Supplement Guide

Which vitamins? What minerals? When? How much?

The supplement world can be so confusing, right?



And while they can be helpful for many people, they are unregulated. Yikes! And those who are allowed to prescribe them typically weren't fully informed about them in school nor are they able to take the time to individualize a supplement plan for each patient.



The more holistic docs we pay out of pocket to see often push their own 'proprietary' blends or affiliate brands of supplements and it feels like it could be a conflict of interest.



So we have people not supplementing when they might benefit if they were and other people just winging it without fully understanding implications, interactions and contraindications. Example: many people take vitamin D3 but aren't getting enough magnesium or K2 which are needed to activate D3 and help ensure calcium is deposited in more adaptive places (like bone) rather than maladaptive places (like arteries).



And many other people are just left feeling confused and looking for information any place they can find it. It leaves a lot of opportunity for progress in the system in the future, for sure.



I cannot and do not 'prescribe' supplements. But, we do have an information only, deep dive workshop in The After Party (which is my membership program that everyone gets a free month of after taking my 28-day metabolism-boosting course, TRANSFORM: Body + Mind). Check it out if you're in there now or if you're on the waitlist for the course, just know you'll be getting access to this workshop once the course is over. If you're a 1:1 client, you'll be getting this workshop as well and we'll be chatting about supplements if we haven't already. ;-)



But not all of you are inThe After Party, on the waitlist forTRANSFORM or a 1:1 client! So I wanted to make something for you. THIS SUPPLEMENT GUIDE is for informational purposes only. It's meant to answer some frequent questions I get, explain benefits of various types of supplements and act as a catalyst to start a conversation with your healthcare provider.



Hope it helps!



XO,
Tara

Sleep-deprived and Staying Healthy

It's no secret that sleep has been a scarcity around here for….well, quite some time!  As a breastfeeding mama, I'm "on call" every night - and that usually ends up being at least 5 or 10 night-time wakings (and feedings).  :-O  Yup, that wasn't a typo.  

My daughter was the same way, so I'm sort of immune to how ridiculous this actually sounds.  It's a path I'm more than happy to continue on until things happen to change organically.  I'm not looking to sleep-train, cut him off from night feedings, ask my husband to give him a bottle in the middle of the night, or anything else really.  No judgement to anyone else - this is just our choice.  It's actually quite a sweet set-up - Jagger sleeps in our room and he has this adorable way of simultaneously kicking and punching me when he's ready to nurse.  I swear it's much cuter than it sounds!  There's usually no crying involved, just a gentle "Mom, I need you now please" type of nudge.  At 9 months in, we've definitely gotten into a groove.

Magnolia is now almost 3 years old and those early co-sleeping and breastfeeding days with her are just beautiful memories now.  I know all-too-well how quickly the weeks slip by, even as each night may seem to last forever.  

With our days totally filled with Magnolia's stories, songs, activities, and boisterousness, I'm a-okay letting the wee hours of the night be reserved for one-on-one time with Jagger.  The snuggles and sweet baby breath will be gone before I can say, "Sleep, child!".  ;-)

So where does that leave me with my health and productivity?  There's this whole work thing, house thing, wife thing….Well, I have my moments of dragging and clawing my way through each hour, for sure!  However, I do like to think that a few of my good habits are responsible for keeping me as healthy and energetic as possible during this extended period of barely-any-sleep (and REM?  Do I ever get into REM?!).  I am typically rather fast-moving (that type A curse), happy, and feeling good and strong.

I started to record this video, as usual, without Jagger at first.  But, my storage space ran out on my phone about 30 seconds in and after taking time to make more space on this device, Little Man was ready to join me.  Perfecto!  After all, the lack of sleep is just a liiiiiiiittle bit about him anyway.

'Til next time...

In health,

Tara