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Dr. Kerri Fullerton ND

Intuitive Eating. Health At Every Size Doctor

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Great Ideas

Put Your Thoughts to Sleep

April 27, 2021 by Kerri Fullerton

When I ask “how long does it take you to fall asleep,” I often get “OMG! If I could just shut my brain off I’d be fine!” If you’re one of those people who solve the problems of the world as your trying to fall asleep, or at 3 am, then this is for you.

Dedicated worry time is a strategy that I’ve used since I started Naturopathic Medical School back in 2000. While it may seem counterintuitive to worry on purpose, it can actually be an incredibly useful tool. I liken it to training the dog. As the adult in the relationship, I get to decide what the rules are. Same goes for my brain. I get to decide what and when we’ll think about certain things.


Now, if you’ve had a dog without training you can appreciate that it doesn’t always feel like you get to decide. “They just don’t listen!!”. Your brain may feel the same way – like it’s in charge instead of you. Over time, both the dog and your brain can be trained to follow your schedule. At first it will take constant reminders and it will feel exhausting. But persistence and patience pays off.

Here’s how you train your to brain to worry at 7pm instead of 3 am:

  1. Choose a worry time. Preferably this will be at least two hours before bed. We want to make sure that any stress response that gets triggered has time to settle down and cortisol has a half life of about an hour. Since cortisol interferes with melatonin production, we don’t want to cause a spike right before bed.
  2. Set a timer for 10 minutes.
  3. Worry. I mean it. Worry about everything that you can’t get out of your head when trying to fall/fall back to sleep. The kids, work, politics, that thing you said to that friend in grade 5…all of it – write it all down. Or if you just cannot journal, do it verbally – dictation or voice notes on your phone work great for this.
  4. When the timer goes off, stop. Take a deep breath and then move your body – dance, walk, stretch – what ever suits you.
  5. Every time your brain tries to address these worries out side of your worry time, you say – Nope, we do that after supper not at bedtime.

Over time it’s like the dog jumping on the bed. You kick them off. They come back. Rinse and repeat. As long as you don’t let them stay, they do eventually learn to stay off of the bed. Your brain will try to keep worrying outside of this time. But if you keep redirecting it, it will eventually get easier and less intrusive.

The next extension of this is to decide exactly what you’ll think about instead, but I’ll save that for another post.

Catherine Darley is an ND in Seattle with sleep focused practice. She’s the one that named this strategy “Putting Your Thoughts To Bed”. I love it. Such a cool visual. Tuck them into your notebook and then carry on with your evening.

Not sure how to tuck your thoughts in for the night? Let’s chat.

Book a Call

Filed Under: Great Ideas Tagged With: health, healthy lifestyle, sleep, training

Finding Great Recipes

February 4, 2019 by Kerri Fullerton

Finding Great Recipes

New recipes can provide some much needed variety to a menu that’s getting old.

On average, families rotate between 10-12 recipes, and that’s being generous. We’re creatures of habit.

And there’s good reason for that. New recipes, as exciting as they are, require a lot more thought. First, to find the recipe. Then, to ponder the ingredients (ex. Do I have those? Do I know what that is?). And then finally, the preparation. Since it’s new, it’s not second nature (ie. Harder to manage the kids AND cook).

A common mistake that I see being made is trying too much, too fast. Whether it’s a new weight-loss plan, or just trying to improve your nutrition, I see women getting overwhelmed and consumed by food. And then when life happens (‘cause it always does) they end up feeling like a failure.

My recommendation is that you don’t try more than one new recipe per week. That way you can try out new things, find some new recipes for your rotation, without going crazy.

Now, where do you find said recipe?

Well, I like choose from Chef’s and here’s why.

They care a lot about the quality and freshness of the ingredients. Chef’s like to use what’s local and in season wherever possible.

A Chef is “satisfaction driven” vs “nutrition driven”. Their primary goal is to create a satisfying and tasty meal. It’s about the flavours and textures. There’s a love present that I just don’t see with most “nutrition driven” cooks.

Satisfaction: The Hub of Intuitive Eating
Satisfaction is the Hub of Intuitive Eating

Am I saying that nutrition is unimportant? Heck no. But what’s the point in a nutritious meal that nobody will eat?

Have you ever done that? I sure have. I remember when I stopped using sugar. I had muffins, bean salads, and granola that nobody would eat. And when I got honest, I didn’t like them either.

So now, I use the least amount of sugar that I can while still making it genuinely satisfying and enjoyable.

Here are a few websites that I like to check out when looking for inspiration:

Jamie Oliver often has some great ideas that are rich in tasty vegetables and easy to make.

Michael Smith is another Chef that I follow. I find his dishes so full of flavour.

Often I’ll end up searching a site with many Chef’s featured like https://www.epicurious.com/ or https://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/

There are too many to list for sure. The point is, find someone who LOVES food and let yourself be inspired.

Let’s be honest, the nutrition gurus can’t seem to make up their minds about what’s healthy and what’s not. And everybody seems to have ‘evidence’ to back up their claims.

Try not to get caught up in the hype.

Where do you find food inspiration?

Get my Mindful Meal Planning Webinar

Filed Under: About Food, Great Ideas, Respect Your Body Tagged With: health at every size, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, intuitive eating

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