#16] Simi Botic: Healing Your Relationship With Food

Chances are you've heard of intuitive eating... but what exactly is it? Elisabeth chats with Simi Botic, holistic health coach ++ author of Letting Go Of Leo on all things intuitive eating, as well as what it's like to be a holistic health coach + her wellness journey! Side note. SHE HAS THE CUTEST LAUGH EVER. : ) You guys are going to love this episode!

Notes:
-- Letting Go Of Leo
-- Finally Free Program
-- Beautifully Imperfect
-- Beautifully Imperfect [Free Facebook Group!]
-- Intuitive Eating
-- Body Kindness

Transcript

spk_0:   0:05
Hi, guys. In a welcome back to the charge podcast today, I had Simi Bo tick with me for the second time. We actually recorded this last month and had quite a few technical difficulties. We'll have to do a blooper reel at the end. I it was just hilarious. Can you describe that moment? It was such a fun and funny experience. So we were at the hotel trying

spk_1:   0:31
to record and trying to find a quiet place where we could just record the interview. So we tried the hallway at first, and then there was all these, like, vacuum

spk_0:   0:40
cleaners and people getting off the elevator. And then we

spk_1:   0:42
decided that we would try to go into the gym because no one was in

spk_0:   0:45
there, but then, like a guy's got a treadmill was like walking on the treadmill. And then I spilled my coffee literally everywhere. And then he ultimately ended up in the stairwell. Yeah, that work that work Well, no one takes the stairs like Okay, this is perfect. Why don't we start? You're all along so funny, but we're here again, and I'm so happy to have you back. Thank you so much for doing this. Thank you so much for having me so excited to be here. I actually first heard about you through the OS you charge girls and they were raving about you. And when we asked her recommendations on people to come to the podcast, they're like, Please bring Simi. She's incredible. And so I love for you to share just a little bit about who you are and what you d'oh! To the charge community.

spk_1:   1:29
Sure. Well, the OS you charge girls are amazing. It was so fun to get to go there and connect with him. That was really special. I am a health coach and writer and speaker, and I really helped women let go of the idea that they need to be perfect and embrace their beautifully in perfect lives Food, body and beyond. So I work with women a lot around healing their relationship with food and body image,

spk_0:   1:58
healing their relationship with food. I love that. And I finished your book. It was so good. Actually. Give it to one of my friends who's a holistic health code for her to read it. But it was so funny. Everyone needs to read her book letting go with Leo letting go of Leah. Um, and we'll definitely do a few giveaways to for that. But thinking back, freshman year of college, What did you imagine your life to look like right now? Yeah, I mean, freshman year

spk_1:   2:28
in college was a really hard year for me. I I didn't have a lot of clarity about what I wanted to do with my life, for what I wanted my life to look like. I think at the time, if you had asked me, I would have said, I'll definitely be living in New York City. I love New York's in my entire life and I thought that if I could, finally moved to New York City with that would make me happy. That would be the thing that would make everything fall into place in terms of a job. I don't think I would have had an idea what job I would be doing. I changed my major a lot in undergrad.

spk_0:   3:10
Really? Yes,

spk_1:   3:11
it was kind of a running joke with my roommates. When I come home, they would say what you change your major to today. I mean at least 10 switches, so allow a lot of different. A lot of different majors and miners and different combinations of the two.

spk_0:   3:28
I was just I didn't

spk_1:   3:30
know myself very well in college. I was really trying to figure out who I waas and I didn't have the skills or the tools to do that really healthy ways. And so what I ended up doing was looking at other people who I thought had it all together. And I would see people like especially celebrities who if I was like,

spk_0:   3:52
Oh, we're so happy Like their lives are so amazing.

spk_1:   3:55
If I can just eat like them and move like them and have jobs like that, do exactly what they do, then maybe I'll feel that way. So I think if you would ask me freshman year in college, I really would not have had a clear idea at all what my life would look like, or even a clear desire about what I wanted that to be. Other than New

spk_0:   4:16
York City problem. I love that I can see you in New York City, actually, yeah, You're just like an actress in a good way Broadway. Sing it. Do you sing? No,

spk_1:   4:30
I have a terrible voice, but I weirdly you know, Homeric final has been around for a bazillion

spk_0:   4:37
years. Yeah, I never watched it in this year. I just happened to be

spk_1:   4:41
home on a Sunday night and turn the TV on. And it was on, like, Episode one and I am obsessed with this

spk_0:   4:47
season of my gosh. Who are the judges now? Only Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan. Oh, my God. So, Simon Cowal, when did he? He's probably gone. He's gone. They're like, I love all three of them. I love all the

spk_1:   5:04
music and it's been so fun. So now I have a terrible voice that I love when people can sing Well, it's like,

spk_0:   5:09
so intoxicating, dreamy. Yeah, yeah. No, I agree. Uh, well, I love the part where you brought up just changing majors. I feel like so many girls are afraid to change majors, and they're almost like, Well, I picked this. I feel stuck in this, and, you know, I have to do is after graduation. Can you touch on that? What advice would you give to those girls?

spk_1:   5:30
Sure. So I think there are a small number of people who have a clear idea of what they want to do in terms of a career, what they want their life to look like. And that's great. If someone feels like that, that's awesome for the rest of us. And I say that's because this definitely includes you know, the college version of myself. We don't know and we're not sure. And I actually think it's really hard to be 18 years old and and to know exactly what you want to do in your life for what career would feel fulfilling to you because you haven't had, like, a lot of your adult life experiences yet you haven't been out on your own. You haven't gotten to do ah lot of the exploring in the experimenting that it sometimes takes to figure out what you're passionate about, what's really fulfilling to you. And so for those people who made me feel like I did, where they just weren't quite sure. And maybe they're in a major that doesn't feel super fulfilling, but they feel stuck. I would just say Thio, let yourself off the hook to have your entire life figured out when you're 18 or 20 or 22 because so many things are gonna happen and so many things are gonna change. And that's good in the more open you could be, too, that the better. And my major in undergrad sociology and I had a minor in Spanish, and I ultimately ended up loving that Major and I learned so much on. It definitely influences the way that I see the world, but I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm using my sociology degree in a traditional way, but it's okay, like sometimes you get a major in college and it opens your eyes to certain things or gives you a first experience that then opened you up to a second experience. And so just because your major and something doesn't mean that's what the rest of your life is gonna look like. My husband was a theater major, and he loved theater, and we lived in Chicago for a number of years, and he acted when we were there, but now were back. Now that we live in Columbus, like he is very much in corporate America, and he loves that, and he uses all of his like acting skills and theatre skills to help him, and he brings like a lot of creativity to his team, and he's awesome of public speaking and has all the skills that he learned doing this thing that really wasn't technically training him for this job, but in a lot of ways, dead.

spk_0:   7:49
Wow, that is such a good point just about following your curiosities. I think that's so important. And that's one of the coolest things about college. And I wish that I took advantage of this more. But there are so many different classes, so many different clubs, and there's not a club on your campus. Start one. You know, there's just everything. And so it's so cool. Don't pigeon pigeon yourself into one major and think that this is the end. All be all,

spk_1:   8:16
Yeah, I think it's okay if you know what you want to do when it's also okay. If you go either, either way, like you're gonna be totally fine, just like you said, follow your curiosity, and I think that's a great place to be.

spk_0:   8:29
So when did law school come into the mix? Law school came

spk_1:   8:33
into the mix towards the end of college when, like I said, I had a sociology in Spanish degree, and I wasn't really sure what to do with it. Um, and my dad for my whole life had always told me

spk_0:   8:47
you would be

spk_1:   8:48
such a good attorney. Like you love to argue. You love to make your point. You

spk_0:   8:52
love to push your point. Like so my

spk_1:   8:54
whole life, you just said you'd be a great attorney. You'd be a great attorney. And I mean, it's not uncommon for someone with a sociology degree to go to law school. You know, pretty common next step. And I really didn't had any idea what I wanted to do. So I was like, Well, I'll just do what my dad thinks I'd be good at. And that is literally how I ended up at law

spk_0:   9:15
school. Wow. So,

spk_1:   9:17
I mean, I remember my first year in law school there. There were classes like there was a class called towards and I had to Google what? That was like I wasn't lost. I'm like, I don't know what this thing is. Meanwhile, the other people who were there, like, actually knew what the practice of law

spk_0:   9:34
I looked like and had, like, ideas about these things. I was legitimately like Googling things before the first week of law school to figure out what it was

spk_1:   9:42
that I was studying. So it was It was never, like a dream of mine. Never Passion of mine. It just It just happened. It seemed like the next logical step. And I didn't know what I wanted. So I just did what I thought someone else wanted for me.

spk_0:   9:56
Yeah. Wow. When did your help them finish? Journeys start. And then can you kind of take us a little bit on your journey? What that looked like in college, maybe even before college, than even getting into being a lawyer?

spk_1:   10:12
Totally. So I played sports growing up like very recreational me. I was never what people would call athletic. I am not super coordinated, and I would feel like, really nervous. Anytime I was playing sports, I played soccer, basketball, valuable track, literally any sport you can imagine. I played on a team and was

spk_0:   10:35
not gonna any of them. I

spk_1:   10:38
legitimately, like, ran hurdles in track and it was just me tripping over the

spk_0:   10:43
final come hauling and like hoping not too many people saw it before I

spk_1:   10:47
was done, so I always played sports because I'm really social and all my friends played sports. So I did it because it meant I got to hang out with him after school. But I was never really competitive in that way and never really loved it. So I guess, in a way my fitness journey started Recreational e like as a kid, but I never took it really seriously and did it more for the social connection in undergrad. My freshman year in college, I, like I said, it was a hard year for me. I really missed my family a lot. I felt really confused about what I wanted to do with my life. I felt like everybody around me, and this is an exaggeration. That's how I felt that everybody around me had figured out like they knew what they wanted to do and be, and I didn't, and that made me feel that there was something wrong with me, and I ended up like emotionally eating a lot. My freshman year in college, I was really lonely. I would go Thio, go to let the little grocery store in campus interest by tons of food and go back to my dorm room and eat it all fast as I could and develop some binge eating. Some been cheating behavior When I was in my freshman year in college, and when I went home at Christmas of none of my clothes fit, I mind chains were my jeans when it's about they were so tight, and I had just been wearing, like slap hands and and pajama pants at school. So I didn't even realize and we got our Christmas card photos back that year, and I just was feeling really self conscious about the way that I looked and nobody likes made a comment about me. Nobody said anything, but it was dressed me seeing photos and I was uncomfortable and my my clothes more fitting. So I went back to school, and that's really when I started to get into running. So there were some a friend of mine who lives on my floor in my dorm and then also my IRA. They were really into running. They were trained for half marathon, and I asked if I could join them, so trained for my first half marathon and was just hooked and then really got obsessive about working out, I couldn't miss a run. My entire life was organized around these like elaborate run schedules and then cross training turned into like, second workouts of the day. And so I would go for, like, a morning run and go for an afternoon spin class and just I started to feel a lot of guilt if I missed a workout and then as I was running more, I was able to set back into my pants. So then I also had a fear of if I stop running or if I miss a run and I going thio not be ableto fit in my clothes again. So there was. It was in one way, like a really fun relationship with exercise, and I was loving it in another way. It was a really toxic relationship where I had a lot of guilt and shame and fear around it as well on Dhe, then eventually started running marathons and in law school, continued to run marathons and ultimately took a break from running. When I really got to the place where I realized that I had a just ordered relationship with food and eating was over exercising and took a break from from running. And now I have a really relaxed relationship exercise. I love to take walks. I love to go to bar classes and occasionally will go for, like, a three mile run. So definitely have gone through, like a lot of different phases in my relationship with movement.

spk_0:   14:23
Yeah, let's talk more about that beginning phase. So did you confide in anyone about your worries or obsessions, or did anyone notice and say anything to you? No. I

spk_1:   14:38
didn't confide in anyone because I didn't know that it was unhealthy. I thought the things that I was feeling and the things that I was doing, I thought they were healthy. I was like, I'm exercising more or exercise is good. I feel guilty when I don't work out because working out is good for me. So it really it didn't feel like I had a problem to me, so I never shared. And you have that because I really didn't think there was anything wrong. Um, my mom and sister both noticed my obsessive behaviors and brought it up to me multiple times. When they brought it up to me, I shut down their comments. I was like there is nothing wrong with me. I'm committed. I'm devoted. I'm healthy. And in my mind I literally thought I was like They just don't understand what what helped what healthy looks like. I'm helping. They don't get it.

spk_0:   15:34
So it wasn't like it wasn't one of

spk_1:   15:36
those things where I had a problem and I knew it and I was hiding it. I really did not think that there was anything wrong with me for my habits or my behaviors. And I have. I have a very driven personality. I am, I don't know, like how into astrology are like very areas. I'm in areas and I'm very much that way. And my mom jokes like, I could be a bulldozer. Like if I say I'm gonna do something like, I will bulldoze my way all the way

spk_0:   16:06
through that

spk_1:   16:07
thing and so that my personality, I think I just thought, This

spk_0:   16:13
is just my like, this is my personality on

spk_1:   16:15
exercise like this is how it is for me, like with movement, and they just don't get it. And I'm taking such good care of myself and just to kind of give a few more details about my relationship with movement at the time, Like when I was really struggling. I, um I got a stress fracture when I was training for the Chicago Marathon the first time that I ran it and refused to rest on the stress fracture. And at mile 12 or 13 of the Chicago Marathon, I broke my ankle because the stress fracture, like fractured further and I had to be like, taken away like on a stretcher. Had to go to a doctor, had to be in a boot for multiple months. Because of this and literally in my boot every single day, I would go to the gym and get on the lift and elliptical the number of

spk_0:   17:03
miles that I wouldn't run, that our machines, exactly. So like I waas, you know, this wasn't like, Oh, she's going to

spk_1:   17:13
like three spin classes a week, like I was really, really obsessive with my relationship with.

spk_0:   17:18
I think one of my favorite parts of your book was when you talked about going on Spring Bree and things like, Okay, let's see how many calories Aiken burn while treading water, and I was like because I actually have been there to like, definitely not to the extent that you were throughout your journey, but like there are certain times in vacations. I'm like, Okay, I'm gonna do like a wall, sit in the shower. It's like, Why am I doing this? You know, on DSO it's trying to find the balance of being active and enjoying it. But then, knowing when you've crossed the line, you know, totally yes, in movement is such a beautiful thing. Absolutely. Our bodies crave movement.

spk_1:   18:01
It's such an amazing way to connect with yourself. It's such an amazing way to, you know, get out energy and gain energy and really like, take care of yourself not only physically, but mentally and emotionally, like it's such a cool. It's such a cool opportunity that we have to care for ourselves and connect with ourselves. And I think with everything in life, like there is a bell curve, you know, and there's there's two opposite ends, like extreme ends of that. And then there's the let's the apart in the middle. Where is your happy balance? And you know, for me to never move my body and be sedentary 24 7 like that's not in my best interest. That's not taking care of myself. For me to be like obsessed. I've been scheduling my life around movement, feeling guilt and shame about it and trying to use it to manipulate my body. Like, also not healthy.

spk_0:   18:51
Yeah. So did you ever seek any professional help while you're going through this towards the end? Yep. Yeah, I had

spk_1:   18:59
a lot of awesome support. Um, I worked with a health coach. I worked with a therapist and had a lot of loving support from my family.

spk_0:   19:11
That's amazing. Did you have a breaking point or when did you decide to go on the up swing?

spk_1:   19:16
Totally. I did. I had a breaking point. Itwas on my honeymoon. So, um, law school ended and then in, um, like a few months later, in September, I started my job at a law firm, so moved back from Chicago to Columbus to start to start my first job as an attorney. And then in October, my husband and I got married. So came off law school, started that new job, we got married. And then we went on our honeymoon, and it was on our honeymoon that I really had that turning point. Um, I waas, you know, obsessively trying to count calories and had a long list of foods that I was allowed to eat a long list that I wasn't like foods that were good and bad. But also at the time that I got married, I waas also dealing with binge eating because I have been restricting for so long that my body was naturally reacting to that with binges. So at the time I got married, it was this very big, like, yo yo cycle I would restrict and I've been and I would restrict and I'm binge and was really, really struggling with feeling out of control around food because every time I would try and control more. I've binge more and went on my honeymoon. We went out to dinner, and the entire time I'm like, I love this man like this is supposed to be the

spk_0:   20:38
happiest day of

spk_1:   20:39
my life, and all I can think about are like the calories in the french fries. I just ate, like, how early? I'm gonna have to get up tomorrow morning to get a run in two, like, burn off this wine and I don't know exactly what's in the sauce

spk_0:   20:52
on that fish. You know, like all these thoughts, like just this constant

spk_1:   20:55
internal dialogue. And we went back to her hotel room and I was, like, feeling just so crappy about myself. And I just needed a moment to myself. So I went to the bathroom. Actual team. I'm gonna put on laundry like I'll be out. So I go into the bathroom and, like, put our laundry And I'm just like, if I didn't feel badly enough about

spk_0:   21:13
myself before, Like, I feel terrible about myself now. In

spk_1:   21:16
was living in the near just picking myself apart and just had a full on breakdown. I was crying and just feeling so yaki about myself. And then I was feeling guilty that I was ruining my honeymoon and, you know, just the whole cycle of things. And so finally, I just told Tim my husband, like everything that I felt I was like, I feel awful about myself. I hate myself. I feel like I'm disgusting. I think about this literally every second of every day. Um, and he just he's like, E. I really think that you should see someone that you should get help like it doesn't have to be this way. The things that you're saying about yourself, like I don't see those things, you know? So he encouraged me. Thio get support. And I came back from our honeymoon and found a health coach and started working with a therapist again. I worked with therapists on and off throughout my life because I've always had I've always had anxiety. So that's been something that I've gotten support with on and off, depending on the different situations in in my life on the anxiety was harder for me to manage. So I got back into therapy and worked with health. Coach got a lot of support, and that was awesome. Mmm.

spk_0:   22:30
That's so good. And so, how long ago was that? Seven years. Wow. Does that seem like a distant memory? Do you even kind of remember who you were back then? Or how does that work? Yeah, you obviously are so different now. It feels

spk_1:   22:45
like it feels like a different life. Um, like a different person. I I also struggled to because in a way, like I was blacked out of my life a lot during that time because I was so in my head and very not present for my life because I was worrying and obsessing about things so much that there's a lot of things where it's like, Yeah, I know I had that experience but I don't really remember it because I wasn't super present at the time. Um and so, yeah, it feels it feels like forever ago. And it was so it was really cool to write the book because I got to share a lot of my personal stories. Got Thio, you know, remember back in those moments, process through them, write them in and away, like finishing that book felt like I can just totally close this chapter of my life and put it on a shelf and now really be open to the life that I've worked to create now and be really present in this life. So that was super cathartic to do that. That is

spk_0:   23:53
beautiful. I was wondering, like, how did you remember all of these stories? Because I feel like I would have the same issue because there was definitely a period in my life that I feel like I truly was walking numb and to try and remember those memories. I feel it would be really challenging. Yeah, it was.

spk_1:   24:10
So I sat down and made basically the timeline of my life. I sat down and made a timeline and put little like ticks on the timeline of moments that I felt like were relevant to this part of my story and then spent time with each of those moments, like remembering them and like taking notes on them and thinking through them and like asking family members too, you know, I was like, Okay, this is how I remember it. What do you remember So like going back into those experiences, but also because of the work that I did like in therapy in with the was the Coach. I had revisited a lot of those moments and had become super aware of the moments and the details of the moments and what they meant to me. So I think that also helped me. Thio, like, really have a lot of clarity around the stories that I share. But like if we're just sitting here now, I would never if you were like, could you would you be able to remember like details of you know, middle school. I would have to really sit down and get intentional about that. Yeah. I couldn't necessarily, like, remember them off the cuff

spk_0:   25:20
right now. That's a really good point. Is talking to other people who were there and then I'm sure during therapy, they have ways to access that part of your subconscious, you know? Yes. Very cool. Let's talk about your journey to become a holistic health coach. When did that come into the journey?

spk_1:   25:37
Sure. So when I first started working with health coach after my honeymoon, um,

spk_0:   25:43
that was the first time I knew

spk_1:   25:45
I ever heard the term health coach. So again this, like, seven years ago. So while like the career of health, coach is more widely known now, at the time, it was not mainstream at all. In the only reason why I even found this amazing. My amazing coach. Her name was Amy. Um, why I even found her is just because of Google. But I was googling things I was struggling with. And Google just populated her website and she was also in Columbus. And so I mean, in my mind, I think I was I was looking for like a nutritionist or dietitian or a therapist who could focus on these things, and it's populated her website. And then I was reading her website, and I'm like, Yes, she is exactly like what I need. This is amazing. And through working with her, I got an understanding about what a coach does and what that looks like. And she really encouraged me like after I had done my own work, to think about going back to school and becoming a coach, because she knew also that I was feeling really unsatisfied in my career is an attorney and that, you know, the more in touch with myself that I got, the more I realized that it just wasn't what I felt like I was meant to do in my life and in my career. And she told me that she thought it would be worth just exploring becoming a health coach. And so I ended up going to my first certification program, Institute for Integrated Nutrition Lives practicing law. And then I had, like, a part of the curriculum you coach like a friend and you coach like fellow students to practice your skills and the first time I did it. I was like, This

spk_0:   27:26
is the most amazing thing it

spk_1:   27:28
ever in the entire world. Like I felt just so lit up in a way that I had never experienced. Really? You know, doing any other kind of work before. And that's when I was like, Yeah, I'm gonna actually pursue this and try to make this a thing. And so I went part time at the law firm and did both for six months. And then after six months, I left the law practice and have been doing it full time now for, like, three years.

spk_0:   27:57
Congratulations. Who was your first client?

spk_1:   28:02
Who's my first night? She was an attorney. Oh, like through who knew me through practice?

spk_0:   28:08
Yeah. Then how did you start getting more people? So almost

spk_1:   28:12
all of my first clients for people who I knew through the law firm Wow. So for the first year, I coached almost exclusively agrees, and also a few people. So I have gone to a bar studio for, like, six years now. And so I had an amazing network of women, their community of women, who I knew there and then ultimately started teaching. There So first year everybody was in Columbus. Itwas all either attorneys or a few women who I knew through the bar studio who just heard about what I was doing. And we're willing, Thio, you know, support me and invest in themselves. Like working with me in the very beginning. And then from there it was a referral system. So I have a meeting at this point, like I've never paid for any, like advertising or anything. It's just been word of mouth and opportunities to get to have conversations, you know, the one that we're having today. And that's how it's. That's how it's grown from, like a coolness business to being now international.

spk_0:   29:13
Wow. Yeah, I wanted to ask you how has your business evolved from the beginning? Three and 1/2 years ago? Till now? What does that look like?

spk_1:   29:22
Beginning I did everything in person out of my house, which I loved that, but ultimately have now gone Thio More, more virtual set up. So all my client call all my client sessions are now done over the phone. Um, I used to host group programs out of my house. I now do those virtually so definitely like the way that I structure client sessions is different now. And even if a client is in Columbus, I actually still due a phone session because I found that people are. It seems that women are more comfortable opening up about some of the vulnerable stuff that we talk about when they don't want to say they can hide behind their phone because it's not that they're hiding like they're opening up being incredibly brave, but where they don't feel like I'm looking at them or judging them, I think it can actually create a lot more vulnerability and openness. So I do all my sessions in that way now. But we are breaking ground on in addition on our house

spk_0:   30:27
in a

spk_1:   30:27
few weeks on May 1st and part of the addition is a really big home office space for me, and I do have There is a part of me that is thinking through how I can use that space. Thio connect with women, whether it'll be small, little workshops in that space. Or maybe I will go back to giving Columbus clients the option to come in person. I

spk_0:   30:53
don't know if I'm laying around with

spk_1:   30:55
what? That what that could look like. Maybe it'll be like a hybrid

spk_0:   30:58
moving forward. I don't know. Yeah, that's exciting, because yeah, I can totally see what you mean with people being more vulnerable on the phone. But there also was just something so beautiful about that face to face connection.

spk_1:   31:12
Totally. Yes. It's like there are such There are such benefits to both. Totally. Yes.

spk_0:   31:19
Oh, that's exciting. I can't wait to see what you end up doing. I'm so excited I

spk_1:   31:23
can't wait for the space to be the space we done. It'll have a really, really high ceilings and a little kitchenette in their thio, and we're gonna have a big farmhouse table in the comfy leather sofa. And I just cannot wait to create a work space because a lot of a lot of the work that I do now is you know, if I have a client call if I've got to take a call or, you know, do a podcast interview out of my house like a lot of things, I have to be in the closet because we live in this very open

spk_0:   31:52
bungalow style homes. Yeah,

spk_1:   31:55
it's like the only place where it's actually cry. It's I'm very

spk_0:   31:58
much for it. Thio a

spk_1:   32:01
workspace that is just designated toe work in. And we'll feel really lovely to

spk_0:   32:06
be with you as you deserve it. And I want t o. I would love to have you visit when it's done in your in Clovis would be so fun. Yes, who was your typical client? I know you probably don't have a typical client, but

spk_1:   32:21
yeah, I would say my typical client is a woman. Well, all my clients are running so that definitely number one. They're all women. And I would say age range. I typically work with women like 25 to 40 is my average age range. And they are women who are struggling with feeling like they're not enough feeling like they need to be more perfect and are really trying thio control food or their bodies or other areas of their life to try to control their sense of self worth. And so they come to me pretty much all with, you know, that same core route, desire to feel lovable and feel enough, and they are really looking to connect back to themselves and to learn how to care about themselves and take care of themselves. And let go of this idea that they need to be perfect about their relationship with food or movement needs to be perfect. And just really, I learned how to be really and to be present and to take care of themselves in a flexible, open way that works for their lifestyle.

spk_0:   33:37
Is there an initial exercise that you typically give your clients?

spk_1:   33:41
A lot of the women who I work with doing exercise during after the first session, where they will write a letter to and from their body. So they write a letter to their body and then their body gets an opportunity to reply. And I love to do this exercise with almost every one of the women that I work with, because it can just tell you a lot about how you're feeling about yourself. But it can also start to create a more compassionate, open dialogue with yourself. So I always tell women, you know, what we do together is relationship work. It's just like in typical relationship work. You think about yourself in another person, but this is really like the relationship with yourself And so that letter writing exercises a beautiful way. Thio, open up the lines of communication.

spk_0:   34:28
That's beautiful. I know you're really big on intuitive eating. Can you explain what that is for girls who don't know?

spk_1:   34:36
Sure. So intuitive Eating is a set of principles that guides us back Thio. The way that we ate before society told us like how we should eat so essentially this set of principles that helps you tune into your hunger and your fullness and your satisfaction and really teaches you Thio re teaches you how to take care of and listen honor your body in just very normal natural ways that diet culture can take us away from.

spk_0:   35:13
I was running and I don't know if you know this answer, but who started it. And also when did it start?

spk_1:   35:19
Yes, So there's the book. Intuitive eating is what started it, and it's a least a reach and Evelyn Tripoli or tribal. I have

spk_0:   35:29
a name, but the

spk_1:   35:30
intuitive eating is you know what is considered to be the Bible on intuitive eating. It breaks down all of the all of the principals. It's such a great book, and there's also another book that I always send two clients that I love. Cold body kindness. And it's what I like to call be more like fun, updated version of intuitive eating. So the original intuitive eating is it's more clinical. It's very straightforward. It's incredible, has amazing information. Body kindness feels more like the like, the younger sister to that it has its update. It's got a lot of fun, like images and Fons and cool exercises that you can do so Those are both great Resource is, and also the intuitive eating book has an intuitive eating workbook that you can order with it. And that's incredible. So for anyone who's looking Thio get more into intuitive eating, I would say, like those three are great toward off Amazon Or get it any of your bookstores?

spk_0:   36:36
Yeah, no, we'll definitely put that in the show notes. And I like the term body kindness even more because intuitive eating, I feel like just seems to me more about eating yet, but it's like it's so much more than that. It's how can you fully love and appreciate your entire body, mind and soul, you know?

spk_1:   36:56
Yes. And for anyone who is wanting Thio. He was wanting to eat more intuitively. The author body finest. She's amazing and very much very much like honors the principles of intuitive eating in her book. So it's a really it's a really, like, supportive resource. That's

spk_0:   37:18
amazing. Are there any misconceptions about intuitive eating? Yes, there are a lot of

spk_1:   37:24
misconceptions. I think. One misconception is that into it, eating means that you eat whatever you want without giving any consideration. Thio your body or how your body feels or what your body needs. So I think when people have been stuck in when people have been dieting for a long time or have been restricting or have been, you know, like, really obsessive about their food choices or whatever it might be, they feel scared of intuitive eating because they're like, Oh, my gosh, So that means what? I just eat doughnuts all day, You know? I hear all the time. It's okay. I just ate whatever. If I just like eight, what I wanted like I would see brownies. Pizza 24 7 absolutely a part of into in feeding and one of the foundational principles is unconditional permission to eat and you know letting go Food rules. So brownies, Pizza These foods that sometimes can be considered bad are off limits. When you're dieting, they're no longer batter off limits. Intuitive eating really takes our morality out of our food decisions. So we're no longer good or bad people based on the food choices you make. And you really get a level playing field where you're able to see food neutrally and you're able to look at it. It's like a brownie and a kale salad like I can be neutral towards those two choices, and I can check in with my body and say, What do you need? What would feel good? And maybe the answer is a kale salad. Maybe the answer is the kale salad and half the brownie. Or maybe the answer is, you know what? Today I just want to enjoy a brownie and a cup of coffee, and it really allows you to take away so much of the stigma and the shame and the guilt and the judgment out of your relationship with food and tune into your body. So it's not just all pizza, brownies and doughnuts all day long, every single day, but because you have permission to eat and enjoy those foods, you're able to eat them in a way that honors your body, and you're also able to eat foods that you know, make you feel really great. So it's not just a free for all. It's really honoring your health, mental, emotional and physical with those food choices.

spk_0:   39:34
What do you think about cravings? And how does that play a role with deciding what you want to eat?

spk_1:   39:40
Sure. So I think readings are good things. Um, cravings are there to guide you. And so much of why we feel out of control around our cravings is because we've really been taught to view them as a bad thing, where it's like we need to be

spk_0:   39:56
scared of our cravings or oh my God, when you feel a craving, fighting avoided. You know, that kind of

spk_1:   40:02
language is it makes us feel out of control, like in those situations. So I've you cravings as messages and you know, communications about what we need. And in my opinion, it's like, How can I honor this craving in a way that's going to feel satisfying and good to my body? So there might be There might be a time where I'm like I just really and craving a burger. I just really want a burger. And in that moment I can ask myself, I can say, OK, what what way can you enjoy Burger? That would feel best to you, and that would feel satisfying, fulfilling. And maybe it's throwing some extra veggies on the burger. Maybe it's eating. Maybe it's eating, not the entire burger. Or sometimes it's like Maybe I want a very specific, super greasy burger from the diner and the corner, and that's just what I want. And I have permission to do that because I know that I'm committed to taking care of myself. And I'm not eating that all day long. Every you know, like all foods fit. There's rue for there's room for everything. So for me, it's not being scared of my cravings and just saying like, What is this craving trying to tell me? And sometimes I you know, sometimes I might have a craving for something, and I'm not hungry at all, and I ask myself, What if this wasn't about food? What would this be about then? Sometimes if I'm like oh my gosh, I just can't stop thinking about cookies. I just want cookies and coffee, cookies and coffee. And I'm like, Wait a second. That's so weird. You're not hungry at all. If this wasn't, I mean, you can have a cookie. Like, But if this wasn't about food, what would it be about? And the answer is like only Gosh, I'm just exhausted. Really tired this afternoon. I know if I eat a cookie like I'll get a little, you know, cookie and coffee. I'll get, like, a little jolt of energy. All that's going on is that I'm exhausted. How can I How can I rest a little bit?

spk_0:   42:03
Yeah. So my stomach is little growling, right? I want North Star made between the North Star Burger. You were stubborn, but I love the North Star salads. They're massive, like the goat cheese village. That's what it is. The village job. Sound over.

spk_1:   42:24
Gosh, it's so good. I I mean, I love everything from North's trying to buy. If I could order anything off, they're ready right now. I think I would go bootable

spk_0:   42:32
with peanut sauce. Okay, So did you know? I'm sure you know this, but I got this last time you can get a side of broccoli with that peanut sauce. Ever done that? Yeah, I randomly I was like, I don't know why. I just want peanut sauce, But I really want this salad. Is that the bootable? Until I got that aside. Incredible. You need to get

spk_1:   42:50
that so good and I get one of those salads. I always get their sweet potato fries on the side. I've never had them. I don't make a comment. There's like you will get hold. You like garlic?

spk_0:   43:01
Yes, you'll get

spk_1:   43:02
a whole close of garlic in your fries and Rose are. But maybe next time I'll get the

spk_0:   43:08
rock. Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but you I mean, you could catch it. It's so good that peanut sauce is incredible. It's the best. I love food. I think like food is we have. We're

spk_1:   43:23
allowed to enjoy food like maybe have taste buds for a reason, like it's made to be pleasurable. It's a way that we can enjoy life. It's a way we can express creativity through cooking and trying new things as a way we can connect with people over food like For thousands of years, food has been a way that people have come together, created, community, celebrated things like We don't have to be afraid of having joy in our relationship with food. But that's a beautiful, wonderful thing. And also at the same time, we it's so important that we think about our life outside of food, too. And make sure that we are cultivating joy and connection and creativity not only honor play, but also off of it. And I think that's so important. Like your relationship with food is a mirror to your relationship with life. And I know when I waas so restrictive and controlled and regimented in my relationship with food like I had no fun in my life, I wasn't relaxed at all. I wasn't flexible like I wasn't practicing like flexibility. I wasn't connecting in. My relationships in my relationship with food was such a direct reflection of that. And now, like I love food and it's wonderful and I love to go out and grab dinner with friends and I love to cook things and eat yummy foods. But it's so it's such a small part of my life.

spk_0:   44:54
Yeah, absolutely. I completely agree with everything you say. And I talked about this on another podcast. But have you ever done the whole 30? And I'm sure you've heard of it. Yes, but it was okay. I was fine. But the biggest thing for me is I realized I lost my relationship with food. I didn't even really care what I ate. I was like, Oh, I'll just have carrots like I want It was just so strange. And I'm like, I get why This is a thing, because some people you do have crazy attachments to food and they need to release that. But there are so many other ways to do that, like intuitive eating so

spk_1:   45:33
many more. I agree there are so many. There's so many other ways to work through an unhealthy relationship with food rather than rather than, you know, restriction. And I I definitely there is and try to remember someone. Do you follow the blogger or Instagram? Eat live? Run? No. Okay. She loved a post and I can remember was an instagram post or block post awhile back after she had done a whole 30 where she shared something similar for she's like I just It took away all the joy for my relationship with food, and I want to have a relationship with food that includes joy, a fun and pleasure. And there is a way to do that where you're honoring your body and you're making choices that feel good to you that don't require a lot of rules in place. Like you were saying, Totally. Yeah,

spk_0:   46:30
walk me through What happens when someone comes to you? You guys do that body love exercise and then you share with them. No food is off limits. You can have whatever you want. What does that look like when deciding what t e And then how your body feels afterwards? Because I feel like so. So many people now have these intolerances that they talk about, and it's like, How do you know if it's your body or if it's your mind,

spk_1:   46:57
Right? Totally So, Um, E is a slow process to get to the place where no food is off limits. So depending on the client, different clients have different levels of food rules that they have been living within. Um, and basically it's as if those food rules build a wall around you. And I would say you two clients, like, we're gonna dismantle this wall brick by brick. So we will literally talk about what are the food rules that you're experiencing? Tell me, like a few of them what's coming up for you? And we will work with just a few of those rules at a time to start letting those rules go and creating positive, empowering experiences that prove Thio, that client that she is safe to not follow that rule. So, like an example. Actually, I just a client just graduated from a six month program yesterday and she had a ton of food rules when we started in one of them. Was she it waas so scared of carbohydrates. She had really tried to restrict her her carbohydrate intake over many, many years. She waas very scared like she never like. She would never eat fruit. She never had bread. It never would eat a potato was very, very restrictive with carbohydrates. And it was really scary for her. So we I mean, we started so small it was like, Okay, let's start having let's start eating like a piece of fruit at breakfast, slowly eating it taste how it tastes, eating it, you know, with protein and fat and other things, so that your blood sugar is so supported and just feel how feels for you. So we would, like, create those kinds of experiences ultimately, like building up to the place where

spk_0:   48:45
she like We'll make pancakes

spk_1:   48:46
with her family needs and loves and pancakes and can eat, you know, chocolate or dessert any day of the week if she wants it. And so it's really it depends on where the client is when we start, if a client comes to me and says, like I'm terrified of carbohydrates, I'm not like

spk_0:   49:02
go and make a £5 bag of

spk_1:   49:05
rice and the entire thing. Right now you know, like you. I want them to feel safe, having positive, small, positive experiences that really build up their confidence around those foods so they can ultimately get to the place where they don't feel afraid and they feel safe and then you don't layered within. That is just a lot of compassion and self forgiveness and curiosity. These things have to come with you on your intuitive eating journey because no one's a perfect intuitive eater No one like perfection doesn't exist in in you know, this journey and there's no like endpoint like intuitive eating is just It's a journey, and it's just a constant commitment to checking in with yourself and having a relationship of yourself. So there's no like once I get here, then I've arrived. It's, you know, a set of practices that you're using over and over again. And so someday is you're gonna feel better than others. Like some days you're gonna check in with yourself, and some days you're gonna be too busy and forget to do that. And so really having compassion, forgiveness with yourself on those days where you know you missed some signals from your body because it happens to all of us.

spk_0:   50:15
Yeah, what are some signals at your body may give you

spk_1:   50:19
so I mean, for one hunger. And it might sound crazy, but to say that like, of course, hunger is a signal that your body gives you. But so many women are disconnected from their bodies hunger because they've been told how many calories they should eat. So they're just eating. You know, this number of calories of this number of points or they've been told times a day when they're supposed to eat, which may not be in line with their bodies, clock and hunger. Sure,

spk_0:   50:45
you might have certain. You may have

spk_1:   50:47
certain, you know, rhythms in your body where you're like most days around. One. I get hungry for lunch, but we're not robots. So, like every day is not gonna be exactly the same. And so listening thio the hunger cues in your body, which can be, you know, a growling stomach. It can be feeling a little bit fuzzy or feeling, you know, like it's hard to focus. It could be feeling a little bit irritable. It can be like a tingling sensation in your mouth or in your throat. Like hunger really can't feel different in different people's bodies. And so just taking time to get connected with, like, what is hunger feeling in my body and what is a comfortable level of hunger? And then what's the feeling where I'm like, I am so hungry that I'm ravenous and famished because we each have, you know, hunger, scale, and typically we can feel a lot more calm and peaceful and relaxed and intuitive around food when we're eating, when we're comfortable hungry, then when we're famished and it's like, I don't know, I'll eat a human being If I have todo yeah, it makes it hard for us to be relaxed and calm and present with our bodies when we're starting.

spk_0:   52:00
What do you think? As you mentioned, the different times of day and how, Yeah, of course, our bodies are different. We're not robots. There are so many different theories out there with, you know, you should have three big meals or E six small snacks a day. How do you talk your clients through working with what's best for them? Well, one eating has

spk_1:   52:23
to work with your life, so an example would be I. For some reason, I don't know what it is. I mean, I love nurses so much, but I have a ton of clients who are nurses, So a lot of them are working like 3 12 which was a 3 12 hour shifts and then a lot of days where they don't work at all. Well, on their on their 12 hour shifts, they're on their feet a lot. They're running from patient to patient. They don't have a lot of downtime. So in those days it typically works best to have, like three meals, because they can't just be like taking taking breaks too late. Have snacks multiple times like the less they need to eat last number of times. So maybe on those days they're taking bigger meals, and that's what works for them. But on the day were their home, and they have more flexibility, and they can honor their bodies. That might be a day where smaller, smaller meals, more snacks feel good to them. So I always say, Listen to your body. Some days my body wants meals. Some days my body wants like you. No more snaps through the day. Smaller meals we are. We're, you know, need different things on different days. But then layered on top of that is you have to actually look at your life and make sure that you're eating in a way that allows you to feel satisfied during your day. So on, You know, on client days I am more likely to actually eat smaller things throughout the day because a lot of times it's I have 10 minutes in between calls, and so it's like grabbing apple with peanut butter. Or grab this. Grab that and I snapped more throughout the day. But on a weekend, I'm more likely to eat like bigger meals because I have the time to do so.

spk_0:   54:05
Yeah, I like that. Just figuring out what works with your lifestyle. Totally huge. Totally. What have you found? Thio? Either be something that you thought was bad that you realise is no good for your body that your body loves. Or maybe you realize that your body doesn't tolerate while what have you found through your journey with intuitive eating?

spk_1:   54:31
So because I have celiac disease, um, I choose to eat gluten free. Because of that, I actually am not someone who thinks that, like gluten, is terrible or bad. I feel like if you don't have celiac disease like and your body feels going to eat gluten, that that's awesome. Um, bye. What? The reason I bring that up is because when I was first diagnosed with celiac and then continue to have auto immune reactions, I was getting tested for a lot of other autoimmune diseases and was really highly encouraged to do something called autoimmune. Um, autoimmune, like paleo Protocol. And it is so you know, when you're doing that, it's like no beings know a lot of foods. No, not since No. See, it's Nubians things like that because these, you know, within that realm of like within that system, those things are thought thio trigger an autoimmune response. So for a long time, I felt really scared of those foods, and I thought that they were hurting my body. But then when I started eating intuitively, I realized that actually, those foods feel amazing to me. Like I love beings. I feel so good when I eat them like I love nuts. I love seeds. So I love grains and those things feel like awesome to me. So a lot of the foods that I was scared of and had, you know, made off limits are some of my favorite foods and feel wonderful to me and peanut butter, my favorite entire world. Yes, I, you know, have thought I was like peanut butter's bad like I literally was like it's the dirty nut butter, like I have to eat almond butter and and other kinds of numbers, which I also love still, But when I finally was like just a peanut butter and see how you feel. I was like, one. It's my favorite into I feel great. Yeah, So it's just interesting how, when we can take the when we can take, like, the negative dialogue around certain foods away and just really get curious with ourselves and say like, I'm just gonna try this and see how it feels for me. Sometimes we find that those foods are actually foods that make us feel worth driving.

spk_0:   56:43
Yeah, I want to touch on this. I know we talked about this when we did our first podcast together, but I still struggle with taste buds on def. Someone has a taste, bud that they lean towards processed foods or they lean toward sugar. How do you work with them? Because I feel like those foods may feel good for them, but ultimately it's because their body has almost started. Because I'm your bodies are so crazy. They can change all the time, right? It's like they're your body just gets used to it. Um and so how do you work with them to try and eat more nourishing foods?

spk_1:   57:30
So I really believe that is there more diversity in our And when I see a dietitian with the food they were eating, the more diversity in our diet, the better. So exposure thio new types of food and new ways of cooking and cooking things and really like satisfying delicious ways. And, you know, trying lots of different types of fruits and vegetables and seeing, like, what do I like? What don't I like? Exposing people, thio, new foods and new food experiences and new ways of cooking Those foods, I think, is just such a wonderful opportunity for people to experience more nourishment through foods. It's not about demonizing, like processed foods or fast foods or whatever it might be, but really just encouraging people to try new things and a lot of limit will. You know, I hear a lot of women say, like, I just I don't I don't like vegetables and it's because they have felt like the way they need to be. Eating vegetables is like a huge full of lettuce with nothing delicious on area was like Oh, a driveable of lettuce with a squeeze of lemon because that's the lowest calories and like I don't want to eat that either. But when? When you can show someone like only nurse, you can cook these you can cook these greens with, like this delicious butter with a little bit of soul. And actually, the fact that you're eating with these vegetables allows you to absorb even more of the vitamins and minerals from the vegetables because they're fat soluble vitamins, you know, like to expose people to new ways of cooking in new ways of experiencing food, and let food be fun for them. That's like an awesome thing that that for people to get to experience food, diversity,

spk_0:   59:24
yeah, and I think that's a good point. People want to like vegetables, right they like. But I just don't like vegetables. It's because yeah, they're not using incredible sauces and seasoning. And there is something for everyone out there in terms of spices, Let me tell you that, you know. So that's a really good point. Yeah, not about

spk_1:   59:44
taking anything away, but just, you know, adding in Maur and experimenting and part of Intuit, eating intuitively is really experimenting with what you like and trying things. And this is really where eating out at restaurants can be such a cool. Such a cool tool is, um, like, supportive tool in your intuitive eating journey because you could go out to a restaurant and try things that, like you've never tried before. And that's so awesome. Like how we were talking earlier about the broccoli with peanut sauce. Like maybe someone just thinks of, like, raw broccoli, they're like, But maybe if they had that incredible Northstar broccoli with the peanut honey sauce, they would love eating it in that way. And I you know, I've gotten so much food inspiration out at restaurants, and it's such a cool way to expose yourself to new things.

spk_0:   1:0:34
Yeah. When did you become a pro at intuitive eating, like, How long did it take you?

spk_1:   1:0:40
I think it really took me. I mean, I want to say it was really two years before I felt super Just totally relaxed and free around food. Yep. Two years. Yeah, even even now. I mean, everyone's different peoples journeys are gonna be different. People. Support systems are gonna be different. Peoples like the level of rules that they come into intuitive eating with It's gonna be different body stigma, things like that. Um, but also like since then, like that's two years and it's like in the last five years, I almost feel like I have shifted from intuitive eating to just what I consider to be like. You know, it's just like normal eating, just eating.

spk_0:   1:1:27
I don't

spk_1:   1:1:28
even think a lot of the things that I used to think so much about with intuitive eating. I don't think about those things anymore. Like when I feel hungry. Don't think about it. I just eat. So there's even been a level then after that, where those things have just become so subconscious that there isn't the there doesn't need to be with the level of intentionality,

spk_0:   1:1:51
right, because that does seem like a lot of energy that people need to put forth in the beginning of intuitive eating. I even remember you were saying to start to notice when your food tastes bland, and that's one of the signs that you are full, and I'm like, I don't think I've ever experienced that before. But yeah, there's so many

spk_1:   1:2:12
signals that can that your body sends you and again, just like with hunger. It's gonna be different every person. But sometimes it's like the food stops tasting like as exciting. And you're just like, Oh,

spk_0:   1:2:23
okay, Yeah,

spk_1:   1:2:23
but I'm not hungry anymore. Or that you just naturally lean back in your chair away from the table like that's a natural thing that can happen. You know that you no longer feel the hunger signals that you start to feel like, more relaxed, that your mental clarity comes back. Like these are all some of the many ways that our body can communicate to us like a

spk_0:   1:2:45
cool Yeah, ee, Yeah, totally. I love to hear from you. What health advice you don't necessarily approve of. That might be trending right now that you're like eyes like, please stay away from this. It scares me. Yeah, I mean, really

spk_1:   1:3:03
to like in an umbrella sense, anything that makes you feel scared of certain foods that makes you feel food, fear or food guilt or that would attach your sense of self worth or morality to food. So anything that someone's telling you where you're like Oh, my gosh, if I did that like, I would start to see an entire like macronutrients carbohydrates are fat as being bad as human beings. We need that protein and carbohydrates. Those things are necessary and essential. And so anything where you're like, Oh, I'm gonna start fearing this entire huge necessary, like part of a normal, healthy, balanced diet that's like a huge red flag. Anything that's gonna disconnect you from your body's signals or make you feel distrust in yourself. So anything that would tell you how much you're supposed to eat based on, like calories or points or things like that and would have you focusing on these external indicators rather than let the internal and indicators Those are like huge red flags for me.

spk_0:   1:4:11
Yeah. Do you take any vitamins or supplements? I take probiotic Nice John.

spk_1:   1:4:17
I take It's like, really, I believe I can think of the name. It's like women. Women's something. It's in the refrigerator.

spk_0:   1:4:25
Sexual hat will link it up. Yo, addicts are so good for your guy. I think it's probably like

spk_1:   1:4:34
this is a rough estimate. Probably 57 days. I'm not. Yeah, I definitely have days where I forget to take, but yeah, I take probiotics, and otherwise I don't take anything on a regular basis

spk_0:   1:4:45
right now, I'm taking too many pills. I need his back, but they're all necessarily have super low iron. Um, and my energy has been really low. So I saw a natural health medicine doctor and I'm taking, like, B 12 of the complex. A liver pellet, All these things, really. But I'm saying you're actually next week because I'm like, I don't want to be taking all of these vitamins just too much here. I think

spk_1:   1:5:09
there are times in life where it's so awesome to have, like those things to support our body's natural processes. I've had times where I've had to go in for B 12 injections at the doctor's. Yeah, I've had time where time for taken IRS iron supplements Where I've taken vitamin D. What I think is dangerous is when people like read something online and they think that they should just automatically take all these supplements that maybe like their favorite instagrammers taking or something like that. If I could just encourage anything, it would be if you think that you might need a supplement, just go in and have your levels tested. Yeah, discover because it actually can be dangerous to take a vitamin that you're not deficient in right. And so It's just so important to just go and get those things tested. Get, you know, get curious with yourself. Get that information and then if you need something that it's amazing because there's incredible supplements available to help support you,

spk_0:   1:6:07
that's a great piece of advice. Definitely Get your blood checked prior to see your levels. And then I would say, Get it checked every 3 to 6 months to see how you're doing.

spk_1:   1:6:17
Yeah, you feel if you're feeling offer, you feel like something's Something's feeling off. It's totally It's totally a great idea to go and have that done

spk_0:   1:6:26
before we get into the personal questions. I want to ask you about morning routines because I know you're a big morning routine. Girl, Do you still have a morning routine? I know I listened to your podcast a long time ago with Chris, but I'm curious if that's changed or if you have any other daily practices that you d'oh! Yeah,

spk_1:   1:6:46
so my morning routine depends on if I teach far the morning or not. Two mornings a week, I teach a 5 45 ambar class, so those days it's like I get up. I brush my teeth after on clothes and head out the door. And then when I come home, have coffee and hang out with my husband and son and our dogs and have a family time then And on days when I don't teach far a lot of times like we'll get up And if weather permitting will go take a long walk around the park, take our coffee with us. So for me, like morning time is an opportunity to connect with you. No family or teach far TJ on I love I do a devotional every morning called Jesus called

spk_0:   1:7:29
I d'oh d'oh! Do do the book of the app the Yes, Okay, I was going to make sure this is like the exact same thing. Is this one? Yes. Yeah. Oh, I think it's like five or $10. But I love it. I love it. It's on my phone. I look at it every single day. I am. I'm not even

spk_1:   1:7:49
kidding when I say that I love my book around me like everywhere that I go. And so, like if I take a weekend trip, it's in my bag and I always think I'm like, this is so heavy, but I just really love. I like reading

spk_0:   1:8:00
it in the morning. E u just like change. But I I love that. Oh my gosh, that makes me so happy. That was a while ago. Probably. It's funny,

spk_1:   1:8:12
because I, my sister in law, gave me her Jesus calling book years ago after she had gone through it like, two or three years in a row at all her notes.

spk_0:   1:8:22
And then I used

spk_1:   1:8:23
it and the pages were falling out. Last year, my mom got me a new one and actually the original. What I had was just morning time, but the one she got me hasn't morning and evening devotional each day.

spk_0:   1:8:35
Oh, that's really cool. So that's usually just honestly read them both in the morning. I patient funny. Are there journaling prompts that. Come with that? What is that little like? No, it's yeah,

spk_1:   1:8:50
yeah, just the devotional. Like the Bible verses that it that it mentions. That's so

spk_0:   1:8:55
sweet on. Then what bar studio do you teach at? So girls can go there in Columbus? Yes. Oh, I teach and

spk_1:   1:9:01
take at Studio B Wellness in German village, but actually it's it's closing

spk_0:   1:9:07
on May 6. Also, yeah, the owner.

spk_1:   1:9:10
Nancy. She's just absolutely incredible. And she's had some really amazing things that happened in her life last year. She got engaged and her, her youngest daughter is graduating from high school. And so her life is just a She is starting like a beautiful new tractor of her life, and her fiance have plans to travel a lot. And so it is the end of the physical space tractor Studio B wellness at the end of this month. So very bittersweet because it's been my movement home for six years. I'm also like, you know what it's like when you have your own business. It's an extension of you. It's so personal, like charge wouldn't be charged without you and Studio B. It just wouldn't be studio view without Nance. It's such an extension of her and her heart and her love for this community of women that she's Bill. So I am just feeling very excited to celebrate her and everything that she's like created there and also for her to get to do something really special for herself in this next phase.

spk_0:   1:10:17
Oh, that's so exciting. Definitely better, sweetie. Yes, totaling So are you. So going to teach somewhere? No, you're done. You're done with that jab A life. I think I'm done. I mean, who knows

spk_1:   1:10:28
what I'll feel in the future? But I really I wanted to teach at Studio B because it's my name is like my home. It's my family. That's how I feel when I'm there. And so it felt really wonderful to be a part of that community and do that. But my business has grown a lot since then, and it is much more demanding of my time, my energy and also like our family's grown. And I have, you know, a son at home, and my husband and I are trying to talk about, like,

spk_0:   1:11:03
When do we want to try

spk_1:   1:11:05
for a second baby? And so I as sad as I am for it to come to an end, I just can't really see myself starting to teach somewhere.

spk_0:   1:11:15
Yeah, this point. Yeah, but who knows? Yes, I could have you brought up a good you're talking about your business. And I really wanted to mention beautifully in perfect cause. That's the Bigfoot community, right? Yep. Can you touch on that? Totally beautifully

spk_1:   1:11:32
imperfect is a totally free private Facebook community for women who are ready. Thio Let go of this idea that they need to be perfect and just support and encourage and love on in cheer each other on in this community as we embrace, are beautifully imperfect in real lives, and it's incredible. There's almost 700 women in there

spk_0:   1:11:53
now, and the women are just awesome.

spk_1:   1:11:56
Like they share. They opened up. They encourage each other they cheer each other on. It's such a cool. It's

spk_0:   1:12:03
just such a

spk_1:   1:12:04
cool it online space I love and, uh, and so grateful for the people who have joined and who are there and who trust me, Thio like guide them in this community. And I do. Facebook lives short, small trainings like anywhere from 15 minutes to our about once a week in there, and I pop in a couple of times a week just to interact with the women and be there with them. So it's a really, really cool online space.

spk_0:   1:12:29
Very cool. Well, we will definitely put that in the show now. Thank you. Yeah, for sure. And then you're finally free program. How does that work? Do you have just six months or a year due to initial calls? If someone wanted to work with you, what would that process look like?

spk_1:   1:12:45
Totally. So finally, Free is a completely virtual intuitive eating program. So someone who signs up for finally free we'll get a user name and password log in, and there's 12 amazing video coaching sessions work she. It's handouts like a guide, all of that within that community in itself Paste. And when you join, you have it for the lifetime of the program. And, uh, my dear friend and business finally, free business partner Paige met and I do that and she's a health coach out in California. And then I also do private mentoring, which is a six month private program. And I worked with a limited number of women in that way throughout the year, and we do an initial consultation call to make sure we're a good fit on dhe. All the details for that sake too

spk_0:   1:13:35
perfect. Okay, Very cool. I didn't know that was a virtual program. That's amazing. So it's such a

spk_1:   1:13:41
great it's really such a great intuitive eating resource. If you're someone who is you know, struggling your relationship with food wants to eat intuitively, want support, and it gives so much freedom and flexibility within the program. And it is just a really great resource.

spk_0:   1:14:01
Awesome. We'll charge girls. Definitely check that. Well, let's get into these personal questions. They could either be rapid fire or if you want to elaborate on questions, go ahead. You ready? Ready? What is one word to describe you, Silly? Why are your 2018 intentions

spk_1:   1:14:23
by 2018? Intentions are one that Thio really, really owned my value. This was like one of the big things that I wanted to do. This year I feel like I had done a lot of work Thio recognize like my worth as a human being and really get in touch with that. But I noticed that I was still saying yes to everything and just not not valuing myself in a lot of situations. And so this is the year that I'm really owning my value and putting in place certain boundaries and giving myself permission to say no more. So that was, uh, that was a really, really big thing that I wanted to do this year

spk_0:   1:15:06
I love that. I can't wait to hear how that goes. Totally. Who is a female you'd like to meet anymore? Yes, I walked her Mummy s so good. I just love her so much. Lawyer Top three interests Other than wellness, top

spk_1:   1:15:24
three interests other than bonus disc coffee has an interest? Absolutely. Coffee. I, uh, absolutely love Thio take trips. I love Thio B by the beach. I love to be in the mountains. I love to visit friends, so travel. But I would say like leisurely travel. Like relaxing travel. You know, like weekends with friends, Weekends relaxing like being out taking things like that. And all things nineties so nineties TV, movies, music Like all things, nineties pop culture I love

spk_0:   1:16:00
Oh, my gosh! Favorite nineties movie

spk_1:   1:16:02
favorite nineties movie would have to be clueless.

spk_0:   1:16:06
Oh, hello, Louis. So much. Probably. I mean, honestly, probably your movie. Well, that's it was how old were you in the nineties? I was born in 86 So I got four through 14 so Yeah, because I I was probably in middle school or younger. When clues came out, I remember me and my friends would watch that at our sleepover thing stands the test of time. Like I

spk_1:   1:16:32
could watch it. I mean, I do offer all the time

spk_0:   1:16:35
over. I need a watch is seven years. There's a workout you want to try,

spk_1:   1:16:41
But where does that I want to try. I really would love to try acro yoga. I think that would be so cool. I have I have a friend. I got sort of like instagram friend dreams. Maddie Moon and I love her. She's awesome to follow. And she does like a ton of acro yoga and watching her stuff. I've just been so inspired and it looks like so much fun. It looks so playful. So

spk_0:   1:17:04
that's not really loved to try. Yeah. Do they have a studio in Columbus? I wonder, you know, I think that

spk_1:   1:17:10
they might do some stuff with it at late

spk_0:   1:17:13
life. Okay. Yeah, sure.

spk_1:   1:17:15
Recently opened, but I'm not like that.

spk_0:   1:17:19
I like that. Totally, very cool. What is your favorite self care practice?

spk_1:   1:17:28
My favorite self care practice. I would say Like when I said that Jesus calling thing in the morning. Like just taking a few minutes to get really grounded in the beginning of the day, like through prayer. That devotional is really I feel like it's the most important thing that I d'oh Ah, nde Otherwise I just really love like hugs for my family. Like just letting them like receiving their love feels like a practice of self care. I

spk_0:   1:17:57
love that. What is a book? Every charge girl should read. Body kindness, letting go, Cleo? Yeah, This is awesome. What is your favorite podcast? My favorite podcast is, uh I love Let it out, E I just saw her. She is. Oh, my gosh. I am just mister. No, I ran into her in Sedona. That's wild. It was amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She's great. Yeah. So wonderful. Her neck. Oh, yes, that's amazing.

spk_1:   1:18:38
Katie is such a beautiful job podcast. And she's had such a, like, just such a cool, like, diverse group of, you know, gas, like

spk_0:   1:18:47
comedians and health coaches. And just like, all over all over the board. Yeah,

spk_1:   1:18:53
it's like a really cool.

spk_0:   1:18:54
Yeah, and they're all really long. So for anyone who loves the long form podcast, that would be the go to guy for sure. Yeah. Why are three staples in your kitchen?

spk_1:   1:19:06
Three staples in my kitchen. Peanut butter, Hardly. Peanut butter, coconut oil and sentiment of the things I use most often,

spk_0:   1:19:14
Luke Curious about right now.

spk_1:   1:19:16
Um, What? I'm curious that right now well, we are about to start this renovation on our house like I shared. And I am just so curious about the construction process, like I never I've never been. You know, I've never built a house from scratch or being like, part of of that kind of process. I'm curious about literally seeing the building, all the details and like what this is gonna be like. And I'm also curious about how we're gonna function. Look in the middle of construction zones,

spk_0:   1:19:47
lots of questions there that are yet thio. Yeah, that sounds fun. Yes. What is your favorite treat?

spk_1:   1:19:55
Hey, we had some Justin's.

spk_0:   1:19:57
I was That was that. There's a guy

spk_1:   1:20:00
in the red. Keep him in the freezer. And so I like love to have, like, a few frozen ones at the end of the day. Or I also do this thing where I'll put oats and chocolate chips and a scoop of peanut butter and melted for like, 30 seconds of the migrating mix it up and eat it so good.

spk_0:   1:20:14
Need so good. So yeah, Anything like that, huh? We I remember you shared a recipe in our previous podcasts. I forget what it was. It was sounded incredible. Like it was a teen. Yeah, maybe share that. What is that?

spk_1:   1:20:29
Yeah, I've been making a tumor blocks that night, which has been so cozy and relaxing. I so it wasa originally, the company was called Moon Deli, but I swear that they just changed their name. But it was Moon Deli, but they just did a rebrand like last week, and I order their tumor powder offline. And I put that in hot water and a little bit of coconut cream and blend it all up. And then I also love to take, like, a piece of chocolate coconut company, That's all. Just

spk_0:   1:21:00
like all like coconut peanut butter, chocolate. Oh, my gosh. Okay, we need to find out that exactly. Well, that tumeric powder. That's so good. Um, what is the most out their wellness trend you've tried? I once tried to do it.

spk_1:   1:21:19
This I won't try to hypnotize myself to weight loss. And I bought I bought this book That was like, I don't even know what it was called Something like nothing for weight loss and literally tried to hypnotize

spk_0:   1:21:29
myself. Bus story What is your greatest lesson on college

spk_1:   1:21:38
that you do not have to have it figured out?

spk_0:   1:21:42
What is your greatest lesson on career? Thio? Follow your heart. Greatest lesson. I'm being a mom.

spk_1:   1:21:52
Greatest lesson am on. Being a mom is to be compassionate with yourself and your little

spk_0:   1:21:58
one. What is the worst parenting advice you've ever received?

spk_1:   1:22:03
Oh, my gosh. Things are coming tonight. I would say I'll just leave it at anything that you know does not work for your head. Like people will try and tell you what to do. And sometimes like that just does not work for my kid or for me,

spk_0:   1:22:24
eh? So I'll leave it. I'll leave in a bat that every kid is different. Yeah,

spk_1:   1:22:30
and every parent is different. And you have Thio. You know, you have to navigate parenting intuitively. I think there has to be an intuitive element to it. Because what works for you know, a friend of mine, like may not work for me.

spk_0:   1:22:45
Yeah. What is your greatest lesson on friendship.

spk_1:   1:22:50
Thio, Ask questions and listen.

spk_0:   1:22:54
Greatest lesson on spirituality to have faith. What was your proudest moment from two

spk_1:   1:23:01
1017? My proudest moment into seven in 2017 was finishing the book. Yeah.

spk_0:   1:23:09
What is your personal mission statement?

spk_1:   1:23:13
My personal mission statement is Thio Do everything that I can to help create a world where women feel safe and empowered to show authentically.

spk_0:   1:23:25
Mmm. I love that last question. If you could give any one piece of advice for charge girls, what would that be?

spk_1:   1:23:34
I would say, Thio, honor your unique this and not feel like you have to do. Look what you're best friends. Do me or what? You know the other woman around. You're doing what? Your favorite instagram, you know, celebrity or influencer is doing and just really connect with yourself and follow what's right for you and know that it's okay. That's different.

spk_0:   1:23:57
Love that. Thank you so much. Semi thing. This is amazing. Thank you guys for listening and remember to rate in, review the podcast and you guys might earn a copy of Sami's buck letting go of Leo. Okay. See you next time. And just so you guys know we are currently in a hotel sitting down, so there might be some noises with the elevators, but this is the quietest place we found. But this certainly worked totally a cozy home. Enough. I love it and we can see the gym. So it's like it's perfect. Yeah, totally watching people on the electrical. I'm thinking if they could only come to a charter be someone happened. Exactly. It is like such a cute old Let's go to the Hotel Brown back. Okay, I just want to apologize and thank you all for listening like continuing to listen. We have moved from the hotel floor. Thio the workout. Now you're in the stairs. This way. Charge girls. Good morning. Yes, I'm talking to you. Was time to get charged up Because these days you knew this guy says hi Hands bluer than blue With the sun shining and all the birds chirping to two day is the best day to be alive The miracles appear once you open up your eyes Surprise time to keep living the dream So get up Enjoy the rest of your charge Tain