Sian Harvie Coaching

Do you struggle with low energy or maybe even burn out?

Low energy can come from a few different things, are you stressed, overworking, feeling a lack of purpose. Not enough sleep or maybe just poor nutrition .

What is really important is to balance blood sugar throughout the afternoon as well, not just at breakfast. I often suggest a midday snack, something that is high in healthy fat or protein, lower sugar or natural sugar if you can. Some examples could be veggies and hummus, nuts like almonds, fruit and a piece of cheese.

It might feel like you have no time or even the energy to prepare anything. Keep it simple. Little baggie with nuts, hard boiled egg.

Key is to fuel yourself. If energy is so low you can’t find time to eat then we have a big problem.

Another big one is cutting back caffeine, i’m sure you have heard this one before but it tanks your adrenal glands. These glands keep us going. High stress and overdoing it with caffeine is a formula to deplete your adrenals.

I’ve been there,I get it 🙉.
I used to think a mid day coffee was going to get me through the day. Nope..I often felt worse.

I suggest you opt for a snack, herbal tea instead and see how you feel.
Some foods that help support energy:
🌟Leafy greens (Magnesium helps adrenal glands)
🌟Chia Seeds
🌟High quality proteins
🌟Health fats like (nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil)

What happens when we are stressed, tired or burnt out is our adrenal glands become depleted. Reducing caffeine and replacing it with water, lemon water, and leafy greens all can help. Green juice with some ginger can be so nourishing!

I would love to know if you struggle with low energy or burnout! Let me know below and let's chat!

Cycle synching changed my life.

For a long time my energy would go in waves, some weeks high vibe and ready to take on the world. Others I would feel tired and more inwards. I thought something was wrong with me, that my energy was dipping certain weeks. I don’t know why they don’t teach us this in school..

Then I learned about our body rhythms. As females we don’t follow the same clock as males. Our physiology is different. We run on a monthly cycle versus 24 hours.

Our hormones are different. And therefore need to be accounted for.

When I learned about cycle synching it changed everything for me.

I realized that my body runs on a 4 week schedule.

Each week is different.

Week one, your bleed week go inwards, rest, gentle walks. Don’t push, lean back.

Take time for yourself, and be a hermit 🙃

Week two, you start to feel more vibrant. This is a great time to do strength exercises to take advantage of rising testosterone. Plan to be social, you will likely feel extra outgoing and confident.

Week three, is a great time to finish up projects and those todo lists you have laying around. Use your high energy to get stuff done.

Week four, is a time to go inwards, reflect how the month went. Set some new intentions. Eat an extra snack, your body needs more calories this week.

Questions about this?

Put them below.

Why A Morning Routine is Non Negotiable.

If you wake up and check your phone.

You're responding to the world around you.

Tension might build in your body, and it sets the tone for the rest of the day.

If you don’t have space in your morning to be alone and go within, you are starting the day responding to everyone else’s needs.

My morning routine was garbage, I was waking up and responding to the world around me. Every time I woke up and checked my phone or emails or looked at the news, I would feel tension build in my body.

I learned that I am sensitive to others emotions and need to start the day alone, quiet and introspective before I can give energy to others' needs.

This is a big one I see in many of my clients. They are waking up and are instantly in go, go go. If this is you and you have low energy or are feeling anxious or stressed. Question your morning routine.

Can you give yourself 5 minutes before you respond to the world?

Take 5 minutes and be.

Breath
Meditate
Journal
Tap

Trust me. Your Nervous system will thank you.
Try and it see how it changes things.

Did you know that our thoughts directly determine the results we get?

Our thoughts create how we feel, how we feel determines the actions we take, and the actions we take create results.

My life changed when I realized that my thoughts had direct power over the results I was getting in my life.

You might be thinking how do my thoughts create my results or I can’t control my thoughts.

Let me break it down for you.

Old me, would start a new goal, let’s say a diet or health plan. I would stick to it then something would happen and I would fall off. For the longest time I could not understand why I kept failing.

I wondered if I was lazy, lacked willpower or just was indulgent.

One day I learned about this model, this way of thinking that many of my mentors teach.

It is the idea that, the inner dialogue, that little voice in our head is very powerful. It talks to us, it narrates our life as we experience it. It also loves to tell us certain things. Usually not very kind.

Let’s use an example.

Imagine the goal is to lose weight. Maybe you feel confident and motivated to do what it takes, other moments you find yourself looking in the mirror thinking I am fat and frumpy and will never lose weight. Maybe this thought leaves you feeling discouraged and shame. Then from that place you end up over eating again, which leads to more weight gain.

The thought created a feeling which created an action and a result.

The brain is very powderful and always wants to prove your thoughts true. In this example, by over eating it proves that you are not going to lose weight.

Now this might sound really discouraging…

But stay with me.

We can do something about it. Thats the brilliant part.

Step 1- notice these thoughts, what is your self talk. And what actions you take after feeling a certain way.

Step 2- we might not be able to change it right away- it’s not like we can instantly brain washourself and change the thoughts that come up. What you can do is pause- recognize the thought and see if you can make it slightly more neutral.

In the example above, maybe this thought swap could be “ I have a body, I am working at losing weight”.

Key is the more neutral thought needs to be believable.

It you try to make it something that feel very untrue for you it is only going to make you feel worse and create cognitive dissonance. Instead how can we make it feel like its slightly more positive.

Step 3- practice the thought. Everytime you notice the more negative one, pause and tell yourself the new thought.

Over time, you will notice a change in your feelings, and in turn what you end up doing.

Think about it.

If your new thought is, I am working at losing weight. What action might you take from that place?

Let me know if this resonates?

Do you struggle with food cravings mid afternoon? (even when you just had lunch)

Maybe you find yourself around 3-4 pm just ravenous and looking for something to munch on.

I often hear from clients that they are lacking in willpower when it comes to these cravings, and just can not resist.

What they might not realize is that it has nothing to do with willpower.

I know, that makes no sense. Stay with me…

Our bodies are brilliant machines that run off the foods we eat.

So think about it, what you put in your mouth has a direct effect on how we feel, cravings, energy, metabolism.

When you start your day off high carbs or high in sugar, it actually stimulates your body to want more and more carbs and sugar later into the day. The body is wired to run off carbs, and when you have something really sugary it lights up your reward pathways and makes you want it even more. It can be a double whammy.

When you eat a carb, it breaks down into sugar, it enters the bloodstream and the body decides what to do with it. Store it as fat or burn it off as energy. This seems like a pretty good system, but over time if you are eating in a way that is overworking your body. The body starts to become overburdened. It gets less effective at responding to these incoming food that it needs to break down and process.

Eventually it may start to alter your metabolism and your hormones and it is almost like this switch happens and suddenly… almost overnight.. everything you eat gets stored as fat no matter what you do AND all you crave is carbs, and sugar.

Has this happened to you?

Tomorrow at 1 pm EST I am going live inside my Facebook community to talk about this more and the top 4 things you need to know to optimize your metabolism. DM for link!

Some thoughts on calories...It's common to think cutting calories or the next fad diet can help, but in reality it often ends up only adding to belly fat, hips, face.

All the places most people are trying to slim down.

Here’s why.

As women, when we cut down the amount of calories we eat, in theory less food should equate to weight loss... But that’s not how it works, it actually slows down the metabolism and causes the body to eat itself.🙁

Most women are unaware of this and for a long time continue to struggle day to day with their weight management.

I see it over and over again with my clients. They come to me with low - self esteem, exhaustion and complete frustration because they have worked so hard to eat well, but their body isn’t changing.

And it's not their fault...It's their hormones.

Eating like this takes a toll on the metabolism and starts to shut things down..to a point where no matter how little you eat every piece of food is stored as a fat reserve instead of being burnt off as energy.

This is the exact opposite than what we want.. Yet many women are out there eating like this because they just don't know.

I would never want to see anyone under 1500. I know this might be shocking. It sounds like a lot but the truth is there is a baseline that our body needs to survive and the level it needs to thrive.

Do you know how many calories you are eating? 🥰

Warning...Rant Ahead 🙊

I am soooo over the notion that calorie counting or food restriction is the solution to the body of your dreams.

This might not be what you want to hear but restricting the amount of food you eat only tanks your metabolism and triggers your body to store more fat…

Some of these quick fix “diets” out there like only drinking lemon water, maple syrup and cayenne for a week or cutting calories to 800 a day…are only band aid solutions that lead to short term drops in weight.

I was recently speaking with a client and they were terrified to have more than a piece of fruit for dinner because it would mean they would surpass their allocated calorie amount for the day.

They had also just finished their fourth cardio workout for the week, but couldn’t understand why they felt like garbage and were not losing weight.

*hint*

They were starving.

Their metabolism was tanked and screaming.. FEED ME 😝

One of the first things we do in the Back To Balance program is assess how many calories you are eating in a day. ( I never want to see a woman under 1500)

This might be surprising but almost all the women I work with are chronically undereating, which is why they are not losing weight.

Do you have questions about how much you should be eating for your body type, send me a DM.

Why Are You Yo-Yo Dieting When You Know It Doesn’t Work?

When things are not working out the way we want them to, it can be so easy to start assigning blame…

On the situation..
On your spouse
On yourself…

But when you get into the blame game you are not doing anything to help fix the problem because that gets you stuck in a negative cycle of inaction...

There are reasons why you binge eat and many of them are rooted in deeper issues that will take some time to fully address and resolve.

Some of the main reasons why you might continue to yo-yo diet is because…

You are not eating the right foods
Your mindset is getting in the way
Your hormones are working against you

Over the years I have learned that these are some of the main factors that keep my clients from permanently losing weight.

They are also some of the main things that I focus on in my Program The Back To Balance Method.

Over 4 months I walk busy women like you through a process of transformation that takes them from feeling tired and frustrated with their hormonal weight gain to feeling in control, moving forward, and re energized.

Together we address these root causes that are keeping you locked in a cycle of emotional eating and never ending dieting and bring you to a place where you can experience food freedom and feel good in your skin.

If you are ready to be done with yo-yo dieting for good then type “I Am Ready!” in the comments below...🔥

Dealing with stuck weight is exhausting…

It can be really hard to even know where to begin…

I get it…

I’ve seen this over and over again…

High achieving women who are…

▶Exhausted
▶Hormonal
▶Feeling Heavy
▶Tired of thinking about what to make for dinner?

The good news is...there IS a way forward and I have seen it hundreds of times…

But it's going to take a little time so…

So I want to personally invite you to join me in my Free Facebook Community, Food Freedom For Women, where you will find encouragement and support along the way…

We’ll help you get from exhausted to energized...

Link to join is in the comments below!

Am I The Only One Who...?

Buys a week's worth of groceries but then orders take out on the way home… because all my food planning energy went into grocery shopping?

Please let me know I’m not the only one…🙊

What is Your Low Energy Stopping You From Doing?

When I was dealing with low energy and extreme mood swings, I found that I was often unable to muster up the energy to do the things I wanted to do in my life due to my fatigue.

This left me feeling alone and caused issues at work.

I finally got to a point where I decided I was not going to let low energy stop me from enjoying my life and that’s when I made some serious changes…

Once I got really clear about what was important to me that I was currently missing out on... I was able to make the necessary changes that I needed to put the fatigue behind me and get back to doing the things I wanted to do.

It wasn’t always easy and I certainly did not make perfect progress but…

I realized I needed to eat in a way that nourished my body.

I made the commitment to myself and got the information and accountability I needed.

This allowed me to move my fatigue from being front-and-centre of my life to the background where it was much more manageable and less intrusive.

So what is low energy or fatigue stopping you from doing in life? If you were no longer exhausted what would you be doing that you are currently not able to do? Share your big dream below!

My Top Tips To Help Transform Your Body To A Fat Burning Machine...FAST

Weight problem didn’t start overnight and it may take some time to see lasting and permanent changes

However...there are some tried and true tips that I give to all my clients to help them when they are really struggling…

-Balance Blood Sugar
-Eat Based On Your Metabolism
-Proper Hydration
-Support Stress Hormones

My personal favourite and the one I have found the most consistently helpful is supporting stress hormones because it helps the body release stuck weight, especially in the belly area.

Try one or try them all...and then let me know how they work for you...

What if you didn’t have to take medication to manage your blood sugar or spend $300 on supplements a month?

What if you didn't have to cook weird foods for yourself and another ‘normal’ meal for your kids?

What if you didn't have to eat salad every day?

Sounds crazy, but the clients who achieve their goals aren’t doing any of these things.

Look, I’m not saying any of these are bad.

What I want to get across to you today is, this is what I constantly see in clients who come to me to get control of their weight, hormones and food cravings.

They’ve spent all this money and done all of these things but are still in the same spot and some are in a worse spot.

🌟They still have belly fat, which affects how they feel in their clothes.
🌟They still have food cravings, which affects their ability to lose weight.
🌟They still have low energy and brain fog, which affects how productive they can be during the day.

But really, the deeper issue is their body is not getting what it needs.

And to truly have success, you need to look at doing things differently, in a way that actuality nourishes the body and takes in account the specific needs of the female metabolism.

And like the client’s I’ve helped achieve to dramatically change hormonal symptoms like belly fat you will be successful too once you implement this.

If you want a life not controlled by hormones...put “ME” in the comments if you want more information and let’s chat.👇

The Power of Affirmations

Affirmations are powerful words or phrases that you can say out loud to yourself to help you achieve your goals.

Choose affirmations that feel good when you say them vs. choosing things that make you feel like you are trying to convince yourself of something that isn’t true...

For instance, saying, “I am a millionaire” only reminds you that your bank account is in the negative...this is not a good affirmation for you!

Try something like this instead, “Every day I am increasing my wealth and feeling more abundant”.

OR “Every day I am improving my health and wellbeing”

If you are new to saying affirmations, commit to saying one affirmation a day for the next week, a minimum of five times per day.

Let me know in the comments a new affirmation that you are going to try this week... or a favourite one that you have been using for awhile.

What Is Your Daily Self-Care Routine...Do You Even Have One??

I am hearing a lot of buzz around prioritizing “self-care” these days...but what does that *actually* look like?

I see a lot of these posts accompanied by pictures of spa days and facials...but self-care is not all about pedicures, yoga mats and affirmations.

It’s important to practice DAILY self-care.

For some...self-care might mean making sure they take a shower or eat breakfast.

For others...it might mean drinking more water or even making their bed in the morning.

It might mean setting some stricter boundaries on time..or getting some help with childcare responsibilities so that they can go window shopping.

Self-care is going to look different for everyone.

Don’t get caught up in the “nice idea” of it.

Think about what you must have/do to be your best on a daily basis.

Then make it a priority.

Ask for what you need and expect it…

Because when you get what you need...everything and everyone you give yourself to in a day will also benefit…

Tell me ONE self-care action that is a MUST for you...

Too many times Women suffer from stubborn hormonal weight gain but they continue to cut all carbs from their diet as a quick fix.

In reality this approach isn’t helping anyone. Especially if you’re a busy female always on the go. So if you’re still restricting carbs...

Here’s why it’s not working.

When you deprive your body of a food group it actually slows down your metabolism and causes the body to question what is going on.

It starts to store everything you eat… as a reserve to keep it safe.

A lot of women are unaware of this because they hear how their friend down the street did keto and lost 80 pounds.

The problem is, that not everyone's body is the same.

What I have come to know is that the female metabolism has very unique needs...and there are certain weeks in a month that the body can be more sensitive to carbs, and times when it needs them to thrive.

And if you are a busy on the go woman… It needs a special balance of nutrients.

Many Women are unaware of this. So for a long time they continued to struggle day to day with calorie cutting diets, feeling exhausted and stubborn weight challenges.

And just when they thought they had to live with this forever, they had a breakthrough when they heard hormones control how well your metabolism works.

The female metabolism needs specific meal combinations and foods that stimulate the hormones that support the metabolism… because your body doesn't work in isolation… eat this and lose weight.

Your body needs multiple nutrients in the form of food combinations to work with.

This triggers your body to release the right hormones when done right.

I’m curious. Did this resonate with you? Have you made this mistake before? Let me know in the comments.

I once lived a very busy lifestyle, school, work, family, sports… all the things... I felt like I was drowning in a never ending list of commitments.

Some days it felt impossible to eat healthy.

This was a challenging time for me, and I see this now more than ever with my current clients.

It can be challenging to eat healthy when time and energy is low.

I get it.

A few things that have helped me are

1)Keep it as simple as possible.

2) be kind to yourself & remember it doesn’t need to be perfect

3) Get support

4)Have a system in place to set yourself up for success

I have helped BUSY women overcome weight loss resistance, get out of the never ending diet cycle and not have to trade time for results.

All they did was follow the 4 phase protocol I use in the Back To Balance Method.

They followed just 1 pillar in the program on resetting the metabolism, this allowed the body to switch from fat storing mode to fat burning mode, paired with a tailored plan to account for the busyness of life.

And after following through with resetting their metabolism even with the lack of time, they saw changes on the scale.

So if you’ve been in this situation where time is holding you back, let me know in the comments!

I’ll get back to you on how a master reset can work for you. ✨ 🥰

I don't know about you, but when I first started trying to figure out what to eat for breakfast, I was really overwhelmed and just ended up not even eating breakfast because all the “breakfast things” didn't seem to be the things I was supposed to eat. So all day I was just really hungry, grumpy and tired...

If you are like that, take a look at this recipe below. It's a game changer.

I meal-prep it every few weekends and have it ready to go, it's something where I don't have to think about and I know it's going to help support my hormones.

Even my husband approves. Lol

Egg Muffins:
(10 servings)
Ingredients:
1 ½ tsps Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10 Eggs
2 Tbsp water or milk
1-2 cups finely chopped vegetables ( peppers, spinach, mushrooms, onions, tomato)
¼ cup cheese (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

1.Preheat oven to 375 F, grease muffin tin with the oil
2. In a pan over medium high heat, cook the vegetables until wilted then remove from the pan and set aside to cool slightly.
3. In a mixing bowl whisk the eggs together with the water and salt and pepper. Fold in the veggies.
4. Pour in the egg mixture into the muffins tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the egg is firm to the touch and just brown around the edges.
Let the egg muffins cool slightly before removing from the pan. Enjoy!

Let me know below! Have you tried Egg Muffins before?

Did you know that most diets fail.

I keep seeing this so I want to talk about it for a second….
Maybe you have been trying every diet under the sun for years and years.

From calorie restriction to keto....

Sometimes it works, at first but then something changes and it doesn’t.

Maybe you are stuck in this yo-yo cycle, the weight comes off, and comes back over and over again.

When we lose 5 pounds quickly it's often half muscle mass half fat but then we end up gaining back 10 pounds of fat instead of muscle mass.

Why is this?

When we diet and see a quick dip in weight, it's often a loss of muscle mass, so the scale goes down temporarily, then the metabolism realizes what's going on and panics. It sounds the alarm to start storing fat.

Think about it…

Have you experienced this ?

Maybe recently we're really committed to a diet and ate really well for a week or two, then there was this social event...

Because you had been working so hard you deserved a little treat.

You eat 1 dessert and get water weight, bloated and low energy.
Maybe even digestive symptoms from eating foods your body doesn’t like.

Has this happened to you?

I am hosting a training tomorrow in my free Facebook Community, Food Freedom For Women. If you are not yet a member send me a private Message and I can send you the link!

Do you resonate with this let me know with an emoji. 👇

Do you ever feel like your body is broken ?

Are you an emotional eater?

Or you ever found yourself leaning on food for comfort, at the end of a long stressful day?

Do you have food cravings in the afternoon or late evening that are irresistible?

And maybe you even had a healthy breakfast and you did all the things, but then something happened at work with your boss and all you can think about is those little candies in your desk...

Somedays maybe you even felt like your body might be a little broken or something was wrong with you because you have ZERO willpower....

Sound familiar? I hear you.

Before going any further, I want you to know that there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with you.

You are not broken.

You are not the exception to the rule.

Comment “ME” if this is you and let’s figure out what is going

🍋 WHO HERE STARTS THE DAY WITH LEMONS ??🍋

Lemon Water is my favourite refreshing drink to start the morning, I have it along with my coffee (Yes I drink coffee..)

✅ One way to get more lemon in your life is to drink infused water every morning! To make it, simply squeeze a couple of tablespoons of fresh lemon into a glass of water (warm or cold, your choice!).

The Lemon helps clear out the body and its really refreshing! It can help with weight management, digestion and energy!

😋 What’s your favorite healthy lemon dish? Lemon chicken … lemon-garlic fish … or maybe a lemon-based dressing drizzled over quinoa and veggies?

💯 So good! It doesn’t just taste delicious. Lemons contain a LONG list of nutritional benefits thanks to its antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals!

💪🏾 Lemons can help boost your immune system, ease your digestive system, and they even contain anti-cancer compounds.

🧡 Plus, they are good for heart health, may help prevent stroke, can lower blood pressure, and they may contain compounds that help control your weight.

🍲 You can also drizzle lemon on your veggies and salads.

Put a 🍋 below if you are currently having lemon water in the morning!

What is mindful eating...

Mindful eating teaches you to be aware of your eating habits and the value of the eating process so you can distinguish between your triggers and your actions.

When the craving or urge to eat occurs, take 5 minutes before you give in to the craving.

Be aware of you physical and emotional cues. Learn to know when you are eating for reasons other than hunger. Focus on how you buy and prepare your food.

Be aware as to how you eat – how long it takes to eat and if, and how, you enjoy it. Learn to choose foods that are both enjoyable and nourishing. And finally, learn to find other ways to meet your emotional needs other than eating.

Most emotional eaters often feel powerless over food and their cravings. The minute you find the urge to eat so strong that it is unbearable, you must teach yourself that that is the cue to take a step back and figure our what is really going on. You must recognize the urge in order to find the appropriate corrective action. Remember that emotional eating is often mindless so conscious thought can be your best friend and help you find the right solutions.

Learn to accept your feelings, good or bad. Emotional eaters often eat to prevent feeling what they are trying to avoid. It may be painful to have the feelings on the surface, even scary but this will help prevent mindless eating.

6 Steps to Mindful Eating:

It starts with buying the food. Think about what you are purchasing and why. What is the benefit of each food? Are the foods providing nourishment, pleasure or convenience? Make each food a conscious choice so you know understand why you are buying the foods you buy.

Sit down at the able with a true physical appetite. Try not to be too hungry, which can happen if you do not eat regularly. Being too hungry can cause you to eat too fast and not enjoy your food.
Eat smaller portions to start. Make a conscious decision to eat more as needed as opposed to filling your plate and eating everything on it.

Take time to appreciate your food. Take a minute before you eat to smell your food and notice the colour and texture. Contemplate the enjoyment of the process of eating and express gratitude.

Taste your food. Take small bites as too much food in the mouth overloads the taste receptors, and can prevent true enjoyment of the food

Eat slowly and chew thoroughly. Allow the mind and the body the time it needs to appreciate what has been received and the body can, in turn, tell you when it has received enough. Emotional eating distorts our sense of how much food we really need. Taking out time to chew and savour the food can re-establish our natural food cues so we eat only the amount we need to meet the needs of the body and be truly satisfied.

Food should be guilt-free and a pleasure but it is a physical pleasure. We must know that we are eating the food we eat for the right reason. Practising these steps takes time for them to help you but it is worth the exercise.