Feeling Tired and Anxious all the time? Maybe it's your neurotransmitters! An interview with Certified Recovery Nutrition Coach Lindsay Miendl on how to increase serotonin and dopamine and other neurotransmitters that might be out of balance.

Ever feel like you've tried everything to improve your mood and energy and it's just not working? Sometimes self-care doesn't help with our mood because there is an underlying imbalance in our bodies; specifically, our neurotransmitters.

Certified Recovery Nutrition Coach Lindsey Marie Meindl is on this week to tell us all about how moms can balance their neurotransmitters and reclaim their energy.

Plus she has an amazing Mother's Day special going on right now for her program! Check out her resources here:

Mood Checkup

Feeling Good in Motherhood Program and the Mother's Day Bonuses

Transcript:

Kelsey

Lindsey, thank you so much for being with us here today, I would love to hear a little bit about what you do and how you got started with your program. Sure, so I'm a mental health coach for exhausted mamas who want to actually enjoy motherhood, just feel good parent with grace and have gobs of energy to seize the day with our little ones and actually be present in those moments.

Lindsey Marie

I do that through a program, a four month mood transformation program called feeling good in motherhood, which is a makeover for your mood. And yeah, we go through actually, the biochemistry behind why mama might be feeling the way she is and up against the wall and feeling like maybe nothing's working. And everything she's trying is just for naught. And how come it works for everyone else, and it doesn't seem to be working for me and, and maybe even rolls her eyes at self care and not understanding why. Why doesn't the self care work for me?

Lindsey Marie

And yeah, we get to the bottom of that with with, with really getting to understand what your body is really telling you through your mood about your brain chemistry.

Kelsey

So cool. It's so true. A lot of times we don't really realize what a physical component there is to our moods. I mean, we're embodied souls. That's how God made us. Can you tell us just a little bit about that? I mean, you talk about these things called neurotransmitters on your website.

Lindsey Marie

What right? Yeah, so there's gobs of neurotransmitters in your bodies, but I focus specifically on the feel good neurotransmitters. So God gave us these four neurotransmitter systems designed to really help us enjoy life, when they're firing, like they're supposed to be firing, then it's easy to be confident and have a sense of humor, and just relax and calm down. And honestly, what I sum it all up as is, it becomes like, it becomes more natural, like you understand God's grace in such a greater capacity when your brain is firing, like it should with these neurotransmitters. So yeah, I mentioned the self confidence, sense of humor, being able to calm down, relax, being able to have the energy, the drive, the focus, the motivation to do whatever it is you're called to do in that day, it just comes easier when our brains have the chemistry that God designed, and our buckets are full. And those neurons can fire like God meant them to fire so that we can go out into the world and be His disciples and do the thing that he called us specifically to do.

Kelsey

So can you tell me a little bit about like, what what goes wrong there? What happens that would make that you know, process just not be working the way it should? Yeah. So

Lindsey Marie

in our culture, specifically, like stress and expectations are high, right? Like we are being cut, there's something constantly being demanded of mom. And when things are always being demanded of mom, like we are calling on these feel good neurotransmitter systems all the time. And so it's like, I'm in a situation where I need to remain calm, like Hello, all day, every day, I'm in a situation where I need to be a little more self confident, or I need a little energy right now. And so you're calling on these buckets all the time. And when we don't, when we get into a situation where we've called on those buckets, so much that they are depleted and there's like a little drop in that bucket. Our mood gets really erratic because now like I don't have the serotonin is one of the neurotransmitters like if the serotonin is, is bucket is really empty, then then my positivity and my sense of humor and my self confidence and like being able to just let go of some of that control. It's like so erratic because it's so low. And some common things that deplete mamas specifically are having babies. So like, when we're moms of young kiddos, and we've been pregnant once, twice, three times, six times, 10 times, whatever it is, and very close together. We are constantly demand like our babies are demanding those those neurotransmitters themselves. So let's say we already don't have a lot of serotonin, and then we're pregnant, and that baby is going to take as much serotonin as it can possibly get from you.

Kelsey

And that in the sense that like when your body is like helping to form them, okay, wow.

Lindsey Marie

And when you're nursing, right, and then how many mamas go from pregnant to nursing to pregnant to nursing, like literally constantly sucking these neurotransmitters out of your body along with a lot of other things. But like of course, that's going to deplete our buckets and it For not being as equally fervent, and helping ourselves feel good as we are about trying to make the rest of our family feel good, those buckets aren't getting, getting the attention they need to fill back up, in order for mom to remain calm and confident and energized and happy.

Kelsey

Okay, that is just so crazy to understand. I don't think I ever realized that our actual, like neurotransmitter chemicals are going into our children in this. I mean, I know that your nutrition does. But that is so fascinating. So what can we do about that? Like, how does that how do we refill our bucket in this price?

Lindsey Marie

So the the, the thing to do everyday the lifestyle change that gets to happen, which is another reason your buckets get empty, right? Is so amino acids are the amino acids are in protein, and those amino acids get digested up and turn into these neurotransmitters. So when you eat protein, you're getting the amino acids. In order to create the serotonin. I'm keep using serotonin as the one example. There's like four different buckets. But um, so when you eat turkey, okay, the turkey gets digested, and that in the digestion process, it the tryptophan comes out of the turkey, tryptophan, make serotonin. Okay, so you got to eat the protein in order to get the amino acids in order to make the neurotransmitters. So if Mama's not eating, hello, okay, or if you're not eating protein, then you're not getting the amino acids that you need. So the very first thing I say to anybody that ever talks to me about their mood is like, how often are you eating right now. And most moms that I work with, need to eat. Like, at least every three hours, they need to have like a handful of protein, at least every three hours. If I have a nursing mama or a mama who's got a lot of trauma going on in her life, or a lot to recover from, she might even be eating protein, like every two hours at the beginning of the program to really get her body the nutrition that it needs. And sometimes we just can't eat enough protein. So all the mamas in my in my program are also on amino acid supplements. So yes, tryptophan is in Turkey. But tryptophan, you can also buy over the counter. Okay, so in order to get those buckets to give your body the support, you need to get those buckets, like at an optimal level so that you're not feeling so erratic in your mood, you can take the tryptophan supplement throughout the day at the right dose in order to get your serotonin level up to the point where you do start feeling like oh, oh, that's how it feels to, you know, have some self confidence and a sense of humor and having a glass half full, like I forgot what that felt like in and taking a little tryptophan supplement can really make the difference to get us over this hump to get us in through this season. That we might that our moods might be really low.

Kelsey

What I love about this is this sounds like it's really kind of root cause focused, because I know a lot of times when we're dealing with things like anxiety and stuff, they'll try to address just the serotonin levels and things in our bodies more directly, but not necessarily help figure out like the underlying root cause of what's happening there. Can you tell us just a little bit about like how you know, where you should be beginning with that process? Like what if you have something like where you're like ADHD or something and it might affect like your dopamine levels, like how do you know how to balance looking at that?

Lindsey Marie

Sure. So I always start my relationship with Mom is using the mood checkup. So that's that mood checkup that rebuild your brain, that net, and that show that that goes through all the different, like symptoms of each neurotransmitter system that could be depleted, and then you'll be able to see like, oh, yeah, my job my catecholamines, that's another bucket which your dopamine is in is really low. Okay, so the way that like an SSRI works, so like a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, like Lexapro Yes, exactly, was on the tip of my tongue. And so what it's doing is, so you have like two sides to your neuron and the neuron, the side of your neuron, that's like releasing the serotonin. It gets shut off after release so that it's shutting off the top side of the neuron so that the serotonin can't soak back up in it's a reuptake inhibitor stop from going back in the neuron. I want to force as much serotonin to stay in my blood as possible, so that the receiving side of the neuron has the best chance at getting as much serotonin as it can. And so in some cases, these prescription drugs work marvelous, like right out of the gate. And in other cases, they got to do a lot of trial and error, or you might just be on them and not feeling like they're working like you think they should. And the missing piece of that puzzle can be that you didn't have enough serotonin to begin with. So when when you take the drug, and it's gonna force quote, unquote, more serotonin to stay in your blood, while you might still have a pretty limited supply of serotonin is trying to force in your blood. So by eating more protein by taking the amino acid supplements that would specifically target serotonin, you can actually get more serotonin in your blood, and in some cases actually make the prescription drug work better, because the root of the problem was really that you could just not have enough serotonin to begin with. So does that answer your question?

Kelsey

Oh, it definitely does. That's really, really interesting. No, I'm kind of curious. Do you think that there is more of an issue now in modern life with these? Or is this something that's just kind of like an age old problem in motherhood, this, that with the constant stressors, and I feel like anxiety, and just the stress levels are so rampantly high everywhere? I look and when people describe their life experiences? What are your thoughts on that?

Lindsey Marie

Yeah, for sure, for sure, higher than then than ever before, always on the rise with the mental health challenges that our country is facing? And yeah, just the just the lifestyle that that we promote in our country, and the food choices that we make and the pressure that we put on mom. And yeah, just not having that support system, and even the nourishment and the stuff in our food that wasn't there. Even in, you know, the 60s, like, we have stuff in our food now, that wasn't there before that can really screw around with your neurotransmitters. So like, when, like when you have a craving. So let's take sugar, for example. Okay, so there's way more sugar and everything we're eating now than there was ever before. And sugar is an addictive substance. We know that. So why is it an addictive substance? It's because when we eat sugar, it fires neurons, it fires these feel good neurotransmitter systems, it makes us feel good. So the problem is, is as soon as the sugar is gone, the feeling is gone. So then we have to eat more sugar in order to get that same feeling because we're not understanding like, Wait, if I rebuild my neurotransmitter system, I don't need the sugar to read to fire. I need more money, more protein and amino acids and neurotransmitters to get that same feeling.

Kelsey

So we do the same with coffee too, right? Yeah, exactly. Coffee

Lindsey Marie

is a perfect example. So like we rely on the coffee, or we rely on the sugar to fire that neurotransmitter. And then what happens is our body gets lazy, and our body waits for the coffee in the morning. It's like, I'm not gonna make catecholamines because this person every morning when they wake up, then they have plenty of catecholamines. They drink their coffee, and then they drink more coffee and then drink more coffee. So you're buying lazy,

Kelsey

you're saying it makes it worse in the long run when we're doing right.

Lindsey Marie

We're happy? Oh, yes, it's I mean, coffee is like, not a hard drug. But the science behind it is the same is that somebody can't live without the math. Right? Because they, they, they come to like they need the math or they need the alcohol, let's say to, to fire those neurotransmitters. And if they don't have the alcohol, the neurotransmitters don't fire like it's in some cases so bad that that person could literally die if they don't have alcohol. So the their body got so lazy, their body turned off so completely that it's like, I don't need to make that neurotransmitter anymore. The alcohol is going to do it for me. And like coffee is just a lower level addiction than that. But your brain is doing the same thing. You're actually on the same path, which is, which is scary.

Kelsey

So what about other things that might be going on? Like for instance, blood sugar, how would you talk about, like how that affects mood and things like that?

Lindsey Marie

Sure. So yeah, one of the modules in the course and feeling good in motherhood is all about actually, probably a couple couple cord. A couple of lessons now that I think about it are all about handling your blood sugar because there's such a direct correlation between blood sugar spikes and valleys that are directly related to your mood. So when you can start to understand what foods are really spiking your blood sugar and, in turn, creating a big dip in your blood sugar as well. You can start to understand how your lifestyle and your diet is actually affecting your mood. And when your body tells you that it's way more effective than myself as a coach, or anything that you read online that says, well, maybe this will help. And maybe that'll help when you can see your blood sugar going crazy, at the same time that you're feeling like your mind is out of control. It's about the most effective way to get you to change your diet, because you can see so easily. And even if you're not going to track your blood sugar that you know that protein every three ish hours, three, anywhere from two to four hours, whatever it listen to your body, that that protein that often is also going to help curb those blood sugar spikes.

Kelsey

I'm so glad you mentioned that because I feel like that's something that is just so important for moms, we often we just have this hang up around caring for our nutrition and eating. And we don't realize how much that forgetting to take care of those basic things bleeds over into our motherhood, and the way we show up and the way we parent and how calm we are. And the mom, just even when we're modeling for our kids. What would you say about that? Like, how can mom's you know, get a better mindset around?

Lindsey Marie

Oh, sure. I actually think that St. John Paul, the second I have to keep, like, it's not Pope John Paul, can he say John Paul the second said, um, he said, that's great. But he missed the part. He said, as the family goes, so goes the nation. And so goes the whole world in which we live, which is true, right? He just, he just left out, like a pretty important part. And at the very beginning, I say, as the mother goes, so goes the family. So right where the heart I, exactly, and that, that in turn according to jump out JP to, like, we have the weight of the world on our shoulders. Because really, as our family goes, so goes the nation, and so goes the whole world. So it is actually a very selfless act to take care of yourself, knowing that you are in the single most powerful, like group of humans in the world as a mother, that you can influence like our future, you can influence your family, which in turn influences the whole world like you matter, your mental health matters to the whole world.

Kelsey

If there were just like a one baby step that you would want moms to walk away with in this from this conversation. What would that be?

Lindsey Marie

Eat protein every three hours and see what difference it makes in your day? Food is your friend. Yeah, protein specifically. It's just it's yes, because it's going to help balance your blood sugar. And it's gonna help get amino acids in your body, which is what your body needs in order to create those neurotransmitters and start filling up those buckets.

Kelsey

Any tips or tricks? Easy protein you like to have on hand?

Lindsey Marie

Oh, yeah, I have lots of chickens. So I have gobs of hard boiled eggs all the time. Easy. Avocados easy. They're more fat, but they're still good. The handful the handful of nuts, the the even the easy stuff that you have to buy this prepackaged, like I It doesn't matter, Mama to prove this right or wrong. Just grab protein, whether it's perfect or not. And just put it in your mouth. So like, yeah, maybe your ingredient label reader and you're like, No, I can't eat that. Just eat it because it says there's 17 grams of protein and it just eat it for that reason right now. Okay, it doesn't have to be perfect. You just get to prove out if this protein thing is a real deal for you. Awesome.

Kelsey

Lindsey, I want to give you a chance to talk about your program because I know you said you have a Mother's Day special. And this is Mother's Day week right now. Yes, I

Lindsey Marie

do. So my feeling good and motherhood program is designed for mamas specifically to help them just get out of bed with a smile on their face, fall back in love with life and really feel like themselves again. And it's really taking them through a very similar journey as my own plus some because I've learned so much in the last eight years since I've gone through my own journey. And yeah, really gets to the root like we're talking about the the like, the chemistry behind why you're feeling the way you are so that if there's anything beyond the chemistry beyond the amino acids beyond the neurotransmitters that does need attention, that you have that energy and that focus in that drive and just that general zest for life return so that you can go in and dig deeper if you need to. So There is a Mother's Day special going on, like Kelsey said, and I have as of today, so as of yesterday, there are $1,100. In bonuses as of today, there are $1,500. In bonuses I just added, actually a bonus for your immediate family members. So when the mother completes the four month mood transformation program, I actually sit down with an immediate family member, whether that's a husband, whether that's a child, if the child is too young to sit down and get on the phone, then you know, mom, and I just talk and we figure out a custom supplement protocol for your immediate family member. Because by the time you're done with this four month program, mamas are almost always like, how do I help my husband? How do I help my kids. And this is like the launching point that custom protocols the launching point to help to help the rest of your family because as the mother goes, so goes the family. And while you're in this program, your family is going to know that you are changing, and they are going to automatically keep you accountable, and they are automatically going to like be like, give me some of what you have. And you're gonna want to give them some of what you have. So along with that bonus, there's gobs of other things that I'm getting along with labs. So the labs aren't usually included, but there are labs that help us with that food part because they're your body wants certain things and doesn't want other things. It's intolerant to things that you don't even realize it's intolerant to. So these labs help us figure out that figure out your gut health and where to focus with that. And also, just men are like mineral balancing and because there's a lot of there's a lot of vitamins and minerals your body needs to in order to convert those amino acids in the protein into neurotransmitters. I got journals in this bonus to help with mindset. We didn't even talk about that a lot. But

Kelsey

I love it sounds so like there's

Lindsey Marie

just there's so many there's so many things. So yeah, when you look at the website, you'll see all of the bonuses that are included through the day after Mother's Day. Well, thank

Kelsey

you so much for joining us today. It sounds like such a great program and so customized to each person who it is so beautifully made. Thank you for joining us.

Lindsey Marie

Thanks for having me.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai