The Therapy Edit - One Thing with Rhiannon Lambert on how to feel more energised

Episode Date: December 9, 2022

In this episode of The Therapy Edit, Anna welcomes back Nutritionist and Mum of 2, Rhiannon Lambert. Rhi shares her second One Thing with Anna which relates to the importance of making the most of your energy through managing your blood sugar.Rhiannon also shares some tips for expectant mums....spoiler alert, you can get nutrition from beige food!Rhi has recently released her new book, Deliciously Healthy Pregnancy which you can buy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deliciously-Healthy-Pregnancy-Conception-Parenthood/dp/0241530563/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1HJBIP5IQI5B2&keywords=deliciously+healthy+pregnancy&qid=1668522614&sprefix=deliciousl%2Caps%2C73&sr=8-1Backed by science and packed with over 80 tasty recipes, Deliciously Healthy Pregnancy is an accessible nutritional guide to help mums-to-be enjoy a healthy, happy pregnancy. The book breaks down the stages of pregnancy and early motherhood, and covers the symptoms you may experience, key changes your body goes through right up until the birth, how your baby grows and develops throughout your pregnancy, and how the food you eat can help support this.Evidence-based nutritional and lifestyle advice guides mums-to-be through each trimester, including the fourth trimester. Accepting there's no "right way" for everyone, Rhiannon's practice is based on the latest scientific research and backed up with practical advice, tips, and recipes to inspire you through pregnancy. Filled with 80 flavour-packed recipes discover easy ideas for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks and drinks, from delicious Banana, Almond and Ginger Pancakes, Butternut Squash, Spinach and Feta Pie, Salmon Pesto Pasta, to Cauliflower and Lentil Dahl, and Double Chocolate Cookies. All of the recipes can be enjoyed through your entire pregnancy. To find out more about Rhiannon: Visit her website at https://rhitrition.comFollow her on Instagram @rhitritionOrder her brand new The Science of Nutrition here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Science-Nutrition-Debunk-Health-Happiness/dp/0241506468/?maas=maas_adg_BEA58B3DAE014125DD81139433399599_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&geniuslink=true

Hello and welcome to The Therapy Edit with me, psychotherapist, mum of three and author Anna Martha. Every Friday, I invite one guest to tell me the one thing they would most like to share with mums everywhere. So join with me as we hear this dose of wisdom. I hope you enjoy it. Hi everyone, welcome to today's guest episode of The Therapy Edit. I am really excited to have a really excited to have a really. returning guest today. I have got Rihanna Lambert of Rie Trition. She's also got brilliant Instagram, just where she talks about parenting and motherhood and Rie. And she is a nutritionist.

She's a clinic owner. She's a mom of two. She's an avid foodie and an amazing recipe developer. She's got loads on her website, Ritrition, and in her books and on Instagram, I'm always keeping an eye out for those. And she's even worked on Master Chef. I have spoken to Rie on her Food for Thought podcast where we spoke loads about anxiety. So that's there for you as well. She is the author of Renourish. In fact, she's got loads of books. She's amazing. And she's got recently, she has published her deliciously healthy pregnancy. And it is this beautifully colourful book that cuts through all of the confusion and overwhelm and scaremongering around what to eat when you're pregnant. I've got a friend who's very pregnant. She is desperate for

my copy and I've said, I'm really sorry, Hannah, I've got to buy you another one because even though I'm not pregnant, the recipes in here are just so beautiful and delicious and straightforward that I'm going to, I'm keeping it. Anyway, there we go. There's an intro to you, lovely Reeve, but how are you today? Oh, good morning. I'm chuffed that you guys think that about the recipes because, yeah, anyone that's not pregnant, I guess, can have a bash through them. Absolutely. Through those. Because they're simple. That's the simplicity of it. To answer your question, how am I? It's always a loaded question, I feel, if you answer it truthfully. I am sleep deprived. I have a lovely, gorgeous little boy who is now 13 weeks old as we record this. But I'm also very happy to be able to talk to you and have

adult interaction with... Oh, yes. Oh, gosh. It's that point, isn't it, where I remember thinking, you know, why do I feel lonely in motherhood? And I'm literally with my baby all the time. And then I suddenly thought, wait a minute, this is not kind of adult human interaction. I need that as well. Like our babies are wonderful, but they're never going to be enough to tick that. They can't tick that box. So I, yeah, I remember feeling just so a bit overexcited even when I got to speak to someone in the supermarket. I just like blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Another grown up. Hi. And those, you know, those meetups and any times that you do get to speak to other moms are so important, aren't they? Just hard to. I found I went for a walk yesterday because I'm at that point where he's

able to stay awake a little bit longer and not just get grouchy, you know, in the pram, which is a blessing before he needs a feed. And it's always the lovely, and I don't want to stereotype, but it is true, the lovely older generation that will stop you because they have the confidence to and say, oh, how old is your baby? Oh, how long. You know, just have a little chat with you as you're walking down the road. And I didn't get to do that in lockdown with my first. So for me, I was like, oh, people are looking at my, obviously I think my baby's adorable. Not everyone's going to look at him and think, oh, wow, he's cute, you know. But these lovely, these lovely ladies in town yesterday. It was really, I just thought that was so, so nice. It's the social interaction you're right with an adult that is so important. And I guess now is you're experiencing more of that than you did the first time around. Does it make you think about how much of a loss that was almost that you didn't have that then, as you do now? Does that make you reflect a bit? Yeah, I'm able to reflect and see pros and cons to the situation.

There were amazing blessings being in lockdown. My feeding journey was a lot easier, if I'm being honest, even with the hurdles of tongue ties and astitus and all sorts of things. I didn't have to be anywhere or go anywhere. So I didn't have to worry about the aspect of a child that gets distracted. in latches on and off the breast and all that sort of feeding panic that I now have. However, obviously, I was very mentally unwell in lockdown and I had PTSD. And I think this time round, there's a huge difference with the fact that when you're sleep deprived, you're able to actually see people and go somewhere and distract you.

It's not just one walk a day. And it's not just Sainsbury's or the local garden centre. Oh, gosh, yeah, really. It's wild to think back that that was all that, you know, moms of young babies were able to experience. I mean, that was the sensory play for my son. I mean, it wasn't bad, the supermarket. The Stainsbury's signs overhanging. I know.

The masks, the masks on everybody. That person's wearing a pink mask. Oh, it's a lot, isn't it? It's a lot to have gone through. But, you know, your. Your words are going to be in the ears of other moms as they're walking around with their buggies and heading off, you know, to school runs and the supermarket. So we're so grateful to have you.

And last time you were on, you shared about kind of just adding variety and color to our plates. And yeah, it really inspired me to actually, it was I just stocked my freezer up because I remember you saying about how, you know, just frozen food is great. it's actually sometimes even has more nourishment in it because of the point and it's frozen. So there we go. We spoke last time as well with the cost of living and things increasing. Actually, it's far more applicable to people, I think, now that if you budget well and you do utilise frozen goods and, of course, for nourishment, it's better actually a lot of

the time and cupboard foods. That's how we're going to have to survive, I think, over the winter months. Yeah. So I really encourage people to go back and have a little listen to that one as well. But what's your one thing for today, Ree? What have you got for us? So, Anna, since we last spoke, I was really thinking about energy levels and the seasonal shifts, the fact that, you know, the days are getting darker, longer again. And it's a classic thing where in the clinic, we sit all the time in the nutrition clinic, people struggle. And of course, the seasonal affective disorder, sad. And how to eat to sustain your energy, but also your mood is so important. So we've discussed variety before, which impacts.

of course our gut health and hormonal shifts anyway as well. But this time it's about the blood sugar roller coaster, which I think is so important for your listeners to remember that you don't want to be all over the shop basically. You don't want to be high from food, then having a huge crash, then reaching for the wrong items and getting another spike and another low. And it's so important with our diets that we aim to have a steady line,

like a long road where our blood sugar levels are just traveling down a straight road rather than going on a roller coaster. So that's a visual I like to tell my clients. And to do that, it's really important we choose the right items. So your breakfast, your lunch, and your dinner should have all the food groups, especially protein and carbohydrates together. Because together combined with a bit of healthy fat,

you're going to slow release of sugars. So a good example would be if you ate a slice of bread by itself, let's use white bread as an example, your glucose levels, your blood sugar is going to go woo and it's going to go up that roller coaster high and it's going to fall down pretty quickly because we haven't got any protein, not enough fiber, not enough fats to slow the release. That's going to stop that glucose going right up that hill. So instead, if we pick the whole grain carbohydrates, get some nut butter on there or some avocado, a bit of olive oil even, just something that you can combine with your food,

you're going to slow the release of sugars. So protein plays a huge role in hormonal building blocks and development anyway and satiation. So every meal, protein carbs, a bit of fat, and you're more likely to maintain a steady level. And the snacks, Anna, are where I think most people, myself included, especially when I'm sleep deprived. I'm a chocolate fiend. I love gales. I'm literally thinking about chocolate and how many times, you know, I just grab a few squares and you're right. It kind of gives you that sudden sugar hit, a bit like caffeine, gives you that sudden energy.

But then I go a bit shaky and I feel a bit drunk sometimes, you know, like not fully with it. And then either I want more chocolate because I'll get that other, you know, the next kind of spike. Or you're right, there are other options that don't send you on this roller coaster. And don't fear things. I think people confuse fruit in this in the wrong way. Fruit is actually a really nourishing snack. even though it contains all of fructose, it doesn't have the same impact on your blood sugar levels

because of the fibre when you eat it. It's a different story. Yeah, if you drink it, not so good in terms of juices. But if you eat a pear or some blueberries or a satsuma, whatever it may be, it's not going to spike your blood sugar levels and cause a crash the way that that lovely chocolate button will do or button, I say buttons, one button's not going to have a difference.

Just the one, I know. Who has one? Just the one share size bag. One button. So you are to eat that bit of chocolate. You know, when would be a good time to eat that? Would it be like, you know, directly following a meal, just that little sweet taste? So you've got the other stuff alongside it rather than like when's best to eat that so that we don't send ourselves on that?

Absolutely. I mean, of course, every now and again, please do enjoy yourself. I'm not, you know, food is about enjoyment and that's nourishing in itself when you enjoy something. But if you are looking at that blood sugar roller coaster and your goal, it's really, to work on that, then I would say, try and have it either with your meal or directly after is often the best way. And try to avoid, obviously, a lot of chocolate can contain caffeine if it's the darker variety as well. Try and keep that towards the start of the day and even switch it. Even milk chocolate would be a better option late in the evening than dark for some people.

Surprisingly, even though the sugar content's higher because there's less caffeine in the chocolate and people forget about that aspect. However, as I discussed in the science of nutrition, and dark chocolate has a lot of benefits in itself with antioxidants and polyphenols. So I love to add chocolate to porridge, Anna, as my... Yes, my son loves this. Yes. Just stir a few little...

Yeah, and it gives me that hit. And I tend to snack on chocolate mid-morning if I'm going to do it with some nuts and things rather than mid-afternoon. Afternoon, I'm like, okay, I'll try and have my fruit or have a different, more sensible snack. And in the morning, I enjoy my... my delicious delicious ones like that i love that so when you talk about our blood sugar

what are the because i do you know like hangary i feel like i get hungry you know so is that like when my blood sugar's low when i just feel kind of irritable and just a bit yeah just a bit drained and grumpy so it could be you've got to put your detective hat on here and this takes this is a life skill in itself learning um how to identify identify how you feel to do with nutrition and food. It's something we teach you in the clinic. So it could be head hunger versus belly hunger. You've got to look at, is this an emotional connection here or a link to a craving or something where your needs, as you know, in your line of work, are your needs not met? So therefore, I'm going to reach for food to try and soothe or comfort that particular need. But then it could be your blood sugar's low and it's a sign that you definitely need nourishment. I think snacking's actually gained quite a bad reputation and for some people it's really beneficial it will really keep their energy levels high and their mood focused but it could also be dehydration and that's another area that I think people forget it could just be that you have you woken up and had your glass of water

versus a more hydrating drink or have you not even drunk enough water and you've done a commute and you've done lots of walking you've done the school run and already you're dehydrated before you realize and your body sadly that could be a sign you're already the state of dehydration look out for those i think a dry sticky mouth is a good one um a slight pounding head means you're too late with the hydration always check your urine but they're the three kind of areas i would always look at so it's just kind of monitoring ourselves isn't it and just thinking what do we need are we are we eating the things that are keeping us keeping our bodies you know in that stable more stable state because i do mind mind

I noticed my moods go up and down with my blood sugar. Like I definitely feel when I have like a spike, I feel kind of hyper and like ultra, do you know what I mean? I just like energized. And then it's just like, then there's this crash that just doesn't feel, it doesn't feel nice.

I'm thinking about the time that I went to the cinema with my kids and just kind of smash like half a bag of harrowbo. And then, you know, it was great. And then half an hour later I was not, I was not in a great way. you can feel nauseous, you can feel, yeah, yeah, really run down and like, why am I suddenly feeling really just not myself at all? And it's important to remember everybody acts differently to food. So what you eat, Anna, may cause a different blood sugar response to somebody else, even to your children. You may, I think the research is often on items like fruit, actually, in grapes, but even that has a different insulin response in the body, which insulin for everybody helps unlock energy and have. helps it either enter the cell to create energy in our bodies. So it's like a buffer. You know,

you either have enough insulin to monitor that glucose or you don't. And then we get into diabetic states, which is a whole different ballgame. But some foods trigger a different response to other people. And it's about figuring out, maybe keeping a food and mood diary. Because food and mood, as we've discussed, they're so heavily interlinked. But in this weather, when you've got no sunlight, which is another external cue for energy which we don't realize it really helps you get out and about when you wake up you open the curtain it's the sun is beaming in and in the winter you open the curtain and you it's still the same same light in the room outside it's just not it's hard it's hard so our diet can help pick us up on the right foot for the day so if we're feeling that you know things the

seasons changing but i was just literally before we spoke I was having a conversation with a friend and she was like, oh, I'm just, you know, the seasons are changing and I'm just feel it really starts to affect my mood. And I was like, oh, if you got one of those sat, you know, SAD, seasonal affective disorder lamps because I've got a really good bright one and it, you know, it kind of adds a bit of a bit of that light back in. But where might we go then, where might we turn to nutrition wise when we're feeling that kind of that heaviness, that seasonal, yeah, kind of maybe lowness or mood. shift. So there's lots of research being conducted even at the moment into this with the impact food can have on mood, of course, which links in a 360 kind of circle all the way back to having good gut health and your overall diet. But the key foods that you want to include contain protein essentially and triptophan, these building blocks, these amino acids that build bigger structures that can help us create the happy hormone serotonin within our brain. But you need the right type of carbohydrate. So it really is making sure you're eating items like

If you eat animal produce, like lean meats, fish, dairy is hit a miss for different people, like cheese and things in terms of protein content and the impact in the portion that you can get because you really shouldn't have more than 30 grams of cheese as a portion for people listening. It's like a matchbox size. It's funny, matchbox. People probably don't even use matches as much in a lot. No, that's right. And actually sometimes, well, I've got, you know, that you get the little ones and you get the massive ones with the

Jumbo matches in. Are we talking the little ones? No, sadly, this is old school nutrition. They need to update, basically, the guidance because nobody really. And people have those electronic, um, that's true. Clicky. And that's quite big. That's probably more my cheese portion, to be honest.

Yeah, I mean, I mean, the big long clicky thing. My son at the moment is on a huge cheese every day. And it's one of the words he can say. It's like, cheese, cheese. I'm like, yes, darling, you've had cheese now. I've had quite a lot of cheese. I'm going to see it in your nappy, aren't I? but yeah protein carbohydrates nuts seeds all the dark berries if you can get them in those frozen bags

things that contain lots of protective antioxidants so they're going to pick up your mood and actually it's more about also limiting stimulants because it may it might be counterproductive you might think oh i'll just up my caffeine or oh i might just have a nice relaxing glass of wine I'll really pick up my mood. As we know, alcohol is a depressant for a lot of people. And caffeine in excess can linger in the body and definitely cause that kind of low feeling towards the end of the day if you've had too much in the morning.

Oh, interesting. This is so helpful. Thank you. So helpful to think about how food and mood are interlinked and that we can make those decisions, just tweak some things throughout the day that just help keep our blood sugar on a bit. more of an even keel so we're not roller coastering and then our mood sometimes along with

it so some really amazing implementable tips there which is you know what your books are absolutely jam packed with i love your you know the science of nutrition it's it's so um it just really helps unpick some of these massive words that i think you know those of us who don't necessarily understand what they mean and you just bring such clarity to it and you empower us and you arm us and I'm grateful for that. And then your recent one, deliciously, healthy pregnancy is definitely going to be on my go-to list for gifts for friends, actually,

because I don't want my friends to be kind of worried about different rules and guidelines that can sometimes seem confusing and conflicting. I mean, pregnant, Sianna, is an absolute moment. You're going through one of the biggest shifts your body. Well, it is the biggest change. Your body will ever go through if you're pregnant. And it was such a passion project for me. In fact, I wanted to write the pregnancy book before the science of nutrition, and my publishers had said, well, we'll do the pregnancy book, but only if you sign the two book deal and you do the science of nutrition as well as the pregnancy nutrition. And I lived and breathed the pregnancy nutrition book because I was pregnant when I was writing it.

You were, you were. I've seen some beautiful photos of you're holding that with your glorious bump. It was and it's hard and everyone's got different symptoms and I thought there is no evidence-based guide. There was nothing I could suddenly buy and read that would reassure me as a health professional. So there's a real gap there for, you know, how to eat to ease certain symptoms that you may have like acid reflux or the nausea. It's, um, hopefully it will help people. Well, it's beautiful and it starts off with so much kind of really beautifully kind of digestible, pardon the pun, information and insight so that we're informed and we understand why the guidelines are where they are and what that actually looks like on a plate. Because sometimes we read it and we

think, right, okay, can't have that. But okay, so what do I eat then? And that's, you know, and the beige panic. I think so many women panic that I have a whole page in the book about the nutrition you can get on a beige diet to reassure women that it's actually okay sometimes to just have the white bread or, you know, even chips contain a level of vitamins. See, obviously there's moderation, but I want to reassure women that you're not going to be harming your baby if you're only able to eat beige food. So affirming. It's, you know, that was, that was me and with my thirst. I couldn't eat a single vegetable and I'm a nutritionist. So, you know, you're not alone. I was popcorn. Popcorn. I'd go and sweep the whole shelf of

popcorn. Oh, lovely. For a while, that was the only thing that I could eat. And I got rage if I went and there was in like one bag. I'd sweet, I'd sweet whatever they had into my trolley. I've got some quick five questions to finish off for you. You might have forgotten about this. I did, yes. It's all right. Just say what first comes into your head. No pressure.

No wrong answer. What's a motherhood high for you? The smile at the moment. I'm in that baby stage where my baby wakes up first thing in the morning, no matter how terrible the night before has been. And that smile. It's just the, you know, their arms when it come out, the swaddle. Yeah, the sleep depth's hard and their arms just pop out.

and they're, oh, they're just so happy to be alive. Oh, it's squishy and deliciousy. And what's a motherhood low for you? Oh, I mean, I think I said it last time, sleep deprivation, but honestly, it's just a killer. I think that is, for me, it just impacts my mood. So probably social isolation, as we've discussed, and sleep. Yeah. Yeah, you're not alone on those things.

But what is one thing that makes you feel good, anything? At the moment, I think it would have. actually be one to one time with my toddler. That's what makes me feel good because he's at this age where suddenly he's his own little piece too now and he's able to say a few more words and he's just fun. It brings my inner child out completely because I want to bounce, well my pelvic floor can't help, can't do it, but I want to bounce on the trampoline. Bounce really, really lightly slowly. Oh, it's that playfulness they bring out, don't they? Yeah. Playfulness in us. And finally, how would you describe motherhood in three words um oh humbling yeah it's almost i'm trying to find a

word that is going back to your it's instinctive and it's challenging because it goes back to the bare um biology of being a human i'm trying to think of the right word it's it's i love those humbling yes because no matter how much you might know in life about your work or whatever. There's something about motherhood that just reminds you that you're just going to be learning forever. Yeah. Yeah. And even from one child to the next, you might think you got it nailed. And then actually that child's different and everything is different. So you're back to the, back learning again. So yeah, no, that makes perfect sense. Well, thank you so much, Ray, for coming on today and for sharing more of your wonderful wisdom with this. I love talking to you, Anna.

And you've helped me so much throughout both of my pregnancies. Thank you for being there. Thank you for having me. Oh, thank you. The feeling is me, child. Thank you for listening to today's episode of The Therapy Edit. If you enjoyed it, please do share, subscribe or review because it makes a massive difference to how many people it can reach.

You can find more from me on Instagram at Anna Martha. You might like to check out my three books, Mind Oven Mother, know your worth, and my new book, The Little Book of Calm for New Mums. grounding words for the highs, the lows and the moments in between. It's a little book. You don't need to read it from front to back. You just pick whatever emotion resonates to find a mantra, a tip and some supportive words to bring comfort and clarity. You can also find all my resources, guides and videos all with the sole focus of supporting your emotional and mental

well-being as a month. They are all 12 pounds and you can find them on anamatha.com. I look forward to speaking with you soon. Thank you.