Studio Chat
This is where conversations about self care and life happens, to help you to become an expert in your own life when it comes to self love and self care. To trust your gut and have your own back and to strengthen your mind/body connection."To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness".
Studio Chat
Optimal Health & Wellness with Erin Todd
Unlock the secrets to optimal health and wellness with my guest this week, Erin Todd an integrative health coach from Melbourne. Curious about what it really means to achieve optimal health? We'll guide you through the essentials, illustrating that optimal health is far more than just the absence of disease. We also emphasise the necessity of understanding your unique health needs and the transformative power of small, manageable changes.
We also tackle some of the more complex aspects of health, such as understanding stress, emotional eating, and the challenges of modern food consumption. Erin offers invaluable insights into women’s health transitions, including the often-overlooked phase of perimenopause. We talk about the importance of community connections and self-love, encouraging you to take a proactive approach to your health.
@findingyour_flow
www.findingyourflow.com.au
Welcome to the Studio Chat podcast, the podcast designed to be your companion in the journey of self-discovery. I'm Barbara Thompson, your host and a dedicated therapist. I'm the founder and owner of Self Care Studio, a private counseling practice With my clients and courses that I create. On this podcast, I'm committed to ensuring that you have the support that you need. I created this podcast as a space for you to feel a sense of connection and a reminder that you're not alone in this thing that we call life, this adventure. This podcast is your weekly reminder to trust yourself, live life authentically and embrace the path that is uniquely yours. Together, we'll explore ways to break free from people pleasing, overthinking, allowing you to claim your time and energy to live life on your terms. You'll be joined by myself as I take you through some episodes or, during the year, I'll have some special self-care experts as guests on my podcast. So, if you're ready to step into a life that's truly for you, join me on this journey. Let's navigate the twists and turns of life together and, more importantly, live your life for you. So thank you so much for choosing to spend some time with me today. Let the studio chat begin.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of the studio chat podcast. My name is Barbara Thompson and I'm the host, and, as I've mentioned a few times before in this podcast, the reason why I started this was to have conversations about self-care, and a lot of people may think self-care is obvious I know how to wash myself and brush my teeth and eat and drink and that's all I need to know. But as we get older, there's so many different layers of us and our mind and our body and what we want to get out of life and health. So that's why this podcast is a great stepping stone, a great reference tool, a great way that is free for you to be able to get curious and find people out there that are your people, because it's really important too. So I'd love to welcome Erin Todd to my podcast. She's in Melbourne, hi, erin.
Speaker 1:Hi Barbara, Nice to be here.
Speaker 2:It's so nice to have you here and you're from. Your business is called Finding your Flow and you're a health and performance coach. Can you tell me a little bit more about what you do?
Speaker 1:Oh, that's a big general question, but I don't know where I'd start. I guess, in a general way, it's about supporting people to perform at their best around their health and wellness, because our health is so important. If we're feeling well and we're optimizing our health, then we can perform better at anything we do, whether it be that work, or being a parent, or being a daughter or a son or, you know, in all relationships as well. So I think it really starts with how we're looking after ourselves, which I don't know, sometimes we forget to do. That Like again, it's that self-worth, and sometimes I guess women in particular will look after their family before they look after themselves, whether that's such an important thing for them to do as well. So it's really about helping people feel good and perform at their best, in a way.
Speaker 2:And that's what people are looking more into as well. What got you into doing this line of work?
Speaker 1:Okay, so I'm actually a trained clinical psychologist. So I worked for many years about 20 years in mainly hospitals. So I worked, I guess, what you would say, the more illness end. So I worked with kids with cancer, kids with brain injury, I worked with adults with multiple sclerosis. So lots of different roles.
Speaker 1:And there was a period of time about I don't know eight to 10 years ago where I also had my own health stuff happening and I just had really low energy. So I went on this exploration and to sort of, I guess, trying to help myself feel better, I got introduced to sort of functional integrative medicine and did some more study and sort of health coaching and understanding what's happening with the body as well and how, adding that to what's happening in the mind, so that real mind body connection, and started my business to support people around that. Like that mind body connection, it's not just you're looking at the body or it's all in your head, it's all really really connected and the way that we do things, the way how healthy our body is, also impacts our mind and vice versa. And so the idea is sort of getting out of, I guess, the hospital system to try and get into a view where you are optimizing your health and you're thinking about wellness, not just illness, and just really passionate about helping people understand that side of things as well.
Speaker 2:I can imagine being on that level of being in those hospitals supporting and hearing people's stories about what they're going through. If I was to ask you, this might be a bit of a. I mean, we all are same, same but different. I really believe that as a clinical psych, you'll notice that there's always overlying or overarching themes. So we are all different but we all kind of have the same kind of pillars. So when you're with people in hospital that are not at their best self, what was one common overarching comment or feeling that you would hear people say?
Speaker 1:One overarching comment. I guess. Often when I was working with people, it's a real time of crisis, whether it be themselves are sick or someone in their family, like their child, is sick and I think there's just an overarching thing, idea of sort of either fear, this, not knowing, this, feeling very powerless and helpless in that, and sort of hoping for the best, and sort of sometimes a bit of confusion about what do they do. Sometimes there are health decisions and how to manage that, but I think there's a. I think, particularly when people are ill and have just been given a diagnosis, there is that feeling a bit of helplessness. But also sometimes, when they have a diagnosis, it's like, okay, we've got a plan, now how do we go ahead with this?
Speaker 1:I don't know if that really answers your question about the one thing, because it is quite. We are all the same. I think you're right, but we also have based on our own experiences with health and wellness and and things like that and what our early experiences are, so to also impact how we sort of go forward and and manage that as well. Yeah, but it was absolute, I guess, privilege and honor to be working with people, um, and supporting them through those really hard times and hopefully helping them through those hard times as well.
Speaker 2:We're lucky to have you, because if I was there I would have liked to have you for sure. For sure, because a lot of us and I can speak to this too sometimes, you know, take our health for granted. And some of us, no matter what age, let's say, don't treat our bodies the best way and take it for granted. And then when you hear people that are sick, I think the three main things that I wrote down when you were talking about the overarching idea, three words kind of came into mind there's fear, fear, certainty and control.
Speaker 2:I think sometimes, when our health, you know, could be, with what's going around now the horrible flu and bugs and walking pneumonia and all that kind of stuff it's kind of like, okay, my body's got this for a reason. Let me find out, let me learn about myself, let me learn how can I take care of myself, how, like you know, what can I do to help myself? So, yes, it's great to have doctors and everyone and really professionals around us, but I think sometimes it's really good to take a moment to be like and let me just make this really clear obviously this is not when you just get a diagnosis. There's more important things to worry about. But I mean before or after, like later, I'm just talking when you get a moment to.
Speaker 2:I think this kind of leads into the optimal health side is getting to know yourself so you can be the best that you can be. So I know optimal health is kind of chucked around everywhere, but what would be the best way, because you work in this space every day, of explaining it to someone that's listening to this right now? What is optimal health? Best way, because you work in this space every day, of explaining it to someone that's listening to this right now. What is optimal health?
Speaker 1:yeah, I guess it's. It's trying to look away a bit like a bit different, like it's not just being not sick, it's actually being well and optimal and having that energy that you need. And having, um, from inside perspective, like the bloods are going, are good. But also, you know, do you have the energy, do you have the capacity, do you have the? Are you not fatigued, are you sleeping well, are you sort of nourishing your body? So it's sort of, when we're thinking about optimal health, it's moving away from that idea that you're just not sick.
Speaker 1:So often we'll go to the doctor and we might get blood tests and all your bloods will be in the normal range, and so then you go away thinking that you're okay. Or it can be really frustrating if suddenly you're fatigued a lot and you go to the doctor and your bloods are normal and therefore there's nothing to do. But this is a shift in mindset, I think too, because the normal range is essentially can differ from lab to lab, but also it means it's the bulk of people and that doesn't mean that your bloods are in the optimal range for your age or your body. And so when we think about some of those blood tests and functional and integrative practitioners do this a lot. You think, well, maybe that's, for instance let's use an example vitamin D. Well, maybe that is within the normal range, but optimally, maybe you need to increase it by a certain number of points so your body is working at the best level it can be.
Speaker 1:So it doesn't necessarily mean optimal health meaning, uh, we just go really well and we end up at the olympics or we've always got energy, because we're also all all very different and sort of we're all fighting different things. Our bodies are very different and sometimes some of us do have with, sometimes a chronic illness, so our optimal health could be less than someone else's, but it's really good for us. So it's really sort of looking at where are you at now and where could you be in the future, to have that more energy, to have that time for your relationships to be able to communicate, to be able to sleep well, to be able to have the energy to make good food for your relationships, to be able to communicate, to be able to sleep well, to be able to have the energy to make good food for ourselves and things like that. So we're trying to be the best that we can be in a way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and everything's connected. So I think to a lot of people now, if they hear, like hear, anything to do with optimal health or functional medicine or biohacking or green juices or anything like that, I think people now are so overstimulated and so confused that they just don't know where to start and um, are just so overwhelmed because at the time my list, I could add, I could share so many things, but I was just thinking a lot of people have been living with something for a long time that it's their normal and they just go oh, I'm too busy or I'm scared to know what this is. I mean, it could be a melanoma check, it could be headaches or migraines all the time. It could be grinding your teeth, it could be joint pain, it could be rashes, it could be hormonal health to do with your cycle, your gut, your skin, your digestion, like there's so many areas of our body that I how do I describe this? So a lot of people you know we live on automatic pilot we don't really stop to think how am I feeling? Oh, I'm joint pain or it takes me a while to get off.
Speaker 2:You know when you I don't know what age it happens, but you know when you sit on the floor, sitting on the floor the other day, and you know, when you get up off the floor and you, you kind of make that noise and I went, oh no, I'm that person that you know because your parents do it and you hear them, you go, oh, that's an old person thing. And then the other day I did it and I went, oh no, like when did that start for me, getting myself off the floor, kind of you know that noise that people make. So I like to keep things lighthearted, but I mean, this is a serious conversation that we're having that. What I mean by that is it can be the smallest whisper that your body is giving you. And life is busy. Life is tough right now bring up a family financially, just trying to put food on the table and trying to just do this thing that we call life. I get it.
Speaker 2:But sometimes our bodies are whispering so much that we um, have had our whole lives and it's either normal I've got this dicky knee, or my elbows sore, my shoulders sore, I've got this rash, or, um, my period's always painful, or I don't poo for five days, or, like you know, whatever the thing is, it can be normal. So, and then people on social media and anyone's like oh, you've got to do this and you've got to meditate for five minutes a day and then you've got to get some fresh air and get some light in your sun balls, light in your eyeballs and like all the stuff that I think it makes people go. Oh my god, why can't I just live my life like?
Speaker 2:it's all all or nothing. So what tips can we give if we're looking at optimal health and someone's going okay, all right guys, all right, barbara and Erin, I want to look after myself. Where's the best place to start?
Speaker 1:yeah, I often talk to people about going back to the basics, like I was talking to someone the other day and they were, um, investigating how to regulate the nervous system and investigating doing things like shaking. And then I took them back to the basics and they I realized that they probably have less than half a liter of water a day. So it's like, let's, let's just put all that stuff that you're researching just to the side right now and let's, let's go back to the basics. And when we think about the basics and if we think about it as a tree, the roots of the tree that we need that will be important to look at are things like hydration and and nourishment, so what we're, so what we're putting in our bodies movement and exercise, sleep, community and joy, like what fun are you having in your life, as well as how are you managing your stress. And it's not. There's sort of five things I would say, and it's not about going. Well, I need to fix these five things straight away. I think, again, it's about just picking one thing, and with this person that I worked with the other day, we did. We focused on hydration. So how can she get at least two liters of water in her body a day. Like, how can she start that? What small things can she put in place? And if you're thinking about time and money and all that stuff that you just spoke about, to be able to put a glass of water next to your bed in the morning to make sure you have it, and have a drink bottle that you make sure you fill up two or three times a day, it's not that expensive, but also it's not that time consuming. And if we're busy with kids and things like that as well, what we're also teaching them is how to look after themselves. So if they're seeing us hydrating, then they maybe understand the importance of it as well. So I think it's taking some of these key basic concepts and trying to integrate them into your life as well.
Speaker 1:Often I'll talk to, maybe, parents who are trying to create that health in their life as well, and I just talk about well, what's a fun thing that you do, and so often mealtimes can be quite stressful, so we try and figure out well, what can we do just before dinner, maybe with the kids, um, with some families and stuff I've talked about. Well, let's, let's just dance around the kitchen for two to three minutes, and maybe every day. Um, every day your kids choose a song or you can introduce songs from your youth and it is it's two to three minutes. It's regulating your nervous system before you sit down to a meal, so you're relaxed, which is going to help your digestion and it creates that joy.
Speaker 1:So, if we're thinking about some of the roots of the tree, it's like that community and relationships. It's fun, but it's also managing your stress and it's preparing your body to sit down and eat something. So it's how do you make these really small changes in your life without it costing everything, without it having to be fancy and buying a sauna or doing this? Saunas are really good for you. There's evidence about that. But let's start at the basic and start at the roots of the tree and see where we go from there without putting all the stress on you as well.
Speaker 2:I love this conversation we're having. It's so important. Let's just stay in that community and joy for a moment. I don't think many of us have joy in our life, right, you know, for a long time, because it's the hustle and the grind and the work and to do better and be better, and that narrative of go, go, go, go and one day leads into the next. And you know, just looking at the calendar, now a couple of days time we're going to be in august. Um, where did that just go?
Speaker 1:yes, I don't know.
Speaker 2:The years go too quickly so that's the thing community enjoying community it's. It's also too, I found through this podcast I found a lovely community online. So when we think of community now, it doesn't necessarily mean like old school, like if you've got old school neighbors and old school community with your kids and and sports and stuff great, lean into that more, but also community now. Is anyone around the world like jumping on a zoom, going into any facebook groups and joining communities and feeling connected and sharing common interests? Yeah, and sharing stories?
Speaker 1:yeah, and it comes back to the we're all the same, like it's all important for us to have community, but some of our communities are quite different, so some of it could be neighbors, some of it could be neighbours, some of it could be online, and it's really figuring out what's working for you. Like are you satisfied with your community at the moment? If not, what more do you need? Do you need more in person? How can you get that?
Speaker 1:I think it is harder these days because there is more options of where to go and you have to be able to do that, and it's also easier in some ways because you have that worldwide community online. So I think things have shifted. But again, it's coming back to what you think you're needing and sort of really checking in with yourself. Like, is it enough? Um, is one of your things that you change? Is you make a weekly commitment to connect with someone on the phone that you haven't for a while? Like, is that gonna bring more community and more connection in your life? Um, but, but I guess it comes back to also that being aware of where you're at and what you might need and also being able to empower yourself to know that I can do something that's going to support me as well.
Speaker 2:I think, honestly, when people think back to basics of health, optimal health, I think some people would actually forget water to, to be honest. But sleep, yes. Nourishment I like how you said nourishment rather than food or diet and the other ones. But the two that we're just focusing on now is the community and joy, but also stress management Can you tell me a little bit more about that stress management.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's how we manage our stress. So stress is a daily part of life. We're not going to get rid of it, um, and and in fact we do need it. Like our system is designed to respond to stress, um, what the more. What the difficulty is in this day and age is there's lots of little things around us that we see as normal, that can be stressful. So, even like a text message on a phone or an email that comes in, it sort of alerts us, it creates that small stress.
Speaker 1:Um, so it's, it's how, how we find those ways to be out of that fight flight system and into that sort of relaxed state, um, and sometimes, like, as you say, it just feels normal for us to live in a stress state, that it just feels like normal and that's what it should be. But actually there's less opportunities for us in the modern world, in the modern Western world, to be out of that fight flight system. And because of that, we need to be more conscious of that and we need to have ways to to manage our stress and, and that could be something like managing it in an environmental way. So you know, if the phone's stressing us out, can we put on airplane mode for the afternoon or have a day where we don't check it, or take some apps off our phone or something like that. If it's something else that's stressing us out, is it? Can we change the environment? Or do we need to manage our own internal body? Like, is that going to help if we do five to 10 minutes of meditation in the morning? Likely yes, because there's a lot of research behind that. But again, how are you going to fit that into your life and how can you make that something that is easy for you to do? That creates that pocket of time where you're not as stressed as well.
Speaker 1:But again, stress is normal. It's understanding your body and where you're at your body and where you're at um, and even if we think about um, stress the nervous system as a whole, like even some some of the nervous system is it's all the nerves in our body and it's how it responds to the internal environment as well as the external environment, and some of our stress responses, even like that freeze response that we, we've learned about, and even you know we, we could, we could argue that procrastination is a. It's a small state is a on that continuum is also a bit of a freeze response. So if we find we said we've got really good systems in place but we're still procrastinating, then rather than a time management problem, it's probably an emotional stress management problem that we need to sort of look at. But what people will often do is then beat themselves up for not being able to do it and procrastinating and then put themselves in a worse stress state.
Speaker 1:So again it's understanding our nervous system, having strategies to manage that from an internal perspective, but also an external perspective as well, and again that's part of that awareness thing as well. So like I think that stress management is a really key thing to sort of support people, to intervene with, because it does impact. You know the key stress hormone is cortisol and it impacts our other hormones as well. So it not only interact and impacts us at an emotional level, it can impact us at a physical level as well, and this is where that mind-body connection comes in one way.
Speaker 2:We talk about stress and a lot of people may have had it for so long, since high school or something, and they haven't got rid of it. What are some physical symptoms that you see with your clients that you know that they're highly stressed?
Speaker 1:um, well, there could be so many um and again, it depends which part of the that system that they're in. So it could be things like um, your digestion's really poor, like when we're in the fight flight system, our digestion turns off because it's not important for us to have digestion at that point, because we're trying to sort of flee or fight. So there could be issues with digestion. There could be again. It could be fatigue If you're in that freeze state. It could be that procrastination, it could be fear, it could be anxiety, it could be that not really being able to sit still, like a lot of people talk about, oh I couldn't just sit and do nothing. Well, actually you could could, but it's a, it's a struggle because you're in this stress, stress state, um, so there's lots of emotional symptoms that come with it, again, like fear and anxiety. But there can also be lots of physical symptoms that come with. It could be difficulty sleeping, um, you know, poor concentration, overthinking, um, many, many different types of things, I guess yeah, no, but this stuff is I'm not.
Speaker 2:Most people won't realize that that's stress. Most people take it down to a personality trait, like I hear a lot of women say, oh, I can't sit still and I'm like, oh, okay, well, we need to talk about that. Or also, if someone's listening to this now, or you know, you've got that uncle, or I used my dad used to do a lot, so I was thinking of uncle or dads. But I've done it in my life where, like, if you've got your on your tippy toes and you um jiggle your leg up and down, oh yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:so if someone's doing that and I guarantee people listen to this, go, I do that it's the nervous system as well. So it's kind of and this is what I mean these things can go by us all the time and next someone's at their family dinner and they're going to be like oh, you're jiggling your knee, your nervous system, you're stressed. This is the normal stuff that people don't talk about because it's normal. Yes, that's why we need to unpack it and be like what is stress?
Speaker 1:yeah, and it is unpacking for each person. Like you know, some people's um system might be more prone to shutting down, you know. So it's that procrastination or depression or not being able to get out of bed, whereas some people's systems are in that much more fight-flight system Maybe they're quick to anger can get really irritable, like yelling at their kids or yelling at their husbands. These can all be part of how our nervous system has been impacted.
Speaker 2:Or sitting in the car when you get home, in the garage and just not wanting to get out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a big message, that's telling you something's not right yeah, well, after the shower you sit on the end of the bed with your towel on you and you go oh, what do I now? I've got it like you have to. Really, you feel, because I've been in that moment. I get there often, you know, when you sit there in town you go, oh, okay, now I've got to do the thing, you know, and that's just. I'm normalizing.
Speaker 2:It's very normal and we can go in and out of stress, and that's what I mean. Stress is good for us and it's part of life, and the more we embrace it and understand what enables us to feel stressed, the more that we can put things into place to help us. But stress is good, like it helps us meet deadlines and it helps us with all sorts of things. It can drive us. It can, you know, push, push us to do some things that we may not want to do, like I don't know the taxes, or mowing the lawns, or I don't know putting rubbish out, but it all matters. And I think too the other thing. So we talked about community and joy, we talked about stress and the other one, movement exercise, I think, is really self-explanatory. I don't really want to, you know, that's people get that, um, but nourishment is really big and I think it's big because it's so different for all of us. You know in the beginning how I, how I mentioned that like we're all kind of the same.
Speaker 2:But I think this is one area in particular when we talk about optimal health. Not only is it, like I always refer it to, like a fingerprint we all got. If you look at your fingers, we've got a fingerprint. No one has that. I've got a fingerprint. You have one. People listen to this. You've got one. It's all different for all of us. So why are we trying to eat like everyone else when our genetics and our fingerprint is so different? So when you talk about nourishment, it is nourishing your body. What is good for your body at this time? So you know, I'm nearly in my mid-40s, so I know what I ate when I was 20 is different to what I can eat now. And my taste buds, your taste buds, change too. So even if we're talking about a health level, I know when I was a kid and growing up I hated cucumber. I like gagged, I was like yuck, and now I love it.
Speaker 1:So it's kind of your tastes change, but also your nutritional needs change yeah, yeah, I mean I think there's some general, general things that we can say. Like the ultra processed foods, you know they're not, they're not good for us. Um, I guess when we think about eating, um, we think about eating whole foods, non-processed foods, um. But within that, that can change for some people, like some people can have a reaction to things like tomatoes, with other people don't. So it doesn't mean every like tomatoes are a healthy, healthy food, but it doesn't mean everyone can eat tomatoes. And also it also comes back to, obviously, you know, you'll know this all the gut health stuff. So if our gut isn't functioning right and not, um, you know whether we've got a leaky gut or something's happening, then the foods that we eat may be different. So we sort of have to heal the gut first and then then introduce some of the foods slowly as well. So it can be a really complicated um issue, because there are a lot of people out there that, um, they get, they, they find a diet or a food plan that works for them and therefore they think it should work for everyone and I don't think it does and then it can become in a way, almost like a religion, in a way, whereas if we think about some of the, you know in the blue zones, where the parts of the earth that have the most people that reach 100,. You know in the blue zones, where the the parts of the earth that have the most people that reach 100, you know they have some commonality in these zones, but they're the foods that they're eating are different, um and and. So it's looking at some of those commonalities and it's thinking about, well, what is it happening for me? Um, what's my Even, what's my relationship with food? How did I develop that? What happens when I eat? How quickly do I eat? So sometimes it's not even again the food that you're eating. It's like you're not chewing it properly, you're eating in a stressed state.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of research, talking about the timing of food as well, that impact us, so it can become really complex and, again, like I, I try and help people break that down to the simple things, like you know. Let's look at the. How do you, how do you, shift from eating a lot of ultra processed foods to eating fresh foods? How do you create those, that space at dinner time or lunch time or whenever you're eating, where it's a much more relaxed space rather than um, or let's rush, get everything. Um, everything done. We've got to do this. After this, how can you maybe get outside rather than sit eating at your desk? So there's just a lot of strategies around. That isn't even totally about the types of food as well. That impact how we nourish our body we talk about processed food.
Speaker 2:I know you and I both know why it's not the best, but I don't think people really understand why it's not good. Have you got um like? From my point of view, I'll just share that. I mean, sometimes in this day and age it's convenience and it's a price and it's cheaper. But the best way I always say to people is always like it's not about perfection either. It's convenience and it's a price and it's cheaper. But the best way I always say to people is always like it's not about perfection either. It's not about having, because people can go the other way. People can go the other way and it can and it can create um eating disorders and stuff where they go.
Speaker 2:Okay, I'm not going to eat any processed foods. I'm going to read everything on the packet, I'm going to study this and I'm only going to eat clean or I'm only going eat whole foods and it gets them obsessed and there's nothing wrong with that. But what you think about when someone's obsessed and really like cutting massive groups out of their food? That creates an imbalance in the body and creates stress. So someone can be oh wow, you're so healthy, like you only eat meat and vegetables and fruit and nuts and seeds, and someone can be like, yes, but the whole time they can be, okay, what I ate today, okay, I can't have this. I'm going out for work. Drinks can't do this, like it's that all or nothing. Where I think empowering people and getting them to understand like a life, how you sit on a basic level is what I explain to people is you look at what's in food now is different to even what it was in the 80s. So you look at what's in food now is different to even what it was in the 80s. So you look at the back of anything, if you can't pronounce the words or you don't know what it is, nine times out of ten it's full of chemicals to make you addicted to keep having it. So then the company makes more money, but it's actually not technically food.
Speaker 2:So you tell people when you eat a burger and chips from any of the fast food joints or you may have a pizza, I guarantee you maybe an hour later you might be hungry again. You might be like, oh my God, I'm such a pig I can relate to this. I'll smash down a burger and chips and then, like an hour later I'm like I could probably do that all again, and then some very healthy appetite. But what does that do for our mental state? It makes us think, oh my gosh, I'm a female, we're not supposed to eat. We're supposed to eat like sparrows and starve ourselves. And oh my gosh, I've just had a burger and chips and an hour later I'm hungry. What's wrong with me? And that's where I can start the mental load.
Speaker 2:But I want to share with people what's happened. Is that burger and chips? If it's not kind of homemade or you don't know really what's gone into it, it's all the chemicals that when, when it goes into your body, your body is like I don't recognize any of this, I don't really know what it is. So you've put something in me and I'm going to poop it out, but I'm not going to take it as food. So that's why, now or later, you're looking for food, because that meal you had before wasn't technically food. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1:yeah, so you're not getting the nutrients that your body needs, so it keeps searching for more nutrients and creates that, that hunger. So you know, that can be common. When people aren't getting the nutrients that they need, then they they always are hungry as well and this is where we sort of are seeking out that food, but also, as you say, that mindset around what's wrong with me, why don't I have any willpower? You know, which is one of the myths around sort of the eating is like that. You need willpower to be on a diet versus looking at what, what, what your food and your meals are made up on. That's going to nourish you. That's going to make sure that your body sort of feels satiated and full yeah, and I'm going to normalize this.
Speaker 2:So through my food journey like I've had all sorts of ups and downs with food and being a bodybuilder and all that stuff you know that's really um exacerbated food. You know good food and not good food, to the point of where I couldn't even eat carrots because carrots are too high in sugar. So I've been through it all. But something I want to normalize with people is you think about it? I'm just going to give you my personal example. Say, if I get a burger from what is it called here? Hungry Jack's? So I have like a whopper and some chips and I'll eat that.
Speaker 2:I'm a kind of in-between eater, like I'm pretty quick, but I'll chew it, kind of gulp it, chew it down. It's salty, it's yummy, it's quite yum, it's really. As soon as it touches my lips and my tongue I'm like, ooh, this is yummy, right. But then if I was to make a, what are ingredients? Maybe a bit of steak or a bit of mint, some rocket, some sweet potato, a bit of olive oil and then like just some cucumber, like whatever kind of. I've got a meat, I've got a carbohydrate in there and it's so beautiful, looks so yummy. I can't wait to eat it. I take a lot slower to eat that and I probably don't finish it.
Speaker 2:So can you kind of see the difference? I'm trying to normalize it that you're not a pig. There's nothing wrong with you. It's just how the kind of compounds of the food is the burger and the chips are made for me to, as soon as it touches my tongue, to be like a little kid and get excited and be like this is real, oh my god. And you kind of woof it down in two seconds, no matter how quick eat. I think you eat that so quick to whether you have, like a salad and like you know, some seeds and some meat and some sweet potato or pumpkin. You kind of got all the food groups that you've got a protein, a carbohydrate and a fat and some olive oil, like some oils or something, and you eat it. I know, personally I still love that rocket or the sweet potato, but I notice my habits when I eat it. I eat it slower. Yeah, I'm still enjoying it, but I know most of the time I tend to push my plate away and look at it and go, oh, there's still food.
Speaker 1:There isn't that interesting it is and I think you've brought up like so many things when it comes around the eating thing as well, like there's that we talked about the willpower thing, but it's like that idea that there's something wrong with us, which I think does happen a lot when people I mean for want of a better term in terms of people are talking about emotionally eating and they feel that if I emotionally eat, there must be something wrong with us. But if we think about our history and where we have come from, we we emotionally eat, even when there's like happy stuff happening. You know, like it's just because we have emotions around food. It's actually very, very normal. So if we think about when we're born and when we're, before we even learn language, we connect um food. Maybe it's with a bottle or at our mother's breasts.
Speaker 1:We connect food with comfort and often, sometimes you know, when mums are trying to the baby's crying and maybe they're like, oh, is it food? You know, and often they often might offer up food to sort of help calm their child. So it's it's actually really normal to have emotions connected with food. You know we think about um, we may have a. There may have been a favorite recipe that our grandmas made us or something, and so we see that particular recipe or food and it creates this feeling and this reminder of of of them.
Speaker 1:Um so, so if, if we emotionally eat, it's not that there's something wrong with us. It's that we're very normal and we have a history that have created this in us. It's not that we're deficient in willpower or that food is the enemy, and often I think, when we are emotionally eating, people are looking at food like it's the enemy, and all these things, I think, aren't don't help in terms of the nourishment of our bodies no, it doesn't, but I think when we look at cultures like the Italians and the French do it so amazingly.
Speaker 2:They have a balance. They know how to live, um, and they live on the wild side sometimes a little bit. You know, with wine and and, like back in the day, cigarette smoking and stuff god forbid. Uh, when I traveled to France 20 years ago, everyone was still smoking around and and I know a lot of French people live to really um. I'm not endorsing anything, by the way, but what I'm showing is the whole, everything you've talked about back to basics and the balance of everything and the joy and you look at yeah, especially the Italians as well everything's made from scratch, but everything is such a balance they don't cut anything out yeah, and I think sometimes we like, for instance, if you're wanting to, maybe you've chosen to not eat gluten and it's not because you're a celiac, it's just you think it may maybe it isn't as good for you, or something like that.
Speaker 1:But if you, if you're going to a friend's house and they dish you up like a lasagna, you've, I guess you've got to make that decision about do I take their food and be okay about it and don't stress about it and create that community and be at dinner and things like that, or do I sort of go no, I can't eat that, and then feel like you've done something rude or get too stressed about it.
Speaker 1:And so sometimes if we don't have the like again, if you're allergic to something, then you need to say no. But sometimes we need to find that balance between some of the that, those roots on the tree like that, the bottom like yes, we can eat that lasagna and have that enjoyable dinner, be grateful that someone's made and sharing their, their food with us and have a good night. And then when we're home, the other five, six nights a week, we eat well, um, and so sometimes we have to make that decision between well, it's not quite the food I'm eating, versus the community side of things. Um, as well, and and sort of not get too stressed about it um, I mean, cultural aspects are also like incredibly important. Like I know people who's you know their mums, their, their job is just to feed you and you go to their places and they're like if you're not eating enough, it's like what's wrong, things like that.
Speaker 2:So it's sort of how you manage that in your, in your own life, and be okay with the decisions that you're making as well yeah, it's also important especially when we talk about the whole gluten thing how it makes you feel, because some people can have it and some people can't, and it changes throughout your lifetime too. So just because you can have it now doesn't necessarily mean in 10 years your body's going to be okay with it. But I know, through my life so far and you know going through times, because it's a process, it's a learning process, it's not all or nothing. So I go, you know you're learning about yourself all the time, and I go through stages myself where you know I'm being really mindful. I work with a naturopath. This is just what I do and working through. Okay, I'm really going to start documenting things down, because I don't know about anyone listening to this, but I can't tell you what I had for lunch yesterday. I can tell you what I had for dinner, but I can't tell you what I had for lunch two days ago or whatever. So sometimes I'm mindful where I go. Okay, I'm just going to. It's not from a diet perspective, it's just me. I'm going to write down what's going into my body and then how I feel and what's coming out of my body. That's all I'm concerned about.
Speaker 2:And I know, when I've been eating, let's just say, less processed food, I go to my friend's house and have a lasagna and I'm pretty good with gluten, but I can tell you about 15 minutes later I'm like, oh, I'm going to go to the toilet. And there's nothing worse than when you eat really well and then you go and indulge and then you're like, oh no, and it can make you in all seriousness, even if you don't have any intolerances. Sometimes it can make you quite sick. You know how, sometimes, if you eat like relatively whole foods and I'm going to treat myself, there's a nice. What's that nice? There's a burger chain in New Zealand called Burger Fuel and they make like you know really, um, nice, kind of homemade burgers type, if you want to.
Speaker 2:But I know that. You know I hadn't eaten a burger and chips for ages and I decided to treat myself and have one and that was relatively a clean burger and I ate it. And within a couple, you know, 15 minutes later I was like, oh, I've got to go to the bathroom. So I think people can relate to that. Everyone's got a story of yeah, you know, had a trainer, I went to the gym and I started just to mindfully watch what I was eating and all of a sudden I had the ice cream, or I had the subway or something. And then next minute, oh well-oh.
Speaker 1:Well, it's interesting, isn't it? Because it's even our terminology and language. We use Like I'm going to treat myself, you know like are we treating ourselves with processed food? Or how did that come about? And you know what's good and what's bad and what's treats, and I think even being aware of what your language and what your family background is and how that's impacting your decisions are really great things to explore too yeah, so when you go on a date, you've got to be careful.
Speaker 2:No, but in all seriousness, and it's hard, even you can study it. I've studied it, I'm a nutritionist and you, oh my gosh, there's always new things coming out. But I think if you bring it back to yourself, bring it back to you know yourself better than anyone what makes you feel good, what makes you like, what makes you feel full for two or three hours. Do you know? Like? When I have oats, I feel great and I know some people. I've got some clients that can have oats and within half an hour they're hungry again. Yeah, where I can go four or five hours easy, my blood sugar is really stable and I'm good, but that doesn't mean the next person next to me is like that yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So again, it's that. It's that awareness, isn't it? And experimenting and notice it, noticing, noticing what's happening and understanding what's happening with your body, and yeah emotional eating is very hard for um.
Speaker 2:It's something that just kind of can sneak up on people, um, and it can be something. I think it kind of was hard for a lot of people in COVID because there wasn't really much to do. So people were like I'm gonna make the bread, I'm gonna do some baking and I'm gonna do all this kind of stuff, but at the same time you think about what everyone was going through at that time. Again, these three words fear, certainty and control yeah yeah, like much Similar, isn't it?
Speaker 1:Like many more emotions and not knowing what's going to happen the next day and being restricted from seeing your community as well. Like all that sort of stuff was like huge huge. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And it just kind of all leads on to. I think it leads on to like us, especially as females, really important to understand your body every month, what's happening. Um, just taking the time to be like like I I've always, without even knowing, ever since I got my period can't even be how old I was, but it was young. I've always, and I had a little diary back then, like I still do now um, I would draw a little flat, I don't know why it was a flower, I think it was 11 or 12 whenever I don't know how old I was when I got it. But ever since then, um, myself, no one taught me I would draw a little symbol in my diary and I've tracked my period since the beginning. It's not saying that I'm perfect, but it's like, even back then I had this inner knowing of okay, this happens every month. I just want to know when it's happening and I just want to know how I feel. Oh, I don't feel great. And then, two or three days later, oh, that's why and I know a lot of women can relate to this They've just snapped their husband's head off, or they've got short with the kids, or I remember when my hormones weren't in balance and I didn't even know back then what hormone or what that was.
Speaker 2:I was just moody before my period and I remember when I'd go to work I just wouldn't even want to say good morning to people at work and I was one of the managers and I'd get pulled up all the time. Can you actually walk in and say good morning to people? And I'd be like I actually don't want to, I don't actually, and only be one or two days. And then one of my co-workers who I'm very close with, he'd always be like well, I know why it's. And he was right. Every time he'd be like you're getting your period tomorrow and I'm like, oh, you're sick, that's gross. And he was right. Every time he could read me he knew if I didn't walk in and say good morning, he knew that the next day was the day for me, yes, well, this is the interesting thing too.
Speaker 1:Like women have those cycles and men don't, and we live in this world that and it is probably more masculine we're expected to turn up every day being the same, and that's not exactly how it is. And I do like there is a much more of a movement these days where people are help tracking their cycle and even making some decisions around what they might be doing based on where they're, like they're, in this cycle. So, for instance, when we get our period, um, you know, often that's a time where we do want to sort of shut down, shut out the world and have rest and and give our body permission to do that, which I think is really important, versus just pushing through. And sometimes we can't, sometimes we have lots of things on, but but maybe that's the day rather than going out to a movie. You have a movie at home. You know, like things, things like that. It's just that it's starting to again be kinder to your body.
Speaker 1:Like what is? What is it needing right now? What, what, practically, can I give it and how do I support it? And and just reflecting, if, if you weren't able to, then it's not your fault, it's the world and you know everyone is busy. But how, if possible, can you give yourselves that, that that care, like maybe it is just I'm going to go to bed an hour earlier or half an hour earlier, or something like that, and I'll leave the dishes to tomorrow, or you know, like that, that kindness to ourselves?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I wondered too. There's more talk about perimenopause, there's more talk of people just, you know, back in the day it was just like you go through the change, you lose the plot and then you come out the other end and then like you're old, I don't know. That's kind of like what most people would think, right, like you kind of. Now there's this whole science of understanding. Is this thing called perimenopause, which can last for 10 years before menopause, and menopause actually means that you don't have a, you don't have a cycle, you don't bleed for 12 months. So people like, oh, I didn't even know that, barbara, so it's kind of understanding what the word actually means. And that people listening to this and the woman that I know that have, you know, gone through I hate saying the change, have just gone through menopause and are at the other end, feel so good, they feel so alive, they have a new lease on life. It's like they're 20s again.
Speaker 1:It's so interesting too because it comes back to that mind-body connection, like what what we often think about is. One people are surprised that they can start having perimenopausal symptoms as early as they can like. It's, you know, still within the normal range, even in our late 30s. So if people are now late 30s and sort of 40s are starting to have symptoms, often we feel like it's too early. There is, there are a lot of, a lot of symptoms, like whether it be problems of sleep.
Speaker 1:Obviously that's a change in our cycle. There's joint pain, there's brain fog, there's a whole, whole list of things. But also there's the psychology of what that means to go through menopause and perimenopause. What does that mean? That we no longer um in our reproductive years? What does that mean in a western society versus maybe a different culture? It might mean something different. What does that mean? Taking back our power to be able to live that the last sort of third or or however long of our life um in maybe more the the wise woman I guess some people are becoming grandmas, some people aren't. There's there's a lot of that reflection of loss and grief about, maybe things that weren't done or wish they'd been done as well. So there's a whole psychology of perimenopause and menopause and going through that stage, as well as the.
Speaker 1:All the research that's coming out about perimenopause is actually that change in our brain and how that plays out as well. So there's a lot more research coming out about that, which is quite interesting. And then again, how we prioritize ourselves during this time where people are having kids later. So sometimes people are going through perimenopause when they've got really young kids and that is an exhausting time having young kids but it's also exhausting going through perimenopause. And what can we do again to take control of our health? Looking at what we're eating, you know how we're moving, what needs to change at that time in life, because our internal hormones are changing, so we also need to change a bit as well. We can't just do the same of what we used to do. I love.
Speaker 2:You put a spotlight on the change in the brain. So obviously, women in their early 40s to mid 50s there's such a high rate of female suicide that's not spoken about because it's a chemical change in the brain to do with perimenopause and menopause, that some women that have never experienced depression and never experienced anxiety and they look at their lives and they're like I've got nothing to be anxious about, I've got nothing to be depressed about, but I'm deeply depressed and that I don't have anyone to reach out to. So again, I want to kind of normalize that it's a chemical reaction in the body and not the sense of like doom, this darkness and this loneliness, and I don't want to scare anyone just by us talking about it. If anyone's experiencing that, what it could be is if you look around your life and go, okay, I, you know, I like my job and I like my partner and my kids and I've got friends like, why am I feeling off? Why do I not feel like myself?
Speaker 2:that's a common one, I hear like myself and then also what I see on a daily basis is at that time. Most I would say most of the time I've noticed women that when they're going through period, it's like their kids may be leaving home. They have aging parents that they need to care for. Their whole role in their network has changed. So not only are they feeling maybe some physical symptoms that are just horrendous, they feel so disconnected from their partner, maybe they feel disconnected from themselves, like I just don't feel like myself anymore and I don't know why I feel really down. I don't know why. And then their home life is changing. The kids are moving out. The kids don't need you anymore.
Speaker 2:They might be playing up, and then your mom and dad may be like just getting old and you have to care for them, or they go into a home, or they may be ill, or like it's all this pressure, or sometimes you own a business and so you've got that on top of your shoulders as well. So that feeling of I feel really flat or I feel foggy, or I just feel down, I have nothing to be down about. It could just be that chemical um, what's happening on the brain and the hormones?
Speaker 1:yeah, the change in hormones, and often it is that. You know, like often we have um cycles that don't release x, therefore there's not as much progesterone being released, and therefore progesterone is a hormone that sort of helps chill us out. It helps us sleep, reduces anxiety and suddenly we're not sleeping. When we're not sleeping, that can be really hard. It can impact our decisions about what we're eating during the day. We feel bad about ourselves, we feel exhausted, um, so there can be sort of definitely knock-on effects. Um, and again, it's being aware of where you're at. Like, what support do you need? Um, what is what are you loving about this this period as well? Like, what is really difficult about this this period?
Speaker 1:Um, you know, sometimes just knowing that there's a change in the hormones and the estrogen receptors and impact can, can take away the stress of what's happening, and you know that this is just a change you're managing. So you know, inflammation can be power. Being aware of what you're needing to do, trialing some things that might be useful, taking some responsibilities off yourself or changing up your exercise routine these are all things that can also support you too. You know, going to a doctor. Some women are taking hormones to support them. You know that's an individual decision as well, and finding a good doctor where you can have those conversations with I think it's really important as well. So there's lots that can be done and thought about and if you're willing to give these things a go and sort of experiment and see as well, and find people in your corner that will listen to you.
Speaker 2:If you have a doctor that's been your doctor for ever since you were born but they don't want to know about perimenopause or they can't help you, please go to two or three or four doctors until you find someone that you can have a a really good. You know I'm, I'm due to go for my blood work and stuff soon and I'm looking at a new doctor. So she looks good on paper. So I'll have to report back and everyone know what she's like. So she looks good on paper and I. What I do is I take a list with me, really in depth, so I go in, ask all my questions and I'm going to read her and see what she's like, because that's what you want. They're not the boss of us. They're not any better than us. They're on the same level as us and a good doctor should be able to help us and you want someone to collaborate and listen that's what I was thinking of.
Speaker 2:We don't want someone to um, there's always an imbalance of power. Same as a therapist in a in a patient or client, same as a doctor. You know, when you go in there, don't be scared of them, and I do. I'm not lying. I go in with written things down. I've got this and this. Not that I have a lot of touch wood, nothing.
Speaker 2:It's just I want to know about myself and I kind of I test them a little bit, because if someone's going to look after your health, we need to interview them Like this is serious stuff, just because, again, in any industry, just because someone's got a bit of paper on the wall, they're going to be operating on my brain or they're going to be doing something. I want to know that. I'm comfortable, that, okay, they kind of know what they're doing. We're all human, um, so don't be afraid to be like, and even if you just don't like them, let's just. I just kind of want to put it out there. If you're sitting there and talking to them and I've had this before I've had doctors roll their eyes at me or be quite rude, um, or be disrespectful. I'm like sorry, I'm not, I'm not going to sit in front of someone. You know what I mean. Yeah, find your right fit for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, really important. Listen to yourself. So what a great conversation today we've had on everything to do with optimal health. It's been so interesting and I hope that it really is a good starting point for anyone listening to this that has been like, oh, I want to find out more about how to optimize my health yeah, it's been amazing, like I mean, I do think everything is connected.
Speaker 1:Like again, often, if we're eating well, it means we have more energy to do exercise, if we're hydrating ourselves, if our mindset's in a good place, so you know, like all these things, the mind-body stuff is really, really connected.
Speaker 2:It takes time and it takes to be curious and actually being interested. Find what you're interested in. If it's more movement and exercise, like you know, dig deep on that. Or if you're more interested in food. Or if you're more interested in how the mind works, like we all have a pocket of something that, oh, that's interesting, like. Find what interests you, because I know all of them, some of them you'll be like, oh yeah, community and joy. Yeah, that's not really my thing. Well, why don't you, like you said, work on the other things that are back to basics, work on, maybe, learning about sleep, more nourishment or stress management, and then work your way back from that?
Speaker 1:yeah, and joy should be everyone's thing.
Speaker 2:No gun pocket of joy in your life sometimes I think it's the word joy people go. Really is that a thing? And today, in 2024, can be fun maybe fun joy, yeah, I know. So. I'd love people to connect with you. If they like, really have you know, connected with you in this episode, or want to work with you or find out more about you, where can they? Where's the best place? Where is the best place for people to find you?
Speaker 1:yes, so I am on Instagram, so it's finding your underscore so they can connect with me there. I've got a website findingyourflowcomau. Look. The other thing is I'm putting some things on Insight Timer. It's a meditation app and I've put some just tracks on it, but I will have an emotional eating course up there in the next few weeks. I do use like different therapeutics type strategies that I've learned as a psychologist that I bring into my coaching as well, and I'm hopefully going to put a course on improving your golf on Insight Timer as well, which I'm helping my husband. It's all about performance. Um, yeah, but yeah, reach out if you have any questions. I'd love to hear from anyone who has questions. I support women through perimenopause as well. Um, it just. It just depends on where you're at um in terms of and what you need. So please reach out. I'd love to hear from anyone.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you so much for being my guest today and talking about something that a lot of people can just gloss over and be like oh, I know what health is, I know what I should be doing, but we actually spoke about some really important things today. So, yeah, thank you. It's not just me talking about it all the time. It's not just me talking about it all the time.
Speaker 1:It's probably good that someone else is talking about it. It was a pleasure and lovely to be on the show.
Speaker 2:And thanks for inviting me. Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. I hope this conversation has added a value to your self-care journey and inspired positive changes in your life. If you enjoyed this episode, consider sharing it with a friend who might benefit from this episode. Don't forget to subscribe on Spotify or on your favorite podcast platform to stay up to date on future episodes. Your support means the world to me. I genuinely love hearing from you, so please take a moment to leave a review. Let me know which part of today's episode resonated with you the most. Your feedback guides the direction of this podcast and I really appreciate each and every single one of you for being a part of this community.
Speaker 2:To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness. To find out a bit more about the Studio Chat podcast, head over to my Instagram page, studio Chat Podcast. Or, if you want to find out a bit more about my counseling private practice, head over to Instagram on self underscore care underscore studio. Or head over to my website, selfcarebybarbara thompsoncomauau. I'm really looking forward to seeing you on the next episode. Until next time, take care of yourselves and keep embracing the journey of self-discovery.
