133 - Christina Peterson Pt 1: The 1% Rule

Join nurse and Puyallup and Spokane, Washington native Honored Guest Christina Peterson as she eloquently describes her round-the-world trip from one side of the state to the other, being okay with being weird (and accepting being weird to feel good), the importance of having matching underwear, her passion for health and nutrition and tying that into nursing, the importance of what you use for snacks during shift, the financial value of making changes sooner than later, saying “I cannot afford to not feel good,” and more! 

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Transcript

0:02

Hello and welcome to this episode of the Feeding Our Young podcast. I am gonna do something I've never done before. I'm gonna shut my yapper and I'm gonna jump right in. Believe it, it's happening today. Put it on your calendars. Everyone, I'd like to introduce for you one Christina Peterson. Christina, how the heck are you this fine afternoon? Oh, thank you. I'm doing so well, Eric. It's truly an honor to be here. I am on the western side of Washington, so we are getting a glimpse of our fall spring. Hopefully it will stay. We have sunshine. And yet you're inside doing this, so that shows her level of commitment. Well, with that being said, lets, that's a perfect segue. It's like you're reading my mind. Christina, where's home for you? Where you from and where's home? uh My home is on the east side of Washington, Spokane, Washington, and I'm currently living on the west side, but um I got here with a roundabout trip around the world, so it was not direct. Okay, no, let's just... What? Explain! Well, so I grew up in Spokane and um it was after I went to nursing school and actually Eric, remember seeing you and I went to Spokane Community College. I remember that you were kind of a forerunner and seeing you in the library and man, now I look back and I remember thinking like, man, you were a forerunner to be upright and standing alive because I had signed up for nursing school and gotten in, but really didn't quite know what I was committing to. Yeah. You know, I was wide-eyed and dreaming and all these things. So anyway, I'm taking it that, you you made it, you're alive and I can do this too. But anyway, so I went to Spokane Community College, graduated and had worked in Spokane a couple of years. I always have had um culture and international things in my heart and had thought that I wanted to be an international traveling nurse and that opportunity actually presented through YWAM, which is Youth With A Mission. It's a... Christian Missions Organization. And long story short, I ended up going from Spokane, Washington to I ended up in Townsville, Australia. I was there for three years and that's part of my journey. We can talk about that, but I was on a medical ship going to and from Papua New Guinea. I was with people from all over the world. ah So went from Australia. Then I moved after my commitment there. I moved to the South of the U.S., Tennessee, South Carolina. And my mom was super grateful that I was in the US. I wasn't 18 hours ahead anymore. It was still a little bit hard to connect with the time difference, but I ended up moving back to Washington to be closer to family. So she's pretty happy that I'm within a five hour range. in the same time zone, you know, not needing to plan phone calls. So this is where I'm at currently. I love it. And where is here on the western side of the state? I am in Puyallup. ah I laugh because when I moved up from South Carolina, I had to transfer all my banking details and everything and people said, ah how do you spell that? And I was like, just getting used to that. And I was like, this is the Pacific Northwest. If you don't know how to spell the cities. And I had to ask that because I knew where you're currently living and I just love that it's that when I was growing up it was the Puyallup Fair and everybody knew you went to the Puyallup Fair, one of the largest interstate fairs that you could ever imagine and then they changed it to the, I think the Washington Interstate Fair, some stupid name like that, I don't know. We're gonna advocate for it to go back to the Puyallup Fair people. I'd agree. mean, even just saying the name, you know, it's so fun rolling off your tongue and you definitely know somebody who's not local when they try to say it. Hehehehehe. and for that matter, to a lesser degree. Same with Spokane, right? I mean, Spokane. Yeah. Um, okay, so, already going off the beaten tra- already going off the beaten trail, and I don't care. um So then, you kind of touched on it, but what degrees do you degree or degrees do you hold and when and where did you get them? Yes, so shortly after you graduated, of a couple years trailing behind, I had gotten my associate degree of nursing from Spokane Community College. And then I went back to do the RN to BSN program through WSU. uh On a side note, those who are from Washington state, uh my dad actually graduated from WSU. My grandpa taught there. And so there was this... kind of family honor and inheritance. You I was the first grandchild to go and graduate from WSU and I never stepped foot on the campus in um Pullman because the sciences, all the sciences are here in Spokane. So I found that rather humorous. But you're still a Coug one way or the other. That's how that works. know, I kind of, I was gonna say there's a lot more purple and gold over here. I'm exercising lots of grace, you know, just to be like, okay, you know, they can have their purple and gold, and that's up to them, but I bleed crimson and gray. That's the thing up here y'all. is a Washingtonian thing. It's always whether you're west side or east side, you know what uh area you belong in. with that, uh having gone through all that fun, what are the three words that you would use to describe nursing school? Oh man. So I would say that it was all consuming. uh It was definitely demanding. I remember, I think that some of it has just like gone into some part of my brain where I choose not to remember. But in pulling the file, I do remember every road trip and everywhere I went, I took books. Like I remember waiting for dentist appointment, I was taking books. I was reading pathophys or pharmacology or something. So all consuming, demanding, I would also say um probably rigorous. I know those are all kind of similar terms, but just to say is that when you graduate from nursing school, the fact that you're standing upright, you you might be wavering a little bit because of you're so exhausted and too much caffeine, maybe a little undernourished, but you have made it. Yeah, yeah, and that's the important bit. Yes, and to put a positive spin on that, like the people that you study with, like my study buddies, you know, we were so close and so tight. uh We had supported Starbucks like nobody's business. So but the friendships developed through that were really, really sweet. Yeah, oh, incredible, incredible. And while we're at it, more traditional opening questions. Your three favorite songs in life right now. Oh man, so I would say I definitely love to, and just to tell you, I'm a Christian faith-based and so I have a lot of worship music that I listen to and right now there's one, On Time God, and then also Promise Keeper by Hope Darst and then Trust You, Seven Hills Worship and that's just something I've been listening to on repeat, but I will say I like a little jazz sprinkled in there. that's incredible. That's absolutely incredible, Christina, and I appreciate you sharing those songs. Those songs are going to be added to the Feeding Our Young Honored Guests playlist that is now 14 hours and counting. It's absolutely insane. And so, and I've mentioned it in the last episode or two, but because I just finally got it up, it's a dream I've had for a long time, but that kind of fell under the category of extra things Eric gets to do when he has the time, which is never. You and I'm so excited about it. But I keep mentioning it and the issue is that Spotify with their playlists, don't, the search engine is not like how it would work for like a singular song or podcast or whatever. So anyone who's listening to it is gonna be like, well, what, how do I find it? Unfortunately, you can't. don't, write in everybody if you're like, ooh, I gotta get ahold of this 14 hour playlist uh to see what honored guests and nurses and the nursing community is listening to, which by the way is everything. Then, shoot us an email and by golly, we'll let you know. I gotta figure out a way maybe to put it on the website, right? Let's make that real. I mean, you get it. I'll share it with you easily because we're connected, right? call in, the text line, we'll send you the, anyway, all right, moving along. Christina, you are uh now ready. for one, we're going all the way back to the nursing school days and you are about to be administered an unofficial quiz. The patent not pending unofficial Feeding Our Young personality test. Are you ready? I think so. I hope I pass. Alright, well, without further ado, you can rapid fire these, you can give rationale if you feel compelled, it's up to you. Would you rather never be able to go out during the day or never be able to go out during the night? ah I would rather the the latter in that you know my Let me say this because I know you work night shift. That was not a good experience for me So me and my bed we have a good relationship. I And that's the time you know that that is the designated time to sleep so I would be totally fine with that I love my sunshine though bed and my circadian rhythm now have a great relationship with me as I've been a date shifter now for just over a year. But yeah, no, night shift is not for anyone. I don't care who you are, but I'm so grateful for it. I loved it and I'm glad for those who can do it, because we need night shifters. Christina, would you rather lose the ability to lie or believe everything you're told? Oh man, I would probably... I don't know, maybe if I said that I would lose the ability to believe everything I'm told, because sometimes if you say it pretty confidently, it might take me a minute and be like, really? I love it. Would you rather never have to wait in line again or always have a parking spot? Ooh, that is the crux of life right now. um I would rather, I think, never have to wait in line because I was gonna say I've had, well, I can tell you just that some of the, when I was over in Australia and dealing with visa stuff, some of the things going through the government was like a nightmare. So anyway, I think I'd probably say that. just because it's, yeah, it's been quite a process. I think dealing with any government, feel like that's the, a lot of red tape, a lot of whatever. Would you rather, now again, the stipulation is, you cannot wish for more wishes. Would you rather have one wish granted today or 10 wishes granted 20 years from now? Ooh, I think I would rather have one wish today. We just, you you don't know what's gonna happen. And so to be able to have that, I think would be preferable. And the deepest question of all five. Isle seat or window seat? Oh, aisle all the way. What I'm finding is people are very passionate about this one. Like they're like, no, no, it's definitely this one. Like that end of story. uh But the results are in. Christina, you are outstanding. Congratulations. Thank you. Well, let's get to know just a little bit more about you because I love your answers to a couple of things you sent me as far as things you wanted to talk about and all of that business. the very first question I want to ask you is what fictional character do you most align yourself with or identify with? I would probably say I have just fallen in love and I'm sure many women have as well with Elizabeth or Lizzie in Pride and Prejudice. It's just such a, you I just love how she's the underdog and ends up with just, that she really doesn't compromise herself and ends up that Darcy ends up, they end up together, but it was because she didn't, you know, she was just being herself. So it's just a really cool story and I love her fiery kind of sparky personality. Yes, and not that I read a lot of uh romantic fiction or even that era fiction, but Pride and Prejudice I'm very, very acquainted with and it is one of the strongest female fictional characters you could ever... Anyone who's not read it or seen the BBC series or seen the movie remake, go do yourself a favor and get acquainted with that story. Also, I love your answer to the following question. What is your superpower? my superpower is being okay with being weird. And we can dive into that a little bit more, but I've just gotten to a place where I'm like, well, here we go. I told you a little bit, but where I absolutely love, I'm passionate about health and nutrition and it's changed my life. But I've gotten to the place where when I was working acute care, I would have all my supplements in a bag and you know, there were multiple and people were like, my gosh, you take all those. And I'm like, yes, like this helps me feel better. Ha and I drink electrolytes and I put bone broth in my coffee and I've just gotten to a point of accepting that I'm like, you know what? I will accept being weird to feel good. And that's one of the things that I'm just like, it's quite humorous, but even when I'm also very particular about salt, em I like uh pink Himalayan salt and there's a particular brand that I really like, you know, and looking where it's mine, but I have a little container of travel salt that I take to restaurants. probably people are embarrassed to be with me, but that's okay. I am okay with being weird. And then um kind of on that line, I was gonna say, also, I love movement and exercise. So sometime if I'm in line for something or waiting for a restaurant seat, like I'll find a bench and do some, um you know, do some small squats or whatnot. And people are staring at me, but I'm like, look, you know, I gotta fit them in. I didn't get a workout in today. So it's just. I feel like that's my superpower is being okay with being weird and just accepting that. I love that because some of us, it takes a while to embrace that side of ourselves. You know what mean? I'm sure there's some people out there who aren't weird in any way, shape, form. I don't know who they are. I've never met them. uh But those of us who are, ah the sooner you accept it, embrace it, and don't care what other people think about it, the more free and enriching life you'll live. Wouldn't you agree? Exactly. Well, and even to say like I feel good. And so when people tease me about that, I'm just like you you stick to your pizza and fried chicken. Like just let me let me drink my bone broth in peace. There you go, that's it. Now, What were some of the things that you've done in your life that maybe fell under that umbrella called weird? So actually, when I was growing up, I did competitive Highland dance. And that is definitely for a lot of people that is weird. Incredibly. I feel like though, for the for the Scots and you know, just the the Celtic history, people are so proud of their history and whatnot. I it was very very strict in the teaching, you know, just the way that you learn the it was down to like the minute movements and the way things were judged. Like when you compete and I did the sword dance and I had a full kilt outfit. And actually, I remember even competing during the summers, I would get a kilt tan. And that was where my wool socks would come up below my knees. My kilt would be down to my knees. And I would just have this line, literally this knee line of of you know, being tan because that's all that was exposed. And uh you can chop this out if this is not appropriate. But one of the things actually, so with a kilt, it's like three or four pounds of wool. And I had the beautiful uh dress, blue Lindsay. It was absolutely gorgeous. Loved it. But uh when you dance, one of the things was that the kilt would swing side to side. And so the majority of people doing it were women. were definitely some men. Traditionally, it was a male dance and then because it's a war dance. ah majority of people competing were women. But one of the things they judged you on is whether you had either dark underwear or the underwear matched your kilt. And there was one time in a competition I got uh points taken off because my underwear, it was neither. so uh not that you can see it a whole lot, but just in the swing. so I was like, I I didn't win my medal because my underwear didn't match. uh I've never heard this before in my life. I love doing this job that I call my podcast because it's like there's a little fun fact that I never knew just about that whole thing. just in case. Well, or in case I ever go kilt dancing, I'm gonna have to make sure that my underwear matches. Okay, all right, before we go beating down that trail too far, there's your fun fact, everybody, enjoy. But no, it sounds like you were very, at least very passionate about it, right? While doing it and that sort of thing, a very, incredible release. um And before that, you mentioned this nutrition, wellness, et cetera. I know that you are supremely passionate about this, and I'm going to just flip the normal script on its head. Let's lead off with that. Let's talk about why is this such a passionate thing for you, when did it come into play, and what do you want people to know about it? Yes, so I have this passion with health and nutrition partially because um it's something that has changed my life. And it was actually probably 10 years ago or so I was a symptomatically anemic. And that was interesting to me because my labs were fine. um But during when I would get my period, I was not only exhausted, but I would have to put my head down on the desk and I just had this deep fatigue behind my eyes and I was like, what is wrong with me? And I think that happens when you don't feel good, that you're just like, because the symptoms are so nagging and you're like, what is wrong with me? What is wrong with me? And you're so focused on that. And so that ended up with me going on a journey. ah I also at the time, I'll self admit, was a sugar addict. ah I would bake a plate of brownies or a tray of brownies and eat two thirds of them by myself. Like I absolutely loved sugar and that's something that I craved. ah Pasta and things like that. But I just found that I just really didn't have self control. And I was like, between multiple things, I started asking some questions. And um so that was kind of around the time that the Paleo diet was starting to come on scene. People were looking at that. And so I did some research. I had some friends who were doing it and I was like, well, you know, I want to at least go towards that. And I had done that, but there were a lot of like desserts that you could substitute just with healthier options. I through that ended up going um and just doing keto. And it was very experimental, just kind of figuring out like what felt good and nourishing when I would eat that, but that led me to figuring out for me, I just really do need a lot of red meat. ah And I actually discovered uh desiccated organs, which you're probably like, you know, eww. But just to tell you is that, well, there's no taste, but it was something that has been an absolute game changer for me where again, going from especially consistently every month and where I had energy, but you we know as nurses with anemia, if you do not have all the parts for your hemoglobin to carry oxygen, you are not going to feel well. You are not going to feel your best. And um so that was just something that was absolutely a game changer. And I started to have more energy consistently. And it took me on a journey where I was like, I can actually feel good. most days. You know, of course there are days you don't sleep well or whatever, but I was like, this is amazing. And that's basically been on this journey to make better food choices. Believe me, I still like dessert and I love that food is an expression. Cooking is creative. Um, but it has this journey just with health and nutrition has just led me to realizing how good and vibrant I can feel in a physical sense. And that relates to mental health that relates to my movement. So, tying that into nursing um to tell you that one of the things I, like you Eric, I love to precept. um I love to be able to provide a good experience for students when they would come onto the unit. I was medical oncology in the hospital and acute care is crazy um in any way, shape or form. And so to be able to really provide an experience where a student feels valued and wanting them to feel safe to ask questions and things like that. That was really my heart. But so much that there wasn't time. But one of the things that I would always do with my students at the end of the day, said, hey, I want to give you this little post-it note. These are the products that I have found to be really, really helpful. Whether you purchase them or not, totally up to you. But these are things that I would recommend, especially when you're starting out. And just to tell you is one of the things I feel is that in nursing, there's kind of this, ah I don't know if you'd say catch-22, but management on one hand is saying like, oh and especially as new grads, like, you need to take your breaks. You need to, ah you know, avoid picking up shifts or be careful of how much overtime, you know, we throw around the word self-care. But this is management that's trying to say like, okay, you need to take care of yourself. But on the flip side, and I know there's government standards, I know that there's things that are necessarily in our control, but that from management is coming, you know, the greater demands, you need to do in time charting, real time charting, you need to make sure that you're turning patients every two hours, you need to make sure that you are, whatever it is, you know, but there's more demands, you need to make sure you're doing your Q4, you need to do your hourly rounding. So there's a lot of things that are pulling on our demand and just in the nature that the hospital system, healthcare, the hospital system do not mesh very well with the ability for a nurse to take care of oneself. And that even includes bathroom breaks, that includes going to lunch and things like that. So one of the things that I really have a mission is to help equip, especially new grads, coming in because you will miss lunch breaks. You will have to stay late. And that can be so hard and so discouraging in a mental sense, but also where you are famished. You haven't eaten. Your patient at the end of the day is crashing. You are now having to upgrade and your brain is not working because you haven't been able to literally feed your body. So in saying that, one of the things that I recommend to all all nurses really, but to new grads especially, is I really recommend getting beef sticks. Beef stick, turkey sticks, I am a little bit particular with brands and I like to go with grass-fed, um maybe fermented. You'd want to look at the quality of the product. But just to say, is that something that doesn't require refrigeration? You can put it in your locker. And to share is that even when I started on residency, I kept these in my locker a lot better than Reese's or Cheez-Its or whatever. There's protein in there. It's something that will fuel your brain. Doesn't require refrigeration. But I had a coworker who, exactly like I was talking about, you know, it been a tough day. ah We were, for MedSurg, five to one ratio, and it was the end of the shift. She was having to upgrade someone. I don't think that she had even gone to lunch, and she was just, she was doing well considering, but just that your brain does not have the fuel to work. Yeah. So that was one thing is I actually ran to, I was asking her what can I do to help? And she's kind of just trying to figure out what to do next. And she had already called the doc and chart nurse was aware the patient needed to be upgraded. But it was just, and I'm sure you know that look, it's just kind of that, okay, spinning, what do I need to do next look? And then the next thought after that is how long am I gonna have to stay at a chart ah to do all this? So I actually told her, said, hey, let me run to my locker. I have a couple of beats, I have something for you. And so I grabbed the beef stick and It was actually a lifesaver for her and she gave me a hug afterwards. But that's something that I recommend to nursing students in particular and just saying, you you may not get your breaks. Management will tell you otherwise, but just that life happens. You know, you're going to be slower at first. So just be prepared in those senses and just have something to be able to nourish your body, not something that, you know. They're probably gonna have pizza and donuts in the break room, but that's gonna, we know that's gonna give you a blood sugar spike and without any protein, you're gonna feel worse afterwards. And that can just lead to that feeling of overwhelm that you're already experiencing as a new nurse. So pack those beef sticks, keep them in your locker, have those available, grab them when you can. And another one of my favorite things that I recommend is electrolytes. my gosh, I cannot sing enough praises about electrolytes. And another thing probably on the unit, and I started during COVID. So I actually started on my unit 20, 21. That was the residency and we were the COVID unit. It was supposed to be, you know, medical oncology and essentially where it was COVID. So full PPE. And just that the morale then was really... overwhelmed and people were being burned out and just when is this going to end? And so I was trying to do my little part and go around and I had this container. It was this tub of electrolytes and I was going to the break room and making people little cups of electrolytes because I was like, if I can't, you know, I can't change the circumstances, but wanting to infuse not only morale, but like it has made such a difference for me. And I'll tell you the story where I really start discovering electrolytes again. I'm kind of a, I don't know if you'd say I'm a informal biohacker, like there are things I'll try and we're getting to nutrition and science now where there's a lot of things probably when growing up that people said, oh, that's weird. Oh, that's bad for you. And now we're coming back around and saying, oh, maybe we were wrong. So my philosophy is like, hey, you know, don't knock it till you try it. There have been some very interesting things that I've tried and but I've stuck with things that have worked for me. And electrolytes has been one of them. And I discovered that actually I was doing some research about following a physician on Instagram who really talk the talk and walk the walk, do workouts every day and uh was looking into some research that she had shared about taking a shot of pink Himalayan salt before she did workouts and finding that she had increased capacity for her workouts. And I was like, that's interesting. And so doing that led me down the trail to look into electrolytes. And again, just where I was doing, I was in South Carolina actually, before I moved back up here and this was COVID testing, full PPP in the South Carolina heat, ah know, 10 plus hour shifts. And I had started taking electrolytes and I didn't get that two o'clock slump. Plus I noticed an increase in energy and I wasn't dehydrated. I wasn't going home and like, you know, absolutely exhausted beyond, you know, just couldn't get up. And so I started to clue in and think maybe there's something to this. So fast forward coming back to Washington, I was making people, you know, cups of electrolytes because I had been so convinced with what I was experiencing. And as nurses, Eric, you know, we've got, uh I'll call it the nurse walk. It's kind of the nurse run. uh tell my students, so I'm 5'2 and I'm pretty short. I'm pretty petite, but I have guys that, you know, have legs twice as long as me. And I'm like, come on, we got to keep going. yep, you got to go. Got to make time. Sorry, we'll debrief later, but you got to keep up with me. you know that nurses have a high pace. um And along with that, the notorious thing where you don't really or I should say always have time to use the bathroom. You don't have time to drink water. And so when you do drink water, you have 2.5 seconds, probably literally, to stop by the drink station, chug something. But I do not like the taste of plain water. ah So I wouldn't really drink it. And ah you have 50 other million things to work on. And of course, patients are calling. And as an outstanding new nurse, that's the thing that you want to do, is you want to do well for your patients and serve every need and be on top of things. And so... Water, potty breaks are lower on the list. So with electrolytes, that was one thing I found is just that I love the taste of something other than just plain water. And we know even scientifically that our cells need nutrients. so um nurses often, we start with caffeine first thing in the day, we get dehydrated. That's probably one of the things along with the workload, the physical demands that deplete us. ah But with electrolytes, and especially if you start with electrolytes first thing in the day, you're less likely to be dehydrated because you have the salt, the sodium, you have the magnesium, you have the chloride and all these things that you're peeing out. And nursing students, we know that these are important. These are the electrolytes. These are the things that keep us running, keep our heart going. So if we don't have that, no wonder you're feeling exhausted. I that is something that I love and I love to share with my nursing students because I'm like, please make sure that you're hydrated. And I try to set the example. not always the best at that, but I try to, I put my electrolyte container right next to my water, make sure that I'm refilling that. And again, it's flavorful, I'm drinking it throughout the day, but it really helps me with avoiding that two o'clock slump. And ah when I leave work, yes, I am physically, emotionally and mentally fatigued, but it is not so inexhaustible. And I think that the electrolytes protect that. Yeah. a way, because you're not as dehydrated, so there's not as much to rebound from. Awesome. And by electrolytes, just clarify, because I'm assuming you're not talking about a big old bottle like Gatorade. What are you talking about? Yeah, so again, there's specific brands that I've used and I try to look for the ones. I know there's Liquid IV at Costco and you can use whatever brand you prefer, but I definitely prefer to have minimal or no amounts of sugar. Just because for me, I prefer to eat my calories rather than drink them. So that's personal preference, but um I think Liquid IV is definitely gonna be better. But again, just that there is a lot of sugar in that. Same thing with Gatorade. So if that's all you have, can do that. you're definitely gonna feel better if you can find something that isn't as high sugar because again, that's less of a spike and a crash. So to look for and look for things, um you can always look at companies that have, I like to look at companies that have integrity in general, that they really put people first. the quality of their products, where they source their, where they source eh the minerals and electrolytes, where, you know, trace minerals, where are they coming from? How much are they? So that's something for me, but absolutely. I usually get, and just because I use them so much, I usually get a tub in bulk with a scoop. And that's what I said. So I would recommend if you do that, maybe ah buy a tub. You can do the individual packets if that's easier for you. ah but usually the tub is less expensive. And again, I know you've just come out of nursing school. Let's talk about budget, saving money, maximize those dollars. So that's what I recommend. But anything to keep you, if you need to keep a little electrolyte packet in your pocket, if that's what will help you keep hydrated and ah be able to feel better, do that. Awesome. Thank you so much, Christina. Like, I'm like sitting here going, huh. I keep, I, the problem is I keep meeting with awesome people and awesome people tell me things that I don't currently do that I'm like, hey, hey dummy, listen, this isn't, this isn't just for someone who's listening on the podcast. Hello. ah So I'm, you're just yet another wonderful human being. in what's becoming a growing line of human beings. And I've made some changes over the years, but I'm also like, it's like, okay, I need to stop being stubborn in whatever area, you know? And I guess, let me segue that into nursing student and whoever's listening to other nurses, et cetera. First of all, you're never too old to change. I'm proof of that. I drink mushroom soda. That's a sentence I never thought I'd utter in my life. And yet here I am and I enjoy it. I love it. I can't wait for it. It is my work go to drink. um That being said, that's the bow does help besides the running. That's what you get. That's that's the health that Eric does. I am still a junk food addict, still a sugar addict, still all the things and various attempts at trying to kill those things over the course of the years. But um take it in baby steps. and even just to say, just to encourage you, Eric, because one of the things I think as nurses is we know what we're supposed to do. We know that we're supposed to do better. But to be honest, let's talk about the readiness theory. We talk about this with our patients where we go to a patient who is non-compliant with their medications. And we expect, we may chart educated patient. patient verbalizes understanding or whatnot, but they may or may not ah be compliant with that and that may be what we're charting patients not compliant with medications but to understand and even for us like you you talking about This has been a process and this has been a process for me and I'll just tell you one of the things is again my superpower being I'm okay with being weird, but that's because I have felt I have found that it is better for me to look weird or be weird and feel good And that's something that you discover. if you started, and just to encourage you, I like to talk about the 1 % rule where you start somewhere. And exactly like you were saying, you start with 1 % where, and I'm gonna tie this in, because again, nutrition related to exercise. even talking about you make a 1 % change, that is 1 % better than what you were doing. And that 1 %... plus another 1 % plus another 1%, like it adds up. Consistency is more important than perfection. So you make a 1 % change and that is going to impact you. mean, yes, we wanna do a whole overhaul. You wanna make sure that all your food is organic. You wanna exercise and workout every day and you wanna get sunshine and do all these things. And that's great. But that may not be realistic right now, depending on what capacity you have. You just graduated from nursing school. Your brain needs a break, all these things, but. you can make a 1 % change. And to tell you, that's even how I approach exercise. Yes, I love to go to the gym. I love to be able to dedicate half hour to an hour, be in that space, listening to podcasts while I'm doing that. But um you may not be able to. And so one of the things, do exercise snacks, do 1%. Take a band. here's another tip. While you're studying, take a resistance band and put it around your thighs. Just use that a little bit. with resistance and you will actually be working your glutes and your thighs while you're sitting. ah know, set a timer for an hour when you're studying and get up and walk. Even if it's for one minute, that 1 % that you add into your life will make a difference. also just to tell you, kind of wrapping that up, but just to say is that even with exercise and again, we say like, you should, you know, you should be working out and that's important for nurses. Yes, it is. I've actually even I'm sure you probably know, uh nurses who have back problems or knee problems or things like that. Again, I'm five to I'm I'm strong, but I'm petite. And, know, when you have three hundred, four hundred pound patients and, you know, you the management is saying that, you know, be safe and lifting, but you don't have time to find the proper number of people, your short staff or whatever, like. It's a question of how you're gonna do that. So basically to say is I really do exercise on the part because I have to keep my back strong. But again, where sometimes it's just that 1%. It's that 1 % that adds to that. And even where related back to food and nutrition, um again, you don't have to do a whole overhaul, but if you're taking, I recommend to nurses and nursing students, um Again, I have found supplements that work really well for me. I take the desiccated organs and some other things. And again, it doesn't matter to me how I look because I feel better. I have a better quality of life. I feel more energized. um Our food just doesn't have the nutrients that we need. And so that's one thing I would recommend no matter what your diet is to do really high quality supplements. And again, look at the brand. Do they have fillers? What is the company? um Just because there's some that are going to be expensive pee and again, we want to make our money count. So like look for high quality supplements. um But just to say is that is one thing is it feeling better is going to be the first step towards living. You know, when you end your shift, when you're off instead of just yes, absolutely. You need a rest day. You need to make sure that your body is resting because you have been physically, emotionally and mentally. Drained so resting absolutely is important But if you're getting the trace minerals and you're having really good supplements to supply what? We're missing in dot in the diet. You are going to feel better in general when you feel better in general You're gonna be more motivated to get outside to engage with your family to cook healthy meals. So that's just what I would say um Looking into an investment you know, pick the best that you can afford. But that's what I recommend to students because you have just maxed out your brain. You worked hard to get to this place and that's amazing. I commend you. But invest in yourself with some supplements that are going to be high quality, that are going to help you feel better so that you can be, you can have longevity in your job, but also you can be present in your home life, the life that you work so hard to build by going to nursing school. So that I would say is a cornerstone in that and that foundation of the supplements is gonna help you feel better. And when you feel better, you're gonna be able to truly live and have satisfaction in the things that you do, work, school, home, life. I'm going to echo that. And as I'm sitting here listening to you, my brain is going rapid fire. And there's three things, three things I want to add to what you're saying. And then I'm looking at the time. See, you ready for a part two of the Christina Peterson experience? OK, so three rapid fire thoughts and then do not miss episode two, because episode two, we're going to talk a little bit about some of the challenges Christina's faced. going to talk about her career and her career path, because she's got a very fascinating one at that. You guys are doing the math like, well, you started in COVID, so it's only been five years. anyway, we'll get there. That's part two. Don't miss it. But rapid fire. So number one off of what you just said. um Just the idea of feeling better and being more energized and, you know, that maximizing your potential. Right. uh I don't have a lot of experience in that, but my most recent and again, not throwing nightshifters under the bus in any way, or form. was a lifelong nightshifter. I will always, always, always advocate for nightshifters. for me personally and because I'm older now. But uh doing night shift and now having been almost a year and a half on the day shift side of things, people are like, Eric, how do you do all the things that you do? This is not a tooting my own horn, but this is, you know, I work full time bedside. I work, I do edge on clinical instruction and I've got this, you know, tiny little project that consumes much of my waking hours when my family's asleep and things of that nature. um But I'm doing two and a half, three jobs. And everyone's like, how do you do And you run and you da, da, da, da. And I'm like, the wise crack of course, it's like, well, what drugs are you on? And my response is always, no, my response is, I love it. My response is always though, it's the drug that I'm on is high on life. um Because I have never felt so good, like just that one change, moving from night shift to day shift. You think you've got it and I had it the best that I could have it and the best that I could have it wasn't as good as it is now. And so I just have an abundance of energy now plus the internal motivation and all of the, I mean that's a whole different discussion. But from a physical standpoint, I'm no longer limited by that choice that I was making. That's thought number one. Thought number two, you're talking about the being weird. And you know, I'd rather feel better and don't care if people think I'm weird. There is, there's social stigma. attached to, right? Like, oh, you know, you want to go grab a bite to eat, let's go to Taco Bell, let's go to McDonald's, let's go to, whatever the case may be. Yeah, let's make it happen. And that is socially acceptable. So is caffeine. So is, you know what mean, so many other things that maybe, you know what I mean, everything in moderation, et cetera, et cetera. But all that being said, some of those things that are socially acceptable doesn't mean that it's healthy and doesn't mean that it's helping us. And the third thought. And the only other thing I want to add to that was the rubber band effect, right? And that's where I was going with my life is just that, okay, man, I've had those times where I'm like, okay, no, no, no, we're going to cut out the bad chips, we're going to cut out the fast food, we're going to cut out da-da-da. And I did that for a stretch and it was great. And I'm stretching and I'm becoming better. You know what I mean? I'm like, okay, this is better. This is better. And then something happens or you're, you know what I mean? You're eating your feelings or you're just like, man, I'm craving this. it's been quite a while, but I really want to, you know what I mean? I'm just, I'm going to indulge. And so whatever happens, it doesn't matter what the thing is. The point is then the rubber band comes back a bit. But if anyone who's ever had to use a rubber band, you know that when you stretch a rubber band and you let it go and you stretch it again and you let it go and you're stretching it for a period of time and you let it go, it never returns to its original shape. It loses a bit of that elasticity. And in this case, this is a good thing for us. So for my example is me stretching that rubber band. we've incorporated this mushroom soda, OliPop, things of that nature, low sugar, high fiber, high whatever, you know what mean? These beneficial things, at least more beneficial than say my Pepsi addiction for my entire life. And you come back and I'm like, okay, the one thing that has changed permanently for me is soda. So much so that someone at work just this week... was so nice and brought us, you know, like some muffins and stuff and this little she she'd got this little can of soda and gave me this little can of Pepsi and it was just a weird moment for me because I'm like, that's weird. Like I don't want to drink this and yet I have my whole life. So anyway, take that for what it's worth. Listener, do the 1%. I like the 1 % at a time. Go ahead and stretch that rubber band when you are ready and when you are able. I know that also it's like well, what comes, you know, the cart before the horse, what comes first, the chicken or the egg, all these euphemisms to say, well, I don't have time to start. Okay, then start somewhere, start somewhere small. Because if you wait until you have time, it won't happen. It will not happen. Absolutely. just to add to that, Eric, real quick, just to encourage listeners, one of the things is that, speaking to new grads and even nurses in general, one of the things is that I find is that we it depends on what lens you are calculating value. And for instance, you have just come through and paid for nursing school and there's a financial value. ah And now you're looking at your health and you're saying, well, pizza is cheaper. or you're saying that I can't afford supplements. One of the things I would just challenge you to think about is the value that you're looking through things because I've gotten to a place that I say I cannot afford to not feel good. And that's one of the things that I choose to invest in and that's why. So another thing just to say, as nurses, we see patients come through the hospital all the time from different diseases, chronic diseases, things that happen. It costs a minimum And Eric, you can defer me on this, but it probably costs a minimum of $3,000 a day to stay in the hospital. You're getting work up for an infection. You're getting blood cultures. Well, that's a minimum of three days for your blood cultures to come back, right? To determine what infection you have to get treated with antibiotics for them to release you home. So we're talking $9,000, give or take. Insurance is an all-time high. and thankful that we work in an industry that we have insurance. However, what would the cost be if you spend, I'm just gonna throw out a number where let's say you spend 50 to $80 a month on supplements. That may seem like a monetary cost where, oh man, I can't spend 50 to $80. And again, you can do some research, look at companies, things like that. But my question would be to you, you are under high stress. you are in an environment where the germs are rampant, dealing with respiratory illnesses. um Unless you live in Arizona, there's, you know, cold and flu season because of the weather, all sorts of things. So just saying is like, can you afford not to? Is this something that you and you just have to look at that with the cost? Because, yes, you have sick time, but what would it be? What would be the cost of investing in your health? And so that's one of the things my mom actually read a book called Cruise Ship. or nursing home. And this was part of my journey as well, where my mom actually really started to look at some nutritional things, but she made a huge change in her life where she decided at, in her sixties, that she's like, I'm going to be proactive. And she started taking supplements. She started changing her diet. And again, one thing at a time, but she has made a choice where she is active. She gets out of chairs. She walks all the time. She's living life, but that's because she's invested in that, where that is more than just a monetary value. You've been through nursing school and it's hard, but we're also facing your next step now is that you have to choose a hard and that hard is going to be how you're gonna take care of yourself and what you're gonna invest in. So that hard may be, I'm just, you I'm overwhelmed, I'm gonna ignore that, I can't deal with that right now. And that's okay, I understand that. But just keep it on the radar and be thinking about that because your hard may be when you get sick, if your immune system's down, you know. nursing continues to be stressful with the pace. Things are being added more and more to the demands. ah Also to say, one thing I was going to throw out just in terms of like mental health, I know that there are, know that nursing is stressful. I think anyone who, especially acute care, anyone who's in that. If you are taking antidepressants for anxiety or depression, one of the things just to be aware of is they actually can deplete your electrolytes. And so you may end up with side effects that might not necessarily be on the package insert. And for instance, I knew someone who was struggling with restless length syndrome. Turns out the antidepressant she was taking was actually depleting her magnesium. Nobody told her that. So just saying that these are things that if you're taking medications or what's happening, we're having increased stress. So just my encouragement to you, you are doing awesome. You graduated nursing school, but you are worth taking care of. And that is why I'm just wanting to admonish people to look into this because you are worth living the life that you have worked so hard for and to not just feel crappy and be in a cycle. um But there's so much and you've worked so hard. And so my admonishment is just to look at your health and your life through that value and say, how can I not afford? to take care of myself. And again, start somewhere. Maybe with this podcast, write down one thing that you can change. Start there and give yourself a high five for that. Get a sticker. and give yourself the 1%. Let's start the 1 % and it feels like it's tiny and it's not gonna move the needle and it's not, not really upfront, not right away. But then you add another 1%, you add another, you add another, add another, guess what? Eventually it's gonna do it. So with that, not, I know half of you are like half of me and you're energized by this conversation and the other half of you are like the other half of me. And you're like, oh, these two people are like. I hear it from my mom, hear it from my, I don't wanna hear it from you guys, my gosh. Don't miss episode number two. And again, you take whatever you want from all this previous discussion, utilize what you can, when you can and when you're ready, and it will change your life for the better. Now we're gonna move on to part two. uh Do not miss the second episode of the Christina Peterson experience. We're gonna talk about some personal and professional challenges and other. tips of advice just to help you make it into transitioning through nursing school and into transitioning into practice. So, Christina, you ready to rock? All right, we'll see you on the flip side.