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Hello, hello, beautiful souls, and welcome to the Claim Your Power podcast, the ultimate show for all things New Age spirituality, entrepreneurship, and embodied leadership. I'm your host, Kim Peretz. I'm an author, entrepreneur, and yoga enthusiast. If you're ready to step up, tap into your gifts, and unleash your potential, you are at the right place. It's time to claim your power.
What's good, everyone? I hope you're having a fantastic day and welcome back to the pod. I'm super duper excited for today's episode as I have Grace Terrell with me on the show. Grace is a holistic nutritionist, health coach, and the founder of Graceful Nutrition. Beyond this, she's also a content creator with a combined audience of over 170,000 followers and has helped thousands of women around the world clean back and restore their health.
So Grace, thank you so, so much for coming on my show today. I'm so happy that you're here. Thank you for having me. What a great intro. Thank you. So the first question I have for you is just to tell everyone about yourself and what you do.
Yeah. So I'm a holistic nutritionist and I mainly work with women who suffer with digestive issues, hormonal imbalance, or they just like kind of want to get their health back on track. I know a lot of young women struggle with like yo-yo diets and just like trying a bunch of different things. And they land in a place where they're just super frustrated and they just don't really know what to do anymore. And they need a little bit of guidance. So I like to help people when they're in that position kind of
get back to the basics and start restoring their health in like a natural and sustainable way. What made you realize that you want to work with women and empower them with their health? Yeah, so I think from a young age, I was always very aware of my health. And I grew up in
a family that was very like health conscious. My dad's a chiropractor. My mom is a personal trainer. My brother's a psychologist. My sister is also a soul cycle instructor. So everyone is kind of like in that space. And so I think growing up in that, I was just always like really inspired and wanted to help people kind of really focus on their health. Cause I understood the value of it. And,
And I also struggled with my own health issues around like college. I started noticing my health deteriorating a little bit just from like so many yo-yo diets and being in college and drinking a lot. And I really found like restoring my health with food was a super empowering way to like take back control of my life. And so I decided to become a holistic nutritionist. I really wanted to help guide people into doing that for themselves.
for themselves? I really resonate with that because obviously I'm going into college this year, but I had like the worst health issues for the past year in 2021. And it was very much of a struggle to figure out how to get back into like a balanced body. And I tried out traditional Western medicine for a lot of it.
And, you know, what I had. So to share my little story is that I had like terrible stomach pains and it wasn't like period cramps. It more felt like contractions and they would come randomly during the month. And I had to go to the ER for them like four times. Like it was terrible. Like it was just like.
It deteriorated my way of life. I had to miss school. It was not good. I went to normal Western medicine doctors. They wanted to put me on birth control. They wanted to put me on pain medicine pills. I was like, I don't know. I feel like I need to try to heal it holistically before I just commit to
a pill, you know? And obviously birth control is just like a very complicated thing and it works for some women, but I don't think it's like a all-in-one solution. And so I definitely want to hear a perspective on that. Yeah. I mean, that's very similar to what I went through. So in college, I, um,
I was on birth control for a period of time, but I dealt with a lot of like really debilitating stomach pains as well. And I think like being a young girl and then having really bad stomach pains, it can mess with like your relationship with food and your relationship with your body and all these sorts of things that are very important, like during like your teen years and your early twenties, because those perspectives on like food and your body are, those are like your developmental years. Right. And that's going to set the tone for like the rest of your life.
So when I was going through that, I didn't know what was happening either. I was like, my stomach just hurts all the time. Like, I don't know what this is. Like, is it the food that I'm eating? Is it my period? Like, do I need medication? Like, is there something like structurally wrong with me? And I realized it was, so at the time I was vegan and I just realized my body wasn't adjusting to that very well. Like I just wasn't digesting my food. I wasn't absorbing like nutrients properly.
from the food I was eating because my digestion was so impaired. And it got to the point where I was just cutting out like all the foods that I thought were bothering me. And I couldn't really eat anything anymore. And I was like, something has to change here. And that's when I started like reincorporating like fish and meat. And at the time, it was so hard for me, because I had been vegan for like five or six years at that point. And so I really identified with that diet. And it was like part of my identity.
But once I started doing that, I felt so much better. And yeah,
I feel like I could have gone to the doctor and they could have told me like, oh, you have like IBS or like there's a birth control pill. Maybe it's your hormones. But just making like a tiny shift in my diet really helped me like so, so much. I think it's important to like sometimes take your health into your own hands. Obviously, like going to the doctor is super important. And if you really think there's an issue there, then you absolutely should do that. But yeah,
It's not always like there's something crazy wrong with you and that you need like a pill or a certain medication. Like sometimes it's just a little adjustment. Your story is literally my story. It's kind of crazy. Like I was vegan for a whole year.
And I loved being vegan and the same for me like I really identified with it and for the longest time actually, I feel like I had this ego around it where I was like I'm vegan and like you're not like everyone else should be vegan. And then I realized like that lifestyle as much as it's amazing and like you care about the environment and the animals and things like that. Sometimes it does not serve you.
everybody. Like I ended up getting blood tests and I'm an O blood type, which is like a meat eater. And I still, oh no way. And I don't eat meat still. I want to possibly go back to it, but I'm still like thinking about the transition. But when I was struggling with my stomach issues, I ended up going to an acupuncturist who was doing acupuncture and herbs, but also food therapy. And she told me like, you're lacking these nutrients and you need to bring them back. And so I
introduced fish back into my diet and then eggs. So I became like a pescatarian, which is what I am now. And for me, it was such a big difference because the stomach pains just like magically went away. I didn't go on any pill, anything like that. It just felt like my body, it was like a cry for help kind of way. Like the symptoms, I didn't want to mask them with a pill. I wanted to find the root of the problem. So food therapy is something that I think when
was really transformational for me and knowing that I have the power within me to like make those necessary changes. A hundred percent. Yeah. I think that's one of the most important lessons to learn is like not everyone's body is going to work best on like one diet. Like I think with the media now and like diet culture and everything, there's just such a push for like either veganism or the paleo diet or the keto diet. And it's like,
Not everyone's body is going to be operating at its best on a certain type of diet. And also like, as you age, like,
your body is going to need a different type of diet. So like when you're a teenager, maybe a vegan diet might work for you for a couple of years. And then if your body stops like working its best on that, maybe you should start eating meat again. And then maybe there'll be another point in your life where it's best for you to eat more plant-based. Humans are so fluid. And I think like if we tie our identity to a certain way of eating or a
That's where it can start to hurt us because then we become resistant to change and we stop listening to like what our body is trying to tell us. Yes. And also another thing that I've noticed when I was vegan, so this is like a personal story, is that I was vegan for the right reasons. Like I did, I cared about animals. I cared about the environment. I thought it was like the healthiest way to live.
and I still think it serves a lot of people. But what I've noticed about it is like when I was first vegan, I was vegan, but I just cut out everything. Like you said, like I cut out, I would just eat carbs all day and there's nothing wrong with eating carbs, but like a plant-based diet should be like you eating more plants. And when I was vegan, I just literally cut out all the food that would give me like nutrients and like
any of the things that I needed. Like I cut out eggs, I cut out chicken, I cut out turkey, I cut out fish, like everything. So all the food that I would like regularly eat, I just cut them out. So my body was just like, what the heck is going on? Like you don't have anything. I would just eat like pasta all day with like vegan tomato sauce. And then it's like, does not serve my body at all. Like I might as well be eating meat if I'm going to do that. And then obviously I had to do more research and like look into like
beans and quinoa and like chickpea pasta and like things like that that are more plant-based and have protein in them and the nutrients that I need like basically what I'm trying to say with that story is if you're someone that's like struggling right now with your body and you're struggling with your health you can restore your health like take it from Grace and I like we've been there
We know the pain behind it and you're not alone. And it's not a one way street. Like you can heal your body through whatever you're going through with the right research and the right implementations that serve you. A hundred percent. And I think like you have to be your own advocate as well, because when you go to the doctor, I've talked to a lot of women that are just like completely like invalidated and written off by their doctor, especially with like stomach pains and digestive problems and
Like if they tell you that you have IBS and you just like, you're stressed out or like you need to like manage your stress. Like, yes, that's a huge component of it, but there's things that you can do to make yourself feel better with food. And it's not always just a pill, but you have to like advocate for yourself and say like, no, like I feel this way. I think there's something that I can do. Like, can you please give me more information about this? Like,
you have to be your own advocate and like speak up and not just be like pushed down or like turned away or invalidated because what you're dealing with is real. And if you are struggling every day, like there's a way out of it. Also, what I wanted to mention is that, and you're struggling with stomach issues, like what you mentioned earlier, a few minutes ago, it really deteriorates your relationship with food. Like I've experienced that first on when I was like
oh, I can't eat anything. So I just won't eat today. And like, you just like get into this terrible mindset where it all started from something good. Like you just wanted to help the environment. You just wanted to take care of the animals. Like that's what everyone's, the media is talking about. It's like be vegan, global warming, animals and everything. And like,
you start there, you start at this really hard point, but then you don't realize that if you just abandon yourself and you don't keep taking care of yourself, you're going to reach the down low and you don't even know where to come up from there. Like I really struggled. 2021 was like a very transformational year for me because I realized so much about my own health. And I realized that the end of the day, I can't be giving away my power to doctors all the time, as much as obviously they're professionals and experts and they're helpful. You
They don't know my body as well as I do. Right. A hundred percent. Like, and also being able to like fully explain what you're dealing with, because I know for me, like I still get nervous at the doctor sometimes and I don't end up like fully explaining like the extent of like whatever my situation is.
And so that even too can like inhibit the doctor from like giving you solid advice. So doing your own research on yourself, really knowing your own body and then fully being able to like explain to the doctor and also like advocate if they're saying something that you don't like.
And it's a great lesson just in life to know how to advocate for yourself. Like you're always going to be in situations where you need to speak up, whether it's in a job interview and you want to get a promotions or whether it's with a friend that's made you feel bad and you want to talk about your emotions with them. It's just a really great way to learn.
And to realize that no one has that power over me, beyond me. You have to know how to self-advocate and say what you feel and say what you want. Because that's the only way you get things in life. So not everyone can know exactly how you're feeling. And that goes for anything like in relationships.
your partner might not know how you're feeling all the time and you have to tell them in order to have that honest communication. So I think specifically with health, what I've learned is having that open honesty with the external world, like doctors, but also with myself, like
Kim, did I eat good today? Did I consume things that empower me and make me feel good about myself? Or did I eat things that I know are going to leave me feeling terrible all night or feeling nauseous? You know, that's in our power. Yes, that's so important. And I think like growing up, I was
the biggest pushover in the world. Like it was always everyone else before me. Like I would sacrifice like my comfort and everything to make somebody else feel better before I made myself feel okay. And I think even just like harboring
your emotions in that way. And like, knowing that you're putting yourself second one, it just like knocks your confidence because over time you start to realize like, Oh, like I'm never going to be able to put myself first or like, I don't speak up when I need to. And that like,
you stop like believing in yourself and you stop believing that you can do those things and being able to like speak up for yourself and say like, no, I want to go to this restaurant or like ordering food at restaurants. If you have dietary restrictions, like I don't eat gluten and,
And so I used to be like, like if I would go on a date or something and I'd be at a restaurant and the guy would like order for me and would like order something with gluten in it. Sometimes I would just eat it because I was too shy to say like, no, like I actually can't eat gluten just because I didn't have the confidence that I didn't want to bring up like the whole conversation of like why I can't eat gluten.
But now I'm like, your health is the most important thing in your life. Like it affects everything from like your mood, the way that you show up, like your energy and your relationships. And so you should always be putting that first, even if it makes you feel like uncomfortable temporarily. And people don't care as much as you think that they do. Like if they're your friends, they're going to be like, yeah, like,
let's go to whatever restaurant like I want to make sure that like you can eat what is going to make you feel good like people will surround you and like support you in those situations and they don't care as much as like we make it such a big deal in our head and it's really not I feel like we're so aligned because I cut out gluten like a month ago or two months ago when I was finally like
healed. And I was like, you know what, gluten, like, I'm not allergic or anything, but it's just not serving me like it doesn't make me feel the best. And so I totally know how you feel, though, sometimes. But I actually found out like, I have a bunch of gluten free friends, I have like three friends who have like celiac, but also a bunch of girls who are intolerant. And so that's so funny that like you mentioned that going on those dates, and you're like, I don't know what to do. Like, I don't know what to say. But I totally agree with the fact
like your health is the most important you should not be sacrificing your health to suit other people's needs when especially you don't even know how those people are going to react like at the end of the day we're our biggest enemies like I know I'm not the only person who sometimes has those negative thoughts in our head and just like makes assumptions about what people think about me and
let me just tell you one thing that those assumptions like 99% of the time don't exist. They're all just like our imagination. Like they don't actually exist. They just what we think we know. So
our minds are just so complicated and so crazy sometimes. And sometimes we need to know how to be observer of our thoughts and like of our emotions and not just let them ruin our day or like take back away our power from us and just be able to be still and like present and enjoy life. There's this quote that I love and I'm probably going to butcher it, but it says, I am who I think you think I am. So it's like,
our self-identity is so constructed by how we assume other people view us, which is not based in any sort of reality. So it's like, if you're constantly thinking like, oh, this person is judging me in this way, or like, they probably think this about me, those thoughts are forming your own identity. So it's so important to watch them, like you said, and like,
understand that a lot of those aren't based in reality and we can control the way that we think. So if I'm constantly assuming that other people are judging me, that's actually me judging myself. That's not them judging you. And so just realizing that and understanding like, no, I'm actually like making this up in my head takes a lot of pressure off of us. And I think helps us take back control of like the way that we feel about ourselves. Yeah.
Yeah, I feel like also as a teenager, I've had countless times where I was just thinking about something, like one thought, and then instead of being an observer of it, I just went down this rabbit hole. And I found myself like 30 minutes later being in a bad mood. And it's like, why did you do that? You literally did that to yourself, like you could have had a good day. And you were just negatively thinking about stuff that probably doesn't even exist. And also, you
The fact that we think we know what everyone thinks about us, but like we don't because everyone is constantly thinking about what everyone else is thinking of them. That was a tongue twister. But if we stay in our own lane, which is obviously like,
you can't always do that 100%. Like we're humans, we're not perfect. I do that too. But if you're able to honestly, like just become an observer of your head and your thought patterns, just doing that small step will allow you to create a more sustainable, healthy relationship with your thoughts. That's my belief, at least. Yeah, no, I totally agree. Okay, so I have another question for you. So as a holistic nutritionist, what are some empowering habits that
are easy that people can implement into their daily lives? So my whole thing with health is going back to the basics. I think we often try and make things super complicated, like, oh, take this supplement or drink this greens powder, you know, but it doesn't have to be like that. So I always like to bring it really simply and say, like, eat foods that are either grown on the earth or the earth has given us through like animals or whatever.
get outside because nature is so, so healing. Like the sun itself, if you can get outside in the morning in the sun, that will just like set the tone for your day and make you feel so good. And just getting fresh air and just being as close to the earth as possible will
and like moving your body in the way that we're designed to like those basic things will drastically improve your health. I live in California. So it's pretty sunny all year round. And I feel like the sun is my savior. Like I swear, it sounds like really cliche. But for me, I love the sun. Like I've always grown up in like sunny places. And I
what you were saying, like being in nature is so, I don't know how to explain it. It's just incredibly grounding to be able to disconnect from your daily life and all the crazy things you have to do in your calendar. Just being able to even go outside for five minutes, like go barefoot. If you have like a grassy area anywhere near you, if you, or just the beach, whatever you have near you. But if you just go barefoot, I don't know why being barefoot is super grounding. I'm not sure how much you know about like
frequencies and stuff in the earth but
But I read an article about how the earth itself has electromagnetic frequencies. So when you're going on it barefoot, your feet are getting that electromagnetic frequency too. And I think that's very empowering for a lot of people. I'm not sure if you've heard about that. Have you? Yeah. I have this book, actually. It's called The Healing Code of Nature. And it talks all about that. So the ions in the earth going up into your feet and literally changing the frequency of your body.
And I think it's Japanese culture they have this thing called forest bathing, which is like literally just going out into the woods and walking barefoot, and it's like scientifically proven there's like, I forget what it is but something in the leaves of the trees that when we like breathe them in, like,
affects our nervous system like on a very powerful level and like really calms us down and like changes the way our brain is working on a scientific level like nature literally heals you that's crazy I
I didn't know that. I honestly, like if that's the one thing I probably take away from this episode is to spend more time in nature and just be conscious of what you're consuming. And that goes for anything in life. What are you watching every day? What news medias are you watching? What music are you listening to? Like all those things. We might not know how much they affect us. Like sometimes when I like watch like weird dramatic movies, like in the middle of the night, which I like did that like
two days ago, I woke up so anxious. Like I was watching this show. I don't know if you know the show Rain. It's like the show about Europe, the 1500s based on real history, but there's a lot of drama and like death in it. And I was watching it till like 1am two nights ago. And I woke up so anxious. And I was like, I'm never doing that again. I'm never watching TV before I go to sleep. Like I'm meditating because it genuinely affects us. Yes.
The conscious part of our brain is so small compared to the subconscious part. So even if you're not feeling like anxious in the moment, it is affecting you. Like while you were sleeping, your brain was still anxious because you woke up feeling that anxiety.
even if you weren't like conscious of it while you were asleep. And that goes for things like if you're scrolling on your phone, like right before bed or until like late hours of the night, you're going to wake up and not feel good. And then the first thing you're going to do in the morning is pick up your phone and start scrolling again. That's another thing like sleep with your phone outside of your room. Like it affects your sleep so much. If your phone is right next to your bed, not only just because you're like
looking at like content on social media, but the blue light from your phone is messing with your circadian rhythm and your sleep. And that really affects like so many areas of your health, your hormones, your mood, the way you digest food, like everything. I like how you mentioned circadian rhythm. And I'm wondering if you can talk more about that. Yeah.
Yeah. So circadian rhythm. That's why I also say like getting out in the sun in the morning is really important. And it just goes back to like nature and how I believe we were designed to live. Like if you think about in the old days, like people would wake up
with the sun and go to bed with the sunset. Obviously now we don't do that because we have artificial light and we have like the society that we've built around how we live. So that's not realistic. But when you wake up in the morning, your cortisol, which is your stress hormone is going to be the highest. And that is because that's like trying to wake us up and get us out of bed. So that's going to be super high. And then throughout the day, your cortisol should decline and you should start to produce melatonin.
which I'm sure maybe some people have heard of. It's like, you can take a melatonin pill to help you sleep, but your body should naturally be producing melatonin at night because that helps you go to sleep. So those are the two hormones that are most involved in your circadian rhythm and supporting that is getting out in the sun in the morning, because that's going to spike your cortisol and help you wake up. And then at nighttime, um,
limiting the blue light from your phone, because if you're on your phone all day and all night, that's going to spike your cortisol and it's going to mess with your circadian rhythm. So just supporting those two things with light and also with food. So like in the morning, you should be eating like a good breakfast. That's going to help you get your cortisol a little bit down and help sustain it so that you're not getting like anxiety spikes. And then at nighttime, not eating like a huge meal before you go to bed.
I always say like try and eat your last meal at like six or seven or like three to four hours before you go to bed because that's going to help your body keep our hormones stable because we're not like men. Like we have periods and we go through like a monthly cycle. So like you have to support those things with the proper nutrition and your body has to feel safe. And if you're not eating enough or like eating consistently, your body starts to feel unsafe and that can mess with your hormones.
What you were saying just reminded me of this book I was reading called, I think it's like Get in the Flow or something. I don't know. Don't quote me on that. But I was reading it over the summer and it's about periods and how to align with your cycle as a woman. And what's interesting in the book, it was talking about the circadian rhythm, but also how women are like dominated by the moon while men are dominated by the sun. So when women wake up,
wake up some days, they're just waking up super tired and anxious, even though they slept so well the night before versus men. They're always like on the same rhythm. Like when they're waking up, they're like on the super high, they're very like ready to work, ready to do, ready to work out. And then at night it keeps going down and then they just like, you know, so, but like women otherwise are different because some days of the cycle, they're just like, they're
bed like not feeling it like when you're on your period I don't know I think it depends on every person but for me like my periods are not that bad but like the day or the two days before my period I'm like no one talked to me like I just need to like rest and eat and stuff so it's really interesting and it talks about like how food helps align yourself with that cycle
Food is a really great component to help balance your period. So if you're someone who's struggling with your period right now with terrible cramps, like PMS, anything like that,
And obviously, it's really important to go talk to a professional about that. But I would really urge someone who's experienced that myself to go see what are some of the natural and sustainable ways you can help heal that. And if that doesn't work, there's a lot of other options in the Western medical field. But sometimes, like you were saying, it's just like a small problem. Maybe you need to be consuming more leafy greens before your period to help balance your hormones.
Maybe when you're ovulating, you shouldn't be eating a lot of high processed foods. You know, there's a lot of things that go into it. And I think if you're someone listening that is struggling with that, I really urge you to go beyond and do some research on your own cycle. I don't know if you can attest to this.
We're taught that like food is not that big of a deal. Like we're really, especially in America, like diet culture and even like people who go to med school. I think my doctor told me that they only spent around 20 hours studying diet, which I think is crazy because diet and nutrition and the foods you're consuming are so vital to your health. Like how
Like, I think it's like the number one thing that honestly affects your health so much. And I think we're just taught in society to like undermine that, which even when I went to the dermatologist for my skin, they were like, oh, like food doesn't affect your skin. Like go on this prescription.
So I went on this prescription, did nothing for my face, but like made it super dry and like itchy, did nothing for my acne. Like, how can you tell me that like food doesn't have an effect? Like if you eat processed sugars all the time, it's going to affect your skin. For some people, like this is why I cut out dairy, like dairy.
Like dairy gave me acne. Maybe it doesn't like, I have friends who have like amazing skin and they eat dairy. And so I really think it depends on every person, but so many people are taught that like food doesn't affect our diet because it's so does. It's so does. It's so crazy. And like, yes, like you said, everyone is so different. So like what affects your skin is not going to affect someone else's skin and vice versa. But yeah, like-
If you think about it, like we're eating food, it's literally turning into ourselves. Like we're digest, digesting it. Like we quite literally are what we eat, like what we eat affects how our cells work, our metabolism, our hair, our skin, like our energy. Like, so of course what we eat is going to affect those things, you know, and it's,
it is hard because just of all of the industry in America, it's like, obviously like the food industry, the supplement industry, the pharmaceutical industry, like all of these things are like, it's big money. Right. So, and like, of course, Western medicine has its place like for, you know, it's,
I mean, a miracle that they can do like surgeries and you can take a pill that literally saves your life, but it's not always necessary. And I think it's so important when you're like dealing with any sort of health issue to really like check in with yourself and be honest and be like, okay, am I...
doing the basic? Am I super stressed out right now? Am I expressing myself properly? Am I eating regularly? Am I eating healthy foods? Am I getting outside? Am I drinking enough water? Also what you were saying about stress, stress is so big. Our bodies are incredibly interconnected with our emotions and everything like that. And I know like days in my life when I'm stressed, like when I was just submitting all of my college applications,
my stress levels were up here. I wasn't sleeping. I wasn't properly drinking and eating. I wasn't going outside. I was just on the computer writing and finishing up my apps until the due dates. Stress is huge. And I think that's a huge problem for my generation is we have so many expectations from ourselves, especially like when it comes to scholastic success, academics and being successful and fitting in with friends. And we might not feel it, but it causes us so much stress.
And our bodies are very attuned to that. One days when I'm stressed, my body is not functioning. Like I will be way more anxious. I'll have headaches. I'll like,
not want to do anything. I'll just want to sit like a couch potato versus days where I'm like empowered and I wake up and I had a good meal the night before. I'm like, let's go to a kickboxing class, you know? So it really depends. Like if you're someone who's constantly stressed, there are ways to work with that. I have definitely experienced a lot of stress in my high school career and definitely meditating has been something that has really served me right. And when I say meditating,
It doesn't have to be like you sitting and like, like just sitting in silence for like 45 minutes, because obviously I know for people who haven't meditated super daunting and intimidating, and it sounds like something that you don't want to do. So for me, like yoga has been like a super meditative space. Like I know that my time on the mat is like my time to really like hone down and be calm and just be in my body and be present.
That's something that served me. Maybe that doesn't serve you. Maybe going on a run and like getting runners high and like being by the beach serves you. Maybe sitting and meditating does, but there's so many ways that you can help alleviate stress in your life.
Totally. And I think like, especially with your generation, like there's so much noise that you guys have to deal with, like with just like the overabundance of social media now. Like I'm 27 and I was in high school. I think I was a junior in high school when Instagram came out. And so like, I mean, we had like MySpace. I don't even know if you know what that is, but like, yeah, we had that, but it was nowhere near like what you guys deal with now.
And so there's just like so much information coming in and you guys are probably on like sensory overload 24 seven. And if you don't like cut the noise out, you're never going to like
actually hear yourself. You're going to hear all of the voices of other people just constantly. And so you can't actually hear your own thoughts. And I think that's why like meditation in whatever form is so important because then you can actually like tune in and listen to like your own voice and not everyone else's voice. Yeah. And like the first time I meditated, I was like, this is what my voice sounds like. My head is a mess.
And also when I was like, oh, I don't want to meditate. I remember my mom telling me something like it was like two years ago. She was like, if you're against meditating, like you probably need it. For me, I was like, like, I'm not going to meditate. And then a year later, I was like, that's something that like helped heal my anxiety and helped heal a lot of problems in my life. Also, what I wanted to go back to, though, is the social media that you were talking about.
I was listening to this podcast called the highest self podcast I don't know if you've heard of it, but the host of it her name is Sahara she was talking about how ages ago, there was no social media so like when a near in a nearby village where like someone would die and be all this crazy news.
the other village wouldn't know about it because they're not there. Versus now, we know things that are happening across the world that have like no effect on us, like personally at all. And as much as I think it's really good and very valuable to be interconnected, you know, you're able to keep in touch with family that doesn't live around, do long distance relationships and things like that. And even this Zoom call, like us talking over Zoom, like we wouldn't be able to do this otherwise if it wasn't for technology. But we really need to know how to like
take a step back and know like, okay, I need a break. Like I need to be completely present in my life. Like I can't know everything that's happening across the world in the Middle East or in India or in Australia. And especially during the pandemic, I think it was heightened with all the news happening and everything. But sometimes whether you know it or not, it's subconsciously making us very stressed out and very, very anxious. And we need to be conscious of that, I think. Yes, definitely. Like,
Yeah, like what you said, like our subconscious mind is constantly taking information. And I don't think we were meant to know like what Julia that lives in like England ate for breakfast, you know, like we don't need to know all this information. And I think that just like the mass amount of like information, it makes our nervous system like go on overdrive.
And so, yeah, you have to like consciously make an effort to disconnect now. And like, that's just the world that we live in. We have to adjust to it, but like you actually have to make an effort to disconnect from all that information, put your phone away, put the computer away and just like sit with yourself and just like take a minute. And it really makes a huge difference.
For sure. Okay, so I have one last question for you. And my question is, if you had to give advice for someone who is just starting their health journey, what would that advice be? Really start paying attention to how certain foods are making your body feel.
Now, I think people don't really make the connection. Like if you eat something that's like not so good for you for breakfast and like later in the day you have an energy dip, then you just like grab the coffee and you're like, oh, I'm just tired. And you don't make the connection that like,
Maybe what I ate for breakfast is making me feel tired now. And I think just like gaining the awareness of how different foods are making your body feel, changing your mood, changing your energy levels, changing the way that you feel about yourself, the way you interact with others, like food has an impact on that. And just like start paying attention to that and then making tiny shifts.
that helps support like your body and making you feel better. Just like, just start there. I think that's like the first step is just gaining that awareness. Yeah, just taking those baby steps and realizing that you're in charge of your health at the end of the day. And it might not be a smooth journey, but at least you're conscious of it. And at least you're willing to go down that journey. And I promise you that if you are committed to your health, you will be rewarded and that you will be able to figure everything out.
So that's at least my personal experience. I don't know if that's for you too. Yes, same. I think...
I think you don't know how good you can feel until you feel really good. I know for me, when I was really, really struggling and then I completely changed my diet, I was like, I didn't even know that my body could feel this good because you just have a baseline of like, like your baseline is lower. And then once you start treating your body well, you start to realize like how good you're supposed to actually feel. And then you just never want to stop. So
those healthy habits. So I really hope that like anyone listening to this can experience like how good that you can feel in your body. And that for the most part, like you do have control over that. Yeah, it's like in a relationship, like if you're committed to someone who doesn't treat you well, you don't know anything beyond that. And then you break up and then you meet someone so amazing. And you're like, why the heck did I settle? Like, I'm never going to settle for anything, anyone else anymore. And so it's the same thing. Like,
If you're someone who wants to have all these amazing relationships, amazing friendships, amazing jobs, it's really important for you to just have an amazing, honest relationship with yourself. Like, I honestly think that's the first step to manifesting the life that you truly want for yourself is to have an honest, strong relationship with yourself, with your health, with your emotions.
And that will get you very far in life. That's my promise to you. So yes, I agree 100%. Thank you so, so much for coming on my show. I had such a good conversation with you. And I'm so grateful that you came on here to share your wisdom. So thank you. Yes. Thank you so much for having me.
Beautiful souls, thank you so much for joining me in today's episode. As always, feel free to DM me on Instagram if you have any topic suggestions for future episodes or if you would like to apply to be a guest on the show. I hope you feel inspired to claim your power today. Bye.
Mike Tirico here with some of the 2024 Team USA athletes. What's your message for the team of tomorrow? To young athletes, never forget why you started doing it in the first place. You have to pursue something that you're passionate about. Win, lose, or draw, I'm always going to be the one having a smile on my face. Finding joy in why you do it keeps you doing it.
Be authentic, be you, and have fun. Joy is powering Team USA during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Comcast is proud to be bringing that inspiration home for the team of tomorrow.