Heart to Heart with Hads

Ep. 29 | Seasonal Depression or Lack of Discipline?

• Hadlea Shaw

Share episode

Can seasonal affective disorder be more than just a seasonal slump? Join me as we unravel the complexities of SAD and how it can affect our winter wellness. Through the lens of science, we explore how the lack of sunlight impacts our serotonin and melatonin levels, influencing our mood and energy. Yet, despite the seasonal challenges, there's a path to maintain your health goals. I challenge you to rise above comfort culture and cozy habits that often lead to stagnation.

Podcast Instagram
Behind the Scenes with Hads
Become Hot & Healthy with Hads
Learn more about Hads

Speaker 1:

Hello everybody and welcome back to another episode of Heart to Heart with Pads. Today is going to be a fun little episode because I've decided to kind of hone in on seasonal depression and like why that's not really a valid excuse as to why you're not able to keep up with your healthy habits, your discipline during the winter months. So we're just going to dive right in. My life is not too freaking interesting other than I just go to the gym, I work, I play with my dogs, I spend time with my family, so that's really all that really goes on with my week. So nothing to really recap from last week. Kind of just been grinding away, but I love the grind, so don't get me wrong there. Um, yeah, let's just jump right into it. So first I just kind of want to address the seasonal depression, or like the seasonal affective disorder. First of all, I didn't even know seasonal affective disorder SAD was a thing. So I looked it up and it says this type of depression that occurs at a specific time of the year, most commonly during the fall and winter months, when daylight hours are shorter. It's considered a subtype of major depressive order and it's closely linked to changes in seasonal light exposure, which makes complete sense, because whenever the sun is not out as much and whenever the exposure isn't as much so like uv rays, we're not getting as much as we are in the summer our vitamin d levels are just automatically going to decline, which is going to decrease our ser D levels are just automatically going to decline, which is going to decrease our serotonin levels, which is going to which serotonin is that feel good hormone. So that totally makes sense why people feel this way during this time of, like season changes. But there are so many things that you can do to help increase that which will not only help you feel better physically but mentally as well. So it says some key features of sad, persistent low mood or sadness, fatigue, low energy, difficulty concentrating, changes in sleep patterns, often oversleeping, increased appetite or cravings for carbohydrates, leading to weight gain, loss of interest in activities once enjoyed, feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness and, like I said, the causes of this are reduced sunlight exposure, which, if we're not having enough sunlight exposure, our levels of melatonin are going to go down, so this can disrupt our sleep, for one, and our mood regulation and, like I said, serotonin levels going down as well. So that is kind of what the seasonal depression, seasonal affective disorder, is, and so some things you can do to help with that is increase your, your vitamin D level.

Speaker 1:

And so what does that look like? That looks like actually going outside. It doesn't really matter if it's cold or not. You still need to be getting that real sunlight into your eyes and be like, oh, I take my vitamin D. Okay, taking vitamin D and actually getting vitamin D in your eyes, on your skin, is completely different. So, yes, I would highly recommend the vitamin D during the winter time, during the colder months, but make sure that you're also spending time outside. Do not be in your house with all of the blue light exposure, all of it. Really make time to get outside, no matter if it's cold or not. To get outside, no matter if it's cold or not, it's going to help you not only feel better, but just not make as many poor decisions, as you know, overeating or just other little things that can contribute to a lack of the vitamin D levels. So that's kind of what like the seasonal depression that I'm talking about is.

Speaker 1:

So my question for most people is are you using that as an excuse for your reasons of not seeing discipline during this time could be, and so I'm just gonna kind of talk through ways that you can mitigate or get away from that mindset of being like, oh my gosh, it's getting colder. Tell me motivation. Well, yes, it's true, I understand. Like it's cold, you don't want to go outside. That's going to be so much more beneficial for you if you do go get that sunlight. So this is another thing that drives me nuts. That I wrote down as well.

Speaker 1:

I think that there's this like big, like comfort culture of like being at home, being cozy, indulging in comfort foods, because that's what you see online is, you know, all of these people doing these like cozy type of things, which is fine, but is that really making you feel well or is it contributing more to like that seasonal depression? So this is what I believe. I believe that we should still be nourishing our body with the same nutrients and things that we do whenever we want to feel good and light and have a lot of energy in the summer. There should be no reason why, just because it's the cooler months, we're automatically taking away all the nutrients of like the fruits and vegetables that we ate during the summer, why we're doing that whenever it gets cold outside as well, it just it doesn't really quite make sense.

Speaker 1:

I know there's, just like I said, this culture of like being comfortable, being cozy and just using it as an excuse to be lazy whenever we cannot simply justify our actions just because the weather has changed, the seasons change, there's holidays coming around. These are not valid excuses to not stay disciplined towards your goals, towards your health. Like you don't even have to have a specific goal of, you know, wanting to build muscle, lose fat. It doesn't even have to be that in-depth, you can just have a goal of wanting to be healthy and what that looks like is staying disciplined all year round with your eating habits, your workout habits, your getting outside, your sleep, all of these things. Like they don't just fall off because, oh, the sun goes down way earlier.

Speaker 1:

So I don't like the whole like comfort culture thing, because if you have that mindset towards a certain season, chances are you likely have that same comfortable mindset in a lot of other areas in your life. And that's just hashtag, not growth minded, sorry, not sorry anyways. So I understand too that, like priorities and things change during different seasons as well, like life can sometimes get busier in the fall with work or school or holidays, like I said, but those things are not going to. Those things are always going to be there every year, and so you can either change your mindset to make it work with what you have like your goals, or you can use it to derail you. So let's talk about discipline.

Speaker 1:

So whenever you're feeling like you're not motivated, like it's super low, like the weather, it's cold, all of that you have to think of like I'm doing the tasks, that I'm doing out of self-respect for myself, not because I want to punish myself for eating these shit foods. When it's like if you were to just eat well, exercise regularly all times throughout the year, no matter if it's cold or not. Yes, and I just want to preface too, that I am someone that has health goals and I'm very conscious about my health and I stick to my shit majority of the time. But, yes, I'm gonna have, you know, one fun meal here, but that that one thing is not gonna throw me off and I'm not gonna punish myself for it, because I know that the work that I've put in all year round is not just going to immediately go to waste, and so you have to think of that too, whenever it comes to like okay, I am going to go have this meal, nice meal, out to eat with my friends or family, but I know that one singular meal like this is not just going to automatically throw everything out the window. But what I, what you do need to recognize is if you're consistently like having things like these day after day, weekend after weekend, all the time, that, yeah, it really will. It really will mess with your progress. So you have to have that discipline of like. Okay, I know I can enjoy myself, but all the other times I'm going to have to, I'm going to have to do what I know is best for me. So, no excuses.

Speaker 1:

I think that another thing that's common, too, is this excuse culture too. Like I said, like blaming external factors, like the weather or like the holidays, instead of taking responsibility for your actions, of just totally throwing everything out the window because you want to just eat like a freaking asshole for days on end just because it's the holiday season and it doesn't work like that, like I'm so tired, you'll be like oh, it's the holidays, like there's so much going on and I'm just not here for that. There's Thanksgiving, there's Christmas and there's New Year's, you don't need to eat like an asshole for the couple days leading up to it, the day of the couple days after, because then that's you know three, four weeks of you eating like shit, and that's where the excuses come into play of, like, well, it's the holidays and it's like no, you're just not disciplined enough to know that, like, having one meal, moving on from it and getting back on your game is what you need to do, but instead you just keep prolonging it and then you make up excuses, and so those little things they do add up, and so that's where the discipline comes into play, like I said. So I'm just going to give you some practical tips on how to stay consistent in the fall. Stay disciplined in the fall as much as you can.

Speaker 1:

So, to boost our energy, get outside daily for sunlight exposure. You're going to incorporate foods that are nutrient dense. We're not doing comfort foods every night of the week for our dinner, and this looks like foods that are high in omega-3s okay, salmon, avocados, foods that are high in magnesium, vitamin d, so basically, eating whole nutrient dense foods. I'm not talking about foods that are, you know, packaged like mashed potatoes and chicken noodles, like we're not eating like these comfort foods all day. We're not eating like these comfort foods all the time. We're not eating casseroles, like do you see where I'm going here, we're eating whole, real foods. Like I say all the time that you should be eating all year round. It doesn't just go out the window because a new season is here.

Speaker 1:

So another thing try supplementing the vitamin D, like I said, but actually get outside and you can try red light therapy too. I think that's something that a lot of people can benefit from. They have red light masks on Amazon. I think, like I would definitely invest in those. If you're someone that does struggle with like these seasonal depression type stuff if you can't get outside, which you should be able to make that a priority get red light mask. Or if you have access to like going to get red light therapy done somewhere, do that. I know for me, that's a big priority to me that I go and get red light therapy done once a week, once every other week, and it definitely plays a big difference in my mood, overall energy, my sleep. It helps tremendously.

Speaker 1:

Next thing you need to plan. Okay, if you're not planning, you're planning to fail, if that makes sense. So you need to have a full routine, like, for me, my same morning routine, since, since it is darker in the mornings and or darker earlier now, I get up and I do my workout first thing in the morning, because I don't want to be doing it at a random time of the day and I want to be able to go to bed earlier. And so, since it is getting lighter outside, that's the perfect, not lighter outside. Why do I keep saying that since it is darker outside earlier in the day, like five o'clock, you should be going to bed a lot earlier, and so, with that being said, you can wake up earlier and go to the gym, and I don't think people understand, like, use this time right now to literally get ahead. Get. You can get so far ahead of people if you utilize your winter months effectively, because not only your fitness game, but your your business, like your school. You can get ahead of so much stuff because you're able to get up earlier and dedicate more time to yourself. So do that. And, as far as like, scheduling your workouts, make them non-negotiables for your day.

Speaker 1:

For me, I no matter if I'm training or not. Recently I've been going to the gym just so that I can sit in the sauna just so I can walk on the treadmill, get my steps in. I find that by going there every single day at the same time, it's setting my day up for success. I'm having more routine within my day if I go in and I do that every single day, even if I'm not lifting that day, I'm still going in, I'm still walking, maybe doing some stretching, like I said, sitting in the sauna. But I'm like having that consistency every single day and it's carrying over into my work day. I'm being so much more productive and it's amazing.

Speaker 1:

So you can either use this time to completely fuel you and get you ahead of so many other people, get you ahead of the game, or you can use it to derail you and set you back. The choice is ultimately yours. Next thing focus on like I kind of. This is kind of just what I said but stop using motivation. It's motivation comes and goes. The habits and actions that you're going to do every day are what matters most. So, even if you don't feel like it no one feels like getting out of bed when you're cozy and warm it doesn't matter. It does not matter if you want to stay stuck and be like everyone else. You can do that. But if not, get your ass out of bed. Okay, we don't have time for just laying and being comfortable. Being comfortable gets you nowhere. Okay, reframe your mindset. We're using this time to level up, not to freaking. Hibernate like a bear, okay. Treat these months to get ahead. Okay. That's all I've got to say. All right, so some quick wins that you can do to help you be consistent 10-minute walk daily. Now I'm going to say this is really cutting it short. I think 30 minutes is way better. So I'm going to say 30 to 45 minute walk daily.

Speaker 1:

Prep three healthy meals for the week. Okay, this could be your breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can find so many different healthier recipes online. But what I would do pick a protein, pick a carb, pick a fat and prep that every week for meals. Do three meals, prep three different meals. So here's an example for breakfast, you could do three whole eggs, a slice of sourdough. There's your carb. In your fat. There's a little bit in the eggs. So we don't need to actually add a fat source. We could just actually do some fruit instead. So do a cup of blueberries. There you go. That's a really good meal.

Speaker 1:

Right there you have a carb, two carbs, which is the vegetable, the sourdough, and then you have protein, which is your egg, your egg white and your egg yolk is the fat. So there's breakfast, lunch. You could do sweet potato or butternut squash, you could do some chicken, you could add in some any type of like fruits like, or vegetables, you could do kale, you could add some strawberries, you could do chicken, you could like make some like salad, like harvest type of bowl sounds really good actually and then for dressing you could do apple cider vinegar and olive oil and you can make that into like a dressing and that could be your fat. That's your fat source right there. And sweet potato better not squash the. That is more of your carb source, chicken, protein. There you go dinner. Okay, let's see what could I do for dinner. Hmm, I could do maybe some red potato and I could do some beef, some ground beef, with that, maybe add in some beans, do kind of like a chili type of thing, but keeping it more nutrient, nutrient, dense, just keeping it very simple and basic.

Speaker 1:

And I'm not saying that you have to go and like find these extravagant, freaking recipes, but by planning out your week, every single week. You are going to be so much more ahead than everyone else. So another thing, too, is choose one thing this month and next month that you can master whether that's like mastering your sleep or reading 10 pages of a book or keeping your water intake Like something you can do is literally in my planner. I have two boxes, and for me, one of them is 20 minutes meditation and the other one is at least 30 minutes of continued education, and those are my two non-negotiables for the day. Those are the things that are going to help me level up, and they're they're things that are difficult for me. So pick two things that are a little bit more difficult for you. To sit down and actually do like meditation is extremely hard for me. So pick two things that are a little bit more difficult for you. To sit down and actually do Like meditation is extremely hard for me to sit down and want to do it, but if I'm doing it consistently every day, this is how it's going to start becoming a habit for me, and so you have to just like get out of that mindset of, oh, I really don't want to do this, but the things that you don't want to do and you do. That's what makes you a better human being and a more, and have a more resilient mind. Another thing accountability. This is key. Join a community, hire a coach like me or like have a friend where you guys are going to do the same thing and that can really really help kickstart you as well.

Speaker 1:

And I'm not here to tell you to like, wait till the new year. Don't fucking wait till the new year, because that is just bs, minded bs. I don't even know how to explain it. But new year people are annoying to me, okay, we're not. Why do you have to wait? What's today? Today is November 20th or 19th, noth.

Speaker 1:

Why do you have to wait 50 days just to start? 50 days is a long fucking time to get ahead. Okay, you can accomplish so much in 50 days, so much more than you think. Literally, start right now. Right now, give yourself a chance, okay.

Speaker 1:

So, if anything from this episode, if you get anything from this episode, it's what are you willing to choose? Discipline or excuses? Identify one thing that you're going to do today to counter your seasonal laziness, depression, like what are you going to overcome this season? That's going to help get you to an even better spot. Okay. So thank you guys for tuning into this episode. That's pretty much my two cents on that. I just kind of wanted to reiterate that you have to be disciplined during these times. It's not an excuse to slack off. Get ahead of the game, okay, if you guys enjoyed this episode, please, oh my gosh, if you're watching, you can I think you may be able to see that I have a little Christmas tree over here but share this episode with someone who always tends to slow down or fall off in the fall. Nobody did fall off. Get it anyways.

Speaker 1:

Share with someone, leave a review, tell me you love it. I love getting feedback and it just helps me stay more motivated. I don't like we're motivated, but helps me want to keep growing this podcast. Even more is when people interact with me. Give me feedback. If you hate it, literally tell me you hate it.

Speaker 1:

If you have episodes that you want me to talk about, maybe go over that. Or tell me that I want to be able to provide as much what am I trying to say? As much information, not only just information and education, but also, just like that, tough love. If you're someone that needs that, I want to be that for you. So hope you guys enjoyed. Share it. Leave a review, please, please, please, please, please. It would mean so much to me, as this is something that I'm really been trying to get better on and just get better at speaking. I guess you could say speaking and sharing my thoughts in a more long-form way instead of short-form ways like on Instagram and things like that. So I hope you guys enjoyed. For the last time, I think I'm going to say that five times out and I will see you guys in the next episode. Bye.