Fitness and Cannabis
There’s a movement happening: cannabis enthusiasts are dispelling the old “stoner” stereotype of sitting on the couch eating cheetos and proving that this powerful plant is an essential tool in every athlete’s and health enthusiasts’ toolbox.
As a fitness professional for over 15 years, I believe and teach that cannabis has a significant role to play in our overall well-being, particularly in the realms of fitness and nutrition. When I meet new clients, their ultimate goal is almost always the same – they want to feel better. While weight loss, muscle tone, mobility, flexibility, and improved nutrition habits are common aspirations, the underlying desire is to simply feel better in our bodies. If there’s one thing cannabis consumers know, it’s that cannabis helps us feel better!
How does cannabis help our fitness and nutrition, specifically?
Fitness professionals, doctors, and health providers often emphasize that the key to feeling better lies in moving more and consuming more nutritious foods. Cannabis enhances this process in several ways; the right strain of CBD and/or THC can help our bodies find balance, known as homeostasis, by interacting with our endocannabinoid system. This balance contributes to an overall sense of well-being and allows us to feel great!
Even more specifically, cannabis helps us to overcome common obstacles to fitness and nutrition such as lack of sleep, stress, anxiety, lack of focus, mindless eating, pain and inflammation. When we don’t sleep well, or enough, we become too tired to workout, have ineffective workouts and tend to make poor eating choices. We are too tired to cook so we reach for convenience foods.
Stress and anxiety also prevent us from making good food choices, ruins our motivation and zaps our willpower due to the all consuming nature of stress and anxiety. For those who struggle with the ability to focus on tasks, or struggle with time management and organization, cannabis provides clarity and focus which leads to incorporating more movement into the day and choosing more nutritious foods. If you’ve ever been so sore from a workout that you didn’t want to move, or deal with chronic pain, you know this is a major deterrent to working out!
Experienced cannabis users are familiar with the strong mind-body connection and it is well-known that both CBD and THC can enhance mindfulness and help us tune into our bodies. By heightening our awareness of sensations like hunger, fullness, energy, and satisfaction, cannabis can reveal patterns of emotional or habitual eating. It may also lead us to recognize that our cravings are not rooted in true hunger, but rather a desire for companionship, comfort, or emotional release. Ultimately, the right dose of cannabis helps us to be “in the moment”, allowing us to savor, enjoy and appreciate what and when we eat rather than mindlessly eating.
For those of us trying to make healthier food choices and watch portion sizes, cannabis helps us make thoughtful decisions about what and how much to eat, rather than grabbing what’s convenient. Being mindful helps us to stop carelessly snacking (especially at night or out of boredom), stop eating after a normal portion (and not go back for seconds!), relax, kick back, enjoy life, feel motivated to move, workout, and connect to our bodies more during movement! Working to improve these habits can help us lose weight, manage weight, and just feel better.
When it comes to fitness and nutrition, we have a lot of data and science regarding what to eat and how to workout but what most people lack is a proper mindset and behaviors. Currently, the majority of the US population is overweight. We are reaching for convenience food despite how they make us feel. Portions are bigger than ever and we’ve learned to ignore feelings of fullness, leading to overeating, often mindlessly. However, if we stay present and pay attention, over time we can tune in to the feelings of fullness and satisfaction in our stomach which greatly cuts down on overeating.
Choosing the right cannabis type and strain is essential for managing appetite, especially when weight loss is the goal. Combining CBD with THC or opting for high CBD strains can help suppress appetite. Terpenes also play a role; while myrcene, caryophyllene, limonene, and pinene may stimulate appetite, humulene, THCv, and CBD are better for appetite suppression. Individual responses to these compounds can vary, so it’s important to select the strain that aligns with your objectives
In addition to reducing stress, improving sleep and helping us eat more mindfully, cannabis is effective at reducing post workout soreness, aiding in exercise recovery and can be a calorie-free method of relaxation, serving as an alternative to alcohol and eliminating dehydration and hangovers from derailing our fitness progress.
For all of these reasons, cannabis pairs nicely with fitness and nutrition goals, but as with anything, proper knowledge is the key to experiencing results in the form of body composition changes, behavior change and mindset shifts. Applied correctly and consistently, cannabis can be a game changer in enhancing weight loss and accelerating fitness goals!
Beth, a certified Cannabis Coach with over 15 years in the fitness and nutrition industry, helps cannabis enthusiasts and the canna-curious achieve mindful eating and movement while educating on the benefits of CBD and THC. Utilizing her experience with yo-yo dieting and emotional eating, she developed the CannaFit program to support women in establishing healthy habits and sustainable weight loss through the right cannabis pairings. As a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, Beth specializes in strength training and has worked with diverse clients in various settings. She resides in Niskayuna, NY, and more information can be found at www.cannafitnessnutrition.com or by contacting her at Beth@cannafitnessnutrition.com and on Instagram @Beth_cannafitnessnutrition.
At Her Seed Bank, we believe in the power of community and collaboration within the cannabis industry. We make it a priority to spotlight other educators, entrepreneurs, growers, and breeders because we understand that our collective success is rooted in supporting and uplifting one another. By sharing the stories and successes of others, we aim to foster a sense of camaraderie and shared growth within the cannabis community.
Highlighting the achievements of others not only educates and inspires our audience but also strengthens the bonds within our industry. It’s important for us to be involved and actively contribute to the community because we know that a thriving cannabis industry benefits everyone—from the small business owner to the home grower. Together, we can help shape a more inclusive, knowledgeable, and successful future for all those passionate about cannabis.