#236: Stop Trying To Change Your Body and Do This Instead

Do you feel overwhelmed by health advice? Confused about what to eat? Unsure which information to trust? You're not alone. Health has become a fight too many people are leaving feeling defeated and ready to surrender. I've come to learn that the answer you're looking for is rarely in the place you're looking. It's often the opposite of what you think. Regarding health, we spend too much time chasing the wrong thing and not enough time understanding the right things. What I mean by that is, we often chase down a system or work to perfect the perfect plan while overlooking the basics. Truth be told, none of these 'healthy' things are wrong, but they only work to the degree you have the capacity to benefit from and maintain them. Listen to the podcast to better understand how to use the domino effect to make health simple. You will also get the five critical elements to the cycle of health! If you want to let go of the confusion and create health, learn to use these five elements to your benefit.   Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/362.   Be sure to join me in the Summer Walking Club.  Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here.

Rest is essential. Although you know that, especially now, as we've shifted into what some call the "rest era." Our internal thermostat works tirelessly to maintain balance, or homeostasis, making rest a natural response to work. But now that we've moved beyond hustle culture, the question becomes: Are you resting too much, or are you relying on the wrong kinds of rest? The truth is, excessive rest can lead to problems. Just like overworking, over-resting—especially the wrong type of rest—can leave you feeling stuck, unmotivated, or even more tired. Health is a delicate balance of work and rest, and not all rest is created equal. Too much rest and not enough work can lead to a bored body. {Find out if your body could be bored here}. In the podcast, I explain the difference between real rest and artificial rest and how that relates to feeling tired or exhausted. This is an important conversation, especially in a world that nearly worships rest, yet few find the benefits they seek. Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/361.   Be sure to join me in the Summer Walking Club.  Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here.    

We're living in what many are calling a "rest era." After decades of hustle culture and the relentless push to "be a boss," it's no surprise that we've swung in the opposite direction. Rest became a necessary cure for burnout. But as with all things, the pendulum can swing too far, leaving me to question: is your body bored? The law of balance proves the pendulum will always swing in the opposite direction to the same degree you pulled it out of balance. Naturally, we're going to see a big pull towards rest, considering how hard we pushed. Unfortunately, health, even life, doesn't work based on extremes, but through the balance of both work and rest. You need both work and rest to fully thrive. Rest, while essential, isn't meant to stand alone. It's the balancing act to work. Without enough work, rest becomes stagnant, leaving us with a new kind of stress – a bored body. Your body was designed to work. It thrives on movement, effort, and engagement. And while it might feel comforting to settle into rest after years of overexertion, this comfort can lead to imbalance. Life, after all, is about rhythm—an ebb and flow that mirrors the patterns found throughout nature and within our own bodies. In this podcast, I discuss specifically how to determine if you're living in extremes, creating a bored body, and how to change your body to promote health.   Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/360.   Be sure to take my Free Energy quiz.  Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here.

The lymphatic system is a powerful part of your immune system—think of it as your body's built-in drainage and defense network. It helps regulate fluid balance, supports your immune response, and even plays a role in absorbing fats and fat-soluble vitamins from your digestive system. Like many systems in the body, the lymphatic system thrives on movement. But unlike the circulatory system, it doesn't have a central pump like the heart. Instead, it relies on muscle contractions, deep breathing, and physical activity to keep lymph fluid moving. Without regular movement, lymph can become stagnant. When this happens, it can lead to a variety of health issues, including swelling or lymphedema, fatigue, brain fog, a weakened immune system, puffiness around the face and eyes, cellulite, skin breakouts, headaches, and even a decrease in sexual performance. In this episode of the podcast, I interview lymphatic health expert Leah Levitan. Leah is a certified lymphatic drainage specialist and the founder of Lymph Love Club, where she teaches people how to care for and support their lymphatic systems. During the episode, we discuss the effects of stagnant lymph, swollen lymph nodes, and how to stimulate lymphatic flow at home. Leah also walks us through the first part of her five-phase plan for draining fluid from the head and neck. Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/359.   Be sure to take my Free Energy quiz.  Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here.

Growing up, I often heard my mom say, "Stand up straight!" At the time, it was little more than an annoyance. But now, as an adult working to repattern years of poor posture, I understand the wisdom in her words. So, Mom, you were right. Posture, or more specifically, your postural patterns, influences much more than just how you look. It has profound biological impacts. Like any sense, your posture constantly sends signals to your brain about your environment—or at least your perception of it. These signals shape how your cells respond, influencing everything from movement to mood. Body language experts have long observed how posture reflects emotions like confidence, sadness, or fear. But what's exciting is that posture is not fixed. Patterns that were learned can be unlearned and repatterned. In this week's podcast, I sit down with body posture expert John Friend, a veteran in the field with over 40 years of experience. John introduces us to Bowspring, a body practice designed to align the body with its natural design. Together, we explore how proper posture can transform not just how you carry yourself but how you experience life. Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/358.   Be sure to take my Free Energy quiz.  Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here.

Water isn't all created equal. While water generally looks the same, it's far more complex than we previously understood. Not all water behaves the same way, and its behavior can change how it acts inside your body. I say it often, but let me repeat it here: Health is not what you do to your body but how your body responds to what you do! Health is ultimately up to your body, which means we must stop assuming that what you do has a positive or negative response based on what it's believed to do. There are too many variables for any person or study to prove this conclusively. Health truly boils down to your awareness and the energy exchange within your body. But let's get back to water. For years, we've recognized the three main states of water—ice, liquid, and vapor. But research has uncovered a fourth phase of water: structured water. This gel-like state forms near hydrophilic surfaces and operates with a different energetic field than the standard states—ice has a lower energetic field than vapor. You might be wondering, why does this matter?   Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/357.   Be sure to take my Free Energy quiz.  Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here.

A healthier mind doesn't start with healthier thoughts. It happens through nourishing your body – your body builds your thoughts. Learn how to use micro-resourcing to change your thoughts. The last thing you want to hear when you're struggling mentally is to "do more" or "try harder." At least, that's how I used to feel. When your mind is already gasping for air, being told to add more to your plate can feel like the final blow. Yet at the same time, you want to feel better, creating a frustrating paradox—too overwhelmed to take action but desperate for relief. I know that space well. I lived in it. And the shift didn't happen when I mustered up enough energy to push through one more strategy. It happened when I started to understand why my mind was struggling in the first place. The Mind-Body Connection Over the years, I spent time in therapy, determined to feel better. I did the work, but the relief I expected never fully came. It confused me because I didn't have major trauma (what many call "big T" trauma). Instead, I had accumulated "small t" traumas—yet I still couldn't get my mind to function the way I wanted. I was floundering, searching for answers. That's when I started studying the connection between the body and mind—their deep, energetic interplay. And what I learned changed everything, including my belief that you can "think yourself healthy." For years, I clung to the idea that mindset alone could fix everything. If I couldn't heal, I figured it was because I was broken. But the truth is, changing your mind is only possible when your body has the resources and capacity to support that change. Your mind and body aren't separate; they function in a loop. If your body is depleted, your mind struggles. If your mind is stressed, your body suffers. It's not a chicken-or-egg situation—it's personal to each of us. Understanding this connection is the key to shifting your mental state. In my latest podcast episode, I explore this in depth, including what the Minnesota Starvation Experiment revealed about how nutrient depletion affects mental health. It's a must-listen.   Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/356.   Be sure to take my Free Energy quiz.  Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here.

Ten years ago, my life as I knew it fell apart setting the stage for what has now become my healing journey. What started as an extreme second case of mono spiraled into gaining 30 pounds in less than two months, a stage one kidney failure diagnosis, and days where getting out of bed felt impossible. But this triggered some lessons that I have learned in my health journey. This came after years of following all the "right" health rules—eating well (although never enough) and moving my body multiple times a day. I followed the script, yet I ended up sicker than I could have imagined. Looking back, I often forget how sick I was. If you had told me eight years ago that I'd one day forget the weight of that struggle, I wouldn't have believed you. There were countless moments when I thought I'd never get better. Sometimes, I even forgot what it felt like to be well. Honestly, I question if I ever truly knew what wellness felt like. Before I got sick, I spent years pushing my body to extremes, chasing "skinny" instead of healthy. I assumed that being skinny automatically meant being healthy. I now know that isn't true. As I took time to look back and reflect, I realized this decade has been a journey of rebirth, more than just transformation. Reflecting on the ten years since my life changed, I've uncovered lessons I never expected to learn—lessons born from both struggle and health. I share the ten most profound lessons I've learned from this healing journey on my podcast. Make sure you listen to get all ten. Keep reading to get a glimpse into the most transformative realization I had in those ten years.   Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/355.   Be sure to take my Free Energy quiz.  Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here.

I was the child who, as my family said, "had a weak stomach." For most of my childhood and part of my adult life, I struggled through numerous gut-health issues. Nothing was severe, but it was always persistent. It ranged from vomiting to excessive bloating and GI-induced headaches. I also seemed to react to a random array of foods consistently. These issues are, at least partially, responsible for why I got into the health space. I've worked in the health space for the last fifteen years, and gut health problems and remedies have skyrocketed. I've seen clients who are sensitive to nearly every food, even foods considered to be the healthiest. Age no longer seems to be a factor. Within this time, I've also witnessed the birth and high promotion of probiotics, which recently flipped gears to the warning against them. Similar to most situations in health, there doesn't seem to be a good answer as to why we're here and how we get ourselves out. We can certainly put some blame on the massive influx of "toxins" or highly-processed foods (many of which are also considered to contain toxins). This, of course, stresses the GI system and strains your gut bacteria, creating an imbalance. But you could also blame our eating patterns and our movement away from our circadian rhythm, eating the majority of our calories at night and failing to practice any sort of light hygiene. You could also blame our farming practices, the depleted nutrients in our soil, or our overly sanitized environments void of healthy bacteria. There are a lot of fingers we can point and arguably should point, as these all can cause an excess burden on the body. But to simplify it all, I think that burden points directly at our "problem." We don't have the resources to deal with the burdens. Most gut issues happen because you're under-resourced and overburdened. You may struggle with gut-health issues simply because you don't meet your basic and foundational needs on a daily and consistent basis. In this podcast, I share more about the needs you need to meet, how your lack of food consumption or low energy available states are destroying your gut, and why supplementation is not the best answer. Listen to the podcast to learn more.   Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/354.   Be sure to take my Free Energy quiz.  Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here. Ready to go deeper and take back your health? Learn how to nourish yourself in a way that is personal to you while also helping you to fully embrace all of you. Take back your hormones, get more energy, and learn how to thrive inside Health Made Simple. Follow my day-to-day life plus mini tidbits of health encouragement on Instagram.  

One thing most overlook in working towards sustainable weight loss is the process of building healthier structure. Weight loss isn't always about loss, but rather expansion. Let me teach you how. Growing up, I saw many people attempt weight loss. Some succeeded, at least temporarily, but few paid attention to where the weight came from. Health was reduced to the number glaring back at them from the scale. In those days, health was about weight loss, and weight loss was about all forms of "less." While both statements have some truth, they're not the whole truth. This is why health can feel so confusing. It's both partially true and incomplete—both this and the opposite of this. Health is best lived at an optimal weight, but weight loss doesn't always lead to health. Likewise, weight loss often involves "less"—but not in the sense of restriction. Instead, it's less in the way of expansion: less energy-draining foods, less resistance, less working against your body. It might sound contradictory, as if I'm speaking out of both sides of my mouth. But when you begin to understand that it's not one or the other—but a combination of what we do and what we're working against—you start to make meaningful progress toward your goals. At the end of the day, all goals align with the most critical element of health: the expansion and protection of energy. When you expand your energy, you create healthier structures, and healthier structures produce healthier functions. This aligns with the biological principle that energy builds structure, and structure determines function. In the context of weight loss, this means we should focus on building and maintaining healthy structures—like bone density, organ health, and muscle mass—rather than fixating on the number on the scale. Your optimal weight is not just about reaching a specific number; it's about achieving, retaining, and supporting a body made of healthy, resilient tissues. Don't get so consumed by weight loss that you overlook the most critical aspect of achieving a healthy weight: the kind of tissue you're losing in the process. Listen to today's podcast to learn why the structure of your body matters more than your weight—and how you can build a healthier structure for lasting health.   Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/353.   Be sure to take my Free Energy quiz.  Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here. Ready to go deeper and take back your health? Learn how to nourish yourself in a way that is personal to you while also helping you to fully embrace all of you. Take back your hormones, get more energy, and learn how to thrive inside Health Made Simple. Follow my day-to-day life plus mini tidbits of health encouragement on Instagram.