The missing piece of advice for Jian Ghomeshi

Jian Ghomeshi is hmmmm...what words could summarize his iconic presence in Canadian culture? Who else could've handled Billy Bob with so much grace? He's just so...special.

I heard he had his fitness/health regime critiqued in the Globe and Mail so of course I had to take a look.

“I work a 12-hour-day and average five hours of sleep. I’m up at 6:30 in the morning, I do my show, then I’m at the network all day, spending much of the day preparing for next day’s show. I don’t eat red meat; I haven’t eaten mammals in years, so I eat mostly vegetables, and fish."

“I was a caffeine addict. I’d do my show and drink a giant, powerful coffee, have another coffee in the afternoon, then do a triple espresso to have energy to go out at night. I was waking up drinking Red Bull, sometimes, to be up for the show.

"I was finding dramatic ups and downs in my energy throughout the day: I’d want to crash in the mid-afternoon; I’d get to a point in the evening I was bleary-eyed; I couldn’t speak, but then my energy would come back. My energy was disconcertingly inconsistent. And in broadcasting it gets pretty sedentary.

"I was feeling stress, headaches, pains, discomfort, and I was getting really tired. Friends said to exercise. I really needed an outlet for my energy. It’s kind of like the stress of the job, anxiety and fatigue comes out when I’m working out. It’s a healthy outlet for me, mentally and physically.”

My challenge

“I have a terrible habit I’ve socialized myself into from years of touring in a band [Moxy Fruvous], and that is eating at 2 in the morning. And it’s not often the healthiest things.”

Seems he's a caffeine addict. Pretty hard core in fact. I'm sure his days living a rock n' roll lifestyle are hard to let go of, the staying out late habit but now he's got more day time work hours, can't sleep in and has to get to work so darn early. Can't really do both as we get older. It catches up with every one.

The advice to him was as follows:

Registered holistic nutritionist Joy McCarthy at 889 Yonge, a yoga and lifestyle spa, says night eating is a hard habit to break, but self-talk is an effective behaviour-changing strategy.

“Jian needs to ask himself, ‘Am I really hungry?’ Because being mindful of what he’s eating and why he’s eating will help break the habit.”

Snack for stamina

For sustainable energy, he should switch to complex carbs such as brown rice, quinoa and millet, and eat between-meal nibbles to prevent energy dips, keeping stamina high.

“Jian should eat a handful of brainy walnuts and four dried apricots, a half-scoop of chocolate protein powder & almond milk, or vegetable sticks and hummus – all blood-sugar-balancing snacks.”

But Jian, really.

She's missing the big picture.

You won't even out your energy levels through your day if you only get 5 hours sleep per night. Sleep deprivation is going to inhibit your ability to build muscle (sleep is when muscles fibres repair and get thicker), fight cravings and kick your caffeine habit. I hate to say it but you're not 20 anymore. You might have to start thinking about sleeping at least 7 hours a night. Your body's cravings for caffeine are telling you something is out of balance big time.

Further, food cravings aren't just psychological. When we're sleep deprived our bodies over produce a hormone telling up to eat more and under produce a hormone telling us we're full. The late night snacking is really just because your body is looking for ways to stay awake. It's not natural to sleep 5 hours a day. We need more for optimal health.

Overall, people sleep at least an hour less per night than we did a couple decades ago. Sleep deprived people are more likely to hang onto belly fat. Plus you aren't ever going to really lose the little belly or keep it off if you don't start getting some shut eye. Sleep deprivation also makes us produce more cortisol, the stress hormone that just isn't a good thing in large doses and can be directly linked to belly fat!

So...

Dear Jian,

Go to bed to lose the caffeine addiction and late night snacking. At least try to get a bit more sleep. Come to think of it, the simplest solution to your late night snacking is shut eye. If you're sleeping at 2am you sure aren't going to be eating.

Jane