Here’s How

We’ve all heard the saying, “We are what we eat”, most often attributed to our body’s physical reactions to food. New research shows that the nutrients we put into our body impact almost every part of us, both physically and mentally. When it comes to food intake, what you eat is likely to affect how you feel. Why? The brain has first “dibs” on the body’s available supply of nutrients, meaning the effects of what we eat (good or bad) are often felt mentally first.

Here are 3 ways that the food you eat impacts your mood.

High sugar foods, processed meats, caffeine and alcohol have been associated with increased levels of cortisal – known as the“stress hormone”. Research suggests that certain foods containing omega-3 fats and vegetables may help to regulate cortisol and lower stress.

Experts suggest being cautious of sugars that sneak into our“healthy”choices. Flavoured coffee is meant to give you energy but is loaded with sugar that will send you into a crash soon after. Yoghurt is often thought to be a health food, but sweetened varieties can carry up to 15 grams of extra added sugar per serving.

The delicate microbiome of the digestive system is directly linked to our mental well-being. Poor gut health sends negative signals to the brain resulting in low moods. Foods high in Vitamin D, Zinc, Probiotics and B Vitamins can help improve the balance of your gut's microbiome.

By Dan Lalande Photography by Sean Sisk

Before you jump to the assumption that whoever wrote that sentence can’t count, you should be aware that all three personalities, who collectively form the popular MOVE 100 morning team, are Geminis (so’s this writer, but let’s not complicate things that much!) Those born under that sign tend to be playful, quick-witted, social, and, as their dual nature dictates, shy.

It’s a string of adjectives each member of the MOVE team uses to describe themselves, despite their differences in backgrounds and professional experiences.

Montreal-born Schwartz, a.k.a. “Stuntman Stu,” has been a fixture on the local media scene since the late 1990s. Poirier, the proverbial “local girl made good,” has been around almost as long. As for Steeper, she’s the new kid on the block—at least, Ottawa-wise. An import from Southwestern Ontario, the London area farm girl studied Radio and TV at Niagara College. At first, she hemmed over which medium to hitch her professional wagon to.

“I didn’t know if I wanted to do TV or radio,” she confesses. “It’s one the few programs in the country with a three-year diploma where you can learn both. I ultimately went the radio route—but I use a lot of my TV skills in my day-to-day work. Radio is not just talking on the air anymore: We are on camera a lot. Whether that’s doing hits on CTV, commercials, or social media videos. The shooting and editing skills I developed have really come in handy in everything I do. You have to be a multi-talent these days to survive.”

Once radio-fixated, Steeper set out to score a regular gig on a morning radio show. And she was willing to do what it took to get there: the long, nomadic apprenticeship of the on-air aspirant. It’s a path that took her to Yellowknife, Wingham, Chatham, Owen Sound, London, and Fredericton, to name but a few of the moves on the way to MOVE.

“Radio is not an easy career to get into,” the long-haired brunette admits. “There are limited entry-level positions, so you need to be willing to relocate. I wanted to accelerate my career quickly. I kept looking for better talent development and guidance. I wanted to hone my craft, excel, and ultimately, land in a major market. I made a lot of personal sacrifices to get there, missing countless birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays…not to mention limited time with my family and close friends—but hey, in the end, Ottawa!”

Relocating to the nation’s capital in 2018, the country girl was happy to find that nature was in such proximity. “You can escape it so easily here,” she enthuses. “I can paddle board down the Ottawa river, walk along the countless trails, or in fifteen minutes, be hiking in the Gatineau hills.”

She’s also crazy about her job, a gratitude she owes, in part, to the largesse afforded her by Schwartz and Poirier, who have known each other forever. “With any relationship, it takes time for everyone to get to know one another and feel comfortable,” Steeper theorizes, “but with Stu and Angie, it all happened very quickly and naturally. It helped that I knew that I was moving almost two months before I arrived. Over that time, there were lots of texts between the three of us—now, it feels like I’ve known them my whole life!”

As for why their collective chemistry clicks, Steeper chalks that up to a shared professional philosophy: “We all come to work with the same mindset: Let’s have fun, entertain, inform, and not take ourselves too seriously.”

Added bonus: The trio is as tight off-air as they are on. “We’re there to listen when someone needs to vent, ask for advice or is going through something personally,” explains Steeper. Those circumstances include Schwartz’s well-publicized battles with leukemia and the topsy-turvy effects of Covid. Adds Steeper, “We’ve been there for each other through some challenging times. It makes our relationship that much stronger.”

At the moment, Steeper’s leisure hours are spent planning her upcoming wedding. Steeper and her fiancé, Adam, got engaged last March; they’ll be tying the knot at the family farm in June. When the pressure of organizing such a large, important milestone gets too much, Steeper the Gemini switches to her alternate personality: The quieter one who enjoys excursions in nature, DIY projects, and training her blue merle Australian shepherd. Says Steeper of her much-loved dog, “She is smart and eager to learn!”

Exactly like her owner.

Parkinson’s Law asserts that ‘work expands to fill the time available for completion’. If you’ve ever procrastinated, you’ve certainly felt the effects of this law in real-time. Over the past 100 years, multiple entrepreneurs and academics have developed techniques, generally referred to as timeboxing, to use this law to their advantage, allowing them to consistently begin and complete sessions of ‘deep work’: a win for productivity. Here’s what modern day theories (and practices) have to say about timeboxing.

Ready to knock out that to-do list? Here’s a crash course in timeboxing.

Timeboxing requires you to write down all of your large todos (or outcomes), divide them into smaller tasks, and then group them into similar tasks. Dividing overwhelming projects into manageable pieces will motivate you to reach your next milestone