highlevel focusing and, and when it
(29:57):
comes to nutritional backup,nutrition is big and it's
overwhelming and we get so muchconflicting information, and it
all depends on your goal.
I'm gonna talk about nutritionfrom the perspective of what
does my brain need to be in anoptimal state.
Um, and I think a, simple way tostart with this is thinking
(30:18):
about what are the things thatwe can minimize?
And one of the things that wecan add, it can be hard to
change everything overnight, butif we think about, okay, couple
things that we know.
We know that ultra processedfoods.
Drives up inflammation in thebody.
Ultra processed foods justcreates wear and tear.
So that can be really hard onour system.
And a system with a lot ofinflammation is gonna have a
(30:40):
hard time, um, with high levelcognitive function.
It, it's just creating, I thinkof it as like mud in the system
or, or fog just makingeverything a little bit more
challenging.
And so can we work to minimizeour ultra processed foods?
So can we do more, less in theway of ultra processed foods,
more in the way of whole healthyfoods?
Then the same can can be saidfor, for sugars can we work on,
(31:04):
we know that added sugars, it'sa quick burst of energy that
then crashes leaving your body,craving that more and more.
And so from the perspective ofthe brain, I need good, stable
energy.
I've gotta have a good flow ofgas supporting the system.
And if I'm wanting to maintainhigh cognitive function and I'm
wanting to maintain regulationof mood and emotions.
(31:26):
Sugar peaks and valleys are, areworking against me big time.
And so the more we can avoidadded sugars, natural sugars are
fine in this perspective.
Um, but so, you know, fruits andthings like that, fine, but
doing.
A fruit juice that has a ton ofadded sugar that's that's
working against us.
Um, so from the perspective ofthe brain, we need to make sure
(31:49):
that we're checking all theboxes of the nutrients.
You know, there's some thingsthat our body's able to produce
and some things that we get fromthe foods we eat, and we all
tend to be pretty patterned withour eating.
Um, so either you're a pickyeater and you only eat a few
things, or I'm not a pickyeater.
We're a busy family on the go,so like Taco Tuesdays every
Tuesday and we grill steak everycent.
(32:11):
Like we're super routine.
Um, and so that means we'rechecking some boxes, not all
boxes.
So, um, I definitely am a foodfirst.
Person of, I wanna lead withgetting as many of the nutrients
I can for the foods we eat.
Um, but I do think that there'sa time and a place to supplement
for the things that you'remissing.
So to make sure that, that mybrain has what it needs, if I'm
(32:32):
a growing child, you have got tohave the nutrients to support
growth and development.
Um, if we're worried aboutattention and focus and behavior
at any age, again, we can'texpect the brain to perform if
we're not giving it.
What it needs.
Um, so
Lisa (32:49):
Any particular nutrients there?
I thought you might talk aboutlike omegas, but, um,
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (32:55):
yeah, so it,
Lisa (32:56):
in particular?
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (32:57):
so a super simple like.
I mean, I can't say enough goodthings about dark leafy greens
and about mixed berries from theantioxidant perspective and, and
what that does, um, fornutrients and antioxidants to
support the brain.
Um, but yes, it, to go deeper onnutrition, there's a couple
really key areas, and these arethings that we focus on and talk
(33:17):
about at brain Balance in ourprogram is, the gut brain
connection, making sure that wehave a healthy gut.
Um, the more we're learningabout the gut and the brain,
they're calling the gut thesecond brain.
And, and some are even saying,is it really the second brain?
Maybe it's the first brain.
And so the amount ofcommunication that's happening,
um, again, if we want highproductivity, high
Lisa (33:40):
let me just, let me just interrupt you for a second.
If, if people aren't familiarwith where that, why that's
important, a lot of yourneurotransmitters are made, they
begin in the gut and that's oneof the reasons why it's so
important because those thingsare actually made there.
So if we're not making properamounts of serotonin and
epinephrine and all of those INEwords that you hear, those,
(34:01):
those things are made in thegut.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (34:04):
And, and there's so much that we do in
our life that chips away at thehealth of our gut.
Um, you know, if you are on amedication, if we're doing ultra
processed foods.
Foods high in sugar.
There's a lot that takes awayfrom the good that's needed in
the gut.
A lot of our hormones are alsoproduced in the gut and absorbed
in the gut, and so if we're afemale of a certain age trying
(34:25):
to balance hormones, it there,we just, we could go on and on
if we want cognition, attentionfocused behavior.
Again, we can't really talkabout those things without, um,
connecting the gut to it aswell.
So, um, probiotic is importantthen, um.
Looking at your, your EPA andDHA, those are things that are
neuroprotective.
And so they're going to providea, think of it like the bike
(34:48):
helmet for the brain.
It's just giving us an extralayer of protection and it
supports our cognitive functionsand processes.
vitamin D is, is so criticallyimportant.
We're hearing about it more andmore for the immune system, but
also for, for our cognitivehealth as well.
Um, so those are threeprobiotic.
(35:08):
Fish oil, but making sure it'sthe, the right balance, um, and
vitamin D, and then making surethat we were checking the boxes
of a variety of nutrients andwhenever and wherever you can
working, you know, kale,spinach, broccoli, and mixed
berries.
Those are just great things forbrain health across the lifespan
(35:28):
from childhood in, into, um,aging, the
Lisa (35:32):
And all of that is just so high in fiber.
That's the prebiotic.
That's what your probiotics eat.
So that's, I mean, those thingsare kind of a double whammy
there, where you're getting, notonly are the micronutrients so
beneficial for brain health, butalso you're going to, I.
Promote the probiotic, the, thepositive probiotic growth that
we do want.
The, the good bacteria, the goodguys is what I'm trying to say
(35:54):
in, in the gut, so,
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (35:56):
Well, and I love that you brought fiber into
it.
Fiber's also so importantbecause it slows down.
Digestion, allowing our body topull more nutrients from it.
So if you're eating, if you doeat something really good and
healthy, but you don't have goodgut health and you don't have
fiber in your diet, it's gonna,or you haven't had fiber at that
meal, that that great nutrientis gonna pass right through and
you maybe don't have theopportunity to absorb it.
(36:17):
Um, and so also making sure thatwe consistently have good fiber
makes it just sets you up to bebetter able to break down,
digest, and absorb thosenutrients that are so critical.
Lisa (36:29):
Yeah, fiber, I, I mean, this is.
I did a, an interview a coupleweeks ago, and the gentleman I
interviewed, he's like, youknow, we can't study the
carnivore diet because it'sunethical to not give people
fiber because we know howpositive it is, and so it's like
unethical to study.
I thought that I just keep thatjust like this, this thought
that just like is continuing toreverberate around my brain that
(36:53):
that's how important fiber andvegetables and fruit are in our
diet.
We cannot even s we, it's, wecan't be ethical about studying
something because it's like, youcan't do that to humans.
You can't be like, here, let,let us make you super unhealthy.
It's so crazy.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (37:09):
right.
But yet, you look at how a lotof us eat and function, and a
lot of us would fall in thatunethical, because you're not
getting the fiber you need tosupport your brain and body.
Lisa (37:20):
So when, We know all this.
So it's like, okay.
Yeah.
Great.
I I hear you.
I should do that.
How can we make these dailynutrition choices that support
our goals and activities, howcan we bring that back around
to, you know, kind of like the,the goal setting?
How do you think is the easiestway to start making some of
(37:40):
these nutrition choices?
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (37:42):
I, I think first by acknowledging there's
nothing easy about it.
It, it is, you know, change isphysically uncomfortable, change
is physically hard and changerequires a lot of energy and
effort from the brain.
And again, your brain isconstantly asking whether you
realize it or not.
Is the outcome worth the effort?
And when we're talking aboutnutrition choices and changing
(38:02):
what we eat, when we're hungry,when we're eating for emotional
cravings, when we're, we eat forso many different reasons, and
our brain's always saying, is itworth it?
So is it worth giving up myfavorite thing for X, Y, and Z?
Um, so I think, you know, it'swhat is your real motivation?
And I think the real motivationis, is okay at, at different
(38:24):
times in my life, my truemotivation has been different.
Vanity of, of fitting into myfavorite jeans.
Right now, I'm definitely in mylife at a place where I'm more
focused on brain health and howI feel and function.
Um, and so what is yourmotivation and what is your
goal?
Really, really define that andyour goal.
It doesn't matter if it's whatanybody else's goal or if
anybody else at.
(38:45):
Understands it or approves of itthat is personal to you.
So get personal, get real, andthen you've gotta keep things
front and center.
And so I'm, I'm a big fan of,you know, post-it notes as
reminders, um, in, in all theplaces right in the car, in your
bathroom, um, just constantlykeeping those things front and
(39:05):
center for, for why you're doingthat.
Lisa (39:07):
I like repeating reminders on my phone, like things that
just come up every day at noon,like, this is your mantra.
Just don't forget and.
Just kind of thinking about,there's just so many ways we can
remind ourselves.
'cause sometimes, um, like whenI see those post-it notes, I
start to ignore them.
But if it comes up on my phone,I have to acknowledge it every
time.
I don't know if
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (39:28):
But, but again, it's finding the strategy
that works for you and that'sbrilliant.
I've never set repeatingreminders on my phone.
It, that makes a lot, a lot ofsense.
'cause we're looking at ourphones all day long.
Um, and then it, it's.
What are the small sustainablechanges?
And so what, start by what youcan add.
It's easier to add somethingthan it is to take away.
(39:49):
And so if you're not eating yourleafy greens before you take
away your favorite food, thatthat maybe is an ultra processed
food or is higher in sugar addfirst.
One of the things that I talkabout with my kids is fuel
first.
And so it's not, I don't wannavilify treats and snacks.
We need long-term sustainable.
Um, and so.
Eat what your brain and bodyneeds first, and then if you're
(40:11):
still hungry, absolutely.
Like, have a snack, have atreat, but then we're, we're
gonna eat less of it at thatpoint.
So start by asking what can Iadd that's gonna help?
So can I add more water to myday?
Our, you know, hydration isanother thing that we, I.
We, we know how important it is,but did you know a drop of just
2% in your body's hydration canalso impact cognition.
(40:32):
Every cell in your body haswater, and so if you want to be
focused, if you wanna have theenergy to do the hard things and
achieve the goal, sleep andhydration or to, I mean, sleep,
hydration, nutrition, exercise,like these things are all
critically important, butwater's a really great place to
start.
You'll see I always have.
(40:53):
The water bottle that's like thetime marked.
And so, you know, so I know howmuch water I'm getting.
Um, and so that's, I think, agreat place to start.
Um, so add first the things thatare gonna benefit your brain,
and then we can start to, totake away.
Now if, if your goal is to, youknow, lose a lot of weight in a
(41:14):
short amount of time, that's aslow process that, that's more
of a, you know, overtimestrategy.
Um,
Lisa (41:20):
Which is what I love and I call that crowding out.
So it's the same concept orwe're not, I'm not telling you
stop eating this, that, and theother.
I'm like, how can we crowd thatout?
if someone's like, I feel likemaybe I'm drinking too many diet
Cokes in a day, I'm like, okay,well let's just crowd that out
with one extra glass of waterand we can only drink so much
liquid.
So if you up your water just bya little bit, we're gonna crowd
(41:43):
out the drink that you don'twanna have.
So it's same concept, it's justlike a different.
Way that I teach it.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (41:49):
yeah.
I love that.
I also think for me, and thisis, this is what works and
resonates for me, is knowing thewhy behind it, um, is so
different than if you just say,like, if you said, Hey, Rebecca,
you know, diet Coke, you should,you should drink less of it.
Versus if you say to me, did youknow the type of sweetener
(42:09):
that's in Diet Coke crosses theblood brain barrier that can
actually do damage directly toyour brain?
So drinking Diet Coke with that,that artificial sweetener her to
brain, that's a motivatingfactor for me.
So then I'm like.
Okay.
I, I'd rather I'm gonna grabwater instead.
That's not gonna be a motivatingfactor for everybody.
But because my goal is brainhealth right now, that's, that's
(42:33):
my motivating factor.
Then when I look at thingsthrough the, the lens of the why
behind the motivating factor,um, that's gonna make me stop
and think.
Um, with, with my choices andactions.
And then I think also beingreally mindful of your thoughts
and your mood and energy becauseit tells you what your brain
needs.
So to go back to that statementof a tired brain is a negative
(42:55):
brain.
If I wake up and I'm just like,oh, I don't wanna do this today,
and oh my gosh, the kids didn'teven clean up after their
breakfast, that they, like, ifI, if I catch myself negative, I
press pause to say, okay.
If my brain's negative rightnow, it doesn't have what it
needs.
My brain's feeling overwhelmedby something right now, what can
(43:16):
I do to change that state?
Because it's easier to thinkhappy thoughts when our brain
has what its needs.
It's easier to make the hardchoices.
It's easier to do the hard workwhen my brain's in the right
state.
And so then I go through thechecklist of did I get enough
sleep last night?
No.
Well, I can't change that, but Ican do some quick exercise to
wake up.
Have I have I fueled so that I'mnot in a, a.
(43:39):
To make index low dip, and, andI'm needing, I'm not hangry and,
you know, am I feeling stressedand overwhelmed about work?
That can also make me feeloverwhelmed and put our brain in
a negative state where the braindoesn't have what it needs to,
to do what's asked of it.
And so what can I do to, to havethat feel a little bit more
under control?
(44:00):
Because then when my brain isrested and fueled and exercised
and, and less stressed andoverwhelmed.
Now suddenly I've got all thatgreat energy and activation
supporting my executivefunctions, which are my
decisions and actions and mycognition, which is my ability
to support that.
And so being mindful of what ourthoughts are telling us and what
(44:22):
we can do to influence, um, thatin the moment.
Lisa (44:26):
Perfect.
That is so great.
I think that is like such a goodsum up of what we've talked
about.
So I'm gonna say, let's wrap up.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Why don't you tell people wherethey can find you online or
learn more about the what youdo?
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (44:39):
Sure.
Um, you can find more aboutBrain balance at
www.Brainbalance.com.
Um, you can find me on Instagramor LinkedIn, Dr.
Rebecca Jackson.
and the book, Back on track.
A practical guide to help kidsof all ages thrive, is available
on Amazon or, or anywhere youget books.
Even though it's focused onkids, it's talking about the
brain.
And if you have a brain, thetips and tricks all apply.
(45:01):
And there's a whole chapter onattention And, it covers, it
covers everything.
And so if, if the tips andtricks and things that we were
discussing today were helpfuland interesting, um, you can get
more on, um, through the book.
Lisa (45:14):
Perfect.
We'll put the links to all ofthat in the show notes.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson (45:19):
Thank you.
I am so glad you tuned in today.
Before I sign off, I wannaremind you to fill out that
content survey link is in theshow notes for a chance to win
that Amazon gift card.
Also, you can grab the what todo when you overeat free three
part video series.
If you are trying to lose weightand find yourself overeating too
many times to see lastingsuccess, be sure to check out
(45:40):
that free course.
It also comes with a reset andrecover guide that will help you
put everything you learn in thevideos in writing.
And really clarify each step soyou can feel confident moving
forward.
That's free just for podcastlisteners, so be sure to grab
that in the show notes.
You can also book a free consultsession to see if my full 12
week one-on-one coaching programis right for you.
(46:00):
You can schedule that at thelink in the show notes.
Remember, it's not just aboutthe food, it's about empowering
yourself with choices that trulyserve you.
Have a great week and as always,thanks for listening to the Eat
Well Think Well Live Wellpodcast.
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