Taking Healthcare by Storm: Industry Insights with Diane Randall

In this episode of Taking Healthcare by Storm, Quality Insights Medical Director Dr. Jean Storm speaks with Diane Randall, M.A., CHHC, a Whole Living Consultant, Author, College Instructor, and host of Plant Based Curious.

Diane shares how severe burnout and health issues as a high-performing working mother and traveling consultant sparked a shift toward integrated mind-body-spirit wellbeing, reframing discomfort as a catalyst for growth. She emphasizes plant-forward eating and sustainable “movement snacks,” suggests quick stress resets, and argues healthcare should prioritize prevention, lifestyle medicine, community supports, and whole-person measures of wellbeing.

If you have any topics or guests you'd like to see on future episodes, reach out to us on our website.

The views and opinions expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views, positions, or policies of Quality Insights. Publication number QI-041026-GK

Transcript

Welcome to "Taking Healthcare by Storm: Industry Insights," the podcast that delves into the captivating intersection of innovation, science, compassion, and care. 

In each episode, Quality Insights’ Medical Director Dr. Jean Storm will have the privilege of engaging with leading experts across diverse fields, including dieticians, pharmacists, and brave patients navigating their own healthcare journeys. 

Our mission is to bring you the best healthcare insights, drawing from the expertise of professionals across West Virginia, Pennsylvania and the nation.

Subscribe now, and together, we can take healthcare by storm.

Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of Taking Healthcare by Storm. I am Dr. Jean Storm, the medical director here at Quality and. Insights and today I'm thrilled to welcome Diane Randall, M-A-C-H-C, whole life wellness consultant, author, speaker, and longtime advocate for helping busy professionals create healthier, more balanced lives. Diane's path into wellness didn't begin in a yoga studio or a nutrition seminar. It began. With a wake up call while juggling life as a working mom, global consultant and entrepreneur. She found herself facing serious health concerns that forced her to pause, reflect, and ultimately transform her life from the inside out. And isn't that how many things happen in our lives? We weren't expecting it. They kind of come by surprise, and then they fully transform our lives. With decades of experience in consulting, coaching, and spiritual psychology, Diane brings a grounded. Compassionate and practical approach to wellness. One that embraces discomfort as a catalyst for change, emphasizes plant focus, nutrition, and movement, and recognizes the deep connection between physical health, emotional wellbeing, and spiritual growth. The very definition of whole person focused care or holistic care. Today we're gonna be talking about burnout. Balance, stress and what real sustainable wellness looks like in a world that never slows down, and it seems to be getting faster and faster. And we're gonna be talking about what healthcare really could look like if we truly focused on Whole Person Care. Diane Randall, thank you so very much for joining us today. Hello Jean, and thank you so much for inviting me. It's my pleasure to meet you. Yes, and I'm really excited to jump into the conversation because we're gonna be talking about things that are very much of interest to me and obviously important in, in my own life and the individuals I talk to, your journey into wellness. Began with a pretty pivotal wake up call, as I mentioned in the introduction. Can you take us back to that moment? What was happening in your life and what ultimately pushed you to move from being a busy, successful professional to becoming a guide for whole life wellness? It is very interesting and, and believe it or not, it wasn't something I planned. So thank you. Uh, that moment was many moments which were humbling and, clarifying, and I was the consummate professional. Okay. Checking all the external. Boxes, you know, running on adrenaline, chronic stress. Back years ago it was more about, you know, how long you can work, you know? Yeah. Taking on a lot of duties and activities because. Way back then you were validated and credited when you, the longer you worked and the more you did. And I was that person. And not only was I that person, I was also a mom. I had gotten divorced. So I had kids I was raising, but I was ignoring my own needs. So the wake up call came and. What I would say the peak moment, I had been in software consulting for a few years. Best career. Loving it. Very successful. Just loving it. But one day after about five years in consulting, I was on my way to the airport. Because I traveled also at that time, leave on Monday, come back on Thursday or Wednesday on my way to the airport. And at the time I would take a car to the airport. I could not get out of the car. I literally could not get out of the car. And that's when I recognized my body was saying, no more. At that time, I was pushing through debilitating fatigue brain fog just really, really chasing and running, and running and chasing. And I realized , I was treating my life like it was a machine and not like a precious, nurturing body. So literally I realized that I was burnt out, and at that time , I came back home. And I just couldn't go back. I just couldn't travel. You know, when I thought about it, I would start having an anxiety attack or start going down that path, just thinking about getting on the plane. And at the time, I needed to go see the client because that was my job, that was my career. But what I realized was I wasn't just in burnout. My body, my mind, and I realized my spirit after a lot of researching and looking at what being well and what not being burnt out meant to me. So I, and I just didn't wanna manage my stress. I wanted to live. I wanted to know what wellbeing meant. I wanted to know what it meant to be healthy, because I knew that wasn't the life that I was living. And then I felt I needed to be more integrated with purpose and all happiness and joy because I wasn't experiencing any of that either. I was too busy. So that's when I shifted from being. You know, I was used to just driving outcomes and consulting, and I was living my life the same way, to be honest with you. And I realized I needed a transformation for whole life. And I needed to figure out what does it mean? I needed to integrate all parts of myself, my mind, my body, and my spirit. So that triggered my journey to figuring out what it meant to be well. I'm a consultant. I wasn't thinking about being in wellness, okay? But what happened was I felt better and better once I started reading and looking at workshops, attending classes. On health, what it meant, meant to be health. And just going through my journey of exploration, I figured out that, wow, I'm feeling better and better, and, people were noticing it and I started sharing that information. Next thing I know, I've started a wellness business 'cause I, people were asking me a lot about, what are you doing? You know, you're glowing, you're looking nice, you've lost weight. You know, you look happy. I started getting a lot of that, so I figured, oh my God, it must be working. I felt better and I felt lighter in my life. Yeah, definitely started working and I mentioned in, in the introduction, discomfort as a catalyst for change, and I'm very interested in that topic, why do you believe discomfort is actually essential in a wellness journey, and how can people stop fearing it and use it, you know, as a catalyst, as that information for transformation. We all are conditioned to see discomfort as a red flag. Something's wrong. It's something we need to fix immediately. So many of us, we don't get to really explore, why am I feeling this way? It must be something really bad. Let me hurry up and get rid of it. But for me, I felt discomfort is a signal for growth. It's like muscles aching after a new workout, and it's essential real change. Because what happens is many of us are in our comfort zones, and once we step out of our comfort zone and we get uncomfortable, we step right back into our comfort zone. So for me, I had experienced, and how I talk about discomfort a lot is with boundaries. You know, I teach a lot about boundaries and what happens because that's where we experience it the most. We get that queasy gut feeling or a tightness in the chest, that is our body mind intelligence telling us that something's off, something's not working, or it can be a signal for stagnation. Yeah. Signal first of, stagnation. That's great. That needs to be like a buzz phrase somehow. and I think kind of go, jumping off of that signal of stagnation, burnout is universal. Yes. Everybody says they're burnt out, especially high performing professionals. From your perspective, what's really driving this widespread burnout? And why do traditional self-care fixes not work well? I think one reason self-care fixes do not work is because everybody's telling us what that means. You know what is self care? We are getting messaging. From all parts of life. Commercials books podcasts now telling us what it means to have self-care. We're told that self-care or by it's buying a bunch of products, but really self-care is pausing and really checking in with yourself too. Just explore, what am I feeling, you know, what am I feeling, and really trying to figure out why am I feeling this way? Really exploring what opportunities do I have to really learn? What do I need in this moment? What do I need to feel better, to do better? What do I need? And that's what I learned. It is checking in with myself, just getting through why am I so stressed out, why am I having anxiety every night is really being honest and telling the truth about what is really going on. And that's the first step, is telling the truth about why do I have this discomfort? Where is it coming from? And it's being truthful because sometimes it's, oh my goodness, it's coming from the kids. You know? It's coming from work. And a lot of times as professionals, we don't focus on it because that may mean I have to change something and if I have to change something, that may be hard to do. Yeah. Change is hard. Change is hard for, for a lot of us. Most definitely. You are very interested in plant focused nutrition. It's central to your work, but you approach it holistically rather than dogmatically, which I really align with. I think that's what we really should be leaning towards in wellness. Why is a plant forward diet so impactful for overall wellness, physically, emotionally and mentally and what do people often misunderstand about it? what I can share is this didn't happen, like the next step from getting my self-care and changing the way I was living. I became plant-based myself 23 years because. Just neglecting myself and the burnout and the stress and the inflammatory diet I was on. I was really sick. I had a lot of gut issues and I originally just wanted to feel better. And it is not that I stopped everything at one time. I just started cutting out different things over the years, and then what I recognized was, I felt better. My blood pressure, cholesterol, those things went away and I had so much more energy. So of course I wanted to keep going. I wanted to keep learning and I really wanted more and more. One thing leads to another. I wanted to really. Take all of that into account and notice that I literally feel good. I'm happy, you know, I'm joyful. Mm-hmm. I'm feeling light. So what I decided for myself, and like you said when you first started this conversation, this is nothing you've put on anybody. It's taking one step at a time, small steps, feeling better. But what I realized was a whole food plant-based lifestyle was really making me feel better, making me lighter. So of course, I kept going and wanted more and more, and fast forward, it's been 20 That's a long time. It's a long time. And it started with one day, you know what I mean? Yeah. One day just cutting out. I had started cutting out different things over the years because in my consulting work I used to work well. I go to food companies and for the work I did, I needed to understand manufacturing of this food what's in it. So that initially helped me to rethink my choices for some of the foods when I would go to certain food companies and see how a lot of the food was being manufactured. I would say that. And some of the ingredients. Yep. So movement is another pillar you emphasize, especially for busy people who, who say or feel like they have no time. So why is movement so critical to wellness beyond weight or fitness, and what does realistic sustainable movement. Look like in everyday life. Okay. Movement is critical because like you said, it's not just about. Fitness. It's about the embodiment, mood regulation, and cellular vitality. It tells our body we're alive for busy people, especially because that's who I look at the most. The key is. Decoupling the movement from exercise, and I call it sustainable movement, which could be a 10 minute walk while you're on a call, stretching while you're waiting for coffee or dancing while you're cooking. It's about finding pockets of integration, not adding another long hour at the gym. COVID taught me a lot. Uh. I guess it helped inform me that you don't need a gym, even though we are a program that we do. You know, if you're not going to the gym, putting in the work, then you're not really working out. As I said, it taught me that I didn't really need to go to the gym a lot, and I started looking at movement as little snacks small. Frequent bites of activity that reduce stiffness, boost circulation, and reconnect us to our physical cells. And it's consistency over intensity. And that's the mantra. We really don't need two hours in the gym. We really don't, even though when I was younger I did two hours in the gym. I thought that was the way and again, that is the societal messaging that we all get. So what I try to do in my work is to help people unlearn a lot of the things that we learned over time to give our body and our mind and our. Spirit more of what we need. And this is not just a cookie cutter. We all do the same thing. It is really getting to know ourselves checking inside to see what we really need. I mean, that is the work. What, what do we really need in this moment for some people, you know, they say, oh, I just wanna lose weight. Let's look at your life as a whole. If we do that assessment, the losing weight becomes a byproduct of this burnout busy life. I love how you say that movement is looking at pockets of integration. That is, I love that. I definitely align with that. For listeners who are feeling constantly overwhelmed, stressed, stretched thin, and I think there's probably a lot of individuals out there who are feeling that way. What are a few practical, accessible things? You already mentioned, you know, dancing while you cook, but what are other some accessible things regular people can start doing today to reduce stress without completely overhauling and changing their whole lives? Okay this can be done right now or after they hang up the phone or while they're on the call because this is a 62nd breath reset where you inhale for four counts. Hold for four, exhale for six. This calms the nervous system instantly. Second, the done list. At days in write three things you did complete, including basic self-care. It is just the focus from lack to accomplishment. And the third thing is create transition. Rituals. Mm-hmm. A five minute pause between tasks like sipping tea or looking out of a window to reset rather than rush. And these aren't overhauls, they're gentle interruptions to autopilot stress. And as you know, you know when our lives get busy. It's good to stop and take a breath. It's good to stop and stand up. I mean, you can even set the reminder on your calendar, whether it's on your watch or on your computer to say, stand up. Mm-hmm. Or to say, walk five minutes. You can put this, integrate this into your daily life, and not wait till the end of the day. Yeah, I highly recommend those are like little snacks. I'm gonna say little mindfulness snacks. Maybe we could call them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. You're, yes. And so sometimes you'll notice, okay, if I look at all the integrated little mindful snacks as we're calling them, or movement snacks, if I look at my calendar, wow, I did about 30 minutes of self-care today during my workday. Yep. Add that these micro rituals really work versus telling you, okay, what are you gonna do? What are you gonna put on your calendar for self-care? Because that's a slow process. We start with the small steps. Yeah. You have a background in spiritual psychology, and this adds a unique dimension to your work. What role does spiritual growth play in wellness and how can people explore this aspect of themselves regardless of their religious beliefs, without feeling, feeling intimidated? And, and some people may say, this is, this is woo woo. So how can they help people? How can people explore this? It's really, you know, we take care of ourself on the outside. This is the work we do on the inside. And spiritual psychology. Simply ask, who am I? What should I be doing beyond my roles and achievements? Who am I? Because some of us. Take that job away. And I've worked with people who, for whatever reason, vice Presidents, directors, who for, you know, in this age of layoffs, you know, they get lay off, laid off and they don't know who they are. Mm-hmm. I believe it's like a dimension. It is not about prayer and anything like that. It's checking who am I from the inside out, and this is the dimension of wellness that deals with meaning, connection, and inner peace. And you don't need religion or believe in anything the woo woo or anything else. It starts with simple questions. What brings me joy? When do I feel connected? What values do I want to guide my choices? It's practices like mindful reflection, uh, walking in nature, or journaling about what gives your life purpose, and this opens the door. It's about nurturing your inner life with the same care you give your outer life. I like that, and it's, we don't need to kind of go down this, you know, spiritual religion, belief. What do you believe, you know, that is right. Really giving attention to your inner life. And I, I love how you said that. my inner work. Led me to that master's degree. I had no, you know, I'm a technical person. I had no intentions. That's what I love about doing inner work because you have no idea where the universe will lead you on your own specific journey. Yeah. So last question, I wanna zoom way out and I ask most of my guests this question. If you were in charge of healthcare in the United States, what would you change to better support, prevention, balance, and whole person wellness? Not just disease treatment. And don't get me started. Big, big. It's a big question. It's a big question. And one I struggle with for myself. I shift from sick care to true healthcare by incentivizing. Prevention and holistic support. First of all integrate the life scout lifestyle medicine into primary care, nutrition, stress management, and movement as the first lines of treatment. And second create community wellness hubs that address social determinants of health, connection, food access, nature exposure. And the third thing is measure what matters. Like resilience, vitality, quality of life, not just the disease metrics. And finally, train people in whole care. So patients aren't seen as humans with stories, not collections of symptoms. Health isn't just about the absence of disease, it's about wellbeing. And the main thing I would do is tear down this whole business model of healthcare because it is not working at all. Well, I hope you were in charge one day. Diane. Quite honestly, I don't really, that's my hope. But what I do love I, I see more naturopaths. I see more doctors 'cause I. Do a podcast and I interview a lot of people. I talk to doctors who've left their practices. I see nurses becoming more holistic and I do have hope for the future, if anything else. Yeah. Yeah, me too. If people wanna find out more about your podcast or more about what you do or more about what you're, you've written, where can they do that? They can find me on my website www.dianerandallconsult.com. I've written two books. One, jump Jumpstart your life. Find your motivation to Change your life, and also a whole life nourish, plant-based Living with the holistic approach, which. Brings all my work together in the books I teach I do workshops so they can find everything on that website. And what is the name of, yeah. What is the name of your podcast? It's called Plant-Based Curious. All right. I love that title. Yeah. We talk about not just plant-based, we talk about behavior change and holistic health. Great. I encourage everyone to check out Diane's websites, her books, and her podcast. Diane Randall, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you, Dr. Jean Storm for inviting me. It's been great. 

Thank you for tuning in to Taking Healthcare by Storm: Industry Insights with Quality Insights Medical Director Dr. Jean Storm. We hope that you enjoyed this episode. If you found value in what you heard, please consider subscribing to our podcast on your favorite platform.

If you have any topics or guests you'd like to see on future episodes, you can reach out to us on our website. We would love to hear from you.

So, until next time, stay curious, stay compassionate, and keep taking healthcare by storm.