Biohacking to feel at your best

As a busy mom, working full time being podcaster, and multi-passionate individual, finding time for self-care can be a challenge. However, I've learned that prioritizing myself is crucial to feeling vibrant and performing at my best. In this blog post, I'll share some tools and practices I use to protect my energy and feel my best.

We talk a lot about protecting, planning and managing our time, but we don't talk enough about protecting and managing our energy.

Today I want to share with you some of the things I am correctly doing and some of the tools I have added to my toolbox to help me feel at my best and have vibrant energy. Not all of these will be feasible for everyone — and that’s totally fine! Not all of these things might work for you, and that is ok, at the end of the day your know what’s best for you. If anything, I hope you simply know you’re worthy of living a healthy, full and vibrant life, and maybe these practices might give you some ideas to incorporate more you-time into your routine.

The Four Key Pillars

The four key pillars of my approach to protect my energy and feel my best are nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress management. Here are some practices that have worked for me:

• Nutrition: I follow a veggies-most diet, eat plenty of protein, and limit processed foods and sugar. I also use a 12:12 intermittent fasting to give my body a break from digestion and promote cellular repair.

• Exercise: I work out in the morning to boost my energy and mood, and focus on strength training and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) for maximum impact.

• Sleep: I prioritize getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night, and use a white noise app, and a comfortable mattress to ensure a restful night's sleep.

• Stress management: I practice mindfulness meditation, journaling, and breathwork to manage stress and promote relaxation.

A few years back and came across the concept of biohacking and I became very curious and fascinated as I learned more about what it was and how it could help me feel, look and be my best.

What is biohacking?

Biohacking is the practice of making small, incremental changes to your lifestyle to optimize your physical and mental health. By experimenting with different approaches and tracking the results, you can find what works best for you.

Most people are living lives that reflect a small fraction of their potential. They’re just getting by. They feel okay. Their energy is okay. But they aren’t feeling vital. They don’t feel fulfilled. They aren’t thriving! That was me.

Biohacking is a fascinating concept that involves experimenting with new things while having a clear end goal in mind. One of the essential aspects of biohacking is to track and monitor the impact of the changes you make, even the smallest ones. There are ten different areas in which you can experiment with biohacking. As an individual who has tried various biohacking techniques in all ten areas, I have experienced that some work wonders while others are not as effective. However, it's crucial to avoid experimenting with multiple things simultaneously. Doing so makes it challenging to isolate the impact of any single technique.

Finding What Works for You

Not all tools and practices work for everyone, and it's important to find what works best for you. Experiment with different approaches, track your results, and be open to trying new things. Remember that what works for you may be different than what works for someone else.

Tools and Practices

Here are some tools and practices that have helped me protect my energy and feel my best:

Infrared sauna blanket

Most of us can’t put an infrared sauna in our home, but this blanket is just as good. Just for a fraction of the cost and not taking much space, this infrared sauna blanket is a perfect addition to my daily routine.

Infrared creates deeply penetrating heat that promotes full body detoxification, better circulation, reduced inflammation, and healing from the inside out. I also think it’s incredibly relaxing and has helped my skin glow! I do it about 3 times a week for a great sweat and to eliminate extra toxins, and I fully feel like a new person every time. I typically use it in the evening, before bed, while I listen to an audio book or watch a TV show.

A metabolic tracking device (Lumen)

What is exactly a metabolic tracking device? Basically, it’s a device you breathe into and it will tell you if you’re burning carbs or fat based off of your CO2 levels. I was a bit skeptical but honestly, I am loving it! One other thing I love about this is that based off of your score in the morning, it will give you prescribed macros for the day (carbs, protein, fat) and it helps me to see what my body needs to be fueled well. It also will tell you if you need more food/fuel before a workout and allows you to track in real-time how flexible your metabolism is in terms of how it’s processing your food! Some of the benefits of using Lumen include:

• It helps improve your metabolic flexibility which allows you to lose weight in a sustainable way.

• It helps you improve your body’s ability to burn fat which decreases your hunger levels and makes your body less dependent on snacking.

• Increase your energy levels by developing a high functioning metabolism.

• It helps you improve your metabolic flexibility, your bodies efficiency in shifting between using fats and carbs

• Developing a flexible metabolism allows your body to maintain a healthy weight by optimizing the body’s ability to burn fat.

Cold Showers

Cold exposure builds psychological and physiological resilience. Cold plunges are gaining a lot of popularity lately. The next toy I will probably get is a ice-bath tub of some sort. For now I enjoy cold showers every morning. I work out every morning and after my workout I am ready for a shower. The last minute of my shower I crank the ice-cold water for a minute or so. I started with 10 seconds, build up to 30 seconds and now I am working on mastering the minute; no matter what the weather is. Cold showers are not necessarily something I look forward to, but I am sold on the befits. Researchers have found that in the long-term, regular exposure to cold might help your body burn more fat, improve recovery from exercise, and boost your immune system . Cold therapy may also enhance mood by increasing your levels of feel-good endorphins.

Meditation

I have never been able to madidate. It's super hard for me to quiet my mind, being completely honest. And then I found this app that changed it all. The app is called Balance. I got a free year, a great deal! You can get a free year too, here. I madidate anywhere between 5-10 min every day as part of my morning routine and have accumulated over 12 hours of meditation since I started.

I feel noticeably calmer and more present throughout the day since picking up a steady meditation practice.

Supplements

Not too long ago I wrote a blog post sharing my supplement routine. My routine has not changed much since I shared this. I do want to add a few more things I add to supplement my nutrition and help me get vibrant energy and feel at my best.

1. I shared I workout every day as part of my morning routine. It's one of the very first things I do after working out and to help me have the energy and need to get through my workout and take the most out of it I drink a pre-work supplement. I love this one because it's pure clean energy.

2. After my working I have a post-workout supplement. I use this one that has 20gr of protein. It help combat exercise-induced muscle soreness and jump-start recovery so I can hit every workout with strength and intensity. I take it after every workout to help combat exercise-induced muscle soreness, speed muscle recovery, support muscle growth, and restore my strength.

3. I love to enjoy a cup of coffee or recently my oat milk matcha latte and I have been adding a collagen boost on my morning cup of joy. Collagen has been help reduce the appearance of wrinkles, increase skin elasticity, and support healthy nails.

Light

For optimal health, our bodies need regular exposure to a full spectrum of light from the sun. Most humans are dependent on sun for their vitamin D requirement. Skin pigment, sunscreen use, aging, time of day, season and latitude dramatically affect Vitamin D levels. Vitamin D3 downregulates inflammation in the body, promotes proper immune cell function, and assists in optimal insulin production. Even though it is essential, it has been estimated that about 50% of the world’s population has Vitamin D insufficiency, in part because we avoid the sun so much.

Personally I aim to get 10 minutes of sunlight in the morning. I have been able to fit this in when taking my daughter to the bus stop.

Another powerful type of light that can enhance your biological functioning is red light. Red light has a wide range of benefits including improving mitochondrial function, increasing circulation and decreasing inflammation. Personally I have not yet experiment with red light therapy but you will see below that is one of the things I am looking forward to experiment with next.

Food

There is a lot that can be said about food, but I will keep it simple: The food choices you make matter. The way you look, feel and perform is massively influenced by what foods you do and do not consume. I am most likely not telling you anything that you didn't knew before. Think back to the last time you ate junk food. What happened to your mood and energy afterwards? So, what makes a good diet? Well, the correct answer is it varies from person to person, that is why experimentation and tracking is critical to figure out what works best for you.

In general, good nutrition involves becoming informed about food and its impact not just on you, but also the environment. By removing foods that make you weak and adding in the foods that make you strong, you’ll look better, feel better, and perform better in everything you do.

One thing I have experiment with is elimination diets like Whole 30 or the 4 Week Gut Protocol.

I have also taken Food Sensitivity Tests to figure out what foods my body is sensitive to so I can adjust and be more mindful of what I eat.

Getting is in the habit of tracking what you eat and how you feel after your meals is in my opinion the way to go. I have been doing this for 4 years now, so I know exactly what foods make me feel energized, help me focus and feel at my best and I know what foods will make me feel tired and sluggish. That doesn't mean I give up any food in particular, but because I am aware I can be more intentional.

The latest experiment I am embarking on when it comes to food is doing a Ultimate Reset. I have been traveling for the last month non-stop and begin out my routine, eating out all the time and not doing all these things I just shared with you, well, I am ready to hit the reset button and get back to feeling, looking and being my best.

A few other things I am looking into . . .

What is next? Biohacking is all about experimenting, trying new things and being curious about the impact it has in your body, your health and your wellness. I am curious by nature so I am always looking to try new things and see how they support or not my goals. A few "toys" I have been thinking about trying include:

• Red light therapy. There is research that supports that red light therapy can support: skin health and reduce fine lines, increase muscle performance, speed up recovery after workouts, relief pain, help hair regrowth, optimize hormone health, increase energy, support faster healing of wounds, and improve sleep among other benefits. I am sold! and I am looking forward to try it out.

• Red light mask. As we age all the sudden skin care and specially preventing and reducing fine lines becomes more and more of a priority. I have several friends who have tried these red light face masks and have seen great results. I have been definitely tempted to get one.

• PEMF matt. Grounding uses the earth's natural energy to improve health and well-being. The earth carries a slightly negative electrical charge. When you come into direct contact with the earth, either by standing barefoot or by using our grounding mat, this charge is transferred to your body. In your body, these negatively charged free electrons work as antioxidants which neutralize harmful free radicals and help you to realize many health benefits.

In summary . . .

I’ve found each one of these practices I just shared to be enormously helpful and transformative on my own wellness journey. My hope is that this inspires you to be curious and maybe even try one or other thing and start your own biohacking journey to help you feel at your best!