Nikki Cheak (00:00.62)
Welcome back to Real Food, Real Energy, Real Life. I am so excited that you are here today because we are going to be talking about some things that we all deal with in life. And we're all told our normal and that, you know, we just deal with it, right? And we don't talk about it often, but it happens, right? And that's that foggy scrambled, why can I not think straight? And it makes you question if your brain is broken.
Right? You're forgetting names of your kids. Has that ever happened? Or you walk into a pantry and you're like, why did I just come in here? What did I, what was I going to grab? It's not losing it, you know, and no, you're not just getting older. It's hormonal. It's definitely fixable. And I'm going to talk about today. What's actually happening and what you can do this week to help start clearing the fog. So I don't know if this happens to you, but I was in a conversation.
like totally normal, nothing stressful about it. And I literally forgot the word laundry. I mean, I just sat there and I was like, okay, you know, the clothes, the washing, the thing in the basket, right? And I could feel it because it was like, my gosh, I'm so embarrassed. And the panic and the little voice in my head that's like, what is wrong with me? And if this was the one off, I'd like shrug it, right? But it's definitely happened to be
And I've talked to so many moms and my clients who are like, yeah, this happens a lot, right? And you know, I've I'm sure that you've had some moments like that too. And at first maybe I thought it was like stress or I was just distracted. But then I started learning more about what's actually going on in our brains during midlife. And I realized it wasn't like my memory wasn't just failing.
It was my hormones that were like, hey, yo, come help. Like I need some help here. Okay. And at the end of the day, you know, we often think like, this is just normal aging. I guess it's just what happens like after 40. And we think about it as, yeah, I'm so scattered or I just need to focus a little bit more or maybe I'm tired and I'm just distracted or I'm losing it, right?
Nikki Cheak (02:26.68)
But the truth is it's not normal aging. It's honestly your hormonal chaos and your blood sugar dysregulation that like, boom, they collide inside your brain, right? And when your estrogen starts dropping in perimenopause, it starts messing with your serotonin, your dopamine, and even your ability to access language in that short-term memory, okay? And if you pair that with low protein or poor sleep, or you have sugar before bed,
and your brain's basically like operating on fumes, yeah, like that's why you can't remember some simple words. It's why your focus turns to garbage and you feel like you've lost your edge when really your brain's just kind of like running without fuel or support. So think about it this way. You've got this laptop from 2009. It's got a 4 % battery left and you're trying to open all the tabs on your computer. And if you're like me,
I have like 30 of them open at all times. Okay. And it's not the laptop's fault. Okay. It's just that your system's overloaded and it's from 2009. So it's not going to work great. Okay. So if you've been feeling like that foggy, scattered, or not, you know, just like yourself, one of the best places I want you to start is protein. And I actually just recently created a 14 day protein challenge.
to help you stop under eating and start feeling better. And this gives your body and your brain what it needs to function. So if you were like, okay, I'm good. Like I can get my protein or I think I kind of got my protein figured out. I want you to check out the six week reset because it's built for that real life chaos, the hormonal shifts and the kind of fatigue that, you know, can't be solved with more coffee, which we shouldn't. And that's another episode for another day. the links to both of those are in the show notes.
But look, like I want to talk about this feeling of losing your mind because when you feel that way in your brain fog and you're like, my gosh, what did I really come here for? Like that's not because you're stressed. And I said, it's not a part of getting older, but let's talk about the things that what is going on in your body so that you can stop Googling and start making some changes that actually work. Okay. And look, your hormones are shifting.
Nikki Cheak (04:50.558)
And because your hormones are shifting, your brain is paying that price of your hormone shifting. So whether or not you know this, estrogen helps with your memory, your mood, and even word recall. And so when it starts bouncing around during perimenopause, right? Think about like a little ball, like bouncing around in your brain, your brain isn't getting the same support it used to. And maybe that's why you forget what you were saying, or you walk into the room and just, you're like, yeah.
Okay, I don't remember what I came in here for. Or you feel like your thoughts are moving, like you're wading through quicksand, right? Like you're like, what? I don't remember. And so I want you to remember that. Like your hormones are literally shifting. And so that's a big piece of why you're having trouble remembering that, okay? Another piece of this is you probably are not eating enough protein and because of that, your brain is feeling it.
So protein, which we talk about, I feel like I talk about this in almost all my episodes, is giving your body the building blocks it needs to make serotonin, dopamine, and all the stuff that can keep you calm and clear and steady. And most mid-life women are walking around completely under-fueled. And we've talked about this before, right? When you're under-fueled, you're running on things that aren't helping you and it stores your fat, it gives you that,
and so you know inside that six week reset it's one of the first things we fix not because like protein is some trendy topic but because your entire nervous system and your entire body truly depends on that protein so we build real meals around the protein and we start to make sure that you're actually fueling your body the way that you need to be fueling it so that you can be on your best
all the time. Okay. And then the third thing that, you know, is likely messing with your brain fog is that your blood sugar is on a roller coaster and it's truly messing with your focus. So if you're skipping your breakfast and you're not breaking your fast the right way and you go straight to coffee and maybe you eat lunch like standing up or rushing through everything. And then you're like, why am I so scattered? Right? You haven't given yourself any sort of fuel. had some, something that's going to make you jittery.
Nikki Cheak (07:17.482)
and maybe you ate a few bites of something, but you're like, well, shoot. So your blood sugar is just spiking and crashing and your mental clarity is like, bye, I'm gone. And so that's what we do inside the reset. We focus on the best way to break that fast, easy protein habits and strategies that don't fall apart like the second your system is getting loud. Okay. Look, this isn't about doing more.
but it is about giving your body and your brain what it needs to breathe again. Because if you're tired of feeling like you're always a step behind or your brain isn't firing the way that it used to, the six week reset was built exactly for this phase of life, right? You're not gonna be guessing what to do. You are going to have the strategy that is gonna support you where you are and how you're gonna be able to move forward.
So I want you to think about something that you can do this week to start clearing that mental fog. And ding, ding, ding, you might've guessed it, right? We're gonna start making sure that we are breaking our fast with a high protein fast breaker, okay? So we wanna front load our meals. And so when you break your fast, you wanna make sure that you are getting at least 20, if not more, I tend to get around 50,
grams of protein every single morning and you want to pair them with fat and fiber. So you're not just gonna wake up and drink your coffee with a, you know, or maybe you're drinking your creamer with a splash of coffee. You're not gonna do that. Okay. And you're not just gonna eat like a banana or a bagel or something like that. I want you to think substance. And this, by the way, doesn't mean that you have to be complicated.
but you could have a couple of scrambled eggs or hard boiled eggs with some turkey sausage, maybe avocado, okay? You could have, if you're like running around like crazy, you could have a protein smoothie with almond butter, some spinach, right? Mix it all together and maybe some chia seeds and you're out the door and you've got something that is going to fuel you, okay? And maybe you have some grilled chicken that you toss in with greens or olive oil, look.
Nikki Cheak (09:36.578)
Breaking your fast doesn't have to look like a sugary breakfast or cereal or something that we have been told in the food industry that is breakfast, okay? So let's think about this a little bit differently and think about things that are going to fuel you and not just make your blood sugar spike and crash, okay? And when you do it, your blood sugar is gonna stabilize, right? You're gonna help support those hormones that are...
making you crazy, right? And making you forget everything. And then you're going to also give the brain the amino acids it needs to function, okay? So then in the evening, you're also going to cut down the sugar, okay? This can be hard because so many of us are wanting to do that late night wine and the handfuls of snacks, right? When you're cleaning up the kitchen. But I want you to hear me. Like if you're...
If you're eating dinner and then maybe you're having something that's got a little bit of sugar in it before bed, then you crash overnight. And that's one of the reasons that in the morning you wake up and you're like feeling gross and tired and groggy. Okay, because you didn't fully sleep because your body is that crashing again, okay? So look, this brain fog, it's not just stealing your words. It's also going to steal all the momentum that you're.
building, right? And when you have these goals, whether it's weight loss or you want to feel more confident in your clothes or you want to eat better, right? And move more, like all of these things, but when your brain is just running on fumes because you haven't fueled it the right way, it's really not helping you and supporting you in a way that you are going to feel like your body needs to move again, okay? So when you start to...
that brain fog lift because you are showing up differently, you really do show up differently. Okay. You make better choices because you're not overthinking them and you're going to stop second guessing everything and start trusting yourself. So this is the shift, the big shift that we make inside the six week reset, right? It's about building that consistency and the foundation that works for you because everybody's different, right? And we all need something a little bit different.
Nikki Cheak (11:54.926)
but it's really about that building that consistency over time so that by 9 a.m. you're like, bam, I got this and I feel good. So if you're nodding along and you're like, okay, yeah, I definitely forget words. I don't remember what I was just gonna say, then I don't want you to just listen to this episode and move on. And if you're multitasking, I want you to come back to me because I need you to go grab that 14 day protein challenge because
Look, this is a very small, simple place to start. It is going to allow you to build up to getting 30 grams of protein every single day at breakfast, lunch and dinner. So by the end of the two weeks, you're gonna have 90 grams of protein. While it may not be the perfect number for you, it's going to get you into a rhythm and a routine of getting all of that protein in. And that's where we actually fix the foundation. You're gonna start to get your blood sugar fixed and the inflammation is gonna feel better.
Right? All of these things that are going to make you feel foggy and inflamed, this is going to help. And if you're ready and you're like, okay, I've started to get the protein down, come and jump in the six week reset. I start a new round every two weeks and we work on all these things and build that consistency so that you have this plan who, that is going to sit in the life that you're living. And I am not gonna let you quit on yourself. Okay? So the links for those are in the show notes and
Look, if you're not sure if this is the right thing for you, send me a DM at Nicky Cheek Wellness on Instagram, or send me an email at nicky at intentionalwellnesscoaching.com, and I will happily walk you through this to see if this is something that's for you or not. Okay, and look, if this episode just made you feel seen or gave you just a little bit of something useful, I would love it if you could just leave a quick review because it helps more moms find the show.
and tells the algorithm that we're not just shouting it into the void. Okay? And next week, we are going to dig into something that nobody warned you about, the 2 a.m. wake up, the weird racing thoughts and the tossing and turning, even though when you're exhausted, and I want you to know it's not just stress, it's not also because you forgot to take your magnesium. We're gonna talk about what's actually going on with your hormones and your sleep and how to get the rest that you feel like you need. So I will see you there.
