Krystel Clear

Feel Good with Erica Quillen

• Krystel Beall • Season 2 • Episode 3

Share episode

Send us a text

Unlock the secrets to breaking the cycle of yo-yo dieting and creating a lasting healthy lifestyle with our special guest, Erica Quillen. In this episode of Krystel Clear, Erica, a dedicated health coach, shares her transformative journey from her own wedding prep to motherhood and her mission to foster positive relationships with food for women across various life stages. Her business, Feel Good with Erica, aims to educate women on the science of nutrition, helping them to build sustainable, healthy eating habits that create generational change.

We dive deep into the nuances of nutritional health, with a spotlight on postpartum recovery and the importance of macronutrient balance. Erica highlights the pitfalls of traditional dieting and shares practical tips on mindful eating and consuming adequate nutrients. Through personal stories and expert advice, we unravel the complexities of maintaining a balanced and fulfilling life amidst modern-day challenges.

From managing the constant influx of technology to setting boundaries for self-care, Erica provides a comprehensive guide to achieving wellness. We discuss the benefits of being part of a supportive community, the power of proper nutrition, and the significance of genuine human connections. Tune in to gain practical advice on balancing self-care, social interactions, and rediscovering joy in your daily routines. Join us for an episode brimming with wisdom and heartfelt conversations, all aimed at making healthy living accessible and enjoyable for everyone.


Thank you for joining me today. Please know that this podcast and the information shared is not to replace or supplement any mental health or personal wellness modalities provided by practitioners. It’s simply me, sharing my personal experiences and I appreciate you respecting and honoring my story and my guests. If something touched your heart please feel free to like, share and subscribe. Have a beautiful day full of gratitude, compassion and unconditional love.

Speaker 1:

Hello, welcome to this episode of Crystal Clear. Today we have a special guest, erika Quillen. Thank you, erika, for being here. She's one of my health and fitness peers, turned mind, body, spirit, soul sister-esque. So welcome, erika.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, crystal. I'm so excited to be here and I feel like this has been like a long time coming in a way, and but it's always perfect time. So thank you awesome.

Speaker 1:

I know I feel like we've serendipitously met and kind of been in similar flows throughout periods. What we met at Lululemon several years ago and then ran into you at Pure Bar and I don't know. I always felt like there was like an instant connection there, and now I see you kind of at the gym all the time. So, like you said, time coming. I'm glad we're here and in this space and I feel like more so not just in this space on the podcast, but in this space in life, and that's kind of what we're going to unravel for everyone today.

Speaker 1:

And if you'd like to just tell us a little bit about what you have going on in your world now, and then we might back it up and push it forward, and all the things.

Speaker 2:

Yes, 100%. I am a health coach, which is what we're going to talk about today, a lot through Feel Good with Erica. That is my business. But more importantly, I am a mom of a two-year-old little girl and a wife. My husband and I have been together for 13 years, so we've been together for all of our 20s and now, you know, into our early 30s and it has been kind of like we were talking about the podcast before the podcast like just such a journey of you know, change in different seasons and even, you know, really going through that to like personally and through my business as a mom now and what my body may be needed before and what it needs now and just different you know seasons of life, and so that is through my business as well.

Speaker 2:

Kind of how I started was getting ready for my own wedding and what I needed to do to prepare for that big day, and lots of backstory there that I'm sure we'll dive into. But the trajectory of my business has ebbed and flowed as my life has ebbed and flowed. So I really started seeing a lot of bridal clients focusing on, yes, getting to the goal weight, the goal body to fit in the dress on your big day but, more importantly, really changing the way you think about food and the why you know behind that reasoning and really educating people on the science of food. And you know, for me, when I really started to learn about food and how it worked in our body, why I was maybe craving things or why I maybe wasn't feeling like I could get through workouts, that was what really unlocked so many of the problems I personally faced through yo-yo dieting over the years. And so it really started through those bridal clients and then it was kind of this crazy thing where it was like this person, you know, saw the success and then told her sister and then her sister's mom and then I was working with, you know, all these different families of all different ages. And then we kind of got, you know, okay, we get all the brides married and then we get ready for pregnancy and then really supporting a healthy pregnancy and then postpartum, and so that has been primarily, you know, the last few years of my life and what has also been transpiring through my business, and so I really help women.

Speaker 2:

That's primarily who I'm working with. I do have a few males that I've helped throughout my years as well, but I'm really just so, so passionate about helping women realize that healthy doesn't have to be so hard, that it is so much more than just food. But as long as you can really kind of understand the basics and I like to really dumb down science because I am someone who it takes me a long time to learn things I really have to apply myself. Things don't just naturally come easy to me, and so really being able to have this problem that I solved for myself and solving that through other people has just been, I think, so life changing. And now you know, I say like my biggest goal is that. You know, a little girl in the playground is going to say to Zamora one day, like your mommy changed my mommy's life you know and like because I know, like that it's generational, you know, and like it, it, it our, our parents did the best that they could.

Speaker 2:

And now, like I know that I have a responsibility, especially having a daughter first, like I think God makes no mistakes and that it is so much. It's not about me, you know, it's about how can I help these other women change the way their daughters look at food and then the way that their grandchildren look at food, because, no matter what I like to say, it's the one thing that you literally cannot escape in your life. You never have to. You know, we think about alcohol, we think about drugs, we think about, you know, all these problems that people have. You cannot run away from food, and so that has really been my specialty the last fifth year of my business now, but I've been dealing with this since I was 15. I just turned 32, you know. And so when we think about how long something has lasted in our life, it's like, you know, let's get good at the thing we're going to have to do forever. So right yeah.

Speaker 1:

I love you and thank you so much for such an in-depth explanation because it can be so complex, but, as you said, it can be. It can be very basic as well, totally, and I think that especially right now, with so much out there, there's so many resources pulling you this way and that way and this is good for you and that's good for you, but honestly, it's so individual and it's such a unique experience for each person. I know for myself, especially postpartum with Brody, I had to set a goal and set something for myself. I wasn't feeling myself in my body. I wasn't. I didn't have the lifestyle I had prior to thank goodness, like I was always kind of had in my mind that I needed to just like go hard, go home, work hard person and depriving myself of what nutrients I really needed, even throughout college, understanding like I educated myself through exercise, science, nutrition, but honestly, the nutrition classes I took in college are not what my body needed. It's just so complex and so I've learned over time what's good for me and I love that you're putting your energy and your effort and your time into that, because it is generational and let's face it.

Speaker 1:

I mean we live in a world where it's it's from, like we're all over the place but we don't. It doesn't mean we have to be that way. It doesn't mean we have to eat fast food if we're on the run. It doesn't mean that we can't make healthier choices. I think there's a lot more components that go to it, like our adrenals, our hormones and all the things, and understanding that, putting the right nutrients in your body and the right amount of food in your body. Remember the first time I ever went on a macronutrient counting program? I was eating twice as much as I had ever eaten in my whole life and I was in the best shape I had ever been in, because I grew up seeing women dieting and withholding food. And what does that do? That really lowers your basal metabolic rate. It really lowers your set point metabolism. So then when you do start eating normally, you're going to gain weight because there's that fluctuation there. Our body is burned so much by doing nothing, right.

Speaker 2:

Right, and that is when I break that down for people and just for the audience. Basal metabolic rate is essentially the amount of calories that your body needs at rest for your heart to beat, your eyes to blink, your body to just get through the day, right? And so you know, when I tell people like, listen you not eating, you know you, eating as little as possible doesn't impress me, like when I'm looking at your food log, like I'm not looking for that. In fact, I want you to add more.

Speaker 2:

You know, and going through that, people are, of course, scared because most often, clients are coming to me to lose weight, to, you know, really specialize in fat loss, and so when we talk about that, it feels really scary. Because it is scary, right. Like, it's like, okay, I hired this girl and now she's telling me to eat more, but what really we need to focus on is eating more of the good stuff, right, because when we think about that macronutrient profile, a lot of the times you know we're under eating, the things that actually help us really feel those satiety cues which I was like to say under the number one reason for overeating is under eating, right, and so that's where we get that yo-yo dieting.

Speaker 2:

That's where we get that binge cycle, you know all of the cravings you know, and then not to mention, you know, the anxiety that can come with that, the energy dips just not being able to get through the day you know, sugar dysregulation a hundred percent, yeah, and so blood sugar is really what I start with with all the clients, because learning to balance my blood sugar is the the thing that changed my life when it came to food, because I tried macros, you know, over 10 years ago, and I had no real like understanding of what needed to be on the plate. It was like, okay, I can have this amount of carbs, this amount of protein and this amount of fat. That's what makes up our, you know, macronutrient profile.

Speaker 2:

And, of course, the carbs are always going to be more fun you know, and so I'd end up with eating like all my carbs, like this, having no energy and then being like, okay, well, what do I do? Eat all this protein now. And it wasn't until I really learned what goes into balancing blood sugar and then feeling the effects energetically, emotionally, physically, like that really changed the game for me. You know and that's an important thing for people to know too is our metabolisms are incredible and when you start feeding your body, you know your body will respond well and you were in the best shape of your life because you were giving your body enough energy to do what you were asking it to do.

Speaker 2:

You know, and so I worked with you know clients with eating disorders, clients you had lots of different, you know, disordered eating, even right, two different things but similar trajectories and it is such a mind mess. But it is truly life-changing when you're able to really like dissect what it is that is happening. And I think that you know it's. It's something that if you really allow yourself to learn, you will feel the difference. You know, long-term and it's and it's. You know it's crazy because it's different than everything we've ever been taught or watched, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

And there's so much out there that can be missed, like you're not going to learn everything you need to know about your body on a 15-second TikTok. So my biggest, biggest push for people is like invest in yourself, whether it's like your mental health or your physical health, but they go hand in hand and that's what people don't understand. So if you can find something that is all encompassing, which is exactly like what you're doing for people and you have that accountability and that's essentially what mine was it was like 16 weeks straight. I did my macros and you know me having the background, I knew what type of macros eat. So, just for the audience, macronutrients, carbohydrates, fats, proteins.

Speaker 2:

So no matter what you eat, it gets broken down into those three things, right yeah.

Speaker 1:

And knowing which ones to eat. You know carbohydrates can be things like sandwiches and bread and pasta and but depending on what, or and fruit, but it could be greens and vegetables, and so it really just depends. And, like you said, you know you could do a macro diet but if you're eating all bread, carbs and then so it's, your body responds so differently to all the things. So if you could kind of give us like a sample plan, just so people kind of understand. You know what we're talking about here.

Speaker 2:

A hundred percent. So you know when we think about that too, like backtrack for a second of like it being, you know, a full 360 approach, in a way, is that is really what I do with my clients and the girls in my group program is we're not just talking about food, because oftentimes everything that's happening in our life will dictate, like the choices we're making when it comes to what we're grabbing, whether that's going through Chick-fil-A or finishing, you know, the bottle of wine or doing like. What's going on in our life is truly, at the end of the day, so much more important than just what's on your plate, because they go so hand in hand and so a lot of the times. Now I just hit my three year anniversary with three of my clients in September and it's because now you know it's so much more than just like, okay, I want to drop a few pounds is.

Speaker 2:

You know I've walked through so many different seasons of these people's lives with them. You know we the good things, the, the marriage and the this, and then maybe you know a death and then a miscarriage or a divorce or really like hard time at work and like how that's affecting you know what they're, what's happening in their body, and so when we're going through a big stress time, it's not going to be the time to like go to Orange Theory hardcore doing. I don't need to know how fast you're running, like I don't. I don't actually want you to be running at all, because your body has so much.

Speaker 2:

You should go and put your feet in the grass and just close your eyes, Literally like I actually need you to like go do that, or go to the beach and go for a walk and like chill out, because our bodies are not meant to handle everything, even the information that's coming at us. Like that. We can go on TikTok and learn so much at one time. Go on Instagram, listen to this podcast, while you know you're doing a million other things. It's information overload, right. And so what I really have, you know, figured out, works for people over time is to focusing. Focus on the good stuff, you know, and so this is feel good with Erica. That came from wanting to feel good in my body and in my life, because I found that the two were so deeply intertwined. And so, when we think about back to those macronutrients, we have our proteins, we have our fat and we have our carbohydrates. What I really like to do, no matter kind of where you're starting with, is focusing on the good stuff. So we really want to start with protein.

Speaker 2:

That is a pillar of my food philosophy. So protein, these are the things, like you know, for thinking in the morning, a scoop of protein powder that doesn't have a million ingredients in it.

Speaker 2:

You know, I am a fan of, you know, greek yogurt and cottage cheese, if you can handle dairy, you know these are things like chicken, lean beef, salmon, shrimp, even sprinkling in, you know, even though they're more carbohydrate, right, but like things like lentils, like I just had some lentils on my salad, black beans, like they have protein in them but they're more carby, right. So, really focusing on, do you have protein on your plate first, right. And you know, using your hand, like I think macros are a great tool for people, I have, you know, a lot of, like I go back and forth of like, okay, you know, are macros going to be the thing for everyone and we're eating macros, no matter what, but the numbers really do get to people.

Speaker 2:

And so this were Time consuming and overwhelming.

Speaker 1:

Right, you can be obsessive with it.

Speaker 2:

A hundred percent, yeah, and so that's where it's like okay, let's make it simple, Utilize your palm.

Speaker 1:

Palm of your hand.

Speaker 2:

If you can really start to be like okay, like my hand is perfect for the portion size that I need, that's going to be, you know, on average, I really like to have 25, 30 grams of protein per meal, and that's just from your protein source, right, and so for clients listening too, it's important to realize that you know protein. There's a little bit of protein in peanut butter.

Speaker 2:

Right, right, but peanut butter is what we do at fat source, right. And so thinking of, when you look at that nutrition label, what does it say? It is mostly, and then really pulling that as your protein. So you know, again, chicken, we know that chicken's going to, it's going to have zero carbs, maybe a couple grams of fat, but that number that's highest on the nutrition label is going to be chicken. So it's going to be your protein source. And then you know we go into fat and fat is, you know, super important for making sure that we stay full you know.

Speaker 2:

So these are the things like olive oil, avocado, olives thinking of those yummy, delicious, flavorful things that keep things fun and again, use your thumb so top of the thumb. That's going to be about one serving Right. That's going to be about one serving right. So you want to have that in there. And, granted, depending on how you know what meat you choose, you may need a little bit more, I may need a little bit less. You know, everyone's a little bit different, but we're just talking in general like as we say, it's personalized.

Speaker 2:

And then we've got our greens and our veggies, and so I think that those again focusing on the addition, you know opening up that palm, so nice big palm and really trying to, you know, can you add a handful of arugula, can you add a handful of spinach in your smoothie? Can you add, you know, a side of broccoli if you're out to dinner, you know, and just really focusing on that addition, because that's where we're going to get the stretch of your stomach, which is really important for that gut brain access in our, you know, in our body to signal that we're full. And so I really encourage people listen, add these things to your plate first, the rest is going to fall into place. This isn't a no carb approach. This isn't a don't eat carbs.

Speaker 2:

I had to go through like a whole I'm sure get back to that just about, you know, you being pregnant and me being pregnant. You know my thyroid was affected postpartum A because postpartum, but B because I just was so used to eating low carb that I didn't even realize I just needed more to support what my body now needed in that season. Right, and so what I always like to say, though, is no one's ever coming to me like, hey, I'm, I'm over, I'm I'm not comfortable in my body and I'm eating these things.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

Because we know that the chips at the Mexican restaurant are going to happen, or the bread at the table, or the glass of wine, or, you know, the mac and cheese. Right Like those carbier. Things are always going to be around, right Like whatever. Maybe your kid or your husband's eating. You know like my husband loves Annie's mac and cheese.

Speaker 2:

And I mean it's just like I can't blame him, Right, and so it's like we know that those carbier things are going to be around. So what I really like to say is, like, just focus on the good stuff first. Right, We'll sort that stuff out later. But what often happens is you're actually able to get full from the feel good formula because those things work to your satiety automatically. Maybe when you used to overeat whether it be bread, french fries, you know too many of the extras, as I like to call them is you're able to actually eat them in the proper portion size because the things that your body actually needs. We need those amino acids from our protein to regulate half of our hunger hormones and to digest properly, 100%, and to also support that basal metabolic rate. So that's what's so problematic too about these people who are doing the yo-yo dieting is, if you're not eating enough protein, you're losing muscle mass, and if you're not doing anything once you hit like 35 to increase your muscle mass, you're automatically losing it.

Speaker 2:

So anyone listening who's maybe not strength training and they're eating, maybe you know they look at that palm and they're like, maybe I'm eating that once-ish, twice-ish a day, Same, but like then they beat themselves up at night thinking that something's wrong with them. And that's where I just say listen, everything that you're eating has led you here as it should. It's not a you prop Like, this isn't your fault, this is just. We have to shift those macronutrient levels. So I really again focus on that addition of like what can we add to your plate? And then that naturally just crowds out the things where clients will be like oh my God, like I didn't really even crave, like my sour candies that I crave after dinner, or that sweet treat that I always have, Like it was actually a choice to have ice cream with my kids that I didn't feel guilty about.

Speaker 2:

And that's what I'm about.

Speaker 1:

Like woke up in the morning and I didn't feel inflamed and I didn't. And that's the big thing. Yes, that I've realized over the years because I I've gotten like. I did have the eating disorder when I was a kid. I went through different levels of that and not only did I, did I withhold food, but I also had, like what they call exercise bulimia, which is I did it.

Speaker 1:

Yes, like I didn't have my. I didn't purge my food, but I would exercise if I ate something, like I almost had to. I conditioned my brain to have to work for food, right, right, I mean. And no wonder I have adrenal fatigue. Okay, here, and almost I'll be 40 next year. And so really conditioning myself to understand like your body and I this is the way I explain it even to my kids, my teenagers. They go to school so early, they have lunch at 10. Like it's hard for them to even have an appetite until they're finished with school at two. And I'm like okay, I know that you're not hungry, but I'm going to pack you something anyway. Just try, try to drink the protein shake, try to get something down. Because what happens? Yes, there's intermittent fasting and there's all of that.

Speaker 2:

There's a lot of stuff out there going on, which I am a fan of fasting Again very personalized on where you're at in life, what you're doing, why you're doing it and what you're eating in that fasting window.

Speaker 1:

Right, but it really directly affects your brain performance and that was something that I've known about myself. I remember they diagnosed me with ADHD and I'm like I didn't have ADHD. I think a lot of it was like PTSD and some symptoms from that. But I just was not nurturing my body appropriately during certain times of my life and then when I started to, the more fats and proteins you eat, the better you think your mind is sharp and I'm not one to like cut out a ton of stuff Like I've. I've never really had an issue with dairy, Um, but I I kind of go through phases with everything, Like I just kind of honor, like what my body feels like it needs.

Speaker 2:

Wait, you mean you listen to your body.

Speaker 1:

I listen to my body now. Now, I listen to my body.

Speaker 2:

Isn't that crazy that, like that, the journey that it took for you to actually just be like oh my God, like my body is telling me what it feels.

Speaker 1:

Right, I'm going to listen to it and honoring making healthy choices along the way. So if I am like, oh wow, I could really eat some ice cream now, I'll do Greek yogurt with a little sprinkle of honey, mix it up. It's fine. So just making sure that I honor what it might need. So if I'm craving dairy or something like that, maybe I need more calcium that day, maybe I need the nutrients that are in the foods you're craving. It's kind of where your blood sugar is just dysregulated and you just need a lot of water, and sometimes that's just it too is I didn't drink enough water for 25 years of my life.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, you, and literally that's the first first week homework assignment. Is we get water? You know right where it needs to be and it's just. It's so common and again, that's what I just like to really like. Listeners hear that as like it's not a you thing.

Speaker 1:

It is a.

Speaker 2:

This is just what happens when we're not being mindful of what our body really needs, Right, you know? And oftentimes too, it's like okay, craving ice cream at night, Like as I talk about with with clients, is okay If we know that you hit your protein goals, because we know that a lack of protein will literally stimulate carbohydrate cravings in the form of yeah, maybe like my favorite croissants and you know like those types of things, but also sweet treats at night, like that where it kind of like comes up and gets you but also what's going on in your life.

Speaker 2:

Did you have a stressful day and it was your one time to yourself. Like the kids are to bed, you know you have a minute to just kind of like sit and you're just like I don't want to feel what I'm feeling. So I'm just going to feel what was comforting to me as a kid, right.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

And so that's another huge component of the work that I've really done. And you know, how do we? When we, when we grew up, it was like OK, you know, great, we have a pizza party. You know, at school we all did good on the test, or then you had a bad day.

Speaker 1:

We get you know Sweet ice cream. Let's reward ourselves with food, because we're animals, right?

Speaker 2:

No, and it's like I really try not to. And that's what, like I say, like I love all the health and wellness-y things, but I also love the fun, life-y things. Like I'm not here to never eat ice cream again or to never, like you know, have pizza. Like, like, count me out if pizza's out.

Speaker 1:

Oh no, pizza's a non-negotiable.

Speaker 2:

For me, it's a not the same, and so I really had to figure out listen, no-transcript, you skip school and everyone goes to breakfast because I was like, oh my God, well, I can only have a cup of liquid egg whites and I know that they're going to be using too much oil than what's on my plan. And then you know that. And then having another, you know, few years later, where I was weighing in with the nutritionist and squash kicked me out of ketosis and so I didn't drop weight for the year, for that week, right, and it's like I have been through it and I don't ever want to have to not be able to go make a memory because I'm so worried about my macros, or not be able to eat squash because I'm worried about like being, like my body being some science experiment, you know.

Speaker 1:

And it's like that created my body, my entire life. As a science experiment, I still kind of do, but in a different way. It's from a different way.

Speaker 2:

You know, there's days I can fast 16 hours, no problem, and then there's days I'm like yep 12, I'm good right because, I again, though I'm paying attention, right, and you, you use those things to your benefit, the more you know. But like it's been a journey and I think, like for me, I thought this was such a me problem for. But like it's been a journey and I think, like for me, I thought this was such a me problem for so many years.

Speaker 1:

It's so isolating.

Speaker 2:

And then, you know, once I really kind of got to the root and I really started emerging myself into, like this health and wellness world and then kind of spoke out about a few things. And it's hard, like even still to this day. When I talk about you know, it's like you have to go to that vulnerable place to like make sure the right person ends up in your inbox, right. But it has not been easy to get here.

Speaker 2:

And like I just think, though, there's something to be said about. You know, I now know hundreds of women who have thought the same exact thoughts that I have. We're now in tears on the other phone, and I'm like, oh, you're not crazy to me, like there's nothing at this point that I haven't seen, heard or done myself.

Speaker 1:

Same, and like my oldest client is 58 years old, you know, and that makes me think too, especially with women, like your hormones and where you are in your month makes a big difference and impact on how you should be utilizing your body, when you should rest your body, how you should eat.

Speaker 1:

I mean I just started cycle syncing like the past three years or so. Yeah, a huge difference, interesting difference. Interesting Like before I would go crazy in the gym for like the two weeks before my cycle started and I'm like those are the two weeks you're supposed to be resting, like literally doing that Like the week of. It's like okay, napping is appropriate. And so when I understood that, it's like wow, my body responded like immediately to just understanding. And that also has to do with like what's going on in your head, why you could be more prone to more environmental stress during those times of the month and and the cycles that you go through. And I mean a woman's body is so complex Like it takes us like a whole month to get through what guys do in like 24 hours, a hundred percent.

Speaker 2:

I would say I like I'll look at my husband like you really love me, don't you?

Speaker 2:

Just like all the different things you know, because that was a thing too, like I actually after I had some more and I even kind of forgot about this, where I run on the low side of progesterone, yeah, and so like I had estrogen dominance before I got pregnant with her, that I was like working with a functional medicine doctor and really getting that. And then, you know, even after I was just like not feeling again, like obviously I wasn't going to feel like myself, right, like you said, after Brody you didn't feel like yourself, like we just gave birth, right, like we literally just grew a human.

Speaker 1:

You. You're not yourself. Yeah, you're like, you're different. You're never going to be. Yeah, but you're just a new version of you.

Speaker 2:

Exactly, and that's okay, exactly and like. I remember being like, I know that I don't have postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety, but I just don't feel right, like I'm like manic. And then you know, I was talking to this to my OB and we got back on the progesterone where days 10 through 28 of my cycle I put it on before I go to bed and it really is made such a difference.

Speaker 1:

And.

Speaker 2:

I think that you know again. Just no one taught us this stuff in school. And that's what is infuriating to me, especially now as a mom, and like it's just like no one taught us these things and it requires our parents or the ladies before them, or like women, don't?

Speaker 1:

we don't learn these things.

Speaker 2:

No, I should be learning these things, and like sixth, seventh grade, a hundred percent like your period isn't just okay, you're bleeding, now here's a tampon or a pad, like and then it'll come again in a month, like your cycle is so much more than that, and that's what's been just so interesting too of. Like you know, I got my IUD taken out a year before getting pregnant with Zamora and really balancing. You know just everything in my system and you know learning about ovulation and learning about okay, great, learning about ovulation and learning about okay, great. Same thing where you know I tell a client, like okay, you stepped on the scale for using scale as a measurement, where were you at in your cycle? Because there is such thing as water retention before ovulation.

Speaker 2:

So you can look four pounds heavier than you were simply because where you were in your cycle, your clothes fit differently, just know, and so just having that.

Speaker 1:

There's a couple apps that I've used. One is MyFlow.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's what I have too. Yeah, and then.

Speaker 1:

I do. I forget the other one, no, but there's a couple apps you can use if people are interested in what we're talking about.

Speaker 1:

Or you could just Google like best app for cycle syncing or regulating and understanding what's going on, because also even the way your brain functions, and so this is too oh, we could go on like a whole new. We could go, we could have a whole series about this, but going to your point that we don't learn these things in school, so not only do does like the time of the month when you should be eating, when you should be exercising, but also like creativity, or when to take mental breaks, or the fact that we even need to take mental breaks. Seeing this generation of so I have three kids in high school. You could not pay me any infinite amount of money or time to go into this world right now. As a teenager, like I felt like I was overstimulated as a teenager and my daughter is even such. She's like I just want to go back to like the way you grew up.

Speaker 1:

You guys had the best generation. Like it was chill. You still had a cell phone, you could call or text, but you hung out with your friends. I think she's like no one could track you down.

Speaker 2:

She doesn't say that, but we could get away with so much away but it wasn't the constant over stimulation.

Speaker 1:

We actually just had this conversation the other day. It's now they can have their phones in high school and I'm glad I couldn't, because I mean even just I have to put mine away when I do things and I have to like really discipline myself. Yeah, so not only are they sitting, and trying to reach me.

Speaker 2:

I was like my phone's on do not disturb when I'm at the gym because otherwise I'm going in all yeah and you're not in the place that you're in.

Speaker 1:

So not only are they receiving information from what they're supposed to be learning, but it's like constant notifications, and constant like it's listening to your AirPods and so and I think a big kind of epidemic we have right now is we are just so overstimulated all the time and doing something like this, prioritizing your health whether it be with an accountability coach, an empowerment coach, a health and wellness program or all of the above or just turning all your notifications off on your phone.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's part of my program. We do social setup.

Speaker 1:

Yes, that's perfect.

Speaker 2:

All notifications are like, unless you're getting texts or phone calls or you know emails. Even like you know you're not getting Instagram notifications, you're not getting Facebook notifications, you're not getting someone every time someone likes your whatever, because it's just too much.

Speaker 1:

And that's what like.

Speaker 2:

I even think you know postpartum, especially when you're learning so much about. You know, like I, grew up an only child, really small family. Like you know, it was all so new to me.

Speaker 2:

And so it was like all so amazing, you know, but it was very new and so that overwhelm of all the newness and then even just all the things coming at you at one time you like I've recently still to is more just turned to in at the end of June and it's like this summer I literally I just started listening to a podcast again this week where I've just been listening to music and I've just been like being a human being because we have so much coming at us all the time. We're like we have gotten so far away of like being a human and being grounded and rooted in our bodies, where we're not meant to handle this.

Speaker 1:

Right, we're not made for this.

Speaker 2:

We're really not and like I feel so bad for these kids, especially because I'm sitting here at 32 years old and I feel like overwhelmed with, even if it's the good stuff right.

Speaker 2:

Like it's like I call it positive overwhelm, where it's just so much. And then I'm like, oh my God, I have to literally text like four people back and I have to do this and I have to do that, and it's not. It just is so much at one time sometimes. And I read I saw this thing today on Instagram where it was like we are the last generation that knows what life was like without social media, right.

Speaker 2:

And like I wouldn't change it for the world, no me either, and that's what I feel like I don't know.

Speaker 1:

I feel like something will come along, though I feel like things always work themselves out. The way they're supposed to, my husband's convinced. The power grid is going out, so maybe it's something not quite as extreme yeah.

Speaker 1:

But Nothing would surprise me, no, yeah, and surrendering to the flow, yeah, but also prioritizing what works for you. And, like you said, you just got back to just listening to stuff. I took a six-week break Yep, very intentional time with my family over the summer, really down time for the kids and just try not to overschedule a lot. We did take a big trip to Europe and that was like our first time doing that as a family and it was really great. But that also has its ups and downs and all around and realizing and that's okay.

Speaker 2:

Though, yeah, like, like that's okay, like it's okay that, like I think too, it's interesting being, you know, on social media, whether it's personal or professional, but, like, not everything has to be Instagram worthy, no.

Speaker 1:

Right, not everything has to be put out there. There's something to have an intimate life, life.

Speaker 2:

And I really leaned into that. I've taken kind of a big little social siesta, as I call it, where I'm still on, but I'm just not posting Right Because, like yes, there's power and like you know, on days when you want to take a walk and you want to put you know, and like I love that. But we have gotten, I think, to this place where we're so busy like looking at other people's lives that we get so confused about our own.

Speaker 1:

Well, in the comparison, it's not healthy and it forces you into this like egoic mentality that is so not authentic.

Speaker 2:

Right, it's just not. It's just not necessary.

Speaker 1:

And it's like how?

Speaker 2:

of course you're. Of course you're going to have ups and downs on a trip with kids and a husband and across the across the world, in a different time zone, different like every like, of course, but the way that you avoid getting caught up in that, for me, was not setting expectations for it, right, just going and being like we're going to have slow mornings, yeah, and whoever wants to get up and go to breakfast, we'll get up and go to breakfast.

Speaker 1:

I plan a couple of things each day, but just being realistic with myself and the time period that we had and everything that we did, and just and also really trying to honor where everyone was. I mean, our kids are 17 to four, so there's a lot of different aspects going on there and as long as we balanced it well, which was good but coming back, I wanted it to just be slow and intentional. And even my daughter was like mom, I don't want to do surf camp because she had this IMG volleyball camp that she did and we had Switzerland. She's like I think I don't want to do that this year. I'm like, okay, then don't. And I was so proud of her for honoring that I would have never at her age. I would have been like about to say how awesome that she could say that.

Speaker 2:

Yes, like that, just a testament to you. Well, thank you Seriously, because I think that we are allowed to change our minds A hundred percent. And, like you, doing that for her at her age shows her that, like, hey, like, maybe I was into this idea a few months ago.

Speaker 1:

Or did it a couple years in a row and it was fun. However, this season it's different.

Speaker 2:

It's different and that I think, too like for me and my journey, it's like it's been hard to allow myself to evolve because it well, this is what worked, or this is what I am comfortable being, or this is what everyone else loved me as Right is what I am comfortable being, or this is what everyone else loved me as right I and like it has been like literally brought me to my knees. I think the biggest thing that got me into therapy last year was because I was like I'm like, so I'm so me and I'm finally like I think okay with all the parts of me. Is every like what's that going to be like for everyone else? Right and like you? Just something so simple as like surf camp, not doing surf camp, like that is so awesome for her, you know, and her having that and I think it really comes from her seeing me being like no, I just I don't.

Speaker 1:

I used to be very heavily involved in philanthropy and I still am, but in different capacity. Like I choose my couple things and I do that, like I don't have to do everything all the time for everyone. And when you just and when I own it and I just say you know I'm not attending that this year, they're like oh, we'll miss you, thank you. No one cares, no one, literally no one cares.

Speaker 1:

I told a friend this the other day because she sent me a text. She sent it by accident, but she sent me this long explanation and I'm like, what are you talking about? And I was like we're not going this because, blah, blah, blah. I'm like just cut to the chase. No one wants to hear the fluff Just say, hey, we can't make it. And people are like, okay, good.

Speaker 1:

I was like, especially if it's on a weekend, most people are happy that you cannot make it because they get a free time, right, right, I don't know about you, but I try. Like everyone's like, oh, you have anything fun going on this weekend. I was like we have nothing at all, yeah, which I'm so excited about, because there's so much that gets packed into our weeks, a hundred percent that veg days are okay. Because I found myself that, because the weeks are busy, I have to make sure I keep myself in check on the weekends and I'm not creating too much busy, because I know I need those days of rest.

Speaker 1:

And I think it goes back to some of the stuff that we were talking about earlier, like habitual reactivity is the thing. Am I doing something because it fuels myself and my soul, and is it what I need right now? Or am I doing something because I've always done it, or I expect that that's what I'm supposed to do, and I think that, going through my journey, I've had to break a lot of habits. Essentially, I used to get up and go to a HIIT class or a cycle class at 5.45 in the morning. Now I'm like I think I'll either sleep in or maybe I go for just a nature walk and get outside.

Speaker 2:

Literally same.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and it's like guess what? My body feels better and looks better than it did when I was doing the crazy HIIT classes. I'm like you have all day long, why do you have to do it at five in the morning? But I was realizing, and just because of all of the stuff I've done with my functional medicine doctor, my cortisol was spiked in the morning. So I was waking up in survival mode, feeling like I needed to run from tigers. But it was like a false sense of energy for me.

Speaker 1:

So I've conditioned myself now to sleep in and I feel better sleeping and I don't wake up at 4.30 and I'm like, okay, I gotta go do something. And I'm like, wow, that means I'm nurturing my adrenals, that means my body is in balance. So that's something too, that just being aware. And I always encourage my clients to keep more of like a how are you feeling? Journal, like how do you feel when you first wake up? How are you feeling about 10 am? How are you feeling about noon? Like kind of keep a mental note for yourself or text yourself during the day, like I wake up, I'm up and ready to go, or I'm really groggy until noon and I have to have three cups of coffee Like that's. That means that there's something else going on inside.

Speaker 2:

And that's exactly like when I'm starting with the client and we start, you know, our food log is, I literally say this is like treat it like your journal, like how do you feel when you're waking up? You know what is what is happening, because, again, that's where we're able to see what it is that you're reaching for, or how you know let's figure out your wind down routine the night before and like really kind of set some boundaries around there, which I know is difficult, right, and like for years I didn't even sleep with my phone next to me. Yeah, it was in the bathroom or even downstairs and I had, you know, our hatch alarm, but then with the baby, you know, and then the Nana and everything, the monitored seasons change.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

But like it's also like I know, when I need to call myself out for scrolling, you know late, and then I'm, you know, it's just, it's the whole thing and that's to me, I think, at the end of the day, to we as society, like we are trying, we've lost the sense of just vegging out, we've lost the sense of allowing that to be okay and I mean I'm coming off of it because I you know I have.

Speaker 2:

I didn't even see that I was being just so like intense with myself. Yeah Right, Because that intensity is also like I like the. I like being scheduled. I think we, as humans, we do like knowing what's coming and we know the things that make us feel good, and so being able to pack those in can be really helpful. But, like we also have to make sure that we're scheduling that time of downtime, of like, hey, like I am just going to watch some Netflix or I am going to read a book, Like I'm reading a book right now that has nothing to do with health and wellness.

Speaker 2:

That has nothing to do with bettering myself. That has nothing to do with motherhood or, you know, relationships or anything like that. It is literally about nothing, Do?

Speaker 1:

you know what I mean and I am loving it. Yes, right, and I actually had a photo shoot. I think it was Monday or Tuesday and the photographer is 63 years old and I'm like you look fantastic, like you are just super fit, you seem healthy, you have so much energy, you're so fun and spunky. She's like I just play. She's like I don't schedule workouts for myself, I just I eat balance, as she was saying, like I just I know what my body needs as far as nourishment goes and I make sure that I am active and I play daily, literally play, and I love that because I think we forget and it's like and playing doesn't mean you have to get down and build blocks with your kids.

Speaker 1:

That's also great and very beneficial and healthy. But finding something that you enjoy, reading a book that has nothing to do because you can overdo it Like I've been through this whole healing journey you can very much overdo it with it can become an addiction, just like drugs or alcohol, healing or health and fit. I mean I've had an exercise addiction for probably 20 years, if not longer.

Speaker 2:

Well, and that's anything too much of a good thing can become a bad thing.

Speaker 1:

Exactly.

Speaker 2:

So I think it's like also, like this year, a big thing that came through for me was like how many more times do I have to learn something until I accept it?

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

Right and how when?

Speaker 1:

am I willing to see it for what it is?

Speaker 2:

and not judge it and not judge it.

Speaker 1:

Just observe it and not judge myself for it.

Speaker 2:

A hundred percent, where, like I will say to my girls I'm like, stop being judge, judy, with yourself and just observe what's happening, like I don't care if you get off this call and you eat a box of Cheez-Its.

Speaker 2:

It's like my kryptonite you know, and that's I said, I'm like I just need you to write it down, like I just need you to write down what's happening. But it's like just like, get away from this Almost. Like. It's like I love being a student, but sometimes a student being that forever student has also perpetuated, just wasted time in a way, because it's also like, hey, what if I just accept this about myself and I take that acceptance and I just try to change the trajectory. Like you're talking about waking up at 545. You know I bring some more. I was bringing some more to the gym, you know, monday through Friday, monday through Thursday, monday through Friday, depending on the week. And she kind of hit this spot where she was just like mommy, no gym. And I'm like, oh, my God, okay.

Speaker 2:

Like you know like but you've got your friends. What do you mean? Like we go through roll call where we've got, you know, all her friends at the gym, cause we all go at the same time. And so I was like, okay, well, I'll go back old school where I'll go early morning. You know, I used to do that before, even all throughout my pregnancy. I would go, you know, and then I'd do my sunrise walks and whole thing. And you know I was doing that and it was tough. It was really tough to do that, but I did it because I really prioritized that time for myself. And my husband was just like, listen, I'm never going to not tell you to go do that, but he's like I just can't go back to bed after, even when you ninja out of the room.

Speaker 2:

I've got my clothes laid out and I brush my teeth downstairs and you know he's like I just can't go to back to bed. And this is back to what we talked about before we started. Filming was like now what we've been doing the past few weeks is I go to the gym when he gets home from work.

Speaker 2:

And so, you know, depending on the day, is it's we kind of like high five out, great, okay, you've got the baby and you know, and it's just like asking for that help and just accepting that like, hey, what once worked for you maybe just isn't working anymore, or maybe you just got to get creative and maybe you just got to accept the season that you're in now, knowing that in a couple months from now it's probably going to change again and it's okay, like cozy up to the chaos. That's one of the core principles, core concepts that I really talk about in my work with clients is because it's like chaos is going to happen, it's just going to happen. And so who are you going to be in those chaotic times and like, how are you going to let all of these other things happen, either support you or, you know, break you down, and like you know it. It's a, it's a journey. Each time it becomes different, because you become different, you know.

Speaker 1:

Right and it's really about, for me, surrendering to the flow of what that new season, that new chapter looks like, totally Like we could fight it. But what is that going to do? It's going to create anxiety. It's going to create or do something that's not honoring what we need. And I think, as a parent especially, you have to learn to pivot and you have things scheduled and your kids sick. Well, what do we do? We automatically clear the calendar and we're just there, we're present. Why can't we do that for ourselves? That's the question. Why can't we do that for ourselves? That's the question. Why can't we do that for ourselves? Because we start to judge ourselves and we start to feel like we're missing out on something. But give yourself permission to honor what you need and if you're not sure of what you need, get a coach, have an accountability partner, have a talk therapist, have a friend, have someone in your network.

Speaker 2:

Just get it out of your head. Get it out of your head. Talk to someone. Yeah, talk to someone.

Speaker 1:

Write it down Talk to yourself out loud, take a walk, just something to bring you back. So, getting to that, what are the things? And I've explained this on millions of podcasts, I feel like, but what is? How do you bring yourself back to kind of rooting yourself back into your body when you are a product of that chaos that we were talking about?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I mean I think a few things and again it's really dependent on, like, where it is that I'm at. But for me I really noticed I process through movement.

Speaker 2:

That was a really big thing for me. I grew up an athlete and so for me I almost always shows too, we activate that parasympathetic nervous system and we show our bodies that we're not in that fight or flight mode and that everything is okay. But for me, like I really have to make sure I'm getting that movement in and I also I really recharge on that alone time. I'm an only child and so, like for me sometimes I have to kind of just take a beat and like get a coffee and like, even if it's just simple, like I think that that really helps me, and then also to like having that time though connecting, like it's connecting to myself and then really connecting to others, where I this was like a newer thing, where part of my social siesta was, because I finally hit that point and I did a little one last year, last summer too, and then I feel like I'm just almost coming out of it this year but I really hit that like Zoom fatigue, where I like seeing you in person or like when I see you at the gym or I see, like you know all like people in real life, that like I need to see, like the wrinkles on someone's face and like the way someone smiles and like I'm such a people person that you know, when the world shut down, my business took off, and then I was so zoomed back to back to back to back to back to back, like most people.

Speaker 2:

And then I got pregnant and then I was in baby world. And then I was so zoom back to back to back to back to back to back like most people, and then I got pregnant and then I was in baby world and then it's like okay, cool, I'm coming out of that postpartum like awesome, I'm craving connections. So that is where, like, I will literally look at my husband. I'm like, can we go on a date night?

Speaker 2:

and like just go, you know, go see live music, go get a drink, drink, go eat a meal and like chat and like really prioritizing my friend time like I have not. Like this past year has been such a transformative year for me, but like my girlfriends are legitimately everything to me and so we're scattered all over, but like really doing my due diligence to like voice text like a like seven minute long thing If I can't get with them or do girls and either grab coffee or you know really making sure that I am prioritizing that time and like through those things of like a walk and you know I do have a workout, you know having some me time and then having that connection, whether it's with my husband, whether it's my mom or my girlfriends, like that all in all will somehow piece me back together. But it's when I do too much of something where I end up isolating and then I end up getting in my own head and then we're like the world feels like it's crumbling down.

Speaker 2:

And so I think it's again really learning that about yourself, though, too, where it's crumbling down. And so I think it's again really learning that about yourself, though, too, where it's like too much of anything is not good anymore, you know, and really accepting that and and asking for help, like I mean, like I said, like it was no big deal for me to just, you know, be like, hey, what do you think about this? If, if we like high five and you take the baby and I just go to the gym and then come back do dinner, whatever it is, you know, it was no big deal for my mom to help me with certain things. It was not like people in your life want to help you, but it's you that's actually getting in the way yeah, we have to get out of our own way.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, a lot yeah, and I think the last thing is Netflix. Like I love me some Netflix. Like when suits Suits ended. Like when I finished Suits, I was like questioning my identity.

Speaker 1:

I'm like what am I?

Speaker 2:

going to do with myself, you know. So like I'll get really into a show, but those things and I think that that's it right, like we're multifaceted, we're not just this one. Like our identity has many different parts, you know 100%. And I think, figuring out those things and that's you know, I have all my girls do that same thing. Like what makes you feel good. Start a running list of like when you feel your best, what's happening? What are you listening to?

Speaker 2:

Like I've always got John Mayer Dave Matthews band in the background, or when I'm cooking, it's Frank Sinatra like elevating, romanticizing your own life and like being being mindful of, like, what makes me feel good, right, and and just doing those simple things you don't need to, and like I think it's funny too, like Instagram is a funny place. It's not that I don't love the red light masks and the sauna blanket Like I recommend the sauna blankets and the this and that, like all those things. But I we see these nightly routines and these daily, these morning routines and the this and the that, and then you kind of question yourself like, okay, well, what happens? When the baby woke up early, I missed my workout, I didn't get to the grocery store and all those things. Like, who are you without all those things? Right?

Speaker 1:

Or who are you when your routine, like you said day is broken? Right, what do you do? Right, how do you handle that? Yes, and going back to the, observe it like OK, this is my day, just from a very factual point, this is the time that I have, but not judging yourself because you haven't done all those other things 100 percent, and just being like, ok, well, I have time to take a bath by myself, and that's okay.

Speaker 1:

Yes, like I got to the point where Brody was first born when he was little, no TV at all, just because, like he's not one to watch it.

Speaker 1:

But now that he's four I'm like it's not going to kill him to watch a half hour show so I can do something, or have it like a few minutes to journal and sit out on the porch, or have like a few minutes to journal and sit out on the porch or have that time. And again, because why was I resisting in the first place? Because I was judging myself, thinking like okay, 30 minutes, like he's the most active kid, like he is all over the place all the time, it's not going to hurt him, and like where was that coming? I was judging myself.

Speaker 2:

But, and that's where we can go, though, right, yeah, and that's. I found that same exact thing where I'm just like, hey, 30 minutes of you know, miss Rachel, is okay, because it is just it's okay, and like really allowing yourself to not be this like perfect, ideal version of you, 24, 7. That doesn't exist.

Speaker 2:

Right, perfect, ideal version of you 24, seven. That doesn't exist, right? Or if it maybe does, you're gonna run like I was running myself into a wall trying to chase the like one perfect day where every single thing happened and then feeling bad about it. It's like for what I like? My mom, literally, she said that. She said that this was like it literally changed everything for me. I was having just like a really hard time and she said you know, when I was younger her name is Jill, my mom's name is Jill and she said, when I was younger and I was, you know, you're trying to do everything like you she was like I had a friend and she said to me where did my friend Jill go Right, jill, go Right.

Speaker 1:

And that hit me like a ton of bricks because we I, I stopped having fun along the way and I didn't even realize it. So did I for a while.

Speaker 2:

Because I just and that's like your, you know photographer, 63 years old, she's playing. She's so busy playing, as I said to my therapist.

Speaker 2:

I said I'm at my best when I'm having fun If you know me in real life, like I got in trouble for school because I was laughing when I wasn't supposed to and I was too loud and I was this and I was that Like, if you know me, like you know that that's how I've always been, and like somewhere along the way, society or the becoming an adult, or the pressures or the this or the trying or the hustle culture, whatever it is I stopped having fun.

Speaker 2:

And then that can also come into motherhood where it's like, no, I'm never going to be the mom that's going to just plop her kid and watch TV all day. You're never going to be that mom either. We just stop who we are, right, right, but like it's OK. Like it was actually the most magical moment when it was like a thunderstorm basically category her one hurricane last week, randomly and, yes, me, lucas and zamora watched coco and we were just like this is the best ever. I was like I forgot that I had this dream of like watching a disney movie with my baby and like, like we have to stop letting this subconscious thought, I think of perfect, drive us into this direction that you're never going to find it, ever, ever, and so that external.

Speaker 1:

It's like seeking that external validation because inside you're lacking something Totally and so really taking a step back and going inward and being like what is it that I need? Is it the fun? Is it the play? Is it the nutrients that? Is it the fun? Is it the play? Is it the nutrients that I need in my body?

Speaker 2:

Is it more water?

Speaker 1:

Is it like I go back to like when I talk to Brody do you need a hug, do you need a snack or do you need a nap? I have to ask myself do I need a hug?

Speaker 2:

Do I need a?

Speaker 1:

snack, or do I need a nap and it's that's okay, and sometimes it's all of the above.

Speaker 2:

Yes, we complicate it. Yes, we complicate it so much, all of it you know, yes, 100.

Speaker 1:

So back to the macros, to the food stuff. Yeah, so I get asked very often and actually my husband is now a vegetarian, okay, and I've gone through my bouts when I was regulating hormones and stuff like that and the time period we were talking about prior to the podcast, I lost so much weight because, for the first time in my life, I wasn't eating high protein. So I just felt very weak, I felt very vulnerable. It was not for me.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you can check that off the list. Like I tried, I tried it was really great.

Speaker 1:

but my body does thrive and I do generally like protein. I'm kind of funky where I get it from, just because of our food sources are scary, they're scary A whole different podcast. What would you recommend for our plant-based listeners, as far as their protein goes, for getting the adequate amount with balancing those type of macros? Obviously it's very individual for each person, but just a general.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I definitely. I've had a few vegetarian clients and you know it's really again looking at what those protein options are. Fish is phenomenal. You know I really am a big fan of fish. So, whether you know, pick your fancy in that and, like really try to make sure that you're prioritizing wild caught if possible. Um, you know the sustainable choices for you know, definitely, like a dinner option, I feel like dinner can sometimes be tricky, but especially when we're thinking about your day as a whole, like really getting a quality protein powder that isn't going to be, you know, grass-fed beef like the one that I use. So you know.

Speaker 1:

We have a couple of good plant-based ones Epic Protein that we get at Crop Juice. That's a really good one. You can also get it on Amazon. Truvia is pretty clean.

Speaker 2:

The Truvani, or Truvani, yeah, truvani.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, pretty clean. There's also Koya shakes that are pretty good macro. They're not perfect as far as being super clean, but I think that's something too, that just check the ingredients, like if you've started something new in your plan or you've been having something and you find that you get a little bit more anxious or your energy shifts when you're eating certain foods, just check the ingredients. There might be something in there. Like I realized last year, I'm allergic to eggs.

Speaker 2:

It's devastating.

Speaker 1:

But I was getting so bloated. I'm like, why am I getting so bloated all the time? Do you get?

Speaker 2:

a food test done, or do you do a elimination diet?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so through my functional medicine doctor I got this whole. Dr Stephanie McKay oh, I don't know her. She's great, she actually specializes in hormonal health too.

Speaker 2:

Okay, cool.

Speaker 1:

So I started seeing her, I think like two and a half years ago, three years ago, when I was in the thyroid after pregnancy balancing the thyroid, which again is so common for any mamas. Postpartum thyroid issues are very common.

Speaker 2:

Oh, a hundred percent, I didn't know that. Well, and just thyroid issues in general are common because of all the environmental stuff we have in our body Again a whole other thing.

Speaker 1:

But I did a blood test, A blood test.

Speaker 2:

Okay, cool.

Speaker 1:

So I did a blood test and I'm allergic to nothing other than eggs and egg whites and I'm like, are you kidding? And I was eating them every meal. I love eggs, so do I, and I miss them. But she had a good point. So I've essentially eliminated them for the most part, because I am like an omelet. I mean I could like eat an omelet every meal of the day, like every meal of the day. I miss them, I love them and the substitutes I just try not to do substituting stuff because it's just never the same and I feel like it's filled with ingredients.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, but that, like understanding what your body tolerates I never knew that, yeah. But she also made a good point is it could be the way that eggs are processed. Believe it or not, eggs are processed. So I started getting them from a local farm and every now and then I'll eat it and I'm okay. But it's not like I'm going to Starbucks and getting egg bites, which would wreck my stomach, but there's other stuff in there. So that's one thing I really want to stress to people too is just just pay attention to the ingredients.

Speaker 2:

That's like the, that's like we do pantry purge, we do closet cleanse. I mean we do the whole cat, you know, clean out of your, your cabinet, feel good fridge, feel good pantry, like I mean freezer, all of it. Because if you I have it very simple If you cannot pronounce it, your body will have no idea what to do with it. Well, and that's the thing.

Speaker 1:

People don't realize. Or like the sugar freeze or the low this it's like you're better off having whatever the natural ingredient is Whole food, real food, whole real food. Maple syrup is not going to kill you. The sugar-free, the light stuff, aspartame all the things your body just doesn't know how to process it. Have you heard of the book Good Energy?

Speaker 2:

Yes, I'm Dr Casey Means, so she co-founded Levels, which is a continuous glucose monitor that I would wear and I have my clients wear to learn about food, and so the fact I've been following her for years, um, and the fact that she's blowing up right now literally makes me so happy. She is incredible and just for our readers, like our readers, our listeners, she was a doctor and basically you know left because she was like I am not helping people get better.

Speaker 1:

She wanted to get the root, to the root of the inflammation and, as our Western medicine, they're trained to just focus on certain areas, but our body is a whole, like it's. It's.

Speaker 2:

I've literally worked with doctors before as clients, pediatricians as clients, because they like she's like. I took this for 12 hours. I was taught 12 hours of nutrition and I'm overweight. I feel like crap. I need help as a client you know, and it's like it is that that's their job is to treat sick people their job isn't to make this, you know, get down to that underlying root of the issue.

Speaker 1:

Which was the root, I think, of them wanting to be a doctor is to truly help the all-encompassing human body.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so Dr Casey Means, she's amazing. The Continuous Glucose Monitor Levels is, you know, a tech company that it really kind of shows you. It allows people to learn how foods affect you. So when we talked about blood sugar earlier on in the podcast. When you eat carbohydrates, those carbohydrates get broken down into glucose. We all have a different type of carb ceiling, as I like to call it, where we're able.

Speaker 2:

A different amount of carbs can be tolerated for different amount of people, depending on are you strength training? Are you just working out? How much muscle mass do you have on your body? How much are you moving throughout the day? All these types of things where a continuous glucose monitor, like levels, you put it on your arm and it literally shows you in real time how your food impacts you, how, when you were waking up, we naturally have that cortisol that's called the dawn effect that wakes us up, and so, by you naturally waking up around that time and then you also going to super hardcore HIIT classes, it's not that HIIT's bad, but we only need it sprinkled in we don't want that to be the foundation of our training and because it's just too much.

Speaker 2:

It's just too much, and so you're really able to see, through your blood, how these choices are affecting you, what it's like for you even if you eat a late meal at night, what it's like for you how your sleep gets affected and then what you crave the next day. And so she's incredible and I, like I said, I'm just so happy her work has been blowing up for years, because even my husband, like you know he she was just on the Tucker Carlson podcast and, um, that blew up and is one of those things where he's like you've been talking about her for a long time.

Speaker 1:

You know I was like, yeah, I figure you had, because it really coincides with essentially like the fundamentals of your approach, yeah, and so that's a really good resource out there If you guys want to understand a little bit more the good energy, amazing book.

Speaker 2:

Yes, it'll change your like whole perspective.

Speaker 1:

It really did and like what underlying causes could be, like whether it's blood coast, whether it's autoimmune, and there's just so many different factors that go into that. I feel like at some point we should gather and do like a retreat on all this. I think it would be amazing.

Speaker 2:

A 1000% because it all just goes hand in hand and like even like you know, vegetarian.

Speaker 2:

Just to finish that up too, if it's like you know, no matter where you're at, you have to eat. So let's figure out how can we really fill your plate with what it is that we need, and we may have to get a little bit more creative, you know. And so, yes, clean protein powder, you know, can you do cottage cheese, dairy to really supplement that out? Even, you know, we do know that plant-based sources like lentils, black beans, quinoa, um, you know, legumes, those those types of things do have protein in them, even though they're more carbohydrate heavy. And so that's where, too, it's like some of the training maybe needed to be tweaked a little bit more, where that person, you know they totally should be working out a little bit harder. You know, like you definitely have, matt, be like babe, up those weights a little bit, you know, because you can handle it when you are, because you have, the more carbohydrates in your body.

Speaker 1:

Totally.

Speaker 2:

And your totally needs to use them.

Speaker 1:

To use them, you don't overfill your car with gas right right to drive it. Yeah, because if you do, even if it's clean like it's still a surplus yeah.

Speaker 2:

And so I think, too, it's just about really getting clear about hey, where can I get that protein from? And also, you know, I do again feel like all I tell my clients is like I just need you to do this one time, because if I can have someone do it one time, they are able to reap the benefits of what it feels like, and then that's how we create the momentum of them really being able to be like oh my God, that felt good and it wasn't so hard, right. And then that's where it's like okay, cool, like. Eventually we kind of there's so many sessions that go on where it's like oh, yeah, and the food, food's great.

Speaker 2:

This week I had, you know one thing you know, at my mom's house, but you know it was fine, and then I just moved on. I started the next day and it's like we're talking about the life stuff. We're talking about great, like how can we make you know like, have that hard conversation with your boss to bring in that work-life balance more? Or like, great, let's get you a walking pad so that you can get your steps in, and then, all you know, your boss can be like oh my god, which one are you going to order because I want that too. Right, like, and that's a really kind of getting comfortable with these conversations, because people are. This is a very real problem and just because people aren't talking about it doesn't mean they're not facing it Exactly.

Speaker 1:

And that, like you said, it opens the opportunity for other people to prioritize their own health as well. So don't be scared to say you need help or that you are prioritizing your piece, or you are going to take an extra day off, because it might inspire that next person to be like, wow, I should probably do that too, yeah, or cancel that meeting if it doesn't serve you or that event if it doesn't serve you, because those people might be inspired by that.

Speaker 2:

Well, and that's like you know, even you with Tatum of, just you know, being like I'm going to lounge out, like you're showing her lounging out, it's okay.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and it's important and it's okay to give your brain rest. We're not robots, right?

Speaker 2:

That's why it's you know, even the babies that you know. I was just on the phone with my best friend this morning. She has a four month old. She's like you know. She didn't sleep last night. She woke up at three 30 to eat, but I knew that she was hungry. I was like we have to remind ourselves of that, you know, and it's like no matter what season you're in, it's yes, we have got all of these resources, we have all of these people who mean you know well, but there is such thing as information overload.

Speaker 2:

And there is such thing as like striving for perfection when it just doesn't exist, and have the autonomy to be like okay, is this, does this make me feel good, or does this just make me?

Speaker 1:

feel worse. So if our listeners and guests want to find you, I will put the link in. But tell them, tell them a little bit about, like your overview of feelgoodwithericacom.

Speaker 2:

Yes, feelgoodwithericacom.

Speaker 2:

And you can shoot me an email, hey E at feelgoodwithericacom yes, feelgoodwithericacom. And you can shoot me an email, hey e at feelgoodwithericacom If you want to learn more. I work primarily with one-on-one clients, and so that was really how I started my business and the work that I really love to do again with that connection. And then last year I started my group coaching program, which has been so, so, so fun, and I hosted four rounds last year and then I think I'm just going to, you know, I'm going to see where this year takes us. I can't believe it's been. It's already, you know, september when we're filming this. I'm like, how did that happen? And so I definitely would love, you know, if you are interested in a group course, definitely reach out.

Speaker 2:

The Feel Good Foundation is really what the framework is that I do with my one-on-one clients, but it is in a group coaching format where, when I'm working with a one-on-one client, I say, listen, I love, I know, if you can commit eight sessions, I can teach you everything that you need to know and learn ideally. And I've been able to condense that into the six sessions, just without it being so personalized, and so it's a six week program and you know I teetered on. Okay, am I going to do it, you know, live, am I going to do it recorded? And I have it all recorded. But I will say there's nothing like that live in person or in Zoom even Do you know what I mean when you kind of feel like you're together, where you're able to ask questions and connect and, you know, really just get the help that you need, have someone who knows what it is that you're up against, teach you the things that you just don't have time in your busy life to go do all this research, you know.

Speaker 2:

And so, yeah, whether it's one life to go do all this research, you know, and so, yeah, whether it's one-on-one work or group coaching, you can reach out and find me at feelgoodwithericacom and I would just love to connect.

Speaker 1:

So, thank you and I and tailing tagging onto that, and it builds that sense of community and accountability which is what we all need and all appreciate. So thank you so much for joining me today.

Speaker 2:

I feel like we could do like three more hours but we'll save it for a couple more podcasts. So thanks so much, thank you.

Speaker 1:

Have a great day, guys.