Speaker 1 3:35
Music. Hello and welcome to the uplift for her podcast. We
Unknown Speaker 3:38
have a really fun episode today, and
Speaker 1 3:39
I'm really excited to share with you. We have a special guest named Jen Pannell. She is one of our health coaches here at uplift for her, and we are going to talk about a lot. We're going to talk a little bit about health coaching and health and wellness and how to get the support that we need. So thanks for coming.
Unknown Speaker 3:55
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 3:56
I want to start by just hearing a little bit about yourself and how did you get into health coaching? How did this come about? Because it's been a little bit of a journey for you. So I got into health coaching about six years ago. I am a mom of five kids, and actually it was kind of a crucial time in my life. I was going through really a separation and a divorce, and it was probably my best skill that I had, and I had already done a lot of my certifications and my and I've been working with people kind of on the side, and it kind of the trajectory my pushed me into the direction of just finding a company, and I found, you know, a great company. Actually. I've been working on just building a solid, a solid clientele over the last six years, but really worked out great. I enjoy fitness and nutrition. I've always been kind of a geek and nerd, and I've just loved the way that our bodies work, and I think more so even in coaching, I love human behavior, and I love learning about how people's minds work and how, especially with fitness and nutrition, how that applies to fitness and nutrition. So. You know, it started kind of, you know, in a little bit of a forceful way, but it has been really good to be, I think, to show my kids as a mom, you know, it's actually given me a lot of purpose, and it's actually allowed me to help a lot of people, which has been incredible. So,
Unknown Speaker 5:15
yeah, yeah, that's so great.
Speaker 1 5:17
Have you been on a health journey yourself? Have you seen some of those principles come into your own health. Yes, I actually started more so just in high school, weight training, and then I just started reading the book Body for Life. Yeah, I don't know if you remember that one, yeah, but I mean, more so is just, I think more just a curiosity. I'm a very curious person. Like, it hasn't been like, this big, huge story, but I have had five kids. So I have gone through five pregnancies, and I have navigated each one of those very differently, and I think the way that I felt during my pregnancies was really a key component to me actually bouncing back quicker, not only physically, but like mentally, for sure. And so I think that just the knowledge base and just I wanted to change my body. I was doing group fitness classes, and I just really wanted to see some results and change. And so that's when I kind of dove into, like, a little more depth into it. And that's what led to my passion to, you know, to honestly, to help other people and to coach them. So tell us a little bit for those who don't know, like, what is a health coach, because I think you you hear the term, but I don't know that people actually know what that means. Well, I mean, I think there's a lot of different hats that a health coach wears. People really come to me. And I would say that the basis of why they come to me is they're looking for an improvement in their in their health, whether that be like weight loss, or whether that be like more energy, or just education overall, and in that health, in the health arena, right? And so I think that there's a lot of things that I do as far as education. I mean, that's basis of what I do. But accountability is huge. And I think a lot of people really struggle holding themselves accountable. I feel like I'm I'm more of a guide, like I'm a facilitator of trying to listen to somebody's goals and listen to what, especially if you know you have patients that are working with you and listening to what you know your protocols have been for them, and I can help bridge the gap between where their habits and their lifestyle is and where they really want to be, and progressing through that can feel frustrating and it can feel overwhelming, and a health coach can just really, I think, offer a lot of support and a lot of compassion. I don't ever feel like I'm here to, like, tell people how to live their life or tell them what they have to do. You know, I think I'm just here to guide them through just these little markers of the ways that they can improve, the way that they feel, the way that they think. I think mindset is so big when it comes to our food. And I would say, I talk through a lot of mindset blockages that people have and really getting them past that so that they can. I think, you know, I think sometimes people think their goals are far, like they're they're too far, or they don't believe that they can actually and a health code can believe somebody, just can believe in somebody, and really help you to believe in yourself, and know that you can do it. So, I mean, I do think that there's a lot to it, and once you start working, then it kind of progresses in a way individually based on the client or the patient. But you can see, sort of the rungs on a ladder to get from here to the top, whereas sometimes a person might go to their doctor and their doctor says, Hey, do you know what you're going to need to make these changes in your health to get this healthy outcome that you're going for? And we as doctors sometimes just give them a list of things to do and to assume that a patient can get from where they're at. Sometimes it's a long ways away, and sometimes it's not, but sometimes they need that guidance to really implement that. I actually think it's so so so important that we're talking about this, especially as a physician, I think I hear people say, Well, I went to my doctor and they sort of answered this question, or they told me to do this, and then they went on to the next patient. And a lot of that is complicated, because being a doctor, and the lifestyle and the number of patients we have to see, and all of these different things, it's it's complicated. It's not straightforward. But I do think that there's a still a gap with what the doctor is doing and then what people are supposed to do from there. You know, I can tell them, Look, your cholesterol is elevated, we really need to get that cholesterol down, and that's going to include a series of things, including optimizing your nutrition, optimizing your body movement, make sure you're optimizing sleep, make sure that you're managing stress. Now I do that a little differently. In my current practice, I take the time and we really go into all of those things. But that's not a simple thing. Just to hand someone a list and be like, go fix those things, and then your cholesterol will go down, and your risk of having a heart attack will go down. Right? That's too much to expect of most people, and here you are as this sort of intermediary to say, Hey, I got you. I know just what your doctor's talking about, and I can break that down into these. Doable steps, meeting you exactly where you're at. So if you have to go from A to Z, then we'll go all along there. But maybe you're starting at m, that's fine, then we'll start there. And maybe you're starting at whatever is negative to A, then we'll start there. But you have all of those, you have the fundamental knowledge of the lifestyle pieces that you can implement that. Obviously there's some knowledge pieces, an understanding of nutrition and understanding of body movement and the way the body works. And then there also has to be some tools that address more of the mindset piece and more of that coaching of, how do you get someone to change a habit? What would you say? How do you approach that that diverse range of needs when you're talking to a client? So I do a lot of digging, and I like to find out where clients like their environment that they grew up in. I like to find out what their work environment is like, or their home life is like, because a lot of those patterns that we have end up leading us to where we are with our health, exactly, and so our systems. And so what happens is, I end up asking a lot of questions, which then leads to a lot of self discovery. You know, I think conversation can really help a client or a patient develop a little bit better understanding of why they are the way that they are. And then some tools. You know, there's lots of different tools that we use in education, and I think our nervous system is a very, very strong component of choice, like why we do what we do, comes down to our nervous system and where we have straight or flight piece Yes, and how stressed out we are and how much, how much energy and time we even give to that. Because I think a lot of people are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Heads cut off and so just barely keeping it together and recognizing that there is a component of having to learn how to slow down and how to be more intentional, and how to listen to the cues of our body and how and those are things that I think a lot of if people don't understand how it's foreign, they don't really think that, because they're in fight or flight all the time, that that is a normal response to their entire life. Yeah, they don't know their stress because they live in fight or flight and they've never had to slow down. Yeah, and so, I mean, definitely getting to know a client and really building trust and a foundation of a good, good relationship with them, and I think a really helping them understand themselves. Really helps me kind of figure out which tools are best for which clients. I love that. And I think if you think back to our ancestral, you know, heritage of cave women, this would be simpler, right? You think about the world that they were living in, and it was food and survival and reproduction, and, you know, that's it predators. But that is not the world we live in now. There are so many things getting in our way. What do you find are some of the biggest things that that either got in the way to create these systems that are not serving people well, or things that are getting in the way of people really making progress? I think, for example, the way that food is pushed upon us, the way that we go somewhere and it's fast food, or we go over here and it's like cheese and potatoes, and even if you wanted to have a healthy lifestyle, it's sort of other things are kind of pushed upon us. What do you find are some of those barriers that create some of this, this turmoil for people? Well, like to go back to what you said about the caveman days, because people took a lot of pride. They actually spent all day thinking about what they were going to eat, yeah. And they and preparing their food was a big, you know, that's a big ordeal, right? Yeah. And nowadays, people tell me all the time, I don't want to think about my food. I don't want to think about what I'm going to eat. I don't want to cook the food. I just want to go and make it fast. And so, because we are a very productive society, and because we place a lot of emphasis on production and productivity, that is falling to the wayside, like that, that general just enjoyment with like cooking foods and preparing foods and and eating foods, I think that's a mindset block is like, I don't want to think about my food. And I tell people sometimes that in order to sometimes get the result that you're looking for, or to live a healthier lifestyle, you actually do have to think about your food. Yeah, you actually do have to think about the choices that you're making, whether or not you're driving through the drive through, and you have to stop and make, try and make a better choice, you know, or you have to actually plan a few meals at night to eat with your family. I think it's a matter of priorities, to be honest, I think a lot of people placed a lot of emphasis on productivity, and so we are trying to do too much, too fast, too all the time. And that really puts the emphasis on health at the back burner, because at the baseline of a good health comes from, I think, enjoying food, because I do think food is meant to be enjoyed, but I think a lot of us aren't enjoying it because we don't even know what that feels like or what that means, and we're not taking the pride in actually preparing it. I think there's pride in actually making a meal and giving it to our kids and knowing that it's got decent ingredients, maybe not the best all the time, but something, yeah, gosh, it's
Speaker 1 14:57
nuanced, isn't it? It's very complicated. I think it requires a little bit of soul searching and saying, What do you want? You know, what do you really want? Because our culture, and that's kind of what my question was, with those barriers, that culture that we're in is really getting in our way a lot. And the part that you mentioned is the idea of culture driving us to do more and be more, and be present and make sure that we're doing this, and I've seen, as I'm sure you have on social media, different things where they say, as long as you just follow this checklist of 150 items, then you'll be nailing it. And yet, I think we have to be really honest and a little bit blunt with ourselves and say, Is this really in line with my end goal, you know, is being more and doing more and being busy and making sure my kids are in every activity, and making sure that I'm there and making sure I'm doing all those things. Is that in line or do I need to to find the fulfillment, to find the peace, to find the health that I want? Am I going to have to do a little soul searching and a little bit of realigning, you know, to say, if I can't fuel my body, if I can't fuel my brain, if I can't recover my nervous system and find that peace, then is it worth it, you know, and that's going to be a different answer for everyone. So I don't think we have to be too harsh about it, but I do think it has to be a question that we sort of have to have some hard truths when we're making health decisions. Well, I love, I love the word alignment, because I really do feel like people are misaligned, yes, and I don't think that they even know why they do what they do, yeah. And so when you have somebody come into me and they're like, I really want my health to be a priority, and I have to explain to them, like, Is this in alignment with your lifestyle, is this in alignment with your priorities? Because things are going to have to shift and move around if you want to play this higher place this higher on the list. Like alignment is like, it's it's ingrained in you. And I don't know that most people even know what they are aligned with. Yeah. And I think, as a health coach, that's a goal of mine, to try to help people become more aligned, because if they're saying they want their health to be a priority, or if they know that there is something maybe wrong, you know deficiencies, or if they know that they've got some health concerns and they're worried about it right and helping them align themselves and get them on the right track. I always tell people I like to tweak things that they're doing. I don't want to overhaul your whole life. I just say, let's, let's, let's place importance on things that are going to help you be more in alignment. Yeah, and then let's maybe find out what areas that maybe we could, you know, make a compromise on.
Unknown Speaker 17:31
I think that's so great.
Speaker 1 17:33
I spoke at a conference a little while ago, and someone asked me a question at the end of all of this, and I was teaching them mainly about the nervous system and this fight or flight and how it affects our health, and how it even affects the health of our families, if we're stuck in chronic fight or flight. And a woman asked a question at the end, and I didn't answer it in a satisfactory way, and I've thought about it since, and the question she asked was, at the end of all of this, like, I'm a busy working mom, there's so much pressure on me, I'm already feeling beaten down and worn down, and here you're telling me one more thing that's my fault, you know, one more thing that I have to do to make sure that, like the world goes how it's supposed to. And I think part of the answer that I gave her is, is the answer that I would give today, which is, I will not withhold truths because they feel heavy. We have to understand that the things that we do affect us. But I hope that people can understand this from a state of empowerment of the things that we do affect us, you know, and that means, as you become empowered with information, you can say this thing that I'm doing is not getting me where I need to go, so dang it, I'm gonna change it, and I'm gonna do something different so I can get where I want to go, and then that puts the control back in front of us. And I think that it is a little tricky, this balance between empowering women to do the hard things and to see the hard truths, but also avoiding guilt and shame. So the part of the question that I didn't answer then, that I wanted to answer now, is that question, even the very question, comes from a place of fight or flight. It comes from a place of I can't handle this. I don't know if I'm enough. I don't know if I can do what you're telling me to do. So please take this burden away from me. I don't want that knowledge because I don't know if I can handle it. And that's where I think we get stuck. If we don't feel like we can handle the information that's going to help us change our lives and change our health, then we'll just be stuck in sort of a in sort of a spin cycle of just just survival, just barely keeping it together. I think on the flip side, if we can come to that point of trusting the system you know, trust this, the habits that we know are going to improve our mental health and improve our. And improve our relationships and improve our energy. If we can trust that health system, then we really start to see those big wins. What are your that was a long winded comment, but what are your thoughts about that? No, I actually what that made me think of is how people, or as even children, we are not taught to take care of ourselves so as mothers, you know, when we are caretaking our children, we are giving pretty much, and I see this a lot, where people are giving every ounce to their kids, to their husbands, you know, like, there's a lot of giving. And I think there is a component of, like, kids, children grow up to see their moms giving, and I don't, and this is obviously generalized, but, you know, we're not taught that taking care of ourselves is actually an important component. I see this so much with women, where they don't even give themselves permission to actually take care of themselves. And what actually taking care of themselves looks like, I teach a lot with like batteries, like I fight or flight, to me, is like when your batteries are completely drained. And I always tell people that, you know we can operate off of an empty battery, but most of us know that when we operate out of an empty battery, we are not truly we're not charged, and people are not getting the best version of us, and we're not giving the best version of us. And so I like to talk about ways that we can charge our batteries, and does that mean sometimes that is giving up some things that drain us? Absolutely, I would say is I've actually in my own personal life, I've had to give up a lot of social functions and extra extra things in order to prioritize myself, because my kids are important to me, and so is my husband, but I am truly important to myself, and so I know that if I'm not taking care of myself, that I am grumpy, I know that I am short fused. I know that I my relationships really suffer and so and and I can see the overwhelm that people feel. Because if you're raised in a productive home, where you're validated based on your productivity, and you're validated based on how many things you can get done in a day, and it's selfish to take care of yourself, that is a very common cultural thought, and that it's virtuous to lose yourself completely and to pay attention to everyone else first, that's when you're doing it right, is what I think a lot of people kind of have that thought. And there's a balance. I feel like there is, there's, there's a crossover. You can be really selfish and only take care of yourself, but I feel like there is a balance where people can do specific things that really charge their own batteries, right? And it's not the same for every person. You know? I mean, a good walk does something for somebody, where somebody finds that to be maybe more draining, or some meditation is really great charge. And other people find that make them really anxious, you know? And so I think it's really tapping into, okay, yes, I give myself permission to do things that help charge my batteries and help me get on, be more in alignment in my health journeys. I do have permission to take time for myself. But what does that feel like? It doesn't have to feel like my neighbor, it doesn't have to feel like you, it doesn't have to feel like me. So that's exactly that I love, that. I think one of the things that that probably comes up for a lot of people next is, so you just added to my to do list, right? Like, I have this list, and I see people who are doing it, and they say that, like, okay, so I'm supposed to wake up and I'm supposed to meditate, and I'm supposed to get some natural sunlight, and then I'm supposed to eat a healthy breakfast, and then I'm supposed to go work out, and then I'm supposed to eat my protein after my breakfast, right? And you just get this list going, and I think it can feel a little bit overwhelming. I think one of the things that's been true for me in my own health is you start to find the efficiencies, you know, you start to find the ways that it doesn't have to take as long. But what would you say to those people who are like, I don't disagree, but like, I need 10 more hours in the day. I say, pick one thing, yeah. And once you start to feel the benefits of the one thing, the one thing becomes easier, yeah? And then after the one thing, you can add a second thing, yeah. And once your energy starts to feel better, you're actually going to create more time in your day to feel and you won't want to miss out on the one thing. The one thing becomes the priority. It's, it's a fascinating sort of thing that people can't grasp when you're overwhelmed by it, because they're trying to just bite off way too much all at once. Yeah, and it's really, really integrating something that you if getting up and feeling sunlight really brings you joy, and you can tell and your whole day is affected in a positive way because of it, you're going to want to drink more water, or you're going to want to go for a walk, right? But when you're already starting off with an on an empty tank and you feel drained and you feel tired, you're not going to want to do anything else the rest of the day. So doing that one thing, not only psychologically, says I did the one thing I did it, it's actually going to motivate and create momentum to want to do more. Yeah, oh gosh, that's so important. I think that fatigue is such it's like trying to live life with one hand tied behind your back, like, if you're exhausted, how do you ever get. On, not even productivity, like, how do you ever live the life that you want to live if you're completely exhausted? And so it does end up in that negative cycle of, I'm tired, so I didn't do the thing, and because I didn't do the thing, I'm more tired, but I have to go do these other things, so I'm going to do those, but then I'm more tired and I'm more tired and I'm more tired. One of the things that's been really exciting for me in my health journey is seeing the improvement in energy. You know, I was, for anyone who knows me growing up, I was like, I mean, not just growing up for most of my life. I was that person who I have many, many random pictures of me sleeping in odd positions, because I just fall asleep anywhere, everywhere. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, I will just fall asleep because I was so utterly exhausted. And it actually makes me really sad that I've lived my life so tired, because you just live life figuring out what to cut out, you know, what can I do, or what can I not do because I'm just so tired? Well, that's not going to happen because that's too tiring for me. And so I've become kind of a like, I have so many patients come to me and say, Well, I'm tired, but just so is everyone else. And I almost get mad about it. Like, no, not everyone else. You don't have to be that tired. My point with all of that was, as my energy has improved now, I come home from work and I'm like, Hey kids, let's go for a hike. Hey kids, let's go play. And then I see these, these priorities in my life start to cross over, where the things that I want, like having a relationship with my kids, cross over with moving my body, which crosses over with feeling comfortable in my skin and feeling, you know, like I like my body, esthetic, you know, those things should cross when we're living in alignment, those things should cross. It should all be the same. But man, fatigue is, is a big it's a big, big thing to deal with. What would you say is your approach to a woman with fatigue who comes in and says, I am just so tired? What are your big bang for the buck? Sort of strategies that can be helpful? Well,
Speaker 1 26:59
nutrition is number one, yes. I mean, honestly, if, if the macronutrient breakdown is out of balance, you know, and a client's not getting enough protein or fiber in, you know, that's a, that's a really, if they're going all day without food, yeah, and I know that a lot of people intermittent fast, and that's a lifestyle choice, and some people feel really great energy. And what I found is some people try it because they want to lose weight, but honestly, for energy reasons, they don't feel as good. Yeah, but, but food and nutrition is a huge one. If we can start balancing out those nutrient those those macronutrients, and we start to get them eating on a little bit more of like a maybe more of a schedule and more of a routine, what I typically notice is people's energy feels so much better. Yeah, and sleep is always a huge one. And you know, if we're not getting enough sleep, and that's always a really struggle for people to I would say, look at that. Some people have more of a they're closed off to the idea that they can actually get more sleep. But usually, actually, when nutrition improves, I see a lot of improvement with sleep, because people aren't waiting too long in the day to eat, and then they are not waiting eating large meals at the end of the day. And your body actually has a harder time sleeping when we do eat a lot of food right before we go to bed. I mean, the digestive tract is, you know, on, and it's doing a lot, and so I would say nutrition. I also think slowing down. I think learning if we're running at a really fast pace, and that one is, you know, people have things they need to do, and me too and you too, right? We're not, we're not, not busy. People taking deep breaths throughout the day and really just taking maybe five minutes to have a timeout sometimes can help people's energy drinking more water. These are simple ones that can just really elicit, elicit a different energy response? Yeah. I mean, if it's if it's greater than that, then usually that's where you come in. And you do blood work, and we find the bigger issues. But lifestyle wise, I think nutrition would probably be the number one. But I agree with you. I will say I've been really surprised doing more integrative medicine, changing from my career in more conventional medicine, where we say, I don't know what to do for you, into integrative medicine, where we can really help people when we fix that nutrition, at least half the time, that's all it is. So we do do testing for B 12 deficiency and vitamin D deficiency, and then the list goes on and on and on when it comes to fatigue, but at least half of people their fatigue gets better by just addressing their food. And I'm not talking about like, massive overhaul, like vast differences in their food. I'm talking about eating a full breakfast with healthy nutritive foods, and then eating a good quality lunch. And those two things, a large part of the time, will be enough to really fix that energy level. Yeah, I just started with a new client recently. And I mean, the smile on his face, like two or three weeks later is he's like, my family's sick of me, because I've never seen me with so much energy. He's walking more. He's just, he's alive. Yeah, and we didn't change much, other than we got him to drink more water, we got him eating more. Nutrient dense foods more often, and my heart just like was like, this is exciting, exactly why I do what I do, because this isn't a lot. This wasn't a huge lifestyle change for him, but those light bulbs going off really makes him choose food from a different place than he was choosing it before. I think that's so important, and I kind of want to use that to use that to transition. I think a lot of people come to us both for weight loss, right? Like, what prompts people to get healthy? A lot of times it's when they hit some sort of weight, either they're not happy with how they feel, or their joints hurt, or their their cholesterol is going up, but something that they come and say, I've got to lose weight, and what you just said is kind of the more exciting part is there was you didn't mention anything about weight, but now this person that you helped is feeling better, and just things start to work better. So transitioning a little bit, what is your approach to people who are coming in and saying, I want to lose weight? How do you approach that from a weight loss perspective, and then what other sort of approaches are you kind of adding to that to help them to really improve their overall health? Well, I mean, I don't like to change a person's goal. You know, when somebody comes in and they say, my goal is to lose weight sometimes, I mean, I have no business telling somebody that that is not a good goal, because it actually is a driving force to get them to come and get some help. Yeah, with this particular client that I was just telling you about, what I love about that is once we started to just get them into a routine, and that's basically what I start with, is just being like, Okay, I kind of look at their nutrients and what they're eating, and I try to help them figure out and learn what a balanced plate looks like. You know, help them figure out around how many calories or what their needs are, calorie wise. But he didn't come he came in for weight loss and he got energy. And a lot of times people come in for weight loss and they get so many other things, so well, more energy, better sleep, I think, improved even relationships with family, I think, an improved energy for working out. I think they start to feel a lot more confident. I think that they start to learn to trust themselves a little bit more. So, you know, if they come in and they do weight loss, I mean, that's, that's the end of the day, that's their goal. But at the same time, I like to work on a lot of the mindset pieces, and I like to ask them, you know, why is weight loss your goal, and why is this important to you? And a lot of times, people just want to feel better. And I really, at the end of the day, try to reiterate that over and over, because if you've lost weight, if anybody of your patients have lost weight, it's actually like clockwork, lose weight down 20 pounds. But what do people do people do once they get down to 20 pounds, they sort of go, Oh, I got here. Hooray. And then they sort of go back to their lifestyle choices, yeah. So if I can pinpoint all the amazing things that are happening in conjunction with them losing weight, what I try to teach them is, I don't want you to lose weight. I want you to lose weight and learn how to feed your body and make this a lifestyle so that you not only lose the weight, but you for the most extent that you keep that weight off, yeah, and that you learn how to feed your body in a new way, and you you create new patterns of behavior, so that when you do go out to eat, like you are looking for leaner, leaner choices, and that when you are at a family party, you're you're kind of understanding how to pick and Choose the things that are worth it for you, or looking for the nutrients that we've talked about that you know, that you you know your body needs. And so I think weight loss is a great goal, and I think it's fine for people, but I do think that they get far more, you know, from me as a health coach, than they're expecting, just because that's not always my goal, I completely agree. I think, like, it's easy to want to lose weight, and I don't blame people, but I think I'm aiming for more. You know, I want you to have joy, and I want you to feel great in your relationships, and I want you to feel great in your skin, and I think you can be what weight you want to be, and still not feel great in your skin. So if I just force the weight off of you, then what? What have we fixed? But if we can use that transformation to say, now I'm happier. I know how I want to live. I'm spending different time with my kids. My kids are now seeing me healthy, so their lifestyle is healthier. There's so much bang for your buck when you start really changing. This from a foundational perspective, from a whole lifestyle perspective, and also, just like confidence in one's body, you know, I think I get people who are like, I want to use 50 pounds, and I'll get them 25 pounds. Won't be 25 pounds down, then they feel great. Yeah, health markers are good. Their blood work comes back, and it looks better. And they honestly just look at themselves. And I really, like, you know, I don't think I need to be another 25 pounds down, or I'm good for right now. I want to practice this, and I want to keep going. And a lot of times when people keep continuing the habits, you know, they actually end up, you know, losing a little bit more down the road. But, you know, I think people have this idea that once they get to a certain weight, they'll suddenly. Just magically be happier. And I do think that there is some, you know, there is a lot to be said about having a goal and reaching that goal, but a lot of them, a lot of the the journey and the things that you learn along the way are really what, what people I think they're not looking for, and they get as a byproduct. And it's like so fun to watch. So what would you say to someone who says this all sounds great. I don't know if I can do it like that. Sounds hard. I don't know if I'm ready to take that on yet. What would you say to someone like that? I never try to force people into something that they're not ready for. I don't I say I'm always here as a health coach, and I know that at some point, you know, I know that health coaching can feel scary, because I know that a lot of people have never worked with a health coach before. I try to reinforce that I'm here for them to guide them through this program. But also, you know, I want people to be in a headspace where they are completely or are ready. But also, sometimes you just need to start somewhere too well.
Unknown Speaker 36:03
Also,
Speaker 1 36:04
how do they how do you reassure them that you're not going to just, you know the expression, eat the elephant one bite at a time. How do you reassure them that you're not just going to, like, hand them an elephant? Because I feel like, as physicians, that's kind of what we do, right? Like, here's everything you need to do. Go ahead. How do you reassure them that like that you can do this. I like that. So I reassure them by just letting them know that they're in charge, that you get to decide. Like, I am not here to try to, like, change their whole life. Yeah, I am here as a facilitator to help them with whatever their goals may be, and we can progress as slow or as fast as they want to, yeah, and that I'm always here to listen, and if I'm going too fast, or if I get ahead that I'm not opposed to being corrected. And you know, this isn't about Yes, I can adjust the plan as we go. A lot of reassurance, a lot of reassurance that I understand that it can be scary. And over time, as they learn to trust me and they learn to trust the system that I can I almost can guarantee that they'll feel better. Yeah, and I think it's such a wonderful thing to work with a coach and to be able to have that accountability, but also to have that cheerleader like we I think especially as like busy moms and busy working women and just women in general, I don't think we get a ton of, like, validation and a ton of like, you know what? I'm really proud of you. Like, job well done. I just don't think we get that a lot. And so it can feel kind of thankless when we're spinning our wheels and we're trying over here, and then it doesn't happen. And so we are ashamed of ourselves, or we feel guilty. And so then we get back and then we get back and we say, Okay, I'm going to try again. And we go try. And it just is kind of a lonely process. But with a coach, you get someone who's literally like your buddy on this health journey, who's going to be cheering for you and rooting for you and and helping you kind of keep nudging those steps forward. So I think it's just such a it's such a wonderful thing. And I think that people who haven't experienced it, who feel like a lot of self shame or a lot of like negative self talk or beating yourself down, I think it can be such a good thing. A good coach isn't here to judge people, right? I am not here, and that is actually one of the first things I tell people, is that, like, this is a safe zone, yeah, and I am not here to beat you down or criticize you or make you feel bad for the choices that you made. I'm here to count your wins. I mean, 100% of what you said. I got two texts this morning of clients that had really big wins, and I was just, I am here to be their cheerleader, and I am here to actually reiterate that when, when they're winning, I'm winning like it's a it's it's really important to have that type of a person that you can actually without judgment and without any without any criticism or anything in your life, that you can just go and, you know, give high give people like high five, yeah, yeah, yeah. It makes life so fun for us to see people's wins. And when I get patients come back and I say, you know, they started with eight or 10 symptoms that we were working with, with fatigue and hair loss and all these things. And then at some point, I have a visit with them, and I say, so what symptoms do you have now? And they're like, none, none. No, I don't have any symptoms. I feel great. Like, that's hard to beat as as a helper, you know, to feel like, okay, well then great, go enjoy your life. Like, there's, it's so much more fun for us to see it from that angle than to be like, Well, you shouldn't have done that. I mean, that just doesn't. There's, there's no space in my brain for that. I don't have time to judge or time to criticize or like, it's, it's, I don't know if people understand that, but that that is the furthest thing from my mind, and I'm sure from yours too, same, yeah, people are not motivated with criticism. No, they just aren't. No, people are motivated by inspiration and by, you know, really recognizing where they're doing a good job. So how do you balance this idea? Then of I get some people who say, like, I don't understand why I'm feeling this way, or I don't understand why I'm gaining weight, or I don't understand why this. Going on with my health, I do a pretty good job. And then we'll go through their lifestyle factors, and they are doing a pretty good job, and yet it's not matching up right their health or their metrics, or whatever metrics they're using, like energy or feeling good, they're not getting the outcome for what their lifestyle is. And so I think sometimes we have to push people a little bit further, like, you're right, you are doing a pretty good job, but your body needs a little bit more, but at the same time, not pushing them into perfectionism, and that idea of like you have to do all of this perfectly or else your health is never going to improve. How do you walk that fine line with them? That is a really tricky one. I mean, a lot of times if I'm seeing that, I'm sending somebody to get blood work done just to make sure that there's not underlying issues, because there's stuff that I miss I don't I'm not a doctor, yeah. But, you know, I think that the perfectionism is I have walk a very fine line between people becoming neurotic and really, really trying too hard, and usually it's a small tweaks. I have a couple clients that I'm working with now who are like, Well, I'm eating really healthy, but their perception of what they're doing and what they're actually doing, and seeing like taking a step back is and I'll talk about somebody in particular, but she has extremely high cortisol. I can tell she doesn't stop. And the more that we talk, the more I understand that her environment is creating a lot of the health problems that she's actually in. And that's a very, very touchy subject, because I'm also not a therapist, and so it's really trying to get her to see how she is eating healthy, and it's praising her for eating healthy, right? But when it comes to weight loss, and that's kind of why people see me and why she's not losing weight, we have to dig a little bit deeper into a little bit more detail, and I have to get her to understand that, first of all, eating healthy does not equate to a calorie deficit. It doesn't necessarily. She actually is eating more calories than her body needs, but she's eating all the good things. And that's something that, you know, we kind of talk about, and it's more or less very it's a step. It's baby steps at that point, because you really do not want to create any neurotic behaviors, or, you know, help make people feel that they're not doing good enough. And it's just kind of getting them to see things from a little bit different perspective, and a little bit from the science part of it. I think that science component, and I try and tell people sometimes it's like throwing darts, like we got to try one thing, and then we'll see if things improve, and maybe that there's a domino effect when that one thing happens. But that's why I think a health coach, health coach can help, because they're seeing things from an outsider's perspective, but that's definitely something that I and I ask clients, like, how's your mental health? Like we're working on this right now? Like, are you mentally doing? Okay, yeah. Do you feel like you're getting into a perfectionistic mindset? Do we need to back off a little bit? Yeah, that's actually one of the things that I think is so important about having someone to work with to see consistently, because even just talking about it with some regularity, to say, like, I've had patients who say, like, I can't count macros, it sends me into a bad headspace, like I just can't go there. I become fixated. I can't do that. And by having a coach and working with someone consistently counting macros or not counting macros, you can check in and say, Okay, we're gonna make this adjustment. How does that feel? How's your brain doing? Are you becoming too focused on it? Do we need to pull back? But I think the other part is when we're taking more of an integrative approach. So at uplift, for her, we have a physician myself, but then we also have a health coach and a dietitian, mental health support. So we're kind of taking this whole person approach, and when we're doing that, we're actually improving health. So the body and the brain are working better. So I think as they start sleeping better than they're a little bit less likely to become fixated on things. And then when they're well nourished, their brain works a little bit better. And when their nervous system is calm, then they're it all just feeds. Yeah, it all just feeds itself. So well, as we heal different aspects of the body, it all heals, you know. But so we focus on adding food and adding rest and adding recovery and adding healing, and then I think it makes it a little bit easier not to fixate, but that idea of triggering, you know, and orthorexia, orthorexia means, you know, fixation on healthy foods, and it's a real thing, you know, it's a real thing as people go on this health journey, to say, as long as I live perfectly, then I'll be healthy, and that that that's actually unhealthy, you know, which is a tricky, tricky sort of thing, but it's so important for us to keep monitoring and to really work together as a Team for people, and then to have that regular accountability where they can say, like, I don't think this is sending me in a good direction. We need to change things. And then you can, you can, you can adjust and tweak things so it serves them better well. And I think the macro client you were talking about is a good example, because I do get that a lot where people will come to me and be like, I've tracked macros, and I think it's. Lack of understanding of what it actually is. It's basically just an education component of how to balance nutrients on a plate. Yeah, and when, when I when, sometimes adopting the mindset of somebody who has a healthier relationship with food, I feel like my own mindset feeding onto others and trying to educate them what macros is and what what it isn't. And it's not about perfection. I actually have some tools that I use in coaching and teaching through macros that I think alleviates a lot of stress,
Speaker 1 45:25
like find the health advice that actually resonates with you. And my big goal is to be very mindful about wording and to use things like nourish and fuel and add and heal. And how are we doing that, and I think that that approach matters. You need to be the expert of yourself, and you need to find the team that's going to align with that feeling that you get. Healing should feel healing. It should feel nourishing. It should feel like you're in the right place. So just a just a vote to like, tune in to that inner voice and that inner feeling and know your body, you are the expert of you, and the more that you're an expert of you, then the better you'll do. I think anything fear based or that instills shame is something you should run away from. Yeah, yeah. And there's a lot of it, yeah, there is a lot of coaches and a lot of practitioners. There's a lot of information out there that's very fear based, and that's not how I coach no no. And I think that it it totally ignores the fact that we are a whole being and our brain and our hearts and our minds, they're all in there. They're all communicating with ourselves and our body and our metabolism like we're not somehow like a mind and a heart over on one side, and then like metabolism and ovarian function over on the other side, right? Like we are one big, integrated creature. And so we have to address the mindset and the self love and the self compassion. And, yeah, I could talk about this all day, because I just love the wording, you know, I love the the words that come from that that I mentioned, of fueling and nourishing and healing, and that's, that's the vibe that I hope my patients get, and it's the vibe that I want them to have to really get good, sustainable healing. That's what I love about you, too. Thanks. That's why you, I mean, you're very much in aligned with how I, yeah, how I've coached. So, yeah, well, Jen, I am so glad you came. This was such a fun conversation, and I know we're going to have more conversations in the future, because it's just so exciting to talk about, and it's so exciting to be able to really focus on women and to give them hope and to help them understand that it's very doable. And I hope they've gotten that today that this isn't this shouldn't feel overwhelming. These these changes that can bring this great help that we're talking about, they're really doable changes, even if you've tried and they feel so hard and I've failed before, whatever fails means right, not my word, but even if people feel like they haven't been able to do it before, try again. Get get the right help, get the right support, because I do feel like it's doable. Oh, absolutely. And I'm so excited to be here. Oh, good. I mean, I think I have a lot to offer for your patients, and I'm really excited to be able to, you know, teach, what, what you preach, and help people bridge the gap between where you have them and where they really want to go. Yeah, from implementing now, how can people work with you? You are here with us at uplift for her, so I know they can find you on our website. What does it look like if they work with you? They go to the website, they can sign up for a consultation, and then what is your preferred way to go from there? So you can find me on the website and set up an appointment. We can do a package deal where you meet with me on a regular basis, or we can actually just do like an a la carte where you touch base with me here and there. It's basically based on your goals and how much you need and how much assistance and accountability you'll need. And you can see clients from all over the country, everywhere, and they don't have to be uplift for her patients. So you don't have to already be seeing me to come see Jen. Oh, just come to the website and set up an appointment and we can go ahead and get started. Ah, we're so excited. You're here. One of the things that we really agree on is the importance of setting that really, really great health foundation with nourishment and movement and stress and sleep and gut and all of those good things. And those are things that you can really help people with lay that great foundation. I'm really passionate about people working with a health coach to lay the foundation before they come or in conjunction with coming to a doctor. So then I, as the Doctor, can really dig into the medicine and focus on the, you know, the medications or the supplements or the tools that we need for interventions, building that upon a really great health foundation, I think people get better results. I think they get more long lasting results, and they just feel so good. Which is, which is awesome for me. I love seeing people feel better so that that's an option, and I encourage people to use it. 1,000% Yeah, yeah, good. All right. Well, join us next week. We have another episode coming up. You can follow along or subscribe to be notified about that, and thanks again. Jen, thanks, Mallory, you.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
