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Hey guys, seven weeks in. Welcome back. And before we get into this week's content, I want to invite you to consider something because this is a question that comes up for some of our members around this stage of the program, and I wonder if it might resonate for you. Have you found yourself doing everything you think you're supposed to be doing? You're eating well, training consistently, you're tracking your food, all the things, yet you're still feeling tired, and maybe you're still feeling like there's things that you're craving that you would rather not be craving. And perhaps you're not quite seeing the results that you're expecting at this stage. And if that's you, then this week might be exactly what you need because there's often a piece that gets missed. And we talk a lot in this program about fueling your body properly, about not underfueling, and about ensuring that you're eating enough to support your body and what you're asking of it. But there is another side that's also just as important, and it really gets the same attention. It's not just about what you eat and how hard you train, it's also about how well you rest. And it's about what's happening inside your gut. So let's get into it. So for your health track this week, we're covering two things that are deeply connected: your sleep and your gut health. And by the end of this episode, I think you'll see that they're not quite separate topics. They're actually two sides of the same coin. Both of them are running quietly behind the scenes. So let's start with sleep. And I want to be honest with you here because this is something I know a lot about personally, and perhaps some of you will resonate because I am a high achiever. I always have been. For a very long time, my relationship with rest has not been great. If there was something on my to-do list, I felt like I hadn't earned the right to switch off until it was all done. And the thing about running a business, being a mum, juggling everything most of us are juggling, is that the list never actually is done. There is always one more thing. My husband will always laugh when I congratulate, well, I celebrate, I should say, the end of a project that I've achieved, the end of something that we've been working on at Legacy. And he kind of rolls his eyes and goes, Well, how long will this last before there's another big project? So for a very long time, I just didn't rest while I was setting up the business, and even for many, many years before that, it became a bit of a habit and a pattern for myself. I told myself that I would catch up on sleep later, that I would slow down once things had settled. But things never settled. And then in 2023, my body basically forced the issue for me. And I hit a health crisis from pushing too hard for too long, and it stopped me in my tracks. And that was the moment I had to learn something I genuinely didn't know how to do. I literally became bedbound for a couple of months with a spinal fluid leak. And as a result, I had to learn how to rest. I had to let go of the need to be on top of everything all the time. And here is what I came to understand that the whole point of a to-do list is that it captures what needs to happen so your brain does not have to hold on to it. That it's meant to free you up so that you can relax and not become another stick that you beat yourself up with. And it was in that time of self-healing and self-discovery that I realized how important it was. And now I protect it. I protect it ferociously with everything that I can. I still find myself getting caught up in the excitement of a project, but I also know there's always tomorrow. And as long as I can just keep kicking the can along, no matter how slow, as long as there's a little bit of progress being made each day, that means I'm on track. And therefore I need to prioritize my rest because without that rest, I can't function as well and I can't think as clearly, and the creative options to the problems that we have to solve are just not available to me. So I've really learned that prioritizing my rest was not just important for my physical health, but for my emotional, spiritual, and mental well-being. So, in a nutshell, perhaps it's worth looking at your own stories around rest and starting to appreciate that rest is not a reward for getting everything done. It's not a luxury. It's not something you can earn once the list is clear. Sleep and rest are actually biological necessities. And when we consistently shortchange ourselves, there will come a time when our body fights back. And perhaps that's what you're experiencing at this stage in the program. In fact, the research on this is also really interesting. Um, and you might remember we talked about leptin and ghrelin back in week one. Remember those hormones? Leptin being the one that tells your brain that you're full, and ghrelin is the one that tells your brain when you're hungry. And we talked about how they work together to regulate your appetite. And here's what we didn't talk about. Sleep is one of the most powerful regulators for both of those hormones. When you sleep less, even if it's just an hour or two less, leptin drops and ghrelin rises. What it means is that your fullness signals go quiet and your hunger signals get really loud, and you wake up genuinely hungrier and less satisfied after meals. And that means you're more likely to reach for quick high-energy carbohydrate-based foods in order to compensate for that hunger and that feeling of not having enough energy. And one study actually found that sleep restriction increased your snack consumption by around 300 calories, which is more than what's required to be in a calorie deficit to see fat loss. So if you're actually overconsuming 300 calories, you're going to be slowly gaining body fat above and beyond what's required. So it's important to get your hormones working with you and just remembering that rest and sleep is a big part of having leptin and ghrelin hormones balanced. So if you've ever had a rough night and you find yourself raiding the pantry the next day for things that you wouldn't normally, just know that it's not a weakness, that it's actually a biological, it's a physiological thing that's happening inside your body. And sometimes just knowing that alone will give you power over it. And perhaps you can make a smoothie instead and make sure that the night the following night you're going to get to bed a little bit earlier. Another really important thing about sleep is that sleep is when your body does the repair work. So the growth hormones, um, which are the hormones responsible for muscle repair and recovery, they are released primarily while you sleep. So this means that all the training that you're doing, all those lift classes, the shred sessions, the long walks, the work does not actually happen in the gym. It actually happens when you're asleep. And if you're consistently underslept, you're consistently shortchanging yourself of your body's abil ability to repair the work. So your results will reflect that. And not because you're not training hard enough or working hard enough, but because you're actually not recovering enough. There's not enough time for the hormones to recover and replenish the damage that's happening from the workouts that you're doing. And there is one more thing worth naming here, especially for those of us going through perimenopause or menopause. This stage of life is often accompanied by disrupted sleep, as many of you may know, things like hot flashes, night sweats, lighter sleep cycles, waking up earlier. And if that's happening to you, just know you're again, you're not imagining it, you're not alone. This is very normal during this time of our lives. And we will go a little deeper into the hormonal picture during this time in week 10. But for now, just know that protecting your sleep in whatever way you can is going to be one of the highest value things that you can do for your body right now. So, what does good quality sleep actually look like in practice? And there's a few things that the research points to here. One is a consistent bedtime and wake time. And even though that's not always possible, you know, particularly it can be challenging on the weekends, it is actually one of the best things you can do. And that's because your body runs on a circadian rhythm and it loves that predictability. So going to bed and waking up very close to the same time each day is one of the single most effective things you can do to get good quality of sleep. It's also important to have a cool and dark room. I know for me personally I like to have the window slightly open because your body temperature does drop as you fall asleep, and a slightly cooler environment actually supports that process. And especially for women dealing with night sweats, this might be especially helpful for you. So be mindful of things like your Duna covers. You might need to swap out to something lighter and keep that window slightly open for that cool, fresh air to help you get that deeper sleep at night. A third thing that can be helpful is to remember that we need to remove the screens from our hands and potentially the TVs in our room before at least an hour before bedtime. So it's the blue light that's coming from our phones and our tablets and even our tech TV screens that can affect uh your melatonin. Your melatonin is your sleep hormone, and that's the hormone that signals to your brain that it's time to sleep, and that blue light can make it feel like it's still daytime. So that makes it harder for you to switch off. And this is where investing perhaps in some blue light glasses, if you are planning to be watching TV late at night, or if you have to be on your phone or your computer late at night, those blue light glasses can block some of that blue wavelength. Um, so just make sure that you're going for the amber or the orange lenses, as they are the best to wear at night time to help limit that exposure and to help your sleep cycle produce the melatonin that it needs in order to get to sleep properly. And finally, of course, we can't talk about sleep without, of course, mentioning alcohol. And I know we've talked about this before, but it's worth naming again here because it is so often misunderstood. Alcohol might help you fall asleep faster, but it does significantly disrupt your sleep quality. It fragments your sleep, it reduces the deep sleep stages, and it leaves you less rested even after a full night of sleeping. So if you are struggling with sleep and you are consuming alcohol every day or every evening, this is one of the first places to look. So I want to pivot a little bit now and switch across to gut health. And this is something I want to connect back to what we've touched on in week three, the gut brain connection. So in week three, we talked about how the gut and the brain are in constant communication. And what I want to add to this now is that your gut is not just communicating with your brain about digestion, it's also producing hormones and chemical messengers that regulate your mood, your energy, your stress response. And here is the part that might even surprise you: your sleep as well. So around 90% of your body's serotonin is actually produced in the gut. So when we remember that serotonin is a precursor to melatonin, and melatonin is the sleep hormone, it's important to remember then that a healthy, diverse gut microbiome is not just good for your digestion, but it actually directly influences how well you sleep at night. And the reason this is important is because there's a group of bacteria that's called bifidobacteria, which influences the way your body metabolizes tryptophan. And tryptophan is an amino acid that converts into serotonin and then eventually melatonin. So when your gut microbiome is healthy and diverse, this process runs smoothly. When it's disrupted by ultra-processed foods, perhaps alcohol, stress, or poor sleep, your whole system starts to break down. So, yes, poor sleep actually damages your gut health. And poor gut health then disrupts your sleep. So it be can become a vicious cycle, which is why addressing both together is exactly what we're doing this week. And it's much more powerful than just addressing one in isolation of the other. So the million dollar question then is what feeds a healthy gut? And it's actually simpler than most people think. The biggest thing is variety. It's the single most important factor. The more diverse the plant foods are in your diet, the more diverse your gut bacteria is. And there's actually a number that's worth knowing here, a number that you can reach for, because research of the American Gut Project, one of the largest microbone studies ever done, found that people eating more than 30 different plant foods a week had noticeably more diverse gut bacteria than those eating 10 or fewer. And that is not just fruit and vegetables, it also includes herbs, spices, nuts, seeds, grains, legumes, they all count. So 30 might sound like a lot, but think about it properly. A meal with three different types of vegetables, a sprinkle of herbs, and a handful of nuts on top can already give you five or six in one sitting. So it adds up faster than you think. And it's not a target that you need to hit perfectly every week, but it is worth thinking about and starting to notice. And looking at your food diary each week, is there a diversity of color? Is there a diversity of different plant foods there? Because that's going to help you improve your gut microbiome and as a result improve the hormonal optimization when it comes to sleep. And just remember you don't need to overhaul it all at once. Just think about adding in one new plant food each week. Trying something new at the supermarket. One more thing we want to talk about here is fermented foods as well, because these are your gut's best friends. So thinking about Greek yogurt, uh kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, and even low sugar kombucha. These foods contain live cultures that directly benefit the bacteria in your gut. So even a small serve of these daily makes a meaningful difference over time. Remembering as well that fiber feeds your existing gut bacteria, particularly the beneficial ones. So the short chain fatty acids produced when gut bacteria ferment fiber have been shown to support immune function and reduce inflammation. And even support sleep. So these vegetables and the legumes we've been building into your meals, they are more important than you realize, and they're doing a lot to keep you healthy, uh, to support your immune system and to support your sleep. So just remembering what damages your gut health, it's the ultra-processed foods, it's alcohol, it's stress, it's antibiotics when they're not necessary, and of course, poor sleep. So remembering that everything is connected, and anything you can do to improve your gut health is going to improve your sleep, and everything you can do to improve your sleep is going to increase the chances that you don't over-consume calories, you don't over-consume high energy carbohydrates when you're feeling sleep-deprived, and you make better choices. So it's all connected. Look after your rest, look after your sleep so that you can make the best possible choices and feed your gut the healthy bacteria and the high fiber diets that will support that bacteria so that it can support your hormones and you can feel your best and recover your best from your training. And now I'm going to pivot onto our mindset track for this week. And I am going to connect it back to sleep in just a moment. But first, let's think about our habits because we've been talking a lot about our habits throughout this program and about building systems that make good choices automatic. And one of the most powerful ideas in habit science is this every habit is a vote for the new identity you want to build. So when you go to bed at a consistent time, you are voting for the person who takes her recovery seriously. When you choose yogurt over a biscuit, you are voting for the person who nourishes her gut. These are not big dramatic gestures, but they are quiet and consistent choices that compound over time into something significant. But here is the mindset piece I really want you to sit with this week. And that is that so many of us have been conditioned to believe that rest is lazy. That if we're not busy, we're not productive. That taking care of ourselves is indulgent. And so this week I want you to gently challenge that. Remembering that rest is not the absence of effort. Rest is where the effort pays off. It's where your muscles rebuild and where your hormones reset. It's where your brain consolidates everything you've learned and experienced. Rest is productive and it is essential. And choosing it deliberately is one of the most powerful things you can do for your results. So this week I want you to notice the stories you tell yourself about sleep and rest. Perhaps you will realize that you wear being busy as a badge of honor. Do you stay up late because it's the only time you have to yourself? Do you tell yourself that you feel guilty to go to bed before everything is done on your list? Those are the stories that are worth examining because they might be quietly costing you more than you realize. And by bringing awareness to the stories that you have, you have the power and the opportunity to choose differently. And finally, for your action track this week, there's three things. They're all practical and they're all doable. First, set a consistent bedtime this week and stick to it. Pick a time that gives you seven to eight hours before your alarm goes and commit to it for seven days. No phones in bed. Make sure you cool the temperature of your room if you can manage it, and perhaps just see how you go with that because this one change alone, getting that consistent bedtime, can have a measurable impact on your appetite, your energy, your mood, and therefore your results. Secondly, add one gut-friendly food to your diary this week. So it doesn't have to be overcomplicated. It could be some Greek yogurt, it could be a serve of sauerkraut with dinner or some kimchi. Even as simple as just choosing one new vegetable that you're going to try this week. And third, notice the connection. So this week, pay attention to how your sleep affects your hunger and your food choices the following day. And when you sleep well, does it feel easier to make good choices compared to when you sleep poorly? When you sleep poorly, do you notice you have more cravings? Just observe it. And if you can, write it down somewhere so that you can share it with your check-in next week. This is the kind of awareness is where real understanding starts and it becomes less about motivation and more about having a relationship with your body and doing what feels right because of the biofeedback that you're getting. So set your bedtime, add one gut-friendly food, and notice the connection. That's it for your week. Seven weeks in team. Well done. You're building something real here. Not just habits around food and training, but a deep understanding of how your body works and what it actually needs. That's the understanding that makes this sustainable. So that you're not relying on willpower, you're not relying on discipline, you're building a relationship with your body through knowledge and awareness. So rest well this week, team, and I mean that literally, and I'll see you next week.