InkTales Podcast
InkTales Podcast
Exploring Wellness and Wanderlust with Nicole
Imagine transitioning from a traditional medical career to holistic health, driven by personal health battles. That's the incredible journey of our guest, Nicole, a holistic nutrition practitioner from Chelmsford, Massachusetts. We explore how her struggle with chronic migraines led her to discover holistic methods such as glykinesiology and muscle testing, which have become the cornerstone of her practice, Natural Nutrition and Wellness. Nicole passionately shares how addressing the root causes of health issues, like toxins and inflammation, can make a world of difference—often what conventional medicine overlooks.
Switching gears, we dive into the art of balancing planning and spontaneity during travels. With friends like Brett, who embrace spontaneity, there's much to learn about adaptability and the importance of kindness in our interactions. I also share a personal story about getting my first tattoo at 18, a heartfelt tribute to my late grandmother, which ultimately deepened my connection with my mother. These narratives highlight the value of character and the meaningful bonds we form, whether on the road or in our everyday lives.
And who can resist the allure of European travels and its culinary wonders? From the lively streets of Amsterdam, with its universal English conversations, to the breathtaking landscapes of the Azores, there's an entire world waiting to be explored. We paint a vivid picture of Amsterdam's cultural and culinary scene—stroopwafels, anyone?—and discuss the affordable, leisurely lifestyle that Europe offers. Nicole also shares her own tattoo stories, each one a unique chapter of her life. And if you're curious about the narratives behind her tattoos, don't forget to follow us on Instagram and visit our website for a closer look.
Hi, you're listening to the Ink Tales podcast, a show where I go out in the city, meet new people and get the stories behind our tattoos. I'm Tenoch. Come join me on my journey. Today on the show, I'm in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, with my guest, Nicole. Nicole, welcome to the show. Thank you. Well, it's good to have you on the show. It's going.
Speaker 2:Chelmsford, massachusetts, with my guest, nicole. Nicole, welcome to the show, Thank you.
Speaker 1:Well, it's good to have you on the show. It's going to be a little bit different today, because not only are we going to talk about your tattoos, but you also happen to be dating my coach Brett, and it's kind of an interview to see if you qualify to go to our infamous Greece trip that we're planning to take on a catamaran. It's a little bit of both. It's going to be a get to know you and then kind of let's get to know about your tattoos. But first, why don't you tell us a little bit about what you do, who you are, and then we'll go from there.
Speaker 2:So the pressure is on. So my name is Nicole and I own a holistic nutrition practice and kind of started in my practice about two years ago. Before that I was seeing clients and decided to kind of shift to owning my own and we do nutrition coaching in a form of glykinesiology, muscle testing- Okay, so can you explain a little bit more in detail what holistic practice is?
Speaker 2:explain a little bit more in detail what holistic practice is. Yes, so everyone usually comes to us once they've done every other possible avenue and are like I don't know what's going on, I need you to help fix me. So usually we're working with them to detox toxins out of the body, so from immune challenges to chemicals and metals to they're not breaking down foods correctly, coming up with a customized program for them where we're using whole food supplementation, herbal supplements to detox the body and then to restore what's missing.
Speaker 1:Okay, and what is the name of your business?
Speaker 2:Natural Nutrition and Wellness.
Speaker 1:And where are you guys located?
Speaker 2:North Andover.
Speaker 1:Okay, and you said you've been doing that for how long? I've been seeing clients since 2019. And what made you decide to get into?
Speaker 2:this area of practice. Basically it started with my own health issues. So at the time I was in college I was studying to do kinesiology. I wanted to be an OT. I started shadowing OTs, then I shadowed PTs and then I shadowed PAs and I was like I don't like anything in this world. I don't really know what exactly I want to do. So at the time I shifted to nutrition. I was working at the VA in West Roxbury and I was seeing what we were feeding the veterans at the hospital and I was mortified. So from there I kind of dove into what the other options were with nutrition. So I started doing nutrition in the school systems. I then ended up getting chronic migraines. I went to doctor after doctor after doctor. I was like nothing's working. I don't know what's going to kind of fix this problem. At that time a family friend owned a practice where they were doing holistic nutrition. I went in, saw them, got started on some supplements and haven't had a migraine in six years.
Speaker 1:Okay. Well, that's incredible, usually when you hear you know holistic practices. Most of the time especially, I would say, in my personal experience you're kind of like you know, that's kind of the feeling I get, just because mainly, I would say, from ignorance for myself, right, because I don't know anything about it. I don't know how it works and some people rave by it, some people don't. Why do you think that works and why do you think it helps people so much? What's the difference between that and say, like the regular kind of medications that you get, what sets you apart or what is it that really has an effect on people?
Speaker 2:So basically the big difference is is one getting to root cause, so figuring out what's causing the symptoms in the first place.
Speaker 2:So if you ignore the toxins that are in the body in excess, you just keep tipping that body over. So, for example, every single day we're exposed to chemicals, we're exposed to metals, we're exposed to bacteria, immune challenges, and so when they're in the body in that excess amount they're going to keep either stealing your nutrients from your food or they're going to be causing inflammation internally. So basically, like starting point is figuring out, like what's causing the inflammation. The other side of it is everything we use is food-based or an herb, so when you're introducing it to the body, the body actually recognizes it and knows what to do with it. So, for example, say, someone's liver showing up, we're using beets, we're using radishes, we use milk thistle, so it's things that we could get in our diets but most people aren't eating, or eating enough of to support those bodily processes. So I always say, when we're doing those small little bits of nutrition, it's going to help support the body fast, because the body actually recognizes what we're using.
Speaker 1:Okay and you think like regular doctors really don't dive into that and the first thing they do is say medication.
Speaker 2:Yes. So most doctors have only had like 30 minutes of nutrition, and so they actually. We have a lot of doctors who refer people to us because they just haven't been trained in it. Their perspective is more we know what to do and to put the fire out, but how do we prevent that fire from happening? So they'll be like, okay, it's not, we don't have everything showing up on blood work, but there's still these issues occurring. We don't know what to do because it's not at that extreme. So it's more that preventative medicine to either prevent things from exploding or to support when it hasn't gotten to that full-blown explosion.
Speaker 1:Okay. So once you kind of figured that out, what really made you say get your own business? Like what drove you to that?
Speaker 2:At that point, basically I was. I wanted to be able to kind of create my own schedule. I wanted to be able to support clients the way I wanted to. I wanted to be able to allow for pricing to be affordable for clients that wanted to come in. I always knew, kind of, one day I wanted to do it. It happened a little bit sooner than I had planned, um, but I don't regret it.
Speaker 1:So completely happy.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Okay, so outside of work, what are the interests that you have?
Speaker 2:So summer I love going boating, water skiing always usually on the water throughout the summer, water skiing always usually on the water throughout the summer. Winter I ski hopefully this year I have some time to go um, and then usually I'm at the gym. Every single day I enjoy yoga, like walking outside, spending time with family and friends okay, that's seems pretty, pretty good.
Speaker 1:you seem to have an active lifestyle. Yes, okay, let's get into something a little bit different. Tell me how you met Brett Hinge. Okay, how did your first date go?
Speaker 2:It went good. We went to Copper Door we were talking about this the other day he got chicken parm. I was like how do you remember exactly what I got? And we kind of hit it off. But we obviously work in similar worlds so we ended up talking about work a lot. So now the rule is no work, talk on certain dates because we end up going down rabbit holes.
Speaker 1:What was your first impression of him? Because I would say, from my perspective, he's an acquired taste. Once you get to know him, he's a fantastic guy, but he's an acquired taste right off the bat, just because I think it has to do with his profession and how he deals with people every single day that I feel he has to kind of put up a small wall and then you kind of have to break it down. But what's your opinion of that?
Speaker 2:No, I would agree. I think over time his emotions start to show, but in the beginning he very much keeps them internal and kind of has that mentality where he'll talk to you more like a client and is like I'm like, okay, show the emotional side. So I think pulling the emotions out slowly has been working.
Speaker 1:Okay, but again I do the same thing, right.
Speaker 2:Because I work with clients all day long.
Speaker 1:So how do you feel about this Greece trip that we're planning? I'm like we're planning to go for 10 days. You're going to be on a boat with people that you barely know. How do you feel about that? I'm like, obviously we're getting to know each other now, right, and we'll hopefully get to spend a little bit more time, more time with each other to make it, I'd say, more comfortable. But how do you feel at this point about that whole idea of spending time with random people in the middle of the ocean?
Speaker 2:So I was warned about the Greece trip before last weekend. I was like you're going to get pressured into this. So one Greece is on my bucket list for next year. Anyways, before even I met Brett, so that was kind of an interesting layup. I mean, I'm always up for a new opportunity, I'm always up for exploring. I love meeting new people. I like kind of spending time with new people, especially that I haven't met before. Getting to know them. Being on a boat doesn't really scare me. It's kind of exciting and being able to hop from place to place. But the biggest thing will be the planner versus non-planners right, which is, uh, one of the biggest things.
Speaker 1:Like I would say, janelle and I are planners that have an idea but don't really always stick to it right. If we get to it, we get to it because we get easily distracted or we spend more time in some place and we just want to make sure that you're good with the flow. Because I would say from my experience with brett, the reason we like going with brett places is because if he's a very low-key, go with the flow but we try to hit. We all have like let's try to hit this. If we do, we do. We don't no one's upset, yeah, and I really love that about it. It's like no one's like oh, we didn't get to that. Now we're completely upset and the vacation's ruined, because if I had to deal with people like that all the time, I'd be like you got to jump off this boat now.
Speaker 2:No, I think I'm very much used to like. You find something and you're like oh, we're going to stay here, we're going to spend the day here and you might skip three places, but it's worth it for that moment.
Speaker 1:Okay and you're okay with like sharing ideas and you don't have to be the leader all the time, because I'm a very go-with-the-flow kind of person. Sometimes I like to take charge on certain things and usually when I know what I'm talking about, when I don't, I don't really care, unless there's something I really don't like to do, then I say I don't want to do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm very much go-with-the-flow when it comes, especially when someone else kind of knows where we're going, what we're doing. If it's like eyes on me and we have to figure it out, I'll figure it out, but I'm more like whatever we need to do, brett's very go with the flow, though.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's very good at that. I like that.
Speaker 2:He's not really a planner.
Speaker 1:That's why I like him.
Speaker 2:He has like a loose plan.
Speaker 1:I don't really plan a lot either. Janelle does all that.
Speaker 2:That's me.
Speaker 1:You guys will get along just fine. So you remember last week when we were at Brett's party and I told you that you did something that really resonated with me and I'm like I like that about you.
Speaker 2:Yes, but I haven't been told what.
Speaker 1:No, you haven't, Okay. So we were sitting there and you got up to go get a drink. Yeah, the one thing you did that I thought was really great is you offered to bring me a drink and I thought that was very nice and I'm like that shows a lot of character of who you are and the type of person that you are, and I'm like that's the type of person that I like to hang out with, because you're caring and you're observant, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah observant.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, and most people aren't like that, especially nowadays. They only care about themselves and like, yeah, whatever. Or they're like can you give me something? It was very nice. I was like oh, I like that. I'm like, okay, that's a very good sign. I told brett.
Speaker 2:I think I told brett I don't even know if he knows. But no, that's I, that's how, but I'm very. Also I like to take care of other people, which sometimes I put before myself, but I like to make sure everyone's always happy and taken care of in a situation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think, well, I know that the other reason that I liked it is because you're very much like I am. Brett will tell you, all the time I love to share my food, I love to cook for people. Like I always like to make sure that other people are having a good time in there, they have what they need. Like if I'm getting up, I like to make sure that everybody gets something. That's just who I am, that's how I was brought up, that's like the structure of my family, like we're always close and if you're going to get something, you should get something for everybody else. So when you did that, I was like, yeah, that feels really good. Oh, my God, that was very nice. Look at that. So that was.
Speaker 2:He got a water, by the way I did, it was just the water.
Speaker 1:Even if it was just the water, that's all I needed. I was like all right, that was, you're in. And I didn't forget, no, you didn't, and that basically solidified your entry, by the way.
Speaker 2:See, I'm already in on grace.
Speaker 1:This was just a formality.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this is just to dot the I's.
Speaker 1:That's why To toot his horn, yep, all right. So let's get to the good stuff Tattoos. So you have what? How many? Two, two tattoos? We're going to go crazy here.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:All right, so let's talk about the very first tattoo. How old were you? Where did not? Who gave it to you? But where were you? What kind of mindset were you in? Tell me all about it, Like, take me back.
Speaker 2:So I was 18, the typical 18-year-old first tattoo. My grandmother had passed away maybe three or four years beforehand and when she passed away, me and my mom talked about it. We're like we're going to get a tattoo as soon as you turn 18. So it's kind of that buildup to like that 18 year old big thing you can do. We ended up I think we were just. It was like my. I think it was like the day after my 18th birthday, my mom was like, all right, you ready, we're going to go get it. And I was like we're doing it. My mom, I think, at the time only had one or two tattoos and so she's like I'm going to get it with you. And I was like, oh, I thought this was just going to be for me.
Speaker 2:So me and her, we went to Nashville, new Hampshire, walked right across the border and we went in. We had no real plan. We kind of were like I want this. And she was like, well, I want this. So we combined our two ideas together and it was all supposed to be in memory for my nana. So I was like I want seagulls, because we always looked at the seagulls together, and my mom's like, well, I want sand dollars. We always collected sand dollars together, okay. So we told the artist. He was like okay, let's sit down, let's map it out. We drew it. My mom ended up editing it, moving things around, and then she he was like well, where are you gonna get it? And I was like well, I haven't thought about that yet. So I ended up deciding to get it on my hip and my mom got it on her ankle and that was kind of the story behind it okay, when you got it, how did you feel about it?
Speaker 2:I was excited, um, I feel like it was like that big adult thing you did at age 18, um, the first like crazy thing that happens. And then I think I think maybe I'm cried too at when we were done, because it kind of like brought back. Like we were just reminiscing about my Nana we're talking about all the times we had together so it kind of brought us back to those days as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was going to ask him like did you feel emotional while you were getting it or after it was done?
Speaker 2:I think afterwards I remember getting it and say I'm never getting another tattoo, ever again, because it was on my hip. So I was like I feel the scraping on my hip, Like I was in pain the whole time, and then afterwards we more were like we're just reminiscing on the times together.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you look at it now, right. Usually first tattoos can be iffy, right? Because you're like most people don't know how to really find the right person. Make sure that the art is right. You know you get that first one. You're like, ah, okay, you look at it now. Would you go back and make it better or leave it the same, not change the design?
Speaker 2:just the execution. I think the execution was good. I more probably would have changed the design.
Speaker 1:so what would you go back and do?
Speaker 2:I, I probably would have just done like the sand dollar or the seagulls and I probably would have put it in a different spot. Um, even if I did like the seagulls, like I would, I like where my mom did it she did it on her ankle, okay, but I think my hip one. You don't really see it that often and even when I'm like wearing a bathing suit, I'm usually hiding it. Um, I always say now I'm like, ooh, I would go back and get more added to it, but I don't think it would go as the way I would want it to.
Speaker 1:Okay, tattoo number two. Tattoo number two. Tell us about that.
Speaker 2:That was another uh on the whim. So when I I studied abroad, in Amsterdam, I met my friend Emma. She was from Belgium and we spent like the whole six months together and she was like I'm gonna get a tattoo this weekend. I was like, okay, what are you getting? She was like I'm gonna get three x's for Amsterdam and I was like, okay, she's like. No, it's like in the flag, it's everywhere on the streets, like they just put the x's into things. And I'm like, okay, this sounds good. Where are you? No, it's like in the flag, it's everywhere on the streets, like they just put the X's into things. And I'm like, okay, this sounds good. Where are you going to get it? And she was like the back of my arm. I was like, all right, I'm going to come with you.
Speaker 2:So I went with her. We were just in a tattoo shop in downtown Amsterdam, walked in, I was there for her appointment and I was like do you guys have time for another one? And they were like, yeah, it's going to take us five minutes to do it's three small X's. So they ended up obviously fitting me in and I got it same day as her. So we kind of now it's grown over time in its meaning, but in the moment it was like to solidify my time in Amsterdam, my six months together.
Speaker 1:And now, what has the meaning become?
Speaker 2:So everyone that asks me about it will be like oh, is that for your grandmother? Because my grandmother used to write like X's and O's on every card. She did Okay, I'm one of three, so I have a brother and a sister. So everyone card she did okay, my, I'm one of three, so I have a brother and a sister. So everyone's like is that for you, j and d? And I'm like sure. So it's kind of built um, what's the other big one that I think those are like the three that popped up. Some people bring up strip clubs because three x's mean strip clubs. That has nothing to do with that. Um, but yeah, those are like my grandmother and then my brother and sister.
Speaker 1:Did you ever find out what the significance of the X's mean in Amsterdam or on the flag, or why they put it everywhere Other than they just put it everywhere?
Speaker 2:I do not know. I should probably look into that one. It was like everywhere, but the middle of their flag was the three X's, so it probably goes back to that is what I'm going to assume.
Speaker 1:Okay, and how was your time in Amsterdam? Tell me, tell me a little bit about that, like I've never been and you know. Tell us about your experience there.
Speaker 2:I always say I'm biased, but it is my favorite place I went to in Europe so far. Greece could take the cake, but basically I don't know it was. It's very. It's a very, very beautiful city. What I liked about it is like everyone's on bikes, you're not driving in a car all the time. So everywhere I went I was riding a bike and I came home and was like I miss that. I was outside all the time. I didn't get in a car, I just was always transported through bike. I traveled basically every weekend when I was there. So I went to Belgium, I went to France, I went to Ireland. I kind of jumped around Europe. But my Monday through Friday was in Amsterdam. You're on canals, there's's flowers everywhere. There's a lot of like history and museums as well. To be honest, I probably only went to the museums like once or twice. I was mostly just riding around the streets. Um, I would probably move back to at any point how is the language barrier?
Speaker 2:I had a bias, so my my best friend that I met there. She was from Belgium so she spoke the language.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So she kind of was our translator. When you're in Amsterdam, like in the city, most people speak English and then they always have a menu where it's always translated into English. If we went to a smaller restaurant, we would bring our friend Emma and she would translate. Smaller restaurant our we would bring our friend Emma and she would translate. I started to pick up on some things but now I've probably lost everything I learned. But it was very, um, like France didn't want to translate for you in Amsterdam. French hate us, but Amsterdam they were always like willing to translate. We ran into it maybe once or twice where they weren't always like willing to translate. We ran into it maybe once or twice where they weren't, but they were always willing to kind of translate.
Speaker 2:The other big thing, um, like comparatively is it's just such a slower pace of life so everything's very slowed down. Like when my mom came to visit, a dinner could take four hours and she'd be like why are we still sitting here? Like why are we still here? This is taking so long? I'm like you're supposed to sit, like have your drink, have your meal, enjoy it. So I very much love that about Europe in general, but Amsterdam really was like you sit, you enjoy your meal. You're not in this go, go, go all the time. You're soaking everything in. You're not working all the time. Even school, like we only took two classes, I was like so I go to class, maybe like 10 hours a week, if that that's fine.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I came home and was like, oh, this is the reality again, like I have to take class, like I'm in school all the time, so it's a very different, more like low-key culture, which I think was a very good change for me and probably could use it again.
Speaker 1:And how was the food?
Speaker 2:Food was great. Amsterdam they're known for their stroopwafels. They're known for their pancakes. They have some good apple pie. Other areas I traveled to obviously had better food that they were known for, but it was really good.
Speaker 1:So you highly recommend it.
Speaker 2:Highly. Yes, someone goes to Europe. I'm like you have to go to Amsterdam.
Speaker 1:It's definitely on my list to go.
Speaker 2:And you don't need a lot of time, but I would choose longer time.
Speaker 1:How much time would you recommend to spend there if you're going on vacation?
Speaker 2:If it wasn't me going back to reminisce on everything, I would say if you did like two to three days, you can get a good amount done, especially if you're staying in the city. Okay, yeah.
Speaker 1:That seems like a reasonable time.
Speaker 2:Unless you want to do all the museums, then you want to do like four to five, but two to three. If you're just browsing the city, okay, if you're doing a canal tour, they have, um, like a swing. You can swing over the canals. There's like fun. Alternatives, too than sitting in the museums all day well, it definitely sounds pretty awesome.
Speaker 1:you get to walk around. It seems like a very uh easy city to get around, like you don't need like you said, you don't need a car. You, you can just bike or walk, and that's what I like about Europe. Yes, that was a very big change. When I went the first time, it was like it's so much easier to get around than here. Yes, like you don't need a car.
Speaker 2:No, where did you go?
Speaker 1:Madrid, uh-huh.
Speaker 2:I loved Madrid and then we went to lisbon, okay, and the azores, oh I want to go to the azores.
Speaker 1:Azores were beautiful would you recommend highly how many days? Uh, if you're going to the azores, if you're only going to, like, uh, punto delgada, like the, the bigger island, I'd say you could probably get everything done in three days. Wow, because it's not a very big island, but you want to spend a good amount of time going sightseeing, going up to the mountains, enjoying the food, depending on what time of the year, going to the beach and stuff. Beaches are different, though. They're very rocky.
Speaker 2:They're not sandy Interesting, but they're very, very nice. So when you travel, are you more of a museum or more of enjoy the food?
Speaker 1:I'm more of enjoy the food, but I also enjoy going to museums because Janelle likes more of the museums. I'm not saying I don't, but I'm more of a what's the food situation the culture, the food, the ambiance. I like to judge a country by food, but I'll tell you one thing about the Azores hands down the most pristine bathrooms. You have ever seen in your entire life interesting white like white tile everywhere wow never had a bad smell.
Speaker 1:Wow, like they had cleaners that would clean, like not in the bathroom, but they would come, like I think the guy said, like every half an hour they clean. Wow, the water was so clean because everything is like volcanic water that comes through. Yeah, you can drink the water from the tap with your hands any water that's running through a stream. You can just put your water bottle there wow, that's amazing, yeah they clean this bathroom the best I can't even find anywhere no, and like every bathroom was beautiful, I was like, wow, this place is great, that's interesting.
Speaker 1:And then the food is not expensive and it's fantastic. Like a good bottle of wine was like 20 euros.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah, yeah, that's the difference between here and Europe, I think.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, An espresso was like one euro.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're like okay, we have espresso every day. And never went to Starbucks, yep, no, no, you go to. Like the little cafes, yeah, little cafes, because they're way better, yeah.
Speaker 1:Even in Starbucks, like a latte that you pay $6.22 for here was like two euros.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Still, they're like nope, we know what to do here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so highly recommended to go there. Interesting, that's on a bucket list. Yeah, all right. So closing statements. Once again, why don't you just give us the details on your business so everyone who's interested can kind of go? If you have social media pages for that, they can look you up. I think you provide a very interesting and beneficial service. So anyone listening you can contact her. Go ahead and let us know where they can find you.
Speaker 2:So my Instagram is nutritiouslynicole and then the business is Natural Nutrition Wellness. We post on Natural Nutrition Wellness almost every day, so kind of keeping everyone updated with some things they can shift even if they're not seeing us.
Speaker 1:All right, Nicole, thank you for being on the show. It was wonderful having you.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, this has been another episode of the Inktales podcast, and this is your host, tinoch. I'll see you on the next one. Thanks for joining me this week for another episode. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram at the Inktales podcast and our website at Inktalespodcastcom, where you can see photos of all our guests and their tattoos. Please subscribe to the show to hear more fun stories from exciting guests. Who knows, it might be you, you.
