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One of the things people have been most curious ab

One of the things people have been most curious about regarding my carnivore experiment has been the cost - is it expensive, or *more* expensive, to eat a meat only diet?⁣
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I’ve been surprised myself by the answer to this.⁣
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In short, no, it has not been more expensive than my previous omnivore diet, although this needs some context.⁣
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Before, we were spending our food money pretty evenly across meat & dairy, fresh produce (I aimed for mostly organic), and dried goods/grocery foods (nuts, seeds, canned legumes, pasta, crackers, chocolate, etc.)⁣
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Now, we spend a majority of that same budget on meat & eggs, a little bit on dairy, and a very small amount on some plant foods that I’m still offering to my daughter (fruit, veg, nuts, etc.)⁣
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After eliminating all the expensive produce and health foods that I was spending a lot on and then adding in more meat, we’ve come out pretty much even.⁣
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To be honest, I haven’t run the exact numbers but at a guess we spend somewhere around $200-250/week, same as before. Just keep in mind that this is us *not* holding back on spending. Eating meat can be more affordable than this.⁣
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This has been my experience. I can’t say that this would be the same for everyone else, because it depends on your starting point.⁣
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If you’re eating a lot of affordable convenience foods, then yeah maybe it will be more expensive. But if you’re eating a lot of health foods that are typically higher priced, like I was, well you might not notice any difference.⁣
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📷 Photos of now vs then.
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I did a whole Q&A over on my blog last week answering all of the FAQs I’ve been getting on this topic - you can read it via the link in my bio 🥩 ⁣
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#carnivore #carnivorediet

I am all for you having your coffee, mama, but too

I am all for you having your coffee, mama, but too much of a good thing can be not-such-a-good-thing when it comes to caffeine, the stimulant molecule found in coffee.⁣
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Although at times we all might reach for coffee to give us a pick me up, it’s not uncommon for me to see cycles of caffeine-induced fatigue in the mothers I work with.⁣
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The very thing we’re reaching for to help with our energy can actually end up depleting it even further when over consumed.⁣
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It goes like this:⁣
⟫ Mama feels tired, burnt out and stressed⁣
⟫ leans on coffee for energy⁣
⟫ feels good for a short period of time but then crashes, feeling more tired than before⁣
⟫ drinks more coffee ⁣
⟫ doesn’t get restorative sleep overnight (thanks, in part, to too much caffeine) ⁣
⟫ wakes feeling unrefreshed and exhausted⁣
⟫ then needs more coffee the next day to deal with even more stress & fatigue⁣
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The cycle repeats and before you know it, you’re stuck in this pattern day after day.⁣
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A little bit of coffee can be really useful for dealing with the many responsibilities of being a mother. It can give you that alertness and drive that’s needed after yet another busy week or broken nights sleep.⁣
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But when we over consume coffee regularly, it places a big demand on the body to keep up with a level of stimulation beyond our biological norms. ⁣
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The devil is in the details - the dose. ⁣
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We all tolerate caffeine differently, so there is no hard and fast rule about exactly how much is too much for you. It’s something you need to observe and assess for yourself.⁣
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But, if you’re drinking 2, 3, 4 or more cups of coffee every day AND feeling tired, stressed, overwhelmed, burnt out, or having trouble sleeping, it might be time to consider reducing your total intake and looking for alternatives.⁣
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Try one of these alternatives above to give your body a break.⁣
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What’s your go to alternative? ⁣
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We all know I love my decaf, but I’m partial to a good rooibos too 💗

My week of solo parenting has (finally) come to an

My week of solo parenting has (finally) come to an end. It was easier than I expected, and yet at the same time, it was anything but easy.⁣
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Constant vigilance, no down time, and zero room for things not going to plan.⁣
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And I only have one child.⁣
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But one week? Totally doable.⁣
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Permanent single parent? Next level hard.⁣
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Which is what I reminded myself of all week. This is what single parents are dealing with every day (plus more). My week of solo parenting is nothing compared to that.⁣
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There’s value in that, isn’t there? In keeping things in perspective. In remembering to be grateful. I’m appreciating what you have.⁣
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But it can also be unhelpful, too, can’t it? Comparing ourselves to others. Dismissing our own struggles as not being valid. Measuring our situation up against another’s.⁣
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And it goes both ways.⁣
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It makes me think of when I was in the throes of broken sleep with baby Z. Those gut wrenching, soul crushing nights that had me walking like a zombie all day for months on end.⁣ Of when other mothers would complain when their otherwise sleeps-through-the-night baby woke 2 or 3 times, and I wanted to shake them and scream, ‘MY GOD, YOU HAVE NO IDEA!’ ⁣
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Because my pain was worse than theirs. My struggle was harder.⁣
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And perhaps you could argue that there are some things that from the outside appear objectively harder than others (like being a single parent versus solo mama for one week).⁣
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But the personal journey is different. It’s subjective. It’s not up for debate. It’s influenced by our past experiences, our personality, our circumstance, our skill set. No one knows the full story of our internal world.⁣
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So those mothers with their sleepy babies struggling with one rough night - their experience was valid. Their pain was real.⁣ Who was I to question?⁣
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Like so much in motherhood, it’s a ‘yes and’ situation, not ‘either or’⁣
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Yes, that night sounds rough, and I’m going through the same thing.⁣
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Yes, I found solo parenting hard, and I know that some are doing it much tougher than me.⁣
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Yes, I’m grateful for what I have, and my struggles are still valid.⁣
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Yes, our experiences are different, and we can still find common ground.⁣

For tired, overwhelmed mamas who feel like they ha

For tired, overwhelmed mamas who feel like they have a constant cloud of brain fog hanging over their head, choline is one of the first nutrients that comes to mind for me.⁣
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It’s one of the unsung heroes for women through the perinatal period, only just starting to get the limelight and appreciation it deserves in this important stage of life.⁣
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In the research, choline is sometimes referred to as a nootropic, which means that it enhances brain function and cognition. Increasing dietary intake of choline and supplementing when needed can make a big difference for that feeling of mum brain or fogginess that is so common in new motherhood.⁣
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These benefits extend to baby too - choline via the breastmilk continues to support baby’s brain development in the critical window over the first years of life. ⁣
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This is one of the (many) reasons I love eggs for new mothers - they are by far the best food source of choline. Just one egg yolk provides just under a quarter of your daily needs. Check out my highlight on “Mama Nutrition” for my previous post all about eggs. ⁣
Choline is typically only found in small amounts or not at all in prenatal supplements, making it especially important to be mindful of getting enough choline from your food.⁣
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Do you think you’re reaching the recommended intake level each day? See slide 7 for some example daily meal plans to help you meet your choline needs.⁣
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xx⁣
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#newmama #naturopathformums #naturalmama #postpartumrecovery #thefourthtrimester #postpartum #naturalparenting #postnatalrecovery #postnataldepletion #matrescence #newmamanaturopath #postpartumnutrition #prenatalnutrition #gentlemama

Mum guilt is a sly vixen, isn’t she? A bit like

Mum guilt is a sly vixen, isn’t she? A bit like the monster with a thousand heads - just when you think you’ve slayed her, she rears another of her ugly faces in new and unexpected ways.⁣
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Over time, I’ve learned to dance with her, rather than battle her. I think she’s misunderstood as being critical, oppressive, or maniacal, when really, she’s just delivering information. I believe her intentions are good.⁣
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I think she’s just trying to keep me safe - safe from judgement or regret, from making mistakes, or from the consequences of straying from my values.⁣
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But the trouble is that she doesn’t always get it right. Her message often arrives scrambled, with important details mixed up along the way. Like, for example, how she repeatedly confuses the values of the culture we grew up in as being the same as my own.⁣
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So nowadays, when she turns up knocking on the door of my consciousness, I don’t try to hide from her. I’m not scared anymore. I welcome her in and get curious about what she has to share.⁣
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On the occasions she’s right, I don’t begrudge her for reminding me of what I value, because it keeps me on track.⁣
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And when she’s wrong, I don’t belittle her because (and this is especially true when she’s wrong) it’s an opportunity for even more clarity about what’s truly important to me.⁣
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She’s been knocking a lot recently, in light of our transition into daycare. She’s been very busy delivering lots of memos from the outside. Busy trying to keep me safe, in alignment. ⁣
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But she’s got quite a few things wrong and that’s ok, because it’s meant I’ve been able to shed yet another layer of cultural baggage around ‘good mothering’ that doesn’t belong to me.⁣
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xx

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Got cravings, mama? ⁣ ⁣ You’re not alone. I

Got cravings, mama? ⁣
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You’re not alone. I hear this often from the new mamas I work with.⁣
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Cravings are a natural response to the exhaustion, fatigue, sleep deprivation, and increased demands on our body that come with this phase of life.⁣
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These demands alter the way that certain process or body systems work, resulting in cravings.⁣
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Although the demands of early motherhood are hard to control, there is plenty we can do to support any underlying imbalances; the common ones being imbalances with blood sugar regulation, electrolyte levels, adrenal gland + nervous system function, or nutrient deficiencies.⁣
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Cravings give us information - when we pay attention to these clues, we can understand what’s driving them and how we can best support your body to find balance again.⁣
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#newmama #sugarcravings #naturopathformums #naturalmama #postpartumrecovery #thefourthtrimester #postpartum #naturalparenting #postnatalrecovery #postnataldepletion #matrescence #newmamanaturopath #postpartumdoula