Bend Into Balance: Holly Ladd, Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach

Holly Ladd is a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach and Nationally Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach. Holly draws on her experience and education in teaching and communication to work with her clients to help them uncover the root cause of why they can’t make the changes they are looking for and to support them in finding their personal pathway to their health and wellness visions. She has helped clients lose weight, calm autoimmune symptoms, lower blood pressure, improve their outlook on life and regain energy and their zest for life. Clients enjoy her approach because it’s fun, self-directed and never overwhelming. In the end, Holly wants her clients to feel as good as they possibly can and knows that we all have more control over our health than we think. In addition to coaching client, Holly also served as a Course Facilitator at the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy mentoring coaching students to develop and refine their skills. 

Most recently, Holly has become interested in the role of muscle in aging well and has been working on her own body composition  to build more muscle. Holly enjoys the Bend lifestyle including cycling, mountain bike riding, hiking, paddle boarding, nordic skiing and working out, along with meditation, travel, reading, introducing her friends to healthy foods, an occasional glass of good wine and walking and playing with her dog.

Holly Ladd 
Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach 
National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach
NASM Certified Personal Trainer

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:16

Hello, my name is Adriana Marino, and I'm the host and producer of Bend into Balance Powered by the Source. Today I am with Holly Ladd, Board Certified Functional Medicine Health and Wellness Coach, as well as a personal trainer. And I've had the chance of getting to know Holly for the last couple of years as she has been a mentor to me, and we are now also colleagues at the same telehealth workplace that we both are collaborating with. Holly, thank you so much for being here. I'm so excited to pick your brain because, like I just said, you were a mentor to me and I learned so much from you. Thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

Oh, thanks, Audrey. Thanks for the invitation to come and talk about something that I think we're both really passionate about and that I've been doing for um gosh 13 years now in this space. Uh so I really appreciate the invitation. It's been wonderful uh getting to know you as well and finding a fellow kind of same mindset, right? Same sensibilities here in Bend. And uh yeah, I just look forward to having a conversation about um health coaching and health and well-being and how we support our clients to be the best that they can be. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Thank you, Holly. So I would, you know, I something I do not know about yourself. How did you start this path? This path, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

So um my life has been a long journey of trying different things. And uh in 2010, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, and it was pretty serious and uh it eye-opening. And I sought out a um functional medicine practitioner, Dr. Mark Hyman, who I think you're probably familiar with. Went to his clinic. In Cleveland? In no in Massachusetts, okay, in uh Lennox. Got it.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Saw one of, didn't see him, I saw one of his doctors, but it was a whole new approach to medicine and looking at, and so because when I went to the rheumatologist, he's like, Well, uh, we don't know what causes it. There is no cure, you're just gonna be on methotrexate for the rest of your life. And I said, No, I'm not. I said, There's a reason my body is doing this, and so I would like to understand why. And so after tons of tests, you know, as you know, blood test, digestive, stool, everything, every part of me was tested. You know, you just learn about what's under the hood and you you think you're running well, and then all of a sudden something happens, and you just realize that all of these, you know, if if I had sensor lights on my dashboard, they all would have been on, but we don't operate like that. So slowly but surely, I started to reverse my symptoms over the next, you know, it probably took about four years to kind of get fully healed. Four years. And this was under the supervision. The supervision of yeah, his clinic, his doctor, it was Dr. Dog Todd Lapine, who's wonderful. And it was a lot of dietary changes, it was lifestyle changes, it was lowering my stress levels, it was some supplementation, I had some imbalances, inflammation, you know, all those things that we now know are sort of evil culprits. And once I started to feel better, and it was probably, you know, two years after maybe 2012, I started to really feel much better. And I was like, you know what? I wasn't satisfied with what I was doing at the time professionally. Um, and I really wanted to give back and like prevent others from having this like shock, surprise, diagnosis, and going through what I went through. Um, so I looked into becoming a nutritionist, but that didn't quite do it. I looked into, you know, I didn't want to go to medical school. I was in my 50s and just first of all, I can't stand blood, so that wasn't an option for me. And I don't know, I just found heard about this career called health coaching. And I thought, wow, that sounds interesting. I had been a teacher, that's part of my background. I've been in education, I was a sports coach, so knew a little bit about coaching. Anyway, long story short, I went to this program, um, learned a bit and wanted to learn more, and went to another program called the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy, where it really dove deep into good coaching practice. And um yeah, so I, you know, I first got my first coaching certificate in 2013 and then got my sort of secondary one in 2015. And what I learned is coaching is really the missing link in in health and well-being, because it's not about telling people what to do. There are experts everywhere. Right. It's really about empowering everyone in how to eat better, how to uh eat less sugar, how to get better sleep, how to get more exercise in a way that makes sense for them.

SPEAKER_02 5:27

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

You know? So it really resonated with me because it it kept the client empowered. And I wasn't having to fix them, I was just helping them fix themselves and find their own strengths. So uh that's the long-winded story of how I got into it. But it was my own health health uh crisis basically that just shifted me into another direction. That's interesting.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

Because for me, it's quite similar. Yeah. In the pandemic, um, I got some regular lab work and my gynecologist said to me, You have Hashimoto. You need to take Centroid. I'm like, what? You know, and my TSH wasn't even that high. It was kind of this gray area. And I'm like, no, you know, I feel really good. You know, I feel really well. I do not associate, you know, any of these symptoms. Let me look into this. And she said to me, I had a feeling you were gonna say this to me. And so I'm like, I'll see you in a couple of months. And so I looked up also what was body immunity, and I understood the role of stress, the role of sleep, the role of, you know, certain food choices like gluten, like dairy. So I started making a lot of shifts to my lifestyle. Yeah, and I didn't realize that at the time, but I was I applied functional medicine, well, a lot of the principles of functionalitis into myself. Long story short, I've never taken that medication. My TSH levels came out a couple months ago, perfectly normal. Bravo. Yeah, and so that's also what empowered me to wanting to become a health and wellness coach. So we have that in common.

SPEAKER_00 6:54

Yeah, yeah. It's it's an amazing field. And I and people just I still think, you know, it's been around for gosh, probably 20, 30 years. Really? Long? Yeah, I believe it was like maybe the early 1990s when the first concept it was really came out of like some therapy work and um counseling, and um just it's been around, but it's just taken a long time for it to kind of take off. Yeah, you know, and and and for people to really understand the value of what a health coach actually is and how it can actually help doctor like support a medical practice or support um, you know, even therapists. Like health coaches has it's a certain niche that um that is underrepresented. So it's it's slowly building, yeah, but we're we still have some work to do.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

So what tell us about your work, how you serve your client as a health and wellness coach.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

Well, for me, I find that um it's in, it's it's sort of evolved too over the past 10, 13, well, how long of 13 years? As the internet's become more prevalent, as there's more and more information is available online, and there's more and more information about functional medicine, lifestyle medicine, uh stress management, ways of eating, you know, you can find anything on the internet. Yes. When I first started out, it was a little bit about information, like how I'm not exactly sure what to do. And not that I would tell them necessarily what to do, but it was sort of like, well, here's some options and what sounds good to you. And it was really all it's always client-led, client-driven. They're the ones making the choice. And now it's about what information can I trust? And then the most important thing is how do I do this? How do I do this? Like, for instance, I think about one client I had uh several years ago. She had an autoimmune condition, and she just knew that she could do better. And she knew that diet and lifestyle was playing a role, but she couldn't. She had kids, a busy lifestyle, you know, she was an executive. She was just like a busy woman. And she really wanted to do like an elimination diet, which I don't want to get into that because we're not a medical podcast, but it's basically a way of eating to see if your any foods are affecting you, triggering. Yeah. But she just she just couldn't do it. So we just put together a plan and fit it into her lifestyle. And it was a conversation, and there was some experimentation that failed, but it all failure is a learning moment, and we just kind of pivoted from there. And then finally she was able to do it, and she was even able to do it going to Disney World for a family vacation for a week. That's impressive. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

Because it there's nothing harder than changing our diet when we're on vacation.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

Exactly, right? I was like, wow, that's okay. That's gonna be a good test for you. She said, I'm up for it. I have a plan, I have my snacks. She had unpacked, we had put together a strategy. You know, she was feeling she knew the why. And that's the other thing that I think is really important that we do as coaches is help people get really clear on why go to all go jump through all these hoops to make these changes. Like, why is it important?

SPEAKER_01 10:23

Yeah, you know, tap into that intrinsic mode.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

Yeah, tap into your value system and you know, really connecting health to what's important in their lives. Because let's face it, our society is not structured for health, it's structured for sickness, you know, the stress that we carry, the convenience foods, the uh burn burn sedentary lifestyle, you know, all the screens. Screens, exactly. Socially isolated, exactly, just the and just the sort of you know, stressors that we, financial stressors, everything is very stressful. And it's easy to kind of go on autopilot and just kind of, you know, get up every day, do your thing. It's easy. You may not feel great, right? But you know, it's easy. Yeah. Path of least resistance, right? And you know, I think we as health coaches work with people to really understand like why is it worth it for me to cook my own food when I could just go to, you know, wherever and pick up pick up something. Yeah, even if it's Whole Foods, but you know, cooking at home, you're always gonna have a better meal. So yeah, I mean, I think it's really helping people get clear on why. And then, so how are you gonna do it? You're busy. How are you gonna work in cooking? What what schedule are you on? What strengths do you have that you can like lean into, right? So um, I don't even, I think I've gotten way off track with this, but anyway, I helped this woman come up with a plan to do the elimination diet, be successful with it. And she's like, I did it, and for the first time ever, I came back from vacation feeling invigorated. I don't feel depleted, I feel like I still have energy. And she was so proud of her accomplishment.

SPEAKER_01 12:18

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

And she's she's doing great to this day.

SPEAKER_01 12:21

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

So that's one of, I mean, yeah, I there are so many people I could I could talk about who who have benefited from working with a coach.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

You mentioned something um about the missing link.

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

Can you tell me more about that?

SPEAKER_00 12:37

How you see that? Yeah. So actually part of my health coaching journey um was actually working in in partnership with a functional medicine doctor who would give his clients a very extensive medical plan, health plan, and then they would meet with me to figure out how to actually implement the plan. Because if it weren't for the coach, the doctor would just give the plan to the patient. He would stuff it in the pocket. Yeah, and they would stuff it in their pocket or they'd throw it in their glove composite, see you in six months or put it in a drawer and never follow through. Yeah. And and they'd forget about it. And so the the, you know, yes, coaches are an accountability person, right? You meet with us on a regular basis and it's a check-in, a checkpoint. Like, hey, how's it going? You know, we're also, you know, we doctors, I think, um have the best intentions, but they don't necessarily understand human behavior. And I think we are trained in, we're experts in behavior change. Yes. We understand what it takes. And so we can work with the individual. And whether you have a plan from a doctor or whether you just read a book that you're inspired by, that you're like, oh, I really want to try this, you know, diet, or I really want to try this exercise plan, or I really want to work on breath work or breath work or sleep hygiene or meditation, whatever it is, right, that you're inspired to do. A coach can help you like actually do it and do it for life as opposed to do it for two months and then fall back into your old patterns of like, you know, you just forget about it. Yeah. Or something comes up, right? A life, you know, a vacation. You get off your routine and then you come back, you don't come back to it. Or you have a big job, you know, project and you just kind of get out of your routine and you forget. And I think coaches are the missing link because we really connect the the what somebody wants to do with actually doing it and following through and being consistent about it. And how many people have you worked with, Audrey, that are like, if only I were more consistent, right? I mean, I think that's the number time. Yeah, it's like the number one thing I hear from clients is like, oh, if I was only consistent about getting to bed by 10 o'clock.

SPEAKER_02 15:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:08

And so we really work on that consistency. Behavior change, habit change. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And little, little bits. And I think the other thing that's that people um that we tend to do is we push ourselves to take too big a leap, you know, like so true. You know, okay, I I I've been going to bed binging Netflix and I end up going to bed at like midnight. I'm gonna get to bed at 10 o'clock. Right. Which is too big a leap. Unrealistic. Unrealistic. So um just doing it in smaller increments, smaller, smaller little changes, right? Yeah. Um, and and the power is profound because then success spree success. Yes. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

No, it's so true. I mean, whenever we are able to achieve something that we've done all on our own, it just empowers us to want to absolutely reach the next goal, what no matter how small or big that may be.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I was reading a book on um, have you ever read uh James Clear's book, Atomic Habits?

SPEAKER_01 16:11

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:12

Yeah. And he talks about um, you know, someone that wanted to start going to the gym. Uh-huh. And I think the first thing he did was like, just pick out your shoes the night before and put them by the bed. Yeah. And that's all you have to do.

SPEAKER_02 16:23

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 16:24

That's success. And they would pick out their shoes and put them by the bed, and the next morning they would put them on and not even realize that, you know.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

They were one step closer.

SPEAKER_00 16:34

Yeah. It's like, well, that was easy.

SPEAKER_01 16:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:35

And then just put the shoes on and and go to the front door. You know, like this really small little wins. And by the time they have their shoes on and go to the front door, they're like, well, I just might as well go to the gym. Uh-huh.

unknown 16:48

That's great.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

So I think it's cool. Yeah. Uh this concept of just like small incremental changes add up and make you make us feel like we've accomplished something and we want to keep going. Yeah. Momentum. Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_01 17:02

And I think one of the other things, you know, reflecting on this missing link is, you know, how many patients? And I'm thinking of my elderly father, doesn't leave his, you know, bi-monthly visit with his PCP with a long list of medications. And certain things have been tweaked, some things have been dropped, some things have been added. Right. Or and he comes goes to the pharmacy, he picks up all his bottles, you know, he has them at his nights table, but there's no behavior change. He's still eating the same way. He's still not moving the way he should and just yeah, how coaches can help. And that's yes.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

Like I said, it could be a it could be a medical plan that's just like medications. Right. It could be a medical plan that's lifestyle. It could be a combination of both. It could be supplements. It could be, you know, sleep hygiene. It could be anything. And having that coach that help that is not judging you. Yeah. Right. It's fine. Okay. Hey, you you missed taking your pills. Let's figure out what's going on. You know, and just talk through it in a very safe space to help the person realize, like, okay, well, maybe I'm going about this wrong. Maybe if I um took my medicines in, you know, this order, or maybe if I set an alarm, or maybe if I put them out, or maybe like a number of different ways to be successful. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:31

And I'm also thinking, too, like, how if if all clients or patients had a way of working with a coach, how certain medications were not even necessary is what I'm trying to get at. Oh, because he's never made any behavior change.

SPEAKER_00 18:44

I see what you're saying. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:45

To kind of avoid or minimize certain medications. And obviously, have side effects. Yeah. And so what I find, you know, I my father will never accept me as his health and wellness coach. I mean, that's a lost case, but how I would love for him just to start exercising or be more conscious of his food choices, you know, and how, you know, little by little, how these lifestyle changes. And maybe that's what I was, I would be curious to ask you about like, you know, what kind of lifestyle changes are your clients needing and how it the the coach work helped that happen in order to kind of just avoid, you know, yeah, yeah, for sure. Example, neither of us wanted to be medicated on the course. And that's exactly why we reset our nutrition, our movement, our stress management. You know, we looked at social connection, sleep, yeah, and we were able to kind of live, you know, thanks. Yeah, exactly. Till this day medications. We're doing it, we're doing it.

SPEAKER_00 19:38

So, but yeah, if we could think a little bit about those lifestyle change um changes. Absolutely, for sure. Well, I mean, the first person that comes to mind is my mom. And I mean, my mom's pretty healthy. She's 86, she's on one medication. Oh, wow. Just a little something for a heart heart situation. I don't even think it's AFib, but anyway. But she's very open, right? And I I've talked to her about changing her diet for the last probably since I became a health coach. And she's like, Yeah, you know, I think I do probably eat too much sugar. And she just started working out with a personal trainer. No way. Like this spring.

SPEAKER_01 20:16

That is amazing.

SPEAKER_00 20:17

So she's at 86 seeing the benefit of like muscle, muscle, and fitness. And she's like, I get up and down out of the chair much easier. So it's never too late. It's never too late. Um, and I think about um I think of many of my clients I have come to me because they are proactive.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 20:43

They don't want like us, they don't want to be on medication. They don't want to have cognitive decline. They don't want to have cancer. They don't want to have heart disease. They they but they need help figuring out how to lower those risks. Yeah. And so that's been my my experience is like, let's just talk about how to lower your risks for anything serious down the road. And so it is all interrelated. And I have to say that I have over the years, stress is a huge trigger for so many people. Yeah. And a huge issue for so many people.

SPEAKER_01 21:24

I would almost say like the number one.

SPEAKER_00 21:26

Yeah, it really does seep into everything.

SPEAKER_01 21:29

Aspect of life.

SPEAKER_00 21:30

Um, and sleep would be a close second, but I think the two of them are so interrelated. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So really working on um, you know, whether the stress be self-imposed through negative self-talk, through, you know, automatic negative thoughts, through anxiety, or whether it be legitimately from work stress or financial stress or family, you know, issues. Caretaking, you know, that's a huge one. Um just I think clients who learn how to manage their stress, learn how to have deep relaxation, you know, not just watching TV, but deep offline uh relaxation, yeah, really see the benefits of that. Um, and the and you know, then that then that uh sort of is the domino. I I always say that's like the domino behavior, right? And then you'll sleep better. Yeah, and then you'll make better choices with food, and then you'll have energy to exercise, and then you'll have energy to, you know, not snap at your partner or your kids. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. So it's interesting to me over the years to really see like what's what's driving, what's driving what? And I do think stress is a huge driver for poor health for so many people. Yeah, completely agree. I mean, who doesn't reach for, you know, a pint of ice cream when you're just like wigged out, right? You're just like, I'm just gonna have some ice cream, or I just have a glass or two of wine, or you know. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

Can you think of any examples of clients that you've served Holly with high stress that you've been able to, you know, help reframe that stress? And if you I'm curious how you've how you've coached them.

SPEAKER_00 23:33

Yeah, I mean, um I guess part of it uh is to first get them to recognize that they are stressed, uh-huh. You know, that that might be at play. That but secondly, to recognize that stress isn't necessarily a bad thing either. You know, it's excitement sometimes that we we interpret as stress. We, you know, that we use this sort of, oh, I'm so stressed. It's like, but like let's really think about that.

SPEAKER_02 24:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:06

So it's reframing what stress actually is and also recognizing that there are physiological side effects to when our nervous system is feeling pressured and under strain. Yes. Um, so specifically, um one of my recent clients, I'm working with this guy who, young in his 30s, late 30s, um, all of a sudden was having just like anxiety attacks and uh just severe anxiety, and just couldn't handle life the way that he was able to like five years ago. Yeah. Right. And he was like own business, entrepreneur, raising a family, two kids, just bought a bigger house, um, you know, all the trappings of everyday sort of success in America pushes himself a little bit physically, and he just his resilience was gone. He was just like tapped out.

SPEAKER_02 25:12

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 25:12

And so we've really worked on rebuilding his resilience by just taking things a little bit slower and being more gracious with yourself and not starting the day, not going from zero to 60 in half a second.

SPEAKER_02 25:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:32

And just taking some time in the morning to just, you know, I like to call it a beach entry into the day, right? You're just not diving into the deep end, you're just waiting into the day. I like that. Giving your body a chance to adapt to the temperature of the water. Yeah. And this is we've been working now for about three months. Uh-huh. And he's starting to feel like he's got more resilience. He's starting to have more energy. He's starting to feel like he's not snapping with his kids as much. Yeah. He's enjoying his life more. Um, and he's like, you know what? I actually felt like raking the leaves the other day. And I hadn't felt like doing that for a long time. Yeah. So it's like these little shifts. Yeah. And um, yeah, so so for him, stress was just like huge tra a huge um contributor to to what he was feeling and going through. Yeah. And now he's feeling a little bit better. That's wonderful. Yeah. Yeah. But it takes time too. I think people also in our society want those quick fixes. Want those quick fixes, right? It's like, oh, I'll be better in a week if I just meditate every day. It's like now, hold on.

unknown 26:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:42

We have to develop the patience, right? For my autoimmune, right? It took me four years. It took probably 10 years for the condition to manifest in a symptom. Yeah. So it's not going to take a year for them to all go away. It took probably four years for my body to get back to like a healthy place. Yeah. Just be patient with yourself. You will get there.

SPEAKER_02 27:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:04

You know, don't give up on it. Don't give up on something if you don't feel the effect immediately. And I think that's the other thing we do as coaches is to really reassure people that, you know, they're on the right path and share with them other clients that have been through similar situations or your own personal story. Yeah. And help them see, like, oh, okay, I'm not the only one. Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_01 27:30

Um, I often bring other success stories of my clients with my clients. Yeah. And that really inspires them to know that they're not alone. And yeah. Yeah. You mentioned it being a soundboard. Yeah. Tell me about that. How do you feel that in some ways, you know, health coaching, we're obviously not doing any, you know, we're not doing any mental health therapy, but we are a listening board for so many. Listening board.

SPEAKER_00 27:53

Yeah. I I I do feel that there we're not therapists and we are definitely not diving into therapy and, you know, diagnosing and making sort of going going back into childhood, we're we're not doing that. And yet sometimes people just need to get some stuff off their chest. Or they don't have anybody else in their life that they can have these kinds of conversations with that they feel like they can trust and feel super safe. And so a lot of times, uh my client, like I've been working with a couple clients for like many, many, many years. And they'll come to me and be like, hey, I need to run this by you. I need, I just need, I just need to talk this through with with you. Yeah. Right. Uh, because I know you're gonna, I know you know where I'm coming from, and and I know you'll give me um, you'll help me see things that I'm not seeing. And so they, you know, they talk about it and they feel better, you know, they feel heard, you know, and um so in that respect, and and I do think we can ask them questions to help them sort of think things through. Yes. Whether it be like they're in a difficult marriage or a difficult relationship or a difficult job, or um, you know, I have had clients that broke up with their significant others because they saw that they were going in different directions. Like this person wants to still go to bars and hang out and eat crappy food, and I don't.

SPEAKER_02 29:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:21

Or this person or this job is toxic to me, and I really need to find something that's gonna be more supportive. So it's not that we're telling them to do that, we're just having conversations that allow them to come to those conclusions themselves. Yeah. Um, yeah. So I think it's just, yeah, I think it's just an opportunity to be in a very safe space where I do think health coaches are coaches are amazing listeners. We have a great curiosity, not for ourselves, but on behalf of our clients. For sure. We help them, you know. I think uh the other metaphor that I that I use a lot when I used to train future coaches was um, you know, most of us are living our lives, we're down in the trees. And I mean, this is not like an I didn't make this up, right? Yeah, we're living in the trees. We can barely, you know, we're just going along the path and we don't even know where it goes, and we're just kind of on it, right? Right. And a coach, I I think hovers above the trees for people. And we can sort of maybe point them that hey, there there might be another path over there. Like, yeah, what would that look like? Yeah, what what if you're if you were to change directions, where where might it lead you? And we kind of we exist above the trees and can see things and hear things that our clients are saying that they may not even hear themselves saying. Yeah, you know? So very beautifully said. I hope that clear is clear my answer.

SPEAKER_01 30:48

No, it is. Yeah. And it makes me think of something I read. I don't know where I read this, but you know, on my coaching journey, it said, you know, a moment the moment a person feels heard, they begin to heal. Yes. And I feel that that is so true because I have found just like you, that a lot of our clients, they don't have anybody to talk to. Yeah. And even though we're not doing mental health therapy, we are listening and just having them have someone to hear them out and that they can kind of just speak what's on their mind and heart. I recently also had a man close to 40, you know, make the decision to divorce. You know, you know, and and it's going well and it's very well for her too and the children. And it just, it's just amazing how empowering coaching can become. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 31:38

Yeah, absolutely. When people really start to realize um that something is is affecting them in a negative way, yeah, and really also affecting everybody else in that relationship negatively, probably. Um, and they make that decision, it it's really profound to see what can happen. Yeah. Um, and that they actually were like, gosh, I can't believe I was with in that situation for that long. Right. You know? Yeah. Um, yeah, it's pretty, it's pretty amazing.

SPEAKER_01 32:08

Yeah. I think the other thing that coaching really caps into is not only helping build new habits and slowly dismantle bad habits, but also mindset. Yes. How have you found this true in your coaching experience, Holly, that you have many more years than I do? Well, first of all, I would like to hear because I think mindset means different things for different people. But I mean, just like I love this idea of like we we change our story and we can change our life, right? And so, for example, I'm thinking of a client, the one who actually just got divorced. There was no self-love in his life. Yes. He was working for his wife, for his children, for his employees, for his brothers and sisters, for his parents, because he was an entrepreneur and then a successful one at that. And he was doing very well. And he had this idea that he couldn't show himself weak. And so he was taking the burden for everyone, but he was giving himself nothing. Yeah. And I kind of pointed out to him like, where are you in this? You know, like taking care of yourself. And he realized how there was no self-love in his life and he wasn't taking care of himself. And he understood this idea that, you know, the more we take care of ourselves, the more we can take care of others, right? Yeah. And um, and that he really had to put himself first and not in a selfish way. Absolutely. So that's what I kind of mean by mindset, like reframing these ideas, like these stories that we tell ourselves. Absolutely. This is the way it is. You know, I have to be the strong one, I have to be the one who has the answer for everyone. And um, when he saw that, you know, that wasn't serving him anymore, he was able to start exercising, like he's sleeping phenomenally. Oh, that's anyway.

SPEAKER_00 33:46

Yeah, yeah. No, I see what you're saying. Yeah, I get it. Right. And so for for I guess I've seen it a lot with women who feel like they have to take care of everybody first. Yeah. Right. It's like, I need to make sure my my parents are okay, my partner's okay, my kids are okay, and my dog is okay, my job is okay, that everything everything is, I'm taking care of everything else. And then I'll take whatever crumbs are left over for me. Yeah. And really allowing women to give themselves permission to, like you said, put their mask on first, take, take, take care of themselves first, and they will then better be able to take care of all those other people in our lives that are important to them. Yeah. And I'm, you know, certainly we want to take care, we love the people in our lives and we want to take care of them. But when then it starts hurting us, then it's a problem.

SPEAKER_01 34:39

Because it starts hurting our health.

SPEAKER_00 34:41

Because it starts hurting our health. And then if we're not up, you know, running at 100%, then all of a sudden we're we're not caring for the others in the same way that we we want to be.

SPEAKER_02 34:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:50

So again, it's um when I work with somebody like that, I try to tie it to their values, right? And and and their values tend to be like taking care of others, like they really, it's important to them. Yeah. And they want to, they want to show their love and they want to, you know, they value their their families 100%. And then I said, well, imagine if you felt 50% better. How would that influence, you know, you taking care of your family and what's important to you? And then the light starts to go off, like, oh, okay. Because they don't they don't want to be seen as selfish. And none of us wants to be seen as selfish, right? But on some level, you've got to take care of yourself so that you can take care of others, right?

SPEAKER_01 35:42

For sure.

SPEAKER_00 35:42

Fill your bowl first. Yeah, you cannot serve on an empty bowl. No, I completely, you know, yeah, and it I just think it's something, and again, I think it's because we go on autopilot and and we're just we just do it. Like maybe that's what our mothers were like, maybe that's what our family ethos is like.

SPEAKER_01 35:59

Don't even think about it so far.

SPEAKER_00 36:00

Don't even think about it, right? Um, and then all of a sudden we're we're you know, you're exhausted or you're just like not feeling good, and then all of a sudden you're resentful. Maybe you're and you're starting to resent things in your life. Yeah. And uh then your health starts to go down. Autoimmune disease comes out from a lot of resentment. Yes, sometimes. And we it's interesting that it hits women more than men. Uh-huh. Uh so then just helping people give themselves permission, right?

SPEAKER_02 36:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:32

I have permission to take care of myself. And it's not a big, it's not like you're spending 24-7 on uh a day on yourself. Yeah, it's 20 minutes, half an hour, 15 minutes, you know, just little moments of of you time. Yeah, so yeah, I I I agree with that 100%. And also, I think the other part of mindset is I think sometimes people think that they're broken, like something's wrong with them. Right.

SPEAKER_01 37:00

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 37:01

And really pointing out what's right, right? Helping people see what's right with you. Like, look at you. You're here today. You've had this and that and that, and yet you're here. How did you get here? Yeah. Obviously, it took perseverance, obviously it took crit. Obviously, it took bravery, it took humor, it took whatever. And helping somebody see that they're not damaged goods, right? And that that's really, really helped. I I find that to be one of the greatest gifts that a coach can give a client.

SPEAKER_01 37:34

I agree. Because we have that. I mean, I mean, I don't say this as we as coaches, but all of us, I think we see the character strengths in others, but rarely see them in ourselves. Exactly. It's a human trait. I don't know why.

SPEAKER_00 37:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:46

And I think that is very powerful when a coach can kind of re-you know put the mirror to that client and say, look.

SPEAKER_00 37:53

Right. Look at all you have going on. Or let's let's dive in and and explore. You have so much love to give, you have so much generosity, like whatever it is to help them understand that yes, I do have, I'm good. I'm a I'm good. I'm not broken. I'm not damaged. Um, maybe I'm not applying my strengths in ways that help me. Right. And then that's one thing that we can leverage, right? Or strengths. For sure. Um, yeah, it's it's just, I think coaching goes beyond, like, I think some people think coaching is like set a goal, accomplish a goal, you know, meet a goal. And that, yes, that's part of coaching, but there's so much underneath it. There's so much more, like, of what's gonna help help you choose what goal is appropriate for you and help you decide which path you're gonna take to get there.

SPEAKER_02 38:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:45

And um take your whole life into consideration that health isn't just what you eat and what how you move, it's everything. Yeah, you know. And I really feel like coaches help clients um see their the fullness of their life and how every little piece is kind of connected in some way or another. Yeah. Um yeah, so that's really profound, I think, too. It is. Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, I, you know, I could talk about this forever. Um and I do think that I hope people are understanding that, you know, if you were to work with a health coach, that it's not just, you know, goal setting.

SPEAKER_02 39:26

No.

SPEAKER_00 39:27

It's it's it's more than that. Of course, it's not therapy. If you have some deep, you know, right, issues that you have to deal with, a coach is not appropriate. And yet they can support you and help you, you know, implement some ideas because we also know that diet and exercise and sleep and stress play a role in our mental health. For sure, yeah. Right. So we can work on sort of some of the more um physical inputs that support better mental health as well. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:00

How has being a coach, Holly, enhanced your own health and wellness? Um on a personal level.

SPEAKER_00 40:09

Well, I coach myself a lot. Uh-huh. Um, you know, I've as a personal trainer and as a woman in my 60s, I know that, you know, jump training is something that's important, like jumping up on boxes, right? And I was doing it for a while and I just stopped. Uh-huh. I think I had a little knee, a twick tweaked my knee a little bit. And then I was like, ooh, I don't want to do that again because I don't want to tweak my knee. Yeah. And then like several months ago, I was like, you know, I really should start doing my box jumps as again jumps again. Uh-huh. But something was just holding me back. Yeah. Like I wasn't doing it. And I just coached myself, again, what's important about doing the box jumps? What are you going to get out of it? How does that connect to who you want to be? Um, you know, what is it going to give you? How could you do it in a way that makes it safer for you? Feel more safe. And I just worked myself through, worked myself through. So finally, last week, I started doing my dang box jumps again. And it felt so good. Yeah. You know? Uh-huh. So I think it's helped me coach myself. Yeah. Um, it's uh it just keeps me in the game, right? It keeps you.

SPEAKER_01 41:25

We have to preach what we teach.

SPEAKER_00 41:27

Well, yeah, you know, you have to know we have to know what's out there, right? We need to know trends. We need to know what people are talking about, you know. We need to understand labs. We need to understand the, you know, what is it keto? Is it protein? Is it right GLP1s? Is it like what is out there in the health world? So I think it keeps us um up to date, up to date, current reading stuff, you know. I think the other thing is that we're all love lovers of learning. So we we go out and find the latest and greatest, listen to podcasts, listen to different opinions. So it's definitely um made me just much more aware of my own and walking the walk, right? You know, um, like, hey, if I'm gonna be coaching people and helping them live their best life, well, you know, I gotta be trying to live my best life as well. So yeah, completely. Yeah. So that's I think that's been the the nice sort of side effect of coaching. I agree. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, but you really can coach yourself.

SPEAKER_01 42:34

You can, yeah. I agree.

SPEAKER_00 42:36

I do that.

SPEAKER_01 42:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:38

In fact, I think my goal as a health coach is to help clients learn how to coach themselves so they don't need me forever. That's beautiful. Yeah. Is if you can help them understand the questions to ask or the things to think about when they're having a hard time implementing something, yeah. You know, then that's power, right? And I don't want somebody to have to work with a health coach all the time. I want to teach them how to figure things out in the future, right?

SPEAKER_01 43:08

Right. And the beauty of that is that if that person is able to learn that skill, then they can teach it to someone else. Exactly. And then, you know, and then it just kind of trickles. Yeah. And, you know, we can all hopefully be living kind of our best.

SPEAKER_00 43:25

I know. I really am so envious of all the students that I had when I was mentoring future coaches that had young children. Uh-huh. Because I was like, oh man, those children are in good hands. I hope my kids feel that way. I'm sure they do. I'm sure they do. You know, I just think there's something about the the sort of mindset of a coach um that facilitates growth and and development in children. And um, you know, you said mindset. So the other thing I'll just bring up quickly is this notion of growth mindset. Right. Watch that plays in coaching and and Child development education. Yeah. Is you know, people fail and they just beat themselves up. You know, I failed. It's like, no, yeah, it didn't work for you. So let's figure out what might work better. Yeah. Let's let's talk about it. You know, there's nothing wrong with you. You're not a failure. It just wasn't the right approach. Yeah. And helping people get beyond that, you know, um, if I if I did not reach my goal, I failed. You know, especially with kids, right? And and really emphasizing, you know, the effort it takes to be good at something. You're not just naturally gifted, you you work, right? And we're and failure is part of the part of getting better. Yeah. Right. As any athlete will tell you.

SPEAKER_01 44:47

For sure. You know, I also teach and I have a hard time penalizing my students when they make mistakes because I feel that mistakes are just the most natural thing in this world, you know. We we're not supposed to get it right and get it, you know, be perfect all the time, you know. And it's only when we make mistakes that we really do learning. So yeah, I'm always telling my students, you know, don't worry about the mistakes, you know. Yeah, they're a little more cautious because it's you know Spanish speaking and whatnot. But anyhow, um, yeah, I think mistakes are wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 45:17

Yeah, and I think all schools should give kids an opportunity to do it again. Yes, we do, like we do. And we say that too at the school I did it. It's like, hey, okay, write that paper again or take that test again and then give yourself a chance. Um because it's scary, right? There's anxiety. So anyway, we're off on a different topic.

SPEAKER_01 45:35

But no, but growth mindset going into that, like, yeah. And that's kind of speaks to me about just positivity, you know, yeah. It's not, it's not a fail or success. You know, it's just we're not there yet. You know, we're still growing, we're still doing, yeah, we're still learning.

SPEAKER_00 45:52

Yeah, yeah. It's all it's all one big sperm experiment. I mean, we're all living in an experiment, you know, our bodies are an experiment, this life is an experiment. You know, you just have to try stuff on and be open. Yeah, for sure. And helping, helping just expand people's options, right? Of what's what's what's available to them. And the better you feel, the more options you have at your disposal for sure. For sure.

SPEAKER_01 46:19

So it goes hand in hand.

SPEAKER_00 46:20

Yeah. So it's um, I don't know, what's your what's been your sort of most rewarding to you about working as a health coach?

SPEAKER_01 46:28

For one, trying to be authentic and knowing that I have to, you know, what you know, to use your phrase again, you know, walk the talk and just being really mindful of the choices I make. Um not necessarily in nutrition and movement because I've got that sound, you know, but especially just more kind of like mindset, you know, that that internal monologue, the things we say tell, you know, say to each other. Um, I think one of the biggest game changers for me is what you talked about earlier in the conversation, is um embracing stress and not seeing stress as something negative. Right. One of the best lessons of our coaching program was um reading that book, The Upside of Stress, um, from the Stanford professor Helen. Thank you. Um, and she says, you know, we can completely up our game by seeing stress as something positive. Right. And seeing stress as something positive actually has better physiological benefits, the body too, which I thought was mind-blowing. And, you know, I love this idea that we only stress about things that were with that we have staken. Yes. Right. So we're not going to stress about the neighbor's lawn, right? Because we don't care about the neighbor's lawn, right? Or we shouldn't care about the neighbor's lawn. But we do stress about things that are meaningful to us. So just kind of understanding that relationship to whatever is worrying us or whatever's stressing us out. Absolutely. Um, kind of is a way of just have, you know, taking a step back and understanding, okay, I got it. You know, this is why I'm worried about this. Because of course, you know, it's my son, it's my partner, whatever. Right. Right. And just um that kind of keeps things in perspective. Because I agree with you. I think stress is such a common denominator. Below so much of the dis um what the uneasy disease that we see in our society. Yeah. So, you know, having a better relationship with stress, I think is um something that has really benefited me because I do see that stress is behind all my clients' issues. And so being able to see that time and time again and seeing how detrimental that is to their health, but that it is possible also to shift and slowly change has just been a constant reminder to keep mine on check. Yeah, absolutely. I think that has been a huge lesson. And I also actually um I get inspiration from my clients. Like there's it's so impressive, like the things that they want to do and how they want to improve their lives and the risks they're willing to take to feel better. Yeah, that um time and time again, I'm just inspired by them. True, like I want to do that, you know. I know, you know, look at how they did this, you know, and just seeing how change is possible, you know, and just this narrow plasticity that is in all of us, you know, and we just have to kind of tap into it and um, you know, we can all evolve for the better. Absolutely. And so just seeing that change in my clients inspires me to also just become a better person, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 49:29

Yeah, and I think just um, you know, let's if we circle back to where we started, like the missing link. Right. And um, you know, why even have health coaches? Yeah. And uh, you know, I have two clients that are like I've worked with for eight years, they're like, I would never not have a health coach in my life. Yeah. Um it's really unlike any kind of relationship I think you you have in the health space. Uh-huh. And if you're looking, if if you find yourself someone who, you know, maybe you always have good intentions, maybe you're you're you want to try something, or you do try something and you start exercising and you're really good for like two months or three months, and then you just slowly kind of go back to the way you were, or same thing with changing your diet, or if you just are lacking that consistency, health coach can really help you figure out how to make it consistent, yeah, given the parameters of your own life, because we're all very different. Yeah, you know, um it's it's really about the implementation of life that we can help you navigate. And and we're not telling you what to do, it's just by asking questions, reflecting back what we see, what we hear, um, and helping clients understand themselves. Yeah, you know, and get get clarity because uh man, it's it's hard in this world. There's just so much information and so much noise. Yeah. That to really sit down and get clear with yourself is just a gift. I agree. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:15

When those waters are a column in our mind, it's so it's so much easier to see what we need to do.

SPEAKER_00 51:20

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'll just point out one more thing because I know we're probably getting along, but yeah, we talked a lot about values and stress, and yeah, you know, I never knew what my values were until I did my health coaching program. I mean, I thought about it. We did values clarification exercises in high school or something, and yeah, you know, I was like, my values, I don't know. Um, so there you can do a values card sort. You can look it up online. There's a or just values exercise, and you'll get probably a bunch of them online. It's a kind of a very hard and challenging exercise to do, but once you get really clear on what your values are, yeah, you then you understand why certain things get to you, why you get so upset at this. Yes. Um, and then how it you can diffuse that stress and say, like, well, it's connected to my value, so it's important to me.

SPEAKER_02 52:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:21

So and then what can I do to help with this situation that's making me crazy?

SPEAKER_01 52:29

Yeah. Right. Mm-hmm. That's a good insight. I can put that in the show notes. Um link to that value card. Yeah. If you want to, yeah. Yeah. And the other along that same line is the character strengths. Yes. Because there's this free website called VIA, V I A. And um, you can do a quick, easy 15-minute, I think, survey to kind of find out what your character strengths are. And I actually have mine. Do you? Yes, written down on a piece of paper on my bulletin board. And I look at it often because, you know, like in times of, you know, when I need them, you know, my boost. Yeah. I remember, you know, myself, what are my character strengths and you know, what makes me who I am, or part of what makes me who I am, I guess. Yes. And um, it gives me like a you know, my north, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Just to kind of really hone into those character strengths.

SPEAKER_00 53:19

Yeah, that's a great. I love the Via survey. And I I retake it every few years. Yeah. I'm like, hmm, let me see if they've shifted at all, you know.

SPEAKER_01 53:27

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:27

And they're pretty consistent, I must say. Really? Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 53:31

I should take mine again. I've never done it again, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:34

Yeah. So there are lots of tools out there that you all can tap into and um just learn a little bit more about yourself. Yeah. So it's a never-ending journey.

SPEAKER_01 53:44

Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Holly, I really appreciate and value this conversation so much.

SPEAKER_00 53:51

Oh, me too. I could talk to you for hours.

SPEAKER_01 53:54

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_00 53:55

Yes, you're welcome. Thank you.