Nourishment

What or who do you think of when I mention nutrition and nutritionist?  I think of a nutritionist that I recently met on a virtual retreat. Nicole is that beautiful soul who is on a mission to help women learn how to nourish their spiritual and physical bodies.  She came from a family with a history of obesity and the medical problems that follow.  She knew that she didn’t want to travel down that life path so she became a nutritionist and more!  

 Nicole, I am so excited to have you join us today. Before we get started, will you tell us a little bit about yourself, and how you got interested in this business?

• Sure, and thank you so much for having me on. I'm so excited to be here. So, how I got started in the business was, I came from a family with a lot of health issues. And I watched my mom and my grandma suffer from morbid obesity. And basically, they both had to have gastric bypass surgery. The weight was a big issue for them for most of their lives, most of their adult lives. And so, watching that, I made a promise to myself that I would be proactive in my own health journey, that I would help myself by changing the way I thought about eating the way I thought about what healthy is, you know, I wanted to take my health into my own hands, and really just give myself a better opportunity, you know, then my parents had, and my grandparents, so really just wanting that. My goal really was just to be in a career that would keep me healthy. So I became a yoga teacher. And from there, I found kind of this metaphysical aspect of things, and breathwork, meditation, and all of these things that were tied to the physical. And it really, it really changed my life. And so as I've been on this journey, I have just really wanted to help other people achieve their healthiest lives. So really, I just kind of, I've always been passionate about working out and eating right, and just being, you know, my best, the best version of myself. So I just want to help other people do the same. So I decided after pondering after working at a corporate job for 12 years, (I liked the job for a while) but then I started to realize that I wasn't really utilizing my gifts. And so I decided I really wanted to help people with their nutrition, I felt a lot of people were struggling with nutrition, that although many people have a workout plan, and they know how to work out or go walking, things like that their nutrition is usually the sticking point. So I really wanted to help people just find an easy way to eat healthier, be healthier, you know, have better thought patterns, better habits overall. So then I decided to become a nutrition coach. So, in a nutshell, that's been my journey. And I'm just so excited to really help shift the health paradigm in our world and help people live better lives, live healthier lives and thrive. So that's my story.

Thank you for sharing that. And what a proactive lifestyle you've moved into, like you said, and moving out of corporate. Yeah, that's quite the change. 
 

• Yes, absolutely. But it's been a blessing. And it took me a couple years before I decided to do it, so. So it was definitely the right move for me.

Absolutely. So I really resonate with that word ”easy”, making easy lifestyle choices, because I too, have been very conscious of fitness, weight and overall health and trying to take the natural approach to healing. And so that word “easy'' really resonates with me. So let's move on to talking about what we came here to talk about spiritual and physical nourishment, how they go hand in hand, and what your philosophy is on this. 
 

• Yes, yes, spiritual and physical nourishment. It's such an amazing topic of conversation because really, a lot of the time when you start with nutrition, you think of what you're eating right? Like what you eat, the food, the physical food, makes you healthy, but there's so many things that we consume, that aren't food that can really make a difference in our health. And so when you start to think about what am I eating, then it's like, what am I watching? What am I listening to? You know, how am I feeding my spirit, right? Because the, you know, the soul needs nourishment, you know, just like the body, the mind, the heart, the spirit, it needs nourishment, you know, we all need love, we all need caring, we all need to know, that we're supported, right, we all just want to be, we all just want to be heard and recognized. And so there's so many parts of us that need the right nourishment. So when it comes to food, and what you put in your body, it's, it's huge. You know, if we're eating a lot of processed foods, if we're eating a lot of sugary foods, or things that are just not from the earth, that are not natural, right, these things, they take a toll on our body, and, and on our mood, the way that we, the way we feel our energy, there's so many things that are affected by the food that we eat. And so And what's more is, what are we developing our spiritual practice? How are we connecting to that source of life? You know, food gives us life, food gives us energy? And how are we connected to that Divine Spirit? Because there's a lot that goes on in our lives that is difficult for us to control. Some things happen that we don't quite understand and can explain. And we don't quit and we don't know why these things happen. But if we are feeding our souls, by, you know, taking the steps to just try to reach out, you know, try to be quiet, you know, still your mind still your breathing, you know, try to hear that small voice inside, you know, what is it say, meditate, right? The time to pray, that just the time to be silent and be still and really listened to the universe, God the divine, whatever you call that person, or him or she or it, but connecting and really, when you when you do those things, when you take the time to focus on the breathing, notice your thoughts, you know, let your thoughts come and go, then you start to, you start to feel a connection to the spirit, and feeding your soul. It's, it'll, it'll change your life. And so we think about what we're eating, we have to think about what we're feeding our bodies, what we're allowing to come into our minds, right with what we listen to and what we watch. And, and in that that affects the mind. So how we're feeding the mind. And then if we are able to have a spiritual practice, whatever that looks like, that's going to feel there's all parts of our being. So that's kind of my philosophy, how I feel about the nourishment side of both.

Beautiful, beautiful, and that just so resonates with me, because I do have my non-negotiables about the things I do every day to connect with the divine. And I also am a strong believer in life force foods. And we all slip off the wagon, we're not perfect. But I definitely am aware of life force foods and life force divine energy entering my life as well. So both spiritual and physical. I'm sure some of our listeners, yes, Nate with that as well. So I know you has a five step framework to build a healthy routine. And so would you share that with our listeners, so they have something tangible that they can take away today?

• Yes, absolutely. So these are just a couple steps that your listeners that you guys can take to just help you come up with some structure and to really focus on self-care because really these steps that is the point of these steps is to make yourself a priority. You know, in our busy world in this country that we're in this day and age, we're just so busy, we're so overly busy and stressed. And we think that getting to the next thing, you know, running in the rat race, you know, having our nine to five, and doing all these things is the most important thing. And we've really forgotten the importance of really just taking care of ourselves, we have put ourselves on the wayside in order to be you know, make money, or take care of our families, or whatever it is. And we really can't be the best version of ourselves if our cup is empty. And if we are not nourishing ourselves, if we're not replenishing, you know, our bodies, and our minds and taking time to rest. It's, that's when these this disease starts to pop up all these different ailments, these things, these mental health issues, stress, anxiety, depression, and you know, all the physical things with it that come with obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, you know, the list goes on and on. And really, these things can be prevented if we just take a few simple steps every day, to really focus on ourselves, and take care of ourselves. So the first step is having a routine. So really building out a routine for yourself. So thinking about how you're going to approach your morning, and how you're going to approach your evening. And if you can just start with having a morning routine. And finishing off the day with a nightly routine, it will do wonders for you. So some suggestions for that would be in the morning, take some time for reflection. So this could be journaling. Or it could just be a meditation, or just a time where you're sitting by yourself, and you're reflecting. So you reflect on what you're grateful for and what you're thankful for. And this can really benefit you. So it's a big deal. It's a big deal. To practice gratitude as much as possible, when we can really focus on what we're thankful for, then we get more things to be thankful for, you know, the universe responds to positive energy. If we're constantly thinking about what we need to do, or what we don't want to happen, what we're afraid of, then we're going to receive more of that. So if we can really start the day off by saying I am thankful for my life, I am thankful for my family. I'm thankful for waking up today, I'm thankful for my dog, whatever that is, take some time for reflection. And that can be 10 to 15 minutes, it does not have to be an hour, if you can have an hour, that's even better. But it literally only takes you up to 15 minutes to stop and reflect in the morning. And so take some time for that in the morning. And before you go to bed at night. Have a routine, right? Make sure you know you're not watching TV right before bed, if you can help it, make sure that you know, turn the TV off and don't look at your phone for like 30 minutes before you go to bed. It'll just help you to wind down, try to read a book, right try to read a book or you can even listen to a meditation or a podcast, right? That's going to wind you down. But take some time to wind the body down, drink a cup of tea, drink some water, settle down about 30 minutes before bed to really give your mind the ability to slow down so that you can have a full night's sleep. So important to get your eight hours of sleep every day. The body needs rest. So that's my first step: have a routine, build out a routine in your morning and in your evening. Um, the second step is to make time for stress relief. So when I say make time, I don't mean just find the time for it. I mean, literally put the stress relief into your schedule. So like I said, the reflection time in the morning is considered stress relief. But that's just a part of your routine, right. So I would say in addition to that have about 15 to 30 minutes every day, where you are doing yoga, where you are listening to a meditation where you are stretching doesn't have to be yoga, where you're reading your favorite book, where you're laughing with your friends or your family, right, you're not having the TV on, you're not having your social media on your phone on. You are just stress relieving. So those are a couple of ways to relieve stress relief, but I highly encourage you to find 15 to 30 minutes a day, in the middle of your day to relieve your stress. If you can relieve stress, it's just going to help you. There's so many benefits to calming down to slowing down to slowing the heart rate down to getting that nervous system. Calm down. So find a time...sorry, make time, don't find it, make it make the time for stress relief every day. The third one is to plan out your meals. So just know what you're going to eat every day and have a plan in place for what you're going to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you can plan out your meals and be strategic in what you're eating, you will, it'll help you to not snack on different things that you don't need to snack on. It'll make it to where you're not trying to hit up the fast-food restaurant because you didn't plan anything and you have no idea what you're going to eat. So you're just going to go to the next fast food restaurant down the street, right. And it'll just set you up for success for the week, especially if you have weight loss goals. Or if you're trying to maintain your weight. Or if you're trying to gain weight, you want to make sure that what you are eating is going to get you to your goals. So there's a lot of ways to prepare meals, and things of that nature. But what I'm saying is just no, you know, for breakfast, I'm having oatmeal for lunch, I'm having a salad with chicken. And for dinner, I'm having chicken with brown rice and mixed vegetables. Just starting with a plan. And knowing exactly what you're going to eat every single day, it has changed my life, to know to have a plan of what I'm going to eat. It takes all of the guesswork out and then I don't waver from my plan. If I don't have a plan that I'm more likely to say, oh, I'll just grab this thing or, you know, it's your kind of you kind of get all over the place, and then it can actually hinder you from the goals that you're trying to accomplish. So that is my third tip. My fourth tip is to hydrate. So drink water. It seems like the most basic thing to do. But literally we forget to drink water. And we're so busy. As I mentioned, I'm sure your listeners know this, there's so much going on. And we just forget to drink water. I know I'm guilty of it, I'll have my water bottle filled and I'll go through the entire day. And I haven't even had a sip of it. Because I forget. So my recommendation is to get yourself a water bottle that you have with you all the time. And you know, some are 32 ounces, some are more like a gallon. But if it's 32 ounces, drink three to four of those bottles every day, you're supposed to drink half your weight in ounces. So you take your total weight divided by two. That's the recommended amount of water that you should be drinking and ounces every day. So if you can hit that goal, that's fantastic. But in general, just try to drink three to four water bottles, 32-ounce water bottles a day, water and be hydrated. It's again, so many benefits to you. It helps with your mental capacity, it helps with your digestion, it helps just to make sure that you have energy. If we're dehydrated, we don't have any energy, headaches occur, things like that. So there's so many benefits to drinking water. But that is definitely something I would say needs to be a priority in your daily routine is hydrating, as much as possible. And then the last tip, the fifth tip is to move your body for at least 30 minutes a day. So you don't have to be a marathon runner. You don't have to be a weightlifter. You can literally go for a walk. So when I say move your body, you can go for a walk, you can dance, you can go ride a bike, you can stretch, it does not have to be a crazy workout, it does not have to be a workout where you're, you think you're going to die in the middle of the workout. It does not have to be that literally what I'm saying is when we move our bodies every day, we shake out stagnant energy, we get our blood flowing, the blood flowing gets, you know our mind going, our creativity flowing. And if we are sitting around, especially if we're at a desk all day, we need to move even more. So moving for 30 minutes a day is highly, highly encouraged. You'll feel really good. You'll be surprised even if you're tired. If you go and do a 30-minute walk then you start to feel energized. It's like recharging your battery. When we move our bodies even if we really don't feel like it, like I woke up super tired this morning. But I still did my workout because that is part of my routine. You know, I was kind of tired at the end, but I'm, I feel, I felt better afterward I felt accomplished. And I would have felt worse, if I didn't move my body, I would have just kept laying on the couch, and maybe just stayed there all morning. So just do something, like I said, turn on some music and dance, you know, get the heart rate up a little bit, and get the body moving, it's so important. And it's just going to help you. In general, you know, if you're, if you're able to move your body more often, you know, you avoid falling, you know, you're, you can usually improve your balance. You know, if you're always, you know, sedentary if you're always sitting, you know, if you don't get up a lot, you know, sometimes you'll get up and you get up too fast, you get a little dizzy, you can trip and fall and fall hard. So there's just a lot of benefits to getting our body used to moving around, and being up and getting the energy flowing. So those are my five tips. And I hope those are some, some tangible ways to start nourishing your body and, and living just, you know, taking it one day at a time and trying to live that healthier life that we're all striving for.

Thank you so much, Nicole, I really appreciate that. And I appreciate how practical they are. And easy for all of us to follow at any age actually. So yeah, yes, having an am and pm routine. I started doing that a couple decades ago. And I am so grateful to have started that. And yes, not break away from it because it has made a huge difference in my health and in my life. And you're making time for stress relief, midday stress relief, I think also that is such a wonderful tip. And if you can just do that, make it connected to maybe a lunch hour at your job…. So meal planning, totally agree with that those of you with juggling a family, one of the best things I ever did when teaching full time was to plan my meals on Sunday before the new week started. And that again had big results. Hydrating that's another one so important. And you did mention the water but I'm going to add one more thing and that's going to be water-based foods. So some of that hidden water you can use to your advantage. The watermelon and, and the grapes and lemons and limes and pineapple and some of those things with heavy water content are really beneficial because it gets into your deeper cells into your body as well.

• Oh 100% I love that... I love lemons, grapes and watermelon. I do lemon water too. And yeah, there's a lot you can get like double a double whammy like you know more bang for your buck with water-based foods. Double hydration.

Yeah, yeah. And then moving your body and I'm so glad you mentioned it doesn't have to be you know, a marathon run. It can be walking, dancing, it can be making sure that you move around extra even when picking up or cleaning the house. It doesn't have to be in a fitness center or in a public location where everybody knows you're moving your body. You just can do it in your home. And I think that's important that people know that. And it still has the benefits.

• Yes, yes, absolutely. People get very overwhelmed. When it comes to that like oh, I got an exercise like that seems, but exercises a lot of different things. And as I mentioned, stretching ... there's really easy videos on YouTube, you type in like stretching for beginners or yoga for beginners. Pretty much anything for beginners is on YouTube. And you'd be surprised how flexible you are, like what you can really do. When you just try, like you know and just take it a little step at a time.

Yes, small steps at a time. I actually have a current program called “Divinely Simple Self Care”, and it's all different exercises that you can do in 10 Minutes or Less With the idea that you'll string those 10 minutes together as you get more proficient. 
 

• Yeah, exactly. That's awesome. 

So Nicole, you have a free gift for our listeners, and it'll help them make themselves a priority. Like you said, “make yourself a priority”. Nicole says. So, will you talk to our audience a little bit about what you have in store for them?

• Yeah, so I do have this, basically a workbook, and it'll help your listeners kickstart their healthy living, it'll help them kickstart their nutrition journey, their healthy living journey, whether they're on a journey now, or they just need help getting started, which I know, so many people just need something to help them get started. They're just not sure. Where do I start with all this stuff? With all the eating, right? And drinking water? How do I maintain it? How do I even take the first step? So I built out a little workbook and you know, it's just as simple as trying just doing it, just really taking action. And this worksheet, or workbook, basically has a couple things for them. So it has a little worksheet that tells you about macros, macronutrients, these are proteins, fats, and carbs, just gives them a little explanation of what each one is a couple examples of each, so that when you're going to the grocery store, you can kind of know Oh, that's a protein, that's a healthy fat, and this is a carbohydrate. And so it'll, it'll explain kind of what macros are, I created a shopping list for you, for your listeners to get started. So a couple of common protein, fat and carb options that are really healthy, and just will nourish them and really help all of you guys to get started. So if you want to go shopping, and you're not quite sure what to buy, I have a shopping list for you. And it also has a list of fruits and veggies on there that are really nutrient dense, and a great place to start with your healthy eating. And then there's also a little snack cheat sheet in there. Basically, this little sheet shows you some less than healthy snacks, and then it gives you the healthier alternatives. So if you're thinking like, oh, I normally like to snack on chips, or I really like to eat a lot of sweet stuff, I give you a list of things that you can eat instead. So that will help you again, when you're going to the grocery store. And when you're looking in your cabinets, you know what's going to be a better option to snack on throughout the day. I also have a smoothie recipe worksheet in there. And it basically just gives you a couple of ideas of some healthy smoothies that you can make for yourself, for breakfast, lunch for a snack. So that will be really helpful. And then there are two templates in there. There is a food journal so that you guys can start to write down what you're eating, tracking your food is another great way to stay on point with your healthy eating habits. So I have a food journal in there where you can write down your food, take note of what you're eating, how much water you're drinking, how you're feeling during this time, the feelings are very important as well. So I have that template. And then going into that we have a mindset worksheet for you guys. And this is a daily mindset practice. Your emotions tie into what you're eating. So most of the time, or I would say more than often, what we eat is directly tied to how we are feeling in the moment. So with the mindset practice, it's also something that I really focus on as a nutrition coach is the mindset. So there is a mindset worksheet in there. And basically, you're looking at, you know, what's your, in the morning? What are you looking forward to? What is today's affirmation? I mean, your listeners probably know what affirmations are. But these are just statements that are going to get you to your goals, these positive statements that are going to really change your mindset and flip around any negative self-talk that's going on. So there's a mindset worksheet in there. And it's just something you fill out every day with what you're grateful for and what you appreciate. And that's pretty much it, but it's my free gift to you guys and I really hope that it comes in handy. And I hope that it helps. 

That's so, so valuable. Thank you for that gift for our listeners, I'm sure that they are going to put it to good use. If someone would like a little bit more guidance and to kind of see how to get started, what should they do?

• Sure. So there's plenty of ways. There's couple ways in which to connect with me. But if you are just if you're interested in this conversation, if anything spoke to you, and it's kind of pulling on your heart, that you know, you need to take the next step, you're wanting to take the next step, but you're not quite sure. Or maybe like I said, you’ve been on a journey, but you've kind of strayed from the path, as they say, and you just need some guidance. I do offer a 30-minute free coaching for anybody. This is a free coaching session where we basically talk about your goals, we talk about your journey, you know, and I basically, I give you next steps, I try to kind of help you figure out what your next steps will be. And you know, just see how I could possibly help you with your goals. So, um, yeah, so if anybody wants a 30 minute free coaching session, there is a link to my calendar that Dar will share. And you can click on that calendar link and pick the time and date that works the best for you. And then you can find me on Facebook, it's under my name, Nicole Gerdeman. And then you can also visit my website, and my website is Nicole Gerdeman.com. So that's, that's the 30 Minute free coaching session. And then from there, you know, we can determine if it's something where you want to work with me, I do offer a nutrition coaching, and mindset program. And I call it “Empower Her.” Because we're all trying to empower each other. And, you know, as women, we need to help, we need to help each other out. So empower her is a program that I developed just to really get you on point to help you step back into your power in the way of creating healthy habits, creating sustainable habits that are going to really help you achieve your goals. And not only achieve your goals, but maintain your goals, because this is a lifestyle that we are creating. This is not something that we want a short-term gain, we want a long-term result from this. So I help my clients come up with a plan, I help them stay accountable. You know, and it's a great program. But yeah, it's a six-month program. And if you want to work with me, we can discuss that too. I'm open to clients as we speak. And so a lot of great things about the coaching program. So if you have any questions, you can reach me, like I said on my website, Nicole Gerdeman.com, on Facebook, under my name, Nicole Gerdeman, and please, please book a 30 minute free coaching session, I would love to see how we can take the next steps in your health journey.

Thank you so much, Nicole. And if any of our listeners are looking at developing a sustainable plan, Nicole is the one to do it in her “Empower Her'' program, as well as in her free calls. She is just so generous with her time...as she's been with us today. And she's been generous with her time with me previously, too. So I think you can all hear the authenticity in her voice. And I want to thank you, Nicole, so much for being with us today.  
 

• Darla, thank you. I'm so glad that the Divine Spirit brought us together in the master class we were in because you are truly an amazing soul. And I just... I feel very grateful that we connected.

Wow, thank you so much. And I'm sure we'll have to connect for some more projects in the future. Right. Absolutely. That is for sure. All right, bye bye for now.

Thanks

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