Tag: fitness regimen

1. Appetite

I think the biggest struggle for most moms everywhere is the time to just simply eat. We are always “snacking” quickly on whatever is in reach because we usually have a whiny, small army waiting for theirs, and, we all know they are not patient. When we do get the luxury of attempting to eat a meal, it is usually cold by the time we are able to sit down and eat it. Food becomes more of a survival need and we easily forget what our favorite dish is or what we used to crave. Food is a major component to happiness and balance. After all, it is the fuel that keeps our bodies going, and, without enough of it, we simply fail. While we can’t change how busy we are and all the things we juggle, we can change our outlook on food and create a better, healthier relationship with it. Cannabis increases your appetite. When dosed at the right times, your body can relax enough to recognize your hunger and encourage your body to communicate the things it is lacking and needing more of. It can also make that plate of food that has gotten cold while waiting for you to cut up 3 other human’s plates taste just a little more appealing. When we are adding more activity to our schedules, we are using more of our body’s energy and in return burning more calories. The biggest misunderstanding is that if we eat less, we weigh less and wont acquire as much fat. This couldn’t be more false. If we eat good food, frequently throughout our day, ideally every 3 hours, we train our bodies to use our stored body fat as a source of energy. Our bodies will burn our fat, instead of our muscle tissue. 

There is so much false information out there mainly targeted to busy moms who don’t have a lot of extra time to learn or read more about what they are wanting to change. The media shoves the newest fad diets and binge exercising down our throats to shed those extra pounds we are carrying. There is no quick fix to most things in life, so why would we think the shape and presentation of our bodies is any different? There is no quick fix, your health and fitness should be based off consistency and balance. You shouldn’t be doing more of one than the other because everything is as important, which is why it creates overall balance in your health. Using cannabis to increase your appetite will help you feel stronger throughout your day, giving you more energy to push through, and also support you during your workouts without getting burnt out too fast or crash after. Food is our biggest medicine. What we put into our body is what our cells are reproducing off of. Always remember, you are what you eat.

“Cannabis is a very popular recreational drug that has a variety of medicinal uses, including increasing your appetite to reducing nausea and anxiety. The increase in appetite is probably one of the most common effects. The cannabinoid compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) binds to and activates cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), which causes an increase in eating pleasure, food palatability, and ghrelin regulation (the hormone that controls digestion).” -Samantha Thompson

2. Mind Muscle Connection

One of the biggest misunderstandings is that weed makes you lazy. I am a firm believer that cannabis enhances your moods and the way to determine or control that is through the different strains and types. No strain can please everyone alone. Everyone is different and therefore will require a strain that agrees with them. If you are naturally a couch potato and your favorite thing to do is to cuddle up and watch movies, it wouldn’t be recommended that you consume an Indica before working out. There are many athletes out there using cannabis as a part of their regimen. I have been an athlete my whole life. Soccer was my sport of choice up until college, after that, weightlifting. My love for the gym grew year by year and I started training for bodybuilding competitions. I competed in 4 competitions total before starting my family and having kids. While I still lift and train from time to time, my love for the sport has never died. 

Cannabis helped me grow as an athlete. It gave me more focus on the movements while I was lifting and calmed my thoughts to allow my mind and muscle connection. The mind is such a powerful being of its own, it controls the entire body. I have always been a believer that most things in life are mind over matter. If your mind is strong, the body cannot fail you. In order to lift to my best ability, I had to get my mind right. The results were rewarding, I was proud of where I placed in each of my classes. It was an exhilarating time of life for me, to see my body change as I had envisioned it. I learned so much about myself as a person, as a woman. How much I could endure, how far I could push myself mentally and physically. Cannabis opened up my perspective in life, to do more, to be more. This was one of the most valuable lessons on my journey. Whether you are a professional or a beginner, there are many benefits to marijuana. Cardio can get boring and redundant, we have all been there. Hopping on a treadmill for 40 minutes doesn’t always sound thrilling. Changing your mind with cannabis not only gets you there, it encourages you to stay there, in the moment, focused and determined to get it done.

“It is known that each muscle fiber has more than one connection to the network of synaptic cells that govern muscle contractions. The more frequently you are able to use a particular muscle fiber, the stronger the connections between that fiber and your brain become. You either use it and strengthen it, or lose it. THC has been shown in multiple studies to substantially affect the way our brain can focus on and respond to the environment. THC encourages a type of rapid readjustment of attention that can allow you to focus on one part of a movement fluidly into another, staying focused during repetitive exercise movements without losing focus.” -Samantha Thompson

3. Recovery

Muscle soreness is a real thing, and let’s be honest, sometimes it can feel like you have the flu if you push it real hard. I used to suffer from delayed onset muscle soreness and the muscle stiffness would last up to 4 days. It would discourage me for my next work out and my motivation was diminishing. Hot baths, increased water intake, stretching and massages just weren’t cutting it. At night, my legs would be so restless I wasn’t sleeping adequately and overall just felt like a mess. You don’t have to be a bodybuilder or even a competitor to experience this. Getting back into the gym can feel rough, and working out a body that isn’t used to it can feel rough. Cannabis can aid in any type of recovery from physical fitness. It relaxes your muscles in a way your mind can’t always achieve and therefore helps them properly heal. It promotes real sleep by settling your mind and body, allowing you to heal properly. If we do not allow ourselves to rest and heal, we put more stress on our immune and nervous systems, raising our cortisol levels which increases illness and injuries. This breaks our bodies down in a dangerous way. If we do not take care of ourselves, we aren’t any good to anyone.

“There is a ton of literature about the efficacy of cannabis’ analgesic properties, effectively reducing pain and inflammation. It also helps making delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) less miserable, helping you get back into the gym faster. Cannabis is also a natural vasodilator, enlarging your veins and causing more blood flow, which will help aid in muscle relaxation and faster recovery.” -Samantha Thompson

When we are giving our bodies everything it needs to work to its fullest potential, we feel our best. When we feel our best, we become better friends, employees, daughters, moms, wives, etc. This is the true definition of healthy balance.

Samantha Thompson

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Masters of Science in Nutrition and Human Performance

NASM Certified Personal Trainer

NASM Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist

NASM Certified Behavior Change Specialist

NASM Certified Weight Loss Specialist

Mental Health Specialist, Drug Addiction, Centerpointe Hospital