Dr. Katie Deming: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome back to the Born to Heal podcast. I'm Dr. Katie Deming, your host, and today I am going to be answering a question that has been submitted multiple times through our social media accounts, which is What is a day in the life of Dr. Katie look like? What is it that I do for my own wellbeing and wellness routine?

So that's what I'm going to talk about today and share with you a little bit about what is my. Standard practice. Like, what are the things that are core that I am incorporating in on a regular basis? And then I'm also going to share with you some of the tools that I use to keep myself on track with those practices.

And then what do I do if I get off track? Because just like you, I'm human. And with the best intentions, I don't always get these things done. So I want you to have compassion for yourself around [00:01:00] your own practices. And I think about it as. Progress. Progress over perfection. I'm looking to be making progress and getting better at the things that I'm doing, but I'm never shooting for perfection.

And I want that for you as well, because if you're shooting for perfection, you're going to be disappointed because We're humans and we're experiencing life in the modern world, which can be busy, unpredictable and sometimes chaotic. ~So, okay. ~So on a typical day, when I wake up, I typically wake up, I would say my alarm goes off at 5 55 AM.

And,~ um,~ I love the repeating numbers. So I, I had set that I like to wake up before six o'clock. So I, that's the time that my alarm goes off. I usually am an awake before that. I tend to unfortunately wake up very early and I'm not able to get back to sleep. So oftentimes I'm up from like 4am until 6am and kind of like in and out.

And so some of these [00:02:00] practices I'll do during that phase of going in and out of sleep. But,~ um,~ otherwise I do it when my alarm goes off. And so I typically start my morning with a gratitude practice. And this is all like literally just while I'm in bed. I'm still, you might look at me and think maybe I'm still sleeping while I'm doing these things.

So this is not like a formal thing where I'm sitting up and, and doing it that way. It's more just in my mind and,~ um,~ a way for me to start my day off in a way that puts me in gratitude and love from the very beginning. So the first thing that I do is I thank the universe and For the opportunity to be alive today.

I realized that it is truly a privilege to be alive in, in these days of, you know, such change happening on the planet. And I'm so grateful for that opportunity. So [00:03:00] I start my day by saying thank you and also thinking myself. So this is a practice that I started while I was going through my divorce and I felt very alone and I felt like I didn't have a partner to support me.

In my journey. And so I would actually hold my own hand. And so I continue to do this after I say thank you three times to source universe for being alive. I then thank myself and I tell myself that I love myself. I say, Katie, I love you. I've got your back. We've got this whatever comes our way today.

We've got it. And that practice I started probably in the fall of 2022 because I really felt like I needed to feel supported and like I had a partner and I realized that the person that I always have is me. And so I started to practice really connecting with myself and [00:04:00] showing up as my own partner in the way that I needed myself to show up.

And so this is actually a great practice. If you are, you feel alone or you're by yourself, starting to Tell yourself that you love yourself first thing in the morning and that you have your back is Very powerful and I will say I didn't believe it at first when I would say it I'd be like, I love you.

And it was like this question, right? I was like, do I really love myself? But now it's beautiful Is you don't have to believe it when you first started, but now when I wake up, it's immediately after I say thank you three times, I then immediately tell myself that I love myself and it's very natural and it feels genuine.

So I do that and then what I do is I connect with. The Earth, the planet that we're living on and all the living beings that are here and having gratitude and feeling the connection that we are [00:05:00] all connected. And that is the way that I start every morning before I do anything else before I really, you know, open my eyes and start to think about the day.

I do that always. And I found that that is For me, very powerful way to set the tone for my day and really getting into the love and gratitude just for being alive, you know, regardless of what comes at me. So that's how I start. And then I typically drink water. So I drink water in the morning just so I'm well hydrated.

And then I typically do a meditation while I'm still in bed. And this can be different meditation. So sometimes I'll just do breathing. So sometimes I do four, eight breathing just to kind of calm my nervous system. Other times I'll do a specific meditation that either is recorded or something that I just do in [00:06:00] my mind, like activating my chakras.

I do different meditations, but for the most part, I always, after I do my gratitude practice, I, and drink my water. And then I do a meditation pretty short though. I would say maybe 20 minutes max. Then I get out of bed And then it's like as soon as I get out of bed, i've got lots of animals So i've got two labradoodles.

I've got two ragdoll cats and they are as soon as I you know They hear me drinking my water. They know they don't sleep in my room. So as soon as they hear the water, like me pick up the water, they're like scratching at my door. So I come out, I feed all the, my wild kingdom, as I call them. I feed all of them, let them out and do that.

And then, you know, feed my daughter so that she has breakfast for before she goes to school. And then typically I'm off to the gym. Or into red light. So I typically work out three days per week. I like to go to the gym personally. That's just my thing. Like [00:07:00] I have a great gym that's close to my house and it's super chill and I just like it.

I like and I do strength training. Or I do high intensity. ~Um, ~and basically I do that three to four days a week, but I'll do that immediately. So I just put on my workout gear and then head straight to the gym to do that. And on the days that I am not going to the gym, I will do red light. Which I have red light in my house, which has been really nice.

Actually, I used to go to a wellness spa to do it. ~Um, ~but now that I have it in my house, I do it. And basically I do 15 minutes front and then 15 minutes backside and I have full body panels. So I have enough panels that actually cover my entire body and then some space around it. Because actually, if you just cover your body, you're not actually covering your body with the light.

If you look at the radiance. Diagrams, you'll see that you really need some space around yourself. So I do red light [00:08:00] and that's 15 minutes front and back. And I do that three days per week. And then I do PEMF daily. I typically do. 12 minutes in the morning and I like to do it in the evening too, but that always doesn't always happen.

So, ~um, ~I'll do that in the morning. I do 12 minutes. Just one of the settings on mine is an activation PMF setting. And so I'll do that one. And then I'm basically ready to start my day. I'll go get dressed and whatever, and, and basically,~ um,~ get ready to go to work. And I do not eat breakfast. So I do do a coffee in the morning with heavy cream.

So, ~um, ~I have that and I have, uh, supplements with my, ~uh,~ coffee, but,~ um,~ I don't eat breakfast,~ um,~ typically. And then I'll start work. And basically, then I'm on the computer. I'm, you know, doing those things,~ um,~ really kind of. [00:09:00] I'm in my office work through lunch. I have, well, I have lunch basically. ~Um, ~usually like an hour, 45 minutes to an hour to eat lunch.

And typically I will eat three eggs, six pieces of a chicken sausage, a clean chicken sausage that has no nitrates. And I do about two tablespoons of sauerkraut. I do lots of different types of sauerkraut, actually, which is really valuable for your ~um, ~microbiome. The best way for you to support your microbiome is through fermented vegetables and doing different types.

The best would be to make your own. If you can make your own sauerkraut, that's amazing. But I am not a great cook and I don't love to cook, so I buy mine. And I typically have between five and seven different sauerkrauts, like little, just like a tiny pinch. So the total is only about two tablespoons. And then I [00:10:00] also do kefir.

And if possible, I will walk during my lunch as well, if that's feasible. And then I'll continue working. And then dinner is typically some kind of meat, so some humanely treated meat. I would say I like. ~Um, ~red meat, to be honest, I'm, I'm a big, like, I really like steak. ~Um, ~I like, uh, hamburger meat. I like,~ um,~ I'll eat chicken as well, but,~ um,~ typically I do fatty meats.

So like if I were to do a steak, it'd be like a ribeye and then I'll do a small salad,~ um,~ with avocado and maybe a few tomatoes. ~Um, ~and then I do ferments again. So same thing, two tablespoons, uh, different kinds of sauerkraut. And so, ~um, ~that'll be my last meal of the day. And I do supplements. ~Um, ~I have supplements.

I take them three times a day. So I'll do my supplements in the morning. I'll do them with lunch. And then I do them again with dinner and then [00:11:00] three days a week. I will also do. The infrared sauna at nighttime, and I typically do an hour in the infrared sauna and,~ um,~ yeah. And then I have a cold plunge, but I have to admit that the cold plunge is not my favorite.

~So that's one thing that. ~I do it occasionally, but for whatever reason, it's one of those practices that hasn't stuck for me. So I say that just because it's like, I think this happens. We, you know, want to do all these practices and then, you know, sometimes there's one that just doesn't sit with you and it's not something that is resonating or that you enjoy doing.

And so for me, I'm like, it's okay. If I don't want to do the cold punch, I don't do it. I have it. But in, in, when I do it, I typically do it after the sauna, but I just have to be honest and truthful to say that that is one thing that I have the equipment, but I'm not actively. Using it every day. And then another practice that I [00:12:00] do sometimes if I'm not able to walk at lunch, I will do body weight squats just to help.

After I eat a meal, I'll do body weight squats, like 40 squats with no weight. So just basically standing and then sitting up. Squatting,~ um,~ down to 90 degrees. So your legs get down to 90 degrees and I'll do that for 40,~ um,~ as a way to help blunt the blood sugar rise from my meal. So that's actually a great way.

You can either walk or do something like squats. And it's a great thing to do. Typically I give myself about like 10 to 15 minutes before I do that so that I can start to digest a little bit. But,~ um,~ that has been. really effective way for me to manage my blood sugars. And I guess I should mention this too.

I have done continuous glucose monitoring and warn those, you know, like I would basically get a CGM. And wear it for like 10 [00:13:00] days and like test things out and see how things are doing. And then I won't do it for a while. And then if I change anything up in my diet or routine, I'll do that again, just so that I can see what my blood sugar is doing and how it's responding to the food that I'm eating, but also the practices.

You'll, you'll see some interesting things. ~Um, ~wearing a continuous glucose monitor because it gives you, I think it's like 300 or something measurements through a 24 hour period, which is. really valuable and,~ um,~ interesting information. So I do that, but most of the time I'm not wearing a CGM. And so if I'm not wearing a CGM, then I often test my,~ um,~ blood sugar and ketones in the morning.

And that is, I typically do it, about an hour. After waking up, but before I eat or exercise. So for me, when I was, I said, you know, I get up, I, you know, drink my water. I do my gratitude. I drink my water. I do my meditation. I'm feeding the [00:14:00] animals and I. And before I head to the gym is when I usually check my,~ um,~ blood sugar and ketones just so that I can see that.

And I just use a keto mojo,~ um,~ little,~ um,~ finger prick to do that because the most reliable way to check your blood sugar and ketones is, ~uh,~ through blood testing, not urine. So don't use urine strips to track your ketones. They are not accurate. So basically that's really my,~ um,~ Routine and then at night, you know, I go to bed.

I don't know. Like I'm such a I feel like an old lady because I'm like 8 30 and I'm like, I'm ready to go. I'm ready to go to bed But oftentimes i'll be up a little bit later just like taking care of things around the house but then before I go to bed, I basically prep for going into Sleep and also into dreaming and You Dreaming is actually a [00:15:00] very powerful, to get information.

So when we dream, we actually can receive information that can be valuable. And also to remember your dreams can be a very powerful practice. And so before I go to sleep, I will clear my mind. So really clear out any stuff from the day, you know, whether it was a stressful day or if there's anything that I'm thinking about, I'll clear my mind so that when I go into dreaming, I'm clean.

Because if you go in and you're ruminating on the day and thinking about what your to do list is for tomorrow and all that stuff, you're likely not to remember your dreams. But if you can clear yourself out and get yourself to kind of a neutral space and really clean, you're more likely to remember your dreams.

So that is a practice that I do. And then I set my [00:16:00] intention for what information I would like to. Receive through dreaming and then, then I go to sleep and I will say that one thing for me and I mentioned this at the beginning is that sleep. I'm actually a great sleeper. Historically, I could sleep anytime, any place, anywhere, like you could stand me up next to a wall and I could fall asleep because I think medical training Frankly does that to you?

Like you learn to literally sleep any place you can do it. And so I am someone who can fall asleep very easily. And, um,~ um,~ it's funny. My partner, Steve will be like, he's like, there she goes. 3, 2, 1 out. Like I literally can just lay my head on the pillow and then I'm like asleep within seconds. And, um, I know that can be frustrating for some people who have trouble falling asleep, but I.

Like I don't stay asleep all night. Like sleep is actually something that has become more challenging for me. As,~ um,~ you know, there [00:17:00] are things that are happening energetically on the planet that can actually affect our sleep. And I find that that is happening for me. And so often I'm up sometime between three and 4 AM.

Yeah. And I may be able to fall back asleep, but I may not be able to. And so one of the things that I do around that is that gratitude practice. I'll actually do that when I find myself awake and I'll just connect with the earth and just have gratitude for being alive. And, and also the other thing is I imagine myself laying on like a green.

Grassy knoll. That's, you know, kind of just. Soft in the grass and imagine myself just there connecting with the earth. And,~ um,~ for me, that's one way to not get frustrated by not being able to sleep. And so I, I typically tend to just practice [00:18:00] gratitude when I wake up in the middle of the night, how comfortable my bed is, and then imagine myself laying on the grass in the sunlight.

What's interesting is I don't get frustrated about that. Like I, I, I used to be like, gosh, this is a problem. I'm not sleeping past like 3 a. m. But now I just enjoy the rest that I can have. And I also, one of the things when I set my intention for sleep is I set the intention that whatever sleep that I get It's enough for my system to rest and rejuvenate myself.

So anyway, that is my full routine. That's basically what I do almost, you know, most of the time. And I would say for the most part, I'm good at. Managing those pieces, but of course, I'm not perfect. And of course, there are things that come up and sometimes I get kind of out of a routine. But one of the things that I've found [00:19:00] helpful for me, especially as I'm establishing a new routine is using an app.

And the one that I use is you can use, you know, I think there are a lot of different apps, like there's commit to three, which is, you know, basically. ~Um, ~If you're trying to establish a new habit, they, they say, commit to like three things a day. Unfortunately, I've got lots of different things each day. So three is not enough, but that's an app and you can put more than three things in there.

But the app that I use is called done. And basically it has, you can set it up for things that are daily. Or things that are like three times a week, like red light or sauna for me. And you basically just done it when you do it, but it keeps track of what you've done each day and then also for the week so that it can see.

And if you have something that you do multiple times a day, like taking supplements, it'll be able to track that as well. And for me, the reason why I like. Using an app like that [00:20:00] is that then I just like it doesn't weigh on my mind like I'm not thinking, okay, what do I have to do? It's like, no, no, no, it's all in there.

And I have mine coded by color for wellness practices versus. You know, things that I need to do around the home or whatever. And I have a lot of things in there. I don't put my task list. This is not a place where I put my task list. This is literally just for recurring things that I want to do because they are priority for me in my life.

And so I want to have a way to keep track of it. So that is something, you know, people ask me this all the time. Like, how do you do it? How do you stay on track with the routines and the things that you do? And I think the,~ um,~ the point is really to incorporate. ~Um, ~tools like this to make it easier and oh, also, I, I forgot to mention this that in the morning I [00:21:00] will open the window if I'm not able to go outside to look east to face east and see the sun as the sun is coming up.

And so, obviously, right now, with, you know, I wake up at 555, like, the sun is rising later than, than that, and that's no problem. ~Um, ~but. Typically in the summer, I'll wake up earlier so that I can catch the sunrise and seeing the sun coming up over the horizon facing east. And then in the evening, when I'm able to, I also go outside during that period of having,~ um,~ some of that red light, you know, as the sun is going down.

And then during the day, at some point in the middle of the day, I will go out. So like I said, during lunch, if I can go out and take a walk, or I'll just go out and put my feet in the grass and ground as well. So I forgot to mention those,~ um,~ but those are also on my done list. I think actually, maybe I'll just pull up my list and see if there's [00:22:00] anything else that I,~ um,~ Missed in there.

But yeah, so I've got my,~ um,~ I've got my supplements in there and then I've got my practices on. And then also in done. One of the things that I do is so sugar. is like my Achilles heel. Like sugar is definitely my problem per challenge. It's like I am addicted to sugar. So if I like, and I do well for the most part when I'm eating, like what I described for you, that's typically what I eat.

But if I get off track and I have sugar, then I end up being like, I want sugar and I want like, ~um, ~sweets, you know, like I, that's just for me, my thing. Like, so, you know, I'll like. Get some peanut butter and I like maybe a little bit of chocolate with peanut butter and it's not terrible. Like I'm not, you know, but, but if I do it, then I end up basically in that, like wanting more sugar.

And so it becomes a problem. So some of the things that [00:23:00] I have in done are no sugar. So each day that I eat no sugar. I have that as something is that I've done that for the day. I also have no alcohol as something on there. And most of the time I don't, I'm not a big drinker. Cause if I drink, I just fall asleep.

Remember? Cause I can basically sleep anywhere, anytime. So if I drink like even more than half a glass of wine, I'm like ready to go to sleep. So it's not a big thing, but I have that also in here of, uh, not drinking alcohol. And then, okay. Yeah, I have kind of the movement, you know, that I make sure I move every day.

So if I don't do my hit working out at the gym, then I'm doing some kind of movement, whether that's walking or bodyweight squats, like I said, and I just have all of these little,~ um,~ you know, items on my done list that I can incorporate into my routine and make sure that I, that I've done those and, and check them off.

So that's how I keep track of it. And then if I get [00:24:00] off track, so one of the things that I do, and I think the biggest. The, the couple of things that get me off track are number one, celebrations. So like last night was my daughter's birthday and they brought her like a, I forget it was like pecan pie or something, which I'm not even interested in pecan pie, but they bring it.

And then my daughter's like, well, you're my mom, so you gave birth to me, so you should probably have a bite too. And I'd never eaten pecan pie. So I took a bite and I'm like, Oh, why did I do that? Because then it basically triggers that wanting to have the sugar. And so I find that celebrations are a place where I tend to, you know, if I'm gonna do something that I, that I prefer not to do, because I know that my health is better if I don't do it, then what I'll do is, You know, I, I was like last night, I was like, it's fine.

You had like a bite and a half of pecan pie, but we came home and my daughter wanted [00:25:00] crumble cookies. So crumble, I don't know if people are familiar with those. So this is delicious cookies, but terrible, right? So much sugar and whatever, but we, we had gotten those for her birthday. And. I was like, I wanted one of those so bad, especially after taking a bite of the pecan pie.

I was like, Oh my gosh, I want one of these. And I actually even took the knife out and was going to cut. And then I was like, okay, Katie, you just need to put the knife down. Like, you know, you don't want this. You actually are going to regret it if you eat this. So put the knife down and just walk away. And so I did that and then I was like, okay, look, it's okay if you slip up, but don't let it become like this where you just, you gave in.

So now you're going to have like, you know, whatever, how many cookies I would have ended up eating or, you know, not that I was going to eat a full one of these cookies or giant, but like parts of several cookies, I'm sure I could have done significant damage on that. But one of the ways that I stop that from happening is with compassion.[00:26:00]

I should be like, you want this because sugar is addicting and it's okay. Just say no, just step away, just walk away. And so that's what I did. But I find that celebrations are the one area where I like can get myself into trouble and sometimes I'm just like, it's fine, you know, like Thanksgiving. I'm like, I'm going to have dessert.

And I had dessert and I had stuffing, which I would never normally have. And I had like everything that was available. And I was just like, it's fine. And, but keeping it confined so that it doesn't end up be like being where you have one meal that goes awry and then you just are like, screw it. I'm just like, I've already like messed it up.

So I'm just like, I don't care. And so getting yourself back on track. So, uh, With compassion, I really try to step away if I'm finding myself tempted or if I've gone down that road just to give myself some space to be like, okay, I need a few minutes to like make a decision using my brain rather than just [00:27:00] being like hijacked.

~Um, ~by the sugar and then saying, okay, tomorrow, every day when I wake up, I think of it as like a totally new start. I was like today is a completely new day. So like this morning when I woke up, I was a little bit off track because I had ~Um ~last week i'm trying to think what happened was last week thanksgiving and we were traveling But somehow I got off.

Oh, last week I was good. I was, I, we came back from Thanksgiving and I had been like working out. I did all my things, but then over the weekend I didn't work out, which was fine. I had planned not to, but Monday, Tuesday was weird, where normally I always work out Monday morning and I didn't, and then Tuesday I didn't work out just because the schedule and I knew I could still get my three workouts in for the week.

So I'm like, it's fine. But this morning when I woke up, I was like. Okay. Today you absolutely don't want to go to the gym. Like I literally was like, I do not want to go to the gym this morning. I feel like I haven't worked out in like [00:28:00] four days. I'm not feeling great. Had a little bit sugar last night, which actually any sugar makes my knee hurt.

Cause that's the one area that I have some inflammation. So if I ever eat sugar, I immediately feel it in my knee. And I was like, You just have to go like you don't have to want to go. You don't have to like it. You can actually hate it, but you're going. So like this morning when I woke up, I was like, don't think about it, you know, just get the dogs and the cats fed and get Seneca fed and then just go.

And so that is 1 of the other things is like. Every day is a new day. So if you've gotten off track, knowing that if you just do the first thing, which for me is like going to the gym, if I go to the gym and just do the workout, even if I don't like it at all. After I'm done, then I'm like, okay, I'm back on track and today's a new day.

So forget what happened yesterday. And this goes with both the food and also the exercise or practices that you're trying to do. It's like yesterday is gone. All you have is [00:29:00] today. And so we're just going to get back to it. Back on track. And that is something that I really use as a tool of like, today is a new day and we're starting over and you just need to go and like, just make myself do the thing that is kind of like the, the,~ um,~ that starts the momentum of me back on the right track.

And once I start doing my routines, then I feel better. So this is something that, you know, You know that you'll feel better if you do it, but sometimes we just get out of that. And then we're lazy and we're just like, I don't want to, I don't feel like it. And I think you have to remind yourself, you're not going to feel like it, especially if you've gotten off track, but you have to make yourself so that that way.

Once you've done it, then you're basically back on track. So, and I think the big things are celebrations or traveling. Those are for me really big ones. And one of the ways that I prep for that is I didn't do that last night actually with the birthday celebration. Cause I wasn't really thinking [00:30:00] that I was going to want any dessert.

And so it was,~ um,~ that kind of caught me off guard, but when I,~ um,~ Either if I have a celebration coming up or if I'm traveling, I make sure that before I travel or before celebration that I work out, that I get all my workouts for that week before, like say, I'm going to travel. I'll make sure that I get all the workouts done so that then when I'm traveling, I'm like, it's fine.

I'm like, I don't need to work out. If I do, great, but it's like done. And then when I come home, then I make sure the first day that I come home or as quickly as I can, sometimes the first day you come back is kind of crazy. I get myself back on track. And then same thing with the food. If I'm thinking that food is going to be an issue at some event or whatever, I'm like, I will intentionally make statements to myself.

And one of the things that's very important for me is integrity and impeccability. So I want to be my word. When I say that I'm going to do something, I am going to do it. [00:31:00] And so for me, if I say to myself, I am not going to eat sugar today, I will not do it. Because. If I don't follow my word for myself, I'm only hurting myself.

That will come back to me in some ways. And I think that we think about being our word with other people. We're really good at that oftentimes. So we tell someone we're going to do it and then we'll do it. But I. Use that with myself and so one of the tools that I use to help get myself stay on track is that I will wake up and say today I am not eating sugar.

And if I say that, then I now have to do it. And this is a game that I play with myself. So for you, this may not be,~ um,~ like something that resonates with you, but impeccability, I should do a whole episode on impeccability because being impeccable with your word will change your life. And so. I use that, not against myself, [00:32:00] because I, I'm using it in some ways against, I'm using it against that like part of myself that just wants to go rogue, and so, because I know if I do that, that I'm going to follow through and I'm not going to do whatever it said that I wasn't going to do, but this is a way for you to, You know, if you, this is important for you to keep your word, you can do this as a way to keep yourself on track and doing the things that are really good for you.

So I think that's everything I would love to hear your routine, your questions. So on social media, I would love to hear what you have,~ um,~ you know, the routines that you have in, in what you do. If you follow me, I'd love to hear,~ um,~ about your life and, and the. Practices that you do and how you stay on track.

Because I think that we learn from each other, right? Everybody has found their own little hacks. And I think sharing that can be really useful to broaden. I would love to hear what you guys are doing because you have, I'm sure have ideas that I don't [00:33:00] have. And by sharing, we're all getting better and getting healthier together.

~So,~

so ~I look forward to seeing you on the episode on the,~ I look forward to seeing you on the next episode and until then take care and stay healthy. Okay.

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